Your Backpack - Chapter Two: Falling Flowers and Flowing Water

Waking up from a hangover, Xu Hang found himself in a hotel suite. His coat and socks had been taken off and were hanging in the closet in front of him.
This was a standard room, and Tingting was sleeping on another bed.
It seemed the young woman had taken care of him after he passed out. Xu Hang couldn't help but sigh inwardly, realizing he had underestimated her. Despite her usual mischievous and clever nature, she was reliable in crucial moments.
Then he found a glass of water on the bedside table, with a note underneath it.
"Ah Xu, you and Tingting are both drunk. She's clinging to you and won't let go. Zhao Ming and I have arranged for you to rest here. We'll leave her in your care once she wakes up~ :p"
Without needing a signature, the handwriting on the sign and the emoji at the end of the article were enough for Xu Hang to fully understand the ins and outs of the matter.
He looked at Tingting, who was fast asleep beside him with drool still on her lips, and shook his head and sighed, "I really didn't underestimate her."
I drew back the curtains, and the sky was already showing the first light of dawn.
He called the hotel front desk and ordered breakfast for himself and Tingting. He was driving back to the company this morning.
He woke Tingting up only after breakfast was delivered.
"I'm leaving soon. Remember to tighten the security chain, get plenty of sleep before you go back; if someone knocks, look carefully before opening the door; remember to get your deposit back before you leave..."
His endless nagging before leaving only earned him a perfunctory nod from Tingting, who was still half-asleep and eating breakfast. He couldn't help but smile, getting a taste of what it's like to be a parent. This painless mom experience was definitely worthwhile.
There was nothing to be reluctant about. Xu Hang had gotten used to her occasional visits to Shanghai for food, drinks, and entertainment—to keep him company.
————————————————
As soon as he arrived at the company, he was called into General Manager Shen's office for a talk.
"Your good days are over," President Shen said bluntly.
Despite being over forty, he's still unmarried and doesn't have a proper job. He's unconventional in his work style, with virtually no work discipline. As long as the task is completed, he'll even play ping-pong in the office. On weekends, he drags his department to Jiaxing Road to watch performances and vote for his idol.
"What's wrong, Mr. Shen? Is there anything you can't handle?" Xu Hang asked with a smile.
"No, that's not it. It's just that the head office urgently transferred me to a project in the capital. This project here will be temporarily handled by Lao Sang. You guys better keep your hands clean, Lao Sang isn't as easy to talk to as I am," President Shen said seriously.
Xu Hang also dropped his playful grin. Indeed, if Boss Sang were in charge of their project, things wouldn't be so comfortable.
"Oh no, why are you being transferred all of a sudden?" Xu Hang thought for a moment, then said with a bitter face, "Why don't you take me with you?"
President Shen laughed and scolded, "You little rascal, do you think the company is your home? This transfer order is urgent, and it only requires me. You better perform well here, and when I come back next year, I might give you a surprise."
The workday that followed was indeed much more stressful and boring. General Manager Sang seemed kind, but he always nitpicked over trivial details. He interfered in everything, big or small, of the projects, causing the entire department to operate much less efficiently than before.
So he changed the department's work schedule, visibly increasing overtime days, just to barely keep the project on track. Because he did such a thorough job of saving face, he was highly praised by the company's leaders. But all of this went into his own pocket, not a single penny benefiting Xu Hang and his colleagues.
"Brother Xu has been so busy lately." Tingting ate her sweet pan-fried dumplings, but a look of distress appeared on her face. "He doesn't have time to play with me anymore."
"There's nothing we can do. The boss has changed, and things are different now," Xu Hang sighed.
"Then why don't you change jobs?" Tingting said angrily, picking up a pan-fried dumpling.
"There's no other way. My current company is in a booming industry, and I was recruited from campus, so the future prospects are good. Besides, my former boss will be back next year. I just need to get through this year." Xu Hang opened the box of tissues on the table, took out a tissue, and handed it to her.
She took it, wiped the sauce from her mouth, and said, "Alright then."
"How are things with Li Xian lately?" Xu Hang asked tentatively. "You could have him come over and hang out with you."
"Don't even mention it, that idiot, all he cares about is houses, cars, and money." Tingting pouted and said, "Last Saturday I asked him to go out, and guess what he said? He said he had to go to a part-time job?! That's not all, last Sunday morning I was still sleeping when he called me and asked me where I wanted to go on Saturday and if it was still possible to go today."
He's such a straight man.
Xu Hang was amused by this guy, and together with Tingting, who was amused by his own anger, their smiles gradually became more synchronized and genuine.
————————————————
The following days didn't get better as Xu Hang had hoped; instead, they got worse and worse. The entire project team was like a sick machine, increasingly unable to keep up with the company's planned schedule. General Manager Sang was anxious but refused to admit his own problems, so he increased the intensity of overtime work once again.
Therefore, after the New Year, the department naturally experienced a wave of resignations. The newly hired members only had a negative impact on work efficiency for the time being. Even Xu Hang, who prided himself on his strong work abilities, gradually felt overwhelmed.
Fortunately, Tingting would often come over to keep him company. Later on, due to work commitments, they sometimes could only have dinner together, but this still improved Xu Hang's mental state considerably.
As for Chu Xiao, after her engagement, Xu Hang consciously kept his distance from her. And she also tacitly avoided talking to him.
"Brother Xu, Sister Xiao Xiao and Zhao Ming are living together."
Living together for a period of time after engagement and before the wedding is a perfectly normal procedure. Xu Hang, who often stalked her blog, had already accepted this fact long before Tingting told him the news.
Looking at the everyday details of life described in her elegant writing, he couldn't help but sigh, "This is what a beautiful life should be like."
However, that's just a dream life. Reality is as harsh as a drug-addicted idiot.
After the new year, not only did he receive no benefits or bonuses, but he also barely received any performance-based pay—after all, he was being scolded every week, which was something he had expected. Work gradually left him exhausted, and his previously well-maintained physique began to deteriorate, causing him to gain weight.
Is this the legendary "overwork obesity"? I wonder if workers' compensation insurance covers it.
The disproportionate effort and reward caused Xu Hang's mental state to deteriorate. He would occasionally hurl insults at incoming sales calls, and once even made a newly hired female telemarketer on the other end of the line cry.
Unfortunately, Chu Xiao's blog unexpectedly stopped being updated. This deprived him of half of his intellectual nourishment.
I don't know how much longer I can endure this kind of life.
————————————————
That morning, I received another phone call.
"Hello, are you Mr. Xu?"
Xu Hang suppressed his urge to explode and asked in a deep voice, "May I ask who you are?"
"This is the Red Cross Society of XX Province. I'm sorry to bother you. Could I have five minutes of your time?"
He let out a long sigh, thinking it would be good to clear his head, and said, "Let's make this short."
"Here's the thing, when you donated blood, you voluntarily uploaded your information to the China Marrow Donor Program. Now we have a leukemia patient who is a match for you. His condition is deteriorating rapidly, and he urgently needs your help. Would it be convenient for you to come to the Provincial People's Hospital tomorrow for a blood sample to be drawn for high-resolution matching? If it's inconvenient for you, please provide an address, and we can come to your home..."
"Wait a minute..." Xu Hang's mind was a jumbled mess after receiving a sudden influx of information. He said into the phone, "I'm busy right now. Can you call me back this afternoon?"
After hanging up the phone, he lay back in his office chair, slowly processing what had just happened.
Saving someone? When his company organized a blood donation drive and he voluntarily filed his HLA information, he had fantasized about such a day. But at this exhausting time, he didn't know if he could put down his work here and go back to help a stranger.
After all, bone marrow stem cell donation is no joke. Even without considering the adverse reactions after donation, it would take at least ten days to two weeks to recover. And with the current project, even taking two days off would make Old Sang furious.
Having persevered for so long, he couldn't abandon the project and his colleagues.
But on the other hand, there is also a heavy responsibility. Patients who have struggled to survive finally receive the good news of a successful match, only to be ruthlessly rejected. How desperate they must feel.
Xu Hang put his work aside and started searching for relevant information online on his phone. He looked at various options, but still couldn't make up his mind.
Seeing some netizens' personal experiences, Xu Hang decided that if he couldn't refuse today, he would agree to their request.
Near the end of the workday, he received another call from the other end of the line.
"Mr. Xu, is now a convenient time to talk?"
"Convenient. Here's the thing, I'm currently in Shanghai, and traveling back and forth isn't very convenient. I'd like to ask, if the test results are negative, how long will the entire treatment process last?"
"If all goes well, the time from passing the test to completing the donation will not exceed one to two weeks. Including your recovery period, it will not exceed two months."
He gasped. If he had to go back and cooperate for such a long time, he would probably lose his job.
Seemingly sensing Xu Hang's hesitation, the voice on the other end said urgently, "Mr. Xu, what are you worried about? Stem cell donation technology is very mature and almost risk-free. This is a human life at stake. What could be more important than this?"
Her hasty words greatly displeased Xu Hang. First, he had learned that afternoon that stem cell donation was not as risk-free as she claimed; if he encountered any adverse reactions, it could even threaten his health. Second, if he went back regardless, he would lose his job, and his entire life trajectory would be altered. Most importantly, he hated being morally blackmailed.
So, he said bluntly, "My work here is also very urgent, and I can't afford to waste a month. So..."
"The patient is willing to offer you a generous compensation, which should make up for the work you missed..." the other end of the line interrupted him urgently.
"I'm sorry, I refuse. Please don't call again, otherwise I will block your number."
"Please wait..."
Before she could say anything more, Xu Hang hung up the phone.
A firm refusal was perhaps the only "good thing" he could do. He sighed, turned on his computer, and prepared to catch up on the work he had missed that day.
The Red Cross didn't call again, which relieved Xu Hang. He hated these kinds of messy situations.
However, the following evening, he received a call from Chu Xiao.
"Ah Xu." Xiao Xiao's voice was surprisingly low.
"Xiao Xiao, what's wrong?" He put down the mouse in his hand and asked with concern.
"It's okay, I'll be in Shanghai tomorrow. I'll see if you have time to have dinner together." She denied it, trying to make her voice sound as gentle and sunny as before.
But Xu Hang could hear the heaviness in her heart.
"Xiao Xiao, tell me, there must be something, right? Tell me, okay?" he pressed on relentlessly.
"Well, I can't hide it from you after all." She said with a bitter smile on the other end of the phone, "Zhao Ming is sick. Leukemia, it started after the New Year. It wasn't discovered too late, but the condition is deteriorating very quickly. The doctor said that without a bone marrow transplant, he might not survive more than six months."
"What?"
"Yes. I was surprised too. We've always been lucky, how could something like this suddenly happen?" Chu Xiao paused slightly and said, "Fortunately, the Red Cross told us a couple of days ago that a bone marrow match had been found. But the other party is unwilling to come back to help save lives, and they're even unwilling to negotiate with them."
Xu Hang stood there, stunned, holding his phone.
"I think it's a communication problem with the Red Cross. Uncle Zhao and the others think so too. They want to go to Shanghai to find the person who is a match and talk to him face-to-face. But I don't think it would be good to go there in a big way. So, I'll come tomorrow."
"Uncle Zhao made some arrangements, and the Red Cross only provided a mobile phone number. I decided to come here first and try to communicate with them properly to see if I can bring Zhao Ming a glimmer of hope."
"Wait...wait..." Xu Hang's tongue was a little tied.
"It's hard to accept, isn't it? To be honest, I'm also very confused. Let's talk about it in detail when we meet next year. I still need to go to the hospital to see Zhao Ming..."
"No..." he quickly interrupted her, saying, "Xiao Xiao, it's like this, don't panic. Does the other person's phone number end in 7855?"
"Ah, yes. Huh, how did you know? Could it be..." Chu Xiao asked in surprise.
"Yes, that's my work number. You probably don't need to come tomorrow," Xu Hang said with a wry smile. "I'll come back tomorrow."
————————————————
Xu Hang was both amused and exasperated.
What a coincidence! Suddenly, I've become Zhao Ming's only hope for survival?
He ignored the old man's roar echoing in his head and submitted his annual leave application. Then he boarded the high-speed train back—his mind was still a mess, not ready for a road trip.
On the train, he carefully recalled the events of the past few days.
The misfortune that Zhao Ming suddenly encountered was something Xu Hang had not anticipated. Given Chu Xiao's character, he would certainly not abandon Zhao Ming. Even if Zhao Ming's survival was hopeless, he would stay with him until his last breath.
So what happens next? Life goes on, and perhaps he'll have his chance. To re-enter her life after she's recovered from her heartbreak and spend the rest of her life with her—it's a beautiful scenario that only exists in Xu Hang's dreams.
However, as if playing a cruel joke, fate handed the key to Zhao Ming's life-or-death situation to Xu Hang.
If my own stem cells help him regain his life, wouldn't that be the best wedding gift?
A silent, bittersweet feeling filled his chest. There was no other way; he had already told Chu Xiao the truth yesterday. Subconsciously, Xu Hang wanted her to drift off to sleep with hope, not worry.
For a moment, he even hoped that his high-resolution detection would fail, so that even if he couldn't save Zhao Ming, he wouldn't be blamed.
However, Xu Hang could not imagine the look of despair on her face as she went from hope to disappointment.
Perhaps, this is his mission.
Now that this incident is over, she remains the gentle and cheerful Chu Xiao. And Xu Hang has once again left an important mark on her life. She will trust herself even more.
Xu Hang was unwilling to give this precious wedding gift to Zhao Ming, but he was very willing to give it to Chu Xiao.
That's fine. I'll just stay by her side and help her get through this.
If this trip was enjoyable, then I have lived a worthwhile life.

URL 1:https://www.sexlove5.com/htmlBlog/164641.html

URL 2:/Blog.aspx?id=164641&aspx=1

Previous Page : The Trap in the Clinic of an Unethical Doctor

Next Page : An unexpected free meal

增加

comment Open a new window to view comments

Contact Information

Your Backpack - Chapter Two: Falling Flowers and Flowing Water

comment Open a new window to view comments