A Tattoo That Can't Be Removed - Chapter 11

Dad collapsed while he was teaching.

The students quickly found another teacher, and the ambulance was called fast enough. By the time Wei Yan and I arrived, a group of kids was gathered around Dad, who was lying on the ground.

A little girl was crying, shouting incessantly, and it grated on my nerves. Wei Yan pushed through the crowd and knelt down to check Dad’s pulse.

I almost forgot he was studying medicine.

He performed CPR methodically, but I was already in a state of panic, as if the surrounding noise had pulled me away from reality.

I even imagined hearing the ambulance siren, anxious about whether the emergency call had gone through.

It wasn’t until we got in the ambulance, and the emergency staff put a breathing mask on Dad, that I leaned over the stretcher, my body swaying with the speeding vehicle.

I didn’t want to accept Wei Yan’s help anymore, but it was him who calmly explained Dad’s symptoms and the emergency measures he had taken to the paramedics.

Sweat beaded on his forehead, and he casually brushed his hair back.

The red light of the operating room was on, and I slowly slid down the wall. The stark white hospital lights always seemed to bring bad thoughts.

The doctor said it was fortunate that Wei Yan’s emergency measures were correct, or Dad could have been in even greater danger.

I seemed to have stayed in that position without moving, my mind too cluttered to think of anything, until something warm touched my cheek.

I looked up to find him holding a can of coffee, squatting in front of me.

“No.”

I turned my head away, unable to describe my emotions at that moment. The red light of the operating room weighed heavily on my heart, and Wei Yan looked in the same direction as me.

“Uncle will be okay, he…”

He paused there.

I stared at his face, dappled in the light, hoping he would say something reassuring.

But he just looked at me.

I knew what he meant. He must have had some understanding of Dad’s condition during the emergency, and he wasn’t one to lie.

A long time ago, I had also crouched in front of the Emergency Room like this.

As the storm approached, the wind howled around the hospital, shaking the leaves with a fierce determination. The windows were shut tight, and the gloomy weather seemed to swallow any hint of light. I buried my face in my hands until there were no more tears left to shed.

Wei Yan sat beside me on the floor outside the Emergency Room.

I wished it wasn’t him by my side. I wished he wouldn’t see me in such a pitiful state. Yet, in this hopeless situation, there was no one else I could reach out to.

“My mom passed away when I was in high school. She was hit by an overloaded truck on her way home from work.”

“I was in my senior year, and I rushed to the hospital right after evening classes. It was the first time I saw my dad so lost.”

“After I was born, he had never smoked. But after Mom was gone, he locked himself in his room, smoking day after day.”

“Every night, I’d be doing my homework and suddenly start crying. Mom used to bring me snacks around eleven or twelve. I’d call out for her, only to remember she was gone.”

“My mock exam scores kept dropping. Dad shut himself away, barely caring for me. I used the spare change on the table to buy meals outside until my homeroom teacher called him.”

“Only then did he come out, acting like nothing happened, cooking for me and driving me to school.”

“Back then, I thought if it weren’t for him, I’d jump off the school building.”

“And now, what am I supposed to do…?”

Suddenly, he pulled me to my feet and led me outside.

The rain poured down in torrents. He pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and handed it to me.

I stood there, stunned, as he placed the cigarette in my mouth. The lighter flicked on with a soft click, illuminating his eyes, filled with emotions I couldn’t decipher.

Then he abruptly took the cigarette back, watching me closely.

“Are you crazy?” I glared at him, turning to head back into the hospital.

He caught my wrist from behind and pulled me into his arms.

“Lately, when I miss you terribly… I smoke.”

“You know, cigarettes can really take you to another world.”

His breath was a soft whisper in my ear, his words laden with an unshakable emotion.

“Just now, I was really insane, wanting to teach you how to smoke.”

“…”

I silently pushed him away.

For the next six hours, Dad was in surgery.

Wherever I went, Wei Yan followed. I was truly fed up and told him to stay out of my sight. He glanced at me, then turned and walked out of the Emergency Room corridor.

Later, Dad was wheeled out of the Emergency Room and into the ICU.

Family visits weren’t allowed. I could only peer through the small window, barely recognizing the old man with his shaved head lying on the hospital bed. He didn’t look like the man who, just that morning, had been grumbling about the kids who hadn’t done their homework and how he planned to set them straight.

The smell of wontons wafted through the air, and I realized I hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday afternoon.

The person beside me seemed to have stayed up all night as well. His eyes were tired, and the bag in his hand was still steaming. Sensing my resistance, he sighed softly and spoke in a gentle tone.

“Finish this, and I’ll leave.”