Le Tong took the phone and paused for a mont, staring at it blankly.
Ji Rui calling her? That’s really unusual!
He hasn’t bothered with her for several months, so why is he calling her now?
"Did he say what it’s about?"
At this point, Le Tong hadn’t yet realized the seriousness of the situation. She was just holding the phone hesitantly and turned to ask Zhang Yi, who had helped arrange her luggage.
Zhang Yi shook his head, looking confused, "I don’t know, he didn’t say. Just ntioned it’s urgent and told you to call him back as soon as you return."
Le Tong climbed onto the back seat of the electric bike and finally dialed Ji Rui’s number.
The phone rang once and was quickly answered, "Hello, Mr. Ji?"
"Le Tong, co back imdiately, the baby is sick!"
Ji Rui’s usual calm and steady voice sounded slightly trembling to Le Tong.
Le Tong just thought it was the whooshing of the car causing the tremor.
"The baby is sick? Is it serious? He had a fever a few days ago, hasn’t recovered?"
Le Tong rembered that the night before departure, the baby was indeed sick. But the next day, he said the fever had gone down. How could he still be unwell?
"Le Tong, the baby isn’t having a fever... It’s... leukemia!"
Ji Rui’s words exploded like a bomb in Le Tong’s ears!
Leukemia?
The baby has leukemia?
How is it possible? He was fine a few days ago, and now suddenly he has leukemia?
Sitting behind Zhang Yi, Le Tong suddenly felt as though all the strength had been drained from her, collapsing weakly onto Zhang Yi’s back.
This frightened Zhang Yi, who quickly stopped the bike and held the pale and disoriented Le Tong. "Tongtong, what’s wrong? Don’t scare your brother!"
"Le Tong?!"
Ji Rui’s urgent shout pulled Le Tong back from the brink of collapse.
"Le Tong, please co back quickly, the baby is fussing to see you as soon as he wakes up..."
At this point, Ji Rui possibly forgot that Le Tong wasn’t really related to the baby. Who was he to demand she return?
However, Le Tong, whose heart felt like it was being sliced, didn’t have the mind to dwell on these matters.
Frantically, she rushed back to Zhang Yi’s house to gather her docunts and money. She didn’t bother sitting on the bus, directly rented a car in the small town to head to D Province airport. Late that night, around eleven o’clock, with swollen eyes, Le Tong arrived at R City Central Hospital’s intensive care unit, driven by Xiao Li.
Le Tong stood in front of the ward door, her hand trembling on the door handle, seeming like she didn’t even have the strength to push open the door.
This heart-wrenching pain wasn’t the first ti Le Tong experienced. Over six years ago, due to her mother, she had tried like today to hold the hospital door open, yet never could push open what appeared to be a weightless door.
Ultimately, she was frightened.
She feared she couldn’t face everything in front of her, and feared she might not be able to help but cry in front of the baby.
The door opened from the inside, a tall shadow enveloped her.
"Co in, the baby is asleep."
Le Tong didn’t look at the man or knew how she walked to the bedside; she numbly sat on the edge of the bed, her eyes fixed on the baby’s sleeping yet pale face.
After so ti, she murmured.
"How did this happen? Wasn’t the baby fine?"
Clearly, she still couldn’t accept this fact.
"The baby has been having a low-grade fever for a few days, initially thought it was just a cold. Took so dicine and the fever went down. Two days ago, he fainted in class and was sent to the hospital for a detailed examination, diagnosed with leukemia."
Ji Rui’s hoarse voice and fatigued face showed he had been tornted over the past two days.
Le Tong reached out her trembling hand, gently touching the baby’s tender and adorable face. How could God be so heartless to such a lovely little angel?
At this mont, all Le Tong wished was for the suffering visiting the baby to be transferred onto herself, making the baby not have to endure and suffer on this hospital bed.
Numbly didn’t know how long she sat by the bedside, finally cald down, or perhaps accepted the reality before her.
Afraid of waking up the sleeping baby, she stood and walked towards the nearby lounge, Ji Rui followed suit.
The two sat down on the sofa, Le Tong asked with reddened eyes, "What do we do now?"
At this point, she no longer considered herself an outsider.
"They extracted the bone marrow sample yesterday and are waiting for a match from various hospital bone marrow banks. The doctor said the baby’s condition is good, and once they find a match, a transplant can be done."
Ji Rui explained calmly, but Le Tong knew his heart was as heavy as hers.
Le Tong lowered her head, her fists clenched tightly. She wanted to ask Ji Rui how successful the matching chances were but feared hearing an answer she couldn’t bear.
Thus, she suppressed it for a long ti without asking.
Ji Rui continued looking at her, seeing her silent with head bowed, he spoke again.
"Sorry, when I called you this morning, I wasn’t in a great mood, so..."
Ji Rui, who rarely apologizes, spoke sincerely to her now.
Since the mont his beloved son was hospitalized, he had been fussing and clamoring to see Sister. Ji Rui had no choice but to make a call to Le Tong.
Who knew, Le Tong’s phone was always off.
Thus the baby cried endlessly, saying Sister didn’t want him anymore.
The doctor advised that maintaining a stable mood for the baby is vital now, hence Ji Rui called Zhang Yi with the number he got from previous investigations.
The counterpart told him Le Tong went out for business and lost her phone.
After explaining this to the baby, the little one stopped crying but still wanted Sister to co back and accompany him.
Thinking back, Ji Rui realized he had been sowhat excessive.
Le Tong is good to the baby, but she isn’t obligated to be so.
Speaking to her in such a tone on the phone, if she got upset and neglected the baby, Ji Rui didn’t know how he would soothe the baby’s mood and feelings.
Also uncertain where he could find another Sister for the baby.
Le Tong lifted her head, seemingly not hearing his apology at all. "Mr. Ji, can I stay here with the baby?"
Ji Rui looked at Le Tong in surprise, as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing.
After calling Le Tong, he had been contemplating what reason to use to ask her to stay in R City for a while. He knew he was selfish, but he had no choice.
Le Tong cares greatly about her business in the small town, asking her to completely put it aside for the baby, Ji Rui wasn’t confident he could convince her.
After all, no matter how much Le Tong liked the baby, she wasn’t related to him. She had no obligation to do this.
Yet she proactively said she wanted to stay to accompany the baby!
This made Ji Rui feel grateful yet puzzled!
[Leukemia isn’t a terminal illness now, the baby will be okay. Please don’t bla Zhu Zi... Zhu Zi will quietly repent in a corner...]
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