The little girl knew he was sick in the hospital and insisted on sending him something she made herself, saying it was delicious dragon beard candy. He couldn’t refuse, so he let Dennis give her an address. After the package arrived, Dennis shared it with others, and he got a piece, too. He didn’t like sweets, but this dragon beard candy was really well made.
Later, as they chatted, the little girl suggested calling him. She said she wanted to sing for him.
He thought he might really be too bored and agreed to her suggestion, even giving her his phone number.
The first phone call happened one evening. After a rustling sound, he heard a very sweet voice on the other end, cautiously asking, “Is this Uncle?”
Noah: “It’s me, hello.”
Thelma: “Wow, Uncle, your voice sounds so young!”
Noah initially wanted to explain that he wasn’t an uncle and that the age on his profile was just a random fill-in, but he felt it wasn’t necessary. After all, they were strangers and might never meet.
On the phone, she was just as chatty, telling him a lot of things and lamenting that he was sick and had no one to take care of him, no children or anything, which was so pitiful (he regretted telling her he wasn’t married or had a girlfriend).
He just responded perfunctorily to whatever she said, and then she started singing for him.
Honestly, her singing was really good, like a clear oriole singing in the forest. Perhaps because her voice was so beautiful, whenever she sent him messages, he would imagine her speaking in that voice, and gradually, he didn’t find it annoying anymore.
Thus, they would occasionally call each other, and every time she would sing for him. Listening to her sing made him feel relaxed, and he would often unknowingly fall asleep. She even complained about it, saying Uncle treated her songs like lullabies.
The unexpected incident happened that night when several people suddenly burst into the hospital room. They were very ruthless and aimed to take his life. Noah knew these people were sent by Bernard, who had grown to pose a threat to him. Moreover, he was bold enough to choose to strike the Gateway Hospital, which showed how eager Bernard was to eliminate him.
The intruders disguised themselves as doctors. At that time, he was the only one by the bedside, and since he was already injured, he was no match for these people. He was pinned to the ground by one of them, and his rib was broken by the hardest part of the elbow.
Fortunately, Lennox and others discovered it in time and came to rescue him; otherwise, he might have died on the spot.
However, although he survived, he was severely injured. One rib was broken and had punctured his lung. The hospital immediately performed surgery to save him. Although the rib was removed, his recovery was not good, and there were even signs of inflammation. His condition was once very critical.
After several rescue attempts, the doctor finally shook his head, indicating they were at a loss.
His mother cried by the bedside, and Lennox and others surrounded his bed, crying as well. Even his comrades, who wouldn’t utter a word even if they lost an arm or a leg, were shedding tears at his bedside.
He was not going to be saved; he was dying, and everyone was mourning him in advance.
That night, perhaps it was when his condition was most critical, after the rounds of mourning, the hospital room was left with just him.
His vision was already blurry, and everything in the room seemed so dim, dim enough to be terrifying. He even doubted that hell was about to appear before him.
His body ached so much that he couldn’t move. Perhaps realizing that his time was near, his mind kept recalling the scenes of his life.
When he was very young, his mother told him to work hard and be excellent so that his position wouldn’t be taken away. He didn’t receive much love growing up. As a child, he longed for his mother to hold him, but she was unwilling. She told him to become independent quickly and not to rely too much on her. She told him to grow up fast and not to act spoiled with anyone. At first, he was very sad, but over time, he got used to his mother’s indifference, and he slowly became a cold-blooded person.
He seemed to be born only to fight for power and profit. He couldn’t let his mother be driven out; he couldn’t let that woman and her child take everything from the Sam family. He had to work hard, be excellent, be decisive, and not let emotions cloud his judgment.
Later, he indeed became an excellent person, but to save his life, he had to hide his brilliance and endure humiliation because he hadn’t yet obtained everything from the Sam family. He had to drive the Bernard family out, but he couldn’t be too dazzling; being too dazzling would bring danger to himself.
But no matter how much he disguised himself as obedient and sensible, Bernard ultimately wouldn’t let him go.
Actually, dying like this would be fine. Living meant continuing to fight; living was just for power and profit. The world around him was too cold and ruthless; living in it was truly exhausting.
Dying would be good, dying would be good. For him, death was not a kind of liberation.
