Chapter 81 - The Cycle Of Life And Death

The word that Dr Xiao had been violent in the Emergency Ward, spread like wildfire within minutes among the hospital staff.

A few even came to see a dishevelled Dr Xiao Zeng, who had been sitting with his head hung low in the waiting room. An aura of sadness loomed around the said man.

Two hours have already passed since he heard of the heart-shattering news. He didn't have a clue of what was going on. He tried asking the nurse who once came out for renewing the surgical necessities but she was in a hurry and couldn't say much.

The surgery of the patient in first OT was successful and hence the relatives left when the patient was shifted. Now he was all alone again as silence filled the awaiting hallway. Footsteps disturbed the pin-drop silence. Hearing the footsteps growing louder, Zeng looked up. He saw two older figures emerging out of the corner. Their faces showcased extreme worry and fear. As soon as they spotted Zeng, the couple hurriedly came over.

Yul's parents had caught the earliest train to come to the hospital as soon as they heard the news.

"Yul... where's my Yul?" Mrs Wang panicked as she held Zeng for support.

"He is inside, mom. They are still operating on him." Zeng tried calming the older female without success.

Mrs Wang broke down into tears. Xiao Zeng hugged her immediately. "He's gonna be alright, mom. He's gonna be alright. He will be absolutely fine." He hugged her while himself began tearing up again. He was reassuring her as well as himself with those words.

Mr Wang sat on the bench by the side, his body motionless. Tears couldn't be seen in his eyes but they surely contained shock. Unlike his wife, he still was finding it hard to believe. Xiao Zeng saw his condition. He made Mrs Wang sit beside Mr Wang on the bench and kneeled before them, taking their hands in his own.

"Mom...dad. Your son will be fine. You have to trust him. He's a fighter so he won't give up. No matter what, he always comes back, right?. So I want you both to stay strong for him. You both have to stay strong. Okay?"

Mr Wang's eyes brimmed with tears. He nodded realising that the condition that he refused to believe his son was in, had been proved.

Zeng hugged them both. He had always regarded them as his parents. As much as he loved Yul, he also loved his parents.

"It's alright. It will be alright. He will be fine." Zeng kept repeating it till the crying older couple had calmed down.

Two more hours passed, but nothing happened. There was no news whatsoever.

After another hour, the room adjacent to Yul's opened. Mr and Mrs Wang were mentally too exhausted to pay attention but Xiao Zeng glanced at the source of the sound. He felt his fear building up even though he knew it was not Yul.

A stretcher was being pulled through the door. On the stretcher, was a body covered with white cloth from head to toe with few stains of fresh blood on it.

The stretcher pulled by the ward boy passed before Zeng. It made its way towards a particular direction of the hospital, the mortuary.

Zeng felt choked all of a sudden. He had great difficulty in breathing. The dead body that just passed him was once Yul's colleague. More tears made their way down his eyes.

The waiting bench for relatives before that room was empty. They were not here yet, must be living far away. The dead person's parents, wife or children couldn't see their beloved one even for the last time. Such a sad end!

Zeng saw the surgeons coming out of that OT, dishevelled. Even though they were still wearing the mask, Xiao Zeng could tell the sadness of losing the patient from their eyes. A few moments later, a ward boy came and erased the name of the now-dead patient from the OT board. Soon, another patient will be operated upon in there.

This was the Hospital. Life and death are components of the cycle that goes on in here. Never ceasing with any death nor desisting after any birth. It goes on… the cycle of life and death.

"Zeng."

Xiao Zeng came out of his trance as Mr Wang called his name. He hurriedly wiped his tears before facing the older man.

"Son, what about the fees and formalities of this Hospital? Should we go check it?"

"It's okay, dad. I have already cleared everything up." Zeng had already completed all the formalities.

"Mom, dad." He called them. Knowing that in this grievous situation, none would have the appetite but he still needed to feed Yul's parents. He couldn't compromise with their health. He softly spoke, "You both need to eat. Come on, I'll take you both to the canteen."

Mrs Wang shook her head in negation, "I am not hungry. I won't eat until he wakes up."

Yul's mother was as stubborn as him. So he had to coax her to eat something. Zeng sat beside her, said, "Do you think Yul will be happy if he will know that his lovely mom didn't eat because of him? He will scold both me and dad so much. Right, dad?"

He turned to Mr Wang who agreed.

"Yes, dear. Zeng is right. Yul will scold us both if he finds out. Save us the trouble."

"But-"

"Come on mom, dad is a diabetes patient. Taking meals on time is really important for him and I don't think he would eat without you. At least for him, please?" He said with a slight pout.

Mrs Wang gave in. "Alright."

"Dad, you got your medicines?" Zeng asked Mr Wang to which he said that being in a hurry to reach here as soon as possible, they didn't bring anything along with them.

The medicines were very important for Mr Wang. So Zeng dialled Fanxing's number. "Can you bring some Metformin 500 mg? Actually, bring an entire sachet."

The intern on the other line agreed and a few minutes later came with a packet of medicine.

Zeng introduced him to Yul's parents.