“Yes, Old Sir.”
Song Menghwa, who heard the promise from Ol’ Zhang, suddenly started to laugh. “Don’t you feel I’m getting more and more annoying telling you the same thing every day I see you?”
“Old Sir, why would you say that?”
“Ol’ Zhang, to be frank, I’m scared, scared that one day it’ll be over just like that. I still want to see Qingchun walk down the aisle; I want to personally give her away… Our Qingchun is so beautiful and so nice, how come there isn’t a man who has come snap her right up? Ever since she was a little girl, I’ve been imagining her wedding; it has to be a glorious wedding, as luxurious as it can be… but… it doesn’t seem like she’s in a hurry to get married anytime soon. So be it, love can’t be rushed. The most important thing is that she’s happy.”
Song Qingchun lowered her head, and two lines of tear fell. She did not push the door open but took several silent steps back and left.
…
Song Qingchun waited in the lobby of the hospital until she saw Uncle Zhang leave before she returned to her father’s room. Song Menghwa looked like he was going to sleep because the nurse was helping him with the pillow on his back.
When the nurse saw Song Qingchun, she greeted her with a smile, “Miss Song.”
Song Qingchun replied with a smile. She placed her bag on the table, walked forward, and whispered to the nurse, “Let me.”
The nurse nodded and took a step back. Song Qingchun laid her father carefully out on his bed and helped him with his blanket before sitting down beside his bed. She stared at her father, who had grown old in the two days they had not met, and called out softly, “Dad.”
Song Menghwa was probably tired from his long conversation with Ol’ Zhang, but when he heard her voice, he still forced his eyes to look at her and said, “Why is your face so white? Not feeling well?”
“No, too much work lately, that’s all…” Song Qingchun leaned on her father’s arm like she used to do when she was a little girl. She was really tired, and she had nothing to say. She just wished to close her eyes and sleep. However, she still opened her mouth and uttered softly, “Dad, you have to recover quickly… and return home soon.”
“Of course, when the doctor came to check on me today, he said I can leave the hospital in another few days…”
Lies! Song Qingchun’s eyes pooled with tears, but she said with a smile, “That’s wonderful news! After Dad, you’re out of the hospital, let’s go visit Mom and my brother, okay? I’ve not seen them for so long already—I miss them.”
“Okay, I miss them, too.”
“Also… Dad, after you leave the hospital, you have to take care of your health and live until you’re a hundred years old; I still need you there to walk me down the aisle and be the grandfather to my children…” Tears slid down Song Qingchun’s cheeks, but when her words fell in Song Menghwa’s ears, they sounded like the words of a child.
Regardless, when Song Menghwa heard the words ‘marry’ and ‘children’, he was very happy. There was an added strength in his reply. “That’s for sure. I will definitely be there when my beautiful and precious daughter walks down the aisle…”
…
Song Qingchun had a hard time sleeping that night.
Perhaps because she had received two devastating pieces of news that day, she started to suffer from a fever at around 5 am.