before and after

Chapter 42

New Year, after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

Ye Ruixin still remembers the bowl of glutinous rice balls served by Liang Xiao many years ago. On that day, they really gave themselves to each other.

"Your glutinous rice balls. Five sweet ones and five salty ones."

This is the dessert of the Lantern Festival every year, and it has not changed for decades.

"I made an appointment with Xia Yang to go to the hospital for an examination tomorrow."

Liang Xiao put down the spoon and asked, "What's uncomfortable?"

"It's nothing, I have a headache once in a while. Don't worry about getting a checkup."

"Well, I'll accompany you tomorrow morning."

Ye Ruixin nodded, and scooped up a fresh meat glutinous rice ball.He likes to eat one by one, starting with the salty one, because it must be sweet at the end.

"Are you okay tomorrow?" Ye Ruixin asked after eating the first glutinous rice balls.

"It's okay, I'll make a call to arrange it later."

"Can I take a day off?"

"Well, where do you want to go after the inspection?"

"Think about it, I'm too lazy to think about it."

"So lazy! How about I feed you glutinous rice balls?"

"No." Ye Ruixin smiled and continued to eat the second sweet one.

Liang Xiao smiled and said, "How about eating ice cream at home?"

"Not good! Keep thinking."

The MRI report still needs to wait for a while, Xia Yang suggested that Liang Xiao accompany Ye Ruixin to walk around the hospital, and said that the current restaurant is better than the past one, waiting for Professor Liang to taste it.

Ye Ruixin asked Xia Yang to have dinner together, but Xia Yang declined.

"I still have a report to read, just buy a sandwich in a while. The report is almost ready, see you in the office then."

Seeing Liang Xiao walking out of the corridor holding Ye Ruixin's hand, Xia Yang returned to the inspection department again.He asked his colleagues to expedite Ye Ruixin's report and waited anxiously.

The X-ray film handed over to Xia Yang was not buffered by the file bag, and the shadow of Ye Ruixin's head directly reflected Xia Yang's eyes.The positions of all the bones and nerves in the head were memorized in Xia Yang's mind, and he knew exactly what the shadows represented.

The answer has already appeared in Xia Yang's mind, and there is no need to confirm it further.Xia Yang subconsciously looked at the name on the report, his heartbeat started to speed up, and he even began to hope that the name on the report was not Ye Ruixin.

Adjusting his breathing, Xia Yang put the report into the folder.

Xia Yang always remembered what Liang Xiao had said to him when he was still in college.

"Doctors don't just help patients. Sometimes what we have to do is a connection between life and death. If the patient has no hope of life, then we should consider how to let him and his family accept the reality and live a good life."

For so many years, Xia Yang has always remembered this sentence.When he was practicing with Liang Xiao in Cardiac Surgery, he witnessed how Liang Xiao delivered bad news to patients and their families. In Xia Yang's memory, Liang Xiao never confessed the results openly and honestly.

"I don't like the word patient."

When he said this, Liang Xiao had just informed the parents of a pair of twin children that their newborn child had a congenital heart disease.And their other child had died unexpectedly during childbirth.

"One of the original meanings of the word in English is someone who suffers without complaint. Whether it's out of pride or shock, when patients or family members hear the bad news, there is usually silence. Then people will start to fight, pray, smash Money, or believing in folk remedies. These different ways are weapons used to fight.

But some unrealistic optimism is often followed by overwhelming despair.What we can do is to always pay attention to the patient's acceptance.Stand in their position and try to guide them to go further.Some things don't need to be said all at once. "

Xia Yang remembered that he nodded knowingly.But what Liang Xiao said afterwards, Xia Yang didn't really understand until today.

"Such guidance is not only for patients, but sometimes more for family members."

Xia Yang returned to the office, put the file bag on his desk, and looked at it blankly.Xia Yang thought back to the way Liang Xiao and Ye Ruixin left holding hands just now, a burst of sadness welled up Xia Yang's nose, he covered his eyes, gritted his teeth and wiped away his tears.

Xia Yang poured himself a large glass of water, and every time he swallowed, he kept reminding himself of his doctor's identity.The grief was suppressed bit by bit, Xia Yang waited for the arrival of a bit.

Three minutes after one o'clock, there was a knock on the office door.

Xia Yang adjusted his expression to make the smile look as relaxed as possible.

"Comein!"

It was Ye Ruixin who entered the room first.After he glanced at the smiling Xia Yang, he sat directly on the chair opposite Xia Yang.

"Teacher, has the lunch in the restaurant improved?" Xia Yang said to Liang Xiao who came in with Ye Ruixin.

"not much differences."

Liang Xiao didn't seem to have any intention of adding anything. He sat down next to Ye Ruixin and looked at Xia Yang, apparently waiting for Xia Yang to report the results.

"Mr. Liang, besides the numbness and tingling in your fingers you told me last time, do you have any other discomfort?"

"Headache."

Ye Ruixin pointed to the right side of the back of her head, where the shadow in the official X-ray film was.

"Anything else?"

Xia Yang glanced at Liang Xiao from the corner of his eye. He was listening carefully to Ye Ruixin's answer, fiddling with the wedding ring in his hand uneasily.

"It's not a stroke, is it?"

Ye Ruixin's words made Liang Xiao's eyes fall on Xia Yang.

"Not a stroke."

Having said that, Xia Yang hesitated.Xia Yang could see the huge gap between their lives an hour ago and their lives to come.He knew they weren't ready for bad news, but who could?

Xia Yang slowed down his speech and said:

"From the MRI, there is a mass in the brain, so there is such a symptom."

Silence, as expected.

"Give me the report." It was Liang Xiao who spoke suddenly.

Xia Yang handed over the folder in front of the desk, and Liang Xiao quickly detoured the cotton rope.His eyes froze at the image on the X-ray.Liang Xiao's hands began to tremble, and he stared at the location of the tumor. The black necrotic nucleus was surrounded by white rings with undulating edges—brain cancer.

"What is this?" Ye Ruixin looked at the report and asked.

"There are many possibilities. Maybe it's an infection, and I don't know until I have surgery." Xia Yang still avoided this question as much as possible.

"cancer?"

In fact, the results of the scan have ruled out all possibilities.Both Xia Yang and Liang Xiao have already diagnosed malignant glioma in their hearts, which is aggressive and the worst kind.

"It's possible. But after the surgery, take it off and send it to a pathologist for a biopsy to know the result."

Professional ethics made it impossible for Xia Yang to conceal Ye Ruixin's condition.He tried to speak as tactfully and softly as possible, but Xia Yang knew that when the word cancer became possible in the doctor's mouth, no one could remember the explanation behind it.

Liang Xiao on the side remained silent, and he put the report into the file bag.Xia Yang could feel that Liang Xiao wanted to say something, but it was obviously difficult for him to comfort anyone at this moment.

At this moment, the identity of Liang Xiao's family members was far greater than his instinct as a doctor, and he couldn't even comfort himself.Xia Yang can only continue to save the patient as a doctor at this moment.

"The operation is not too complicated. You only need to shave a little hair, which will hardly affect your appearance. After the operation, your arm may be a little weak, but it will recover later. If it goes well, you can be discharged from the hospital in three days."

"Then?"

"Afterwards, we will see whether to receive chemotherapy, radiotherapy and prognosis according to your physical condition."

Ye Ruixin nodded knowingly, and said:

"Okay, you arrange it."

Xia Yang arranged for Ye Ruixin to have a hospital check-up the next day, and the operation would be performed on the morning of the third day.After leaving the hospital, the two still went to the commercial street according to yesterday's plan.

Ye Ruixin went to the store he frequented to buy some new clothes.He is a regular customer here, the clerk led the two into a separate lounge, and sent the new season's new styles into the room according to Ye Ruixin's preferences.

Liang Xiao sat on the sofa and watched Ye Ruixin try on.Ye Ruixin was wearing a khaki cashmere coat.

Ye Ruixin has always cared about his appearance, even if his back hurts when he is sick, Liang Xiao has never seen him shrug his shoulders.Looking at his back, he was no different from when he was young.Still tall and straight, elegant demeanor.

He was always so good looking and so young, why...

"Does it look good?"

Ye Ruixin's sudden turn around made it too late for Liang Xiao to control his emotions, all the grief was written in his eyes, and he could see everything at a glance.

Ye Ruixin picked up another coat and pulled Liang Xiao up to try it on.After straightening Liang Xiao's collar, Ye Ruixin looked at each other in the mirror and said:

"A few linings!"

[Cantonese, more matching! 】

Liang Xiao knew Ye Ruixin's intentions, but Liang Xiao couldn't force a smile at all.

For the first time, Liang Xiao didn't want to be a doctor.If so, he should have enough courage to believe in hope.But he knows better than anyone else that Ye Ruixin's time is running out.

Ye Ruixin turned to look at Liang Xiao, then gently hugged him in his arms.This is such a familiar feeling, Ye Ruixin closed her eyes, enjoying the happiness at this moment.

"Liang Xiao. I'm right here, I'm..."

Ye Ruixin's words made Liang Xiao stunned.Yes...he was right in front of my eyes, really existing in my arms.

Liang Xiao hugged Ye Ruixin tightly, and responded softly.