kvmb Chapter 453
Chapter 453
Now they were all quite tall. Little Dong even reached her shoulders; he was a big boy now. A feeling of reluctance began to spread, and she found it hard to move her feet.Indeed, when it came to affection, her feelings for the Zhou family were much deeper than those for the Lin family.
However, now was not the time to be willful.
Zhou Yueshen noticed her mood. He stepped forward, his long fingers tugging at her coat slightly before smoothing out her hair.
"Don't worry, I'll have someone deliver food and drinks to them regularly. Once things settle down on your end, I'll go back and pick you up."
Si Nian nodded, holding the man's hand, and softly murmured, "Mhm."
She looked at the children and opened her arms to them.
Tears shimmered in the children's eyes.
Second Child was the least able to control his emotions. His mouth turned down, his shoulders hitching as he tried hard to look up at the sky, terrified that he wouldn't be able to stop his tears from falling.
Their mother was going back to her hometown to see their grandpa. Except for the time she took his younger sister to their grandma's house, he had never been separated from her for this long.
Si Nian embraced the children and said, "Stay safe at home. Don't slack off, and study hard. I'll be checking your homework when I get back."
Second Child nodded heavily and choked out, "I will definitely do my homework well, Mom, and I will miss you."
Si Nian patted his back. "Mom will miss you too."
She then looked at Zhou Zedong. He was holding back his emotions, not looking like he was about to cry like Second Child, but his disappointment was still visible.
Si Nian patted his head and said, "Little Dong, with Mom and Dad not at home, it's up to you to take care of your younger brother and sister. As the older brother, you'll have to work a bit harder. When Mom comes back, I'll bring you a gift."
Zhou Zedong shook his head and said, "Mom, I don't want a gift. This is what I should do. I just want you to come back soon."
Si Nian smiled and nodded. She then patted her daughter, who didn't quite understand farewells yet, hugged her, kissed her, and waved goodbye to the children.
Zhou Yueshen led her into the car, and the two headed to the airport together.
Airport procedures were complicated, so they arrived early to wait. Their boarding passes were filled out by hand, but there were people guiding them along the way. The plane was parked far away, requiring them to walk over and line up to board.
The plane had over forty seats, but there were only about ten people in the cabin, making the seating very spacious.
Si Nian had flown many times in the future, but this was her first time in this era.
People who flew nowadays were not ordinary folks. Shortly after boarding, the flight attendants handed out chewing gum, chocolates, and even cigarettes, along with various teas and souvenirs.
Taking this flight, Si Nian's pockets couldn't even hold everything.
At first, Zhou Yueshen was worried that Si Nian might be scared. After all, she was pregnant, and the turbulence during takeoff made many people uncomfortable.
But seeing her calm demeanor, he breathed a sigh of relief.
The plane took off smoothly. Si Nian had woken up early that morning, so she was feeling sleepy again.
Zhou Yueshen kept an eye on her expressions from time to time. Seeing she was tired, he let her lean against him to rest.
Si Nian fell asleep as soon as she closed her eyes. The plane was fast; it felt like she had just closed her eyes when Zhou Yueshen woke her up, saying they had arrived.
In an era where everything moved slowly, Si Nian experienced the fast-paced life of the future for the first time.
She yawned and got off the plane with Zhou Yueshen, taking their luggage.
It was only twelve noon. She had eaten quite a bit before sleeping, so she wasn't hungry yet.
As soon as they stepped off the plane, the refreshing and cool weather typical of the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan region greeted them. Si Nian had worried this morning that it would be chilly here, so she wore a coat, which turned out to be perfect for the moment.
The two left the airport and immediately took a taxi to the city center hospital.
By the time they reached the hospital gates, it was already past two o'clock.
Many people were sitting outside the wards. Due to a lack of seats, everyone was sitting on the floor, and most looked exhausted.
Just as they found the ward, they saw her younger brother, Little Feng, holding a thermos and walking toward the room with a haggard face.
"Little Feng," Si Nian called her brother's name.
Little Feng took a few more steps before reacting. He instinctively looked up, and upon seeing the two, he thought he was seeing things and blinked hard.
When he finally snapped back to reality, his eyes widened in pleasant surprise. "Sis, Sis, you're back!"
He ran toward Si Nian. The young boy who had been holding it together for so long seemed to lose all his strength in that moment; he just wanted to throw himself into his sister's arms and cry out all his grievances.
However, just as he got close, he realized his sister was pregnant and he couldn't do that.
He forced himself to stop, looking at Si Nian. Trying desperately to hold back his tears, he still choked up as he said, "Sis, I missed you so much."
Si Nian patted his head. "I missed you guys too."
"Where is everyone?"
"How is Dad?"
At the mention of this, Little Feng's earlier joy vanished instantly, and his face turned pale. "Our little brother went to class. Eldest brother was discharged from the hospital but still can't get out of bed, so sister-in-law is taking care of him at home. Mom just went out with Uncle Yu Dong, so I'm here looking after Dad."
When speaking of their father, his voice choked up again. "Sis, Dad will be okay, right? He coughed up blood again today. The doctors said his current condition makes surgery too dangerous right now, and Mom has to sign some kind of paper before they can do it. I don't really understand, but seeing Dad like this makes me so scared."
Si Nian's heart tightened. "Don't be afraid. Take me to see him."
Little Feng nodded quickly and said, "Okay, Dad will definitely be so happy to see you and brother-in-law. Maybe if he's happy, he'll get better."
He took Si Nian's hand. Though he was excited, he restrained himself and slowed his pace, leading Si Nian into the ward.
As soon as Si Nian entered the ward, she couldn't help but frown.
There were about six beds in the room. In addition to the beds being full, many people were sitting in the aisles, making it extremely crowded.
Seeing someone come in, a few people shifted over to let them pass.
Then they went back to talking and laughing, with some gossiping loudly. It was unbearably noisy.
In an environment like this, anyone would find it hard to sleep.
"Dad, Dad, Sis and brother-in-law are back. Look!" Little Feng excitedly pulled back the last curtain and spoke to the person lying inside.
Hearing this, Lin's father turned his head with difficulty to look their way.
Si Nian looked at her father on the bed. She had only been away for half a year, but he had lost a massive amount of weight. His cheeks were sunken, and there was white hair on his head.
During the New Year not long ago, her family had written letters telling her they were safe and sound, their words full of happiness.
How had so little time passed, yet he had wasted away like this?
Si Nian hurried forward in a few quick steps and grasped her father's hand, which was trembling with excitement.
"Nian... Nian Nian, how come you're back?"
Si Nian blinked hard and said in a hoarse voice, "Dad, I came back to see you. Are you doing okay?"
"I'm fine, just a little cough. Your mother didn't believe me and insisted I come to the hospital. Why did you come back? Aren't you attending classes? The children... cough, cough..."
Lin's father couldn't even finish his sentence before he started coughing violently.
Si Nian quickly said, "Okay, I understand. Rest first. We can talk slowly when you're feeling better."
After she spoke, she urged him to close his eyes and rest. Lin's father listened to his daughter and immediately closed his eyes to rest.
Only then did Si Nian finally have a moment to ask her younger brother for the details of what had happened.