Chapter 594: Love her in your own way
After hanging up, Mo Xiuchen tucked Wen Ran in, whispering, “Ranran, dad asked me to go over to the lab for a bit. I’ll be back soon. Can you stay here with the nurse for a while?”
Wen Ran smiled and nodded, waving him off: “If dad’s calling you, it must be important. Hurry up.”
In these few days, Wen Ran had not seen Gu Yan much. He visited her in the hospital daily, chatted for a while, and then left. She knew he was always in the lab.
Mo Xiuchen leaned over, gave her a kiss on the forehead, gave some instructions to the nurse, and then left the ward.
At the opposite end of the corridor stood Gu Yan, backlit and hence his facial expression was not visible. However, the complex light in his sharp eyes was discernible.
With his lips slightly pursed, Mo Xiuchen walked over towards him with a steady stride.
As he approached, Gu Yan’s gaze shifted past him to focus on the patient room where Wen Ran was situated, about ten meters behind. He finally said, “Let’s go over there.”
He turned around and headed towards the rest area not too far away.
Mo Xiuchen and Gu Yan made their way to the rest area. The VIP hospital floor was relatively less crowded. The quiet rest area was empty, with vacant rows of seats and a silent LCD TV mounted on the wall.
Gu Yan sat down, took out a cigarette pack, drew two sticks, offered one to Mo Xiuchen, and put the other in his mouth.
“Here, dad,”
While accepting the cigarette, Mo Xiuchen also took out his lighter and swiftly lit Gu Yan’s cigarette.
After taking a heavy drag, Gu Yan exhaled a ring of smoke, then watched Mo Xiuchen do the same. His handsome face was bathed in a gentle glow.
“Mo Xiuchen, Ah Kai called me.”
He sighed in a low voice, his tone sprinkled with a hint of helplessness and indescribable complexity. When he had asked him for sleeping pills, he had no idea they were for Ranran.
It did not surprise Mo Xiuchen that Gu Kai would call Gu Yan, as they were father and son who were currently dealing with Ranran’s illness, thus communicating each day was natural.
His lips curled slightly. His voice was gentle and steady, “Dad, I know what Ah Kai would’ve told you. But you don’t need to dissuade me. I won’t change my decision.”
Gu Yan stared at him, his eyes welling up with emotion.
For a few moments, the atmosphere remained silent.
Neither Gu Yan nor Mo Xiuchen broke the silence.
Their gaze held a myriad of emotions. Gu Yan’s eyes swirled with various feelings like admiration, conflict, gratitude, pain, and more while Mo Xiuchen’s gaze was only filled with a profound determination.
Nobody could change his decision or stop him from doing what he intended.
“Dad, I trust you, and also Dr. Brown and Dr. Joseph. I believe heaven wouldn’t be so cruel to me and Ranran.”
After a while, Mo Xiuchen broke the silence. His voice was steady and gentle, free of any trace of sorrow or heartache, regret or struggle.
All the words Gu Yan wanted to convey got stuck in his throat on hearing his words.
Ah Kai had called and told him about what Mo Xiuchen had done, leaving him in shock. He knew that Mo Xiuchen deeply loved Ranran was willing to sacrifice everything for her.
But this was a matter of life and death!
He never expected Mo Xiuchen to risk his life for Ranran’s sake.
Gu Yan’s expression grew intense with mixed emotions, and all he could say was, “Mo Xiuchen, thank you.”
The gratitude was from the father, Gu Yan. He knew it was selfish of him to say so since it was acceptance of Mo Xiuchen’s potentially sacrificing himself for Ranran.
It was like choosing his daughter’s life over his son-in-law’s.
Even though it was Mo Xiuchen’s decision, Gu Yan felt selfish.
Mo Xiuchen, smiling faintly, looked into Gu Yan’s eyes filled with myriad emotions. It gave him comfort and a sense of warmth.
He had not enjoyed the love of a father for years and always envied others who had parental love. This man in front of him was his father-in-law, the father of his beloved woman, and therefore, was also his father.
He understood what Gu Yan meant, but he wasn’t saddened. Gu Yan, as a father who dearly loved his daughter, had lost weight over the past few days.
For the past couple of days, Gu Yan stayed in the lab, tirelessly working on experiments to save Ranran. Mo Xiuchen, being Ranran’s husband, had promised to protect her, love her, and shield her from any harm, yet he was unable to do anything for her.
What he could do now was to buy time; he should be happy with that.
“Dad, Ranran is my wife. I’ve promised to protect her and keep her from harm. I don’t want her to suffer alone and live in fear of illness. I’ll accompany her, no matter what.”
Mo Xiuchen’s tone was calm. Even his handsome face showed little signs of any emotional change. He appeared suave, calm, and collected.
It seemed as if he wasn’t trading his life for his beloved’s health but merely accompanying her for a regular pastime like shopping or dining. As he finished speaking, his gaze fell on his cufflinks, which reminded him of the pair Ranran had bought for him the previous day.
The memory warmed his heart instantly.
“Mo Xiuchen, I know I can’t change your decision, but I don’t want Ranran to blame herself for the rest of her life. So, in two days, we will run some tests on you and Ranran. If your method really can control the progress of the illness, you must stop immediately.”
“Dad, you can ask Doctor Brown to break the news to Ranran…”
Mo Xiuchen looked up at Gu Yan, his voice still calm and composed.
Gu Yan’s expression switched subtly as if he wanted to say something else. But before Gu Yan could speak, Mo Xiuchen had already extinguished his cigarette and stood up. He spoke gently, “Dad, Ranran is still in the ward. I should get back. I’m not at ease when she’s alone.”
Gu Yan nodded, “Go back to Ranran.”
Mo Xiuchen didn’t say anything else. He turned around and walked back down the corridor. His eyes were fixed on a room at the opposite end.
In there was the woman he deeply loved. Like he mentioned, leaving her alone for too long made him uneasy.
Even though it was only a few minutes, he already missed her and couldn’t wait to see her. His heart would only be at peace when he could see her.
His steps unconsciously quickened. As he neared the room, he slowed down, composed himself, and a slight smile spread on his face.
He paused at the door for a few moments before pushing it open and stepping in.