One-way Passage

At the gate, Xia Wennan caught up to Lu Huaiye.
“Wait!” he shouted.

Lu Huaiye came to a halt, and when he turned to face Xia Wennan, it was with a sombre face. 

“What’s the deal with Ming Sichen?” Xia Wennan asked, lowering his voice.

“I’m not sure,” said Lu Huaiye with a shake of his head.
“That’s why I’d like to bring him to the hospital.”

Xia Wennan tried to remember what Ming Sichen was like the first time he saw him.
“He did seem more awake before—he even said my name once… How did his condition take a turn for the worse?”

Lu Huaiye heaved a sigh.
“I want to know too.”

Xia Wennan gave him a look.
“Did you break up with Ming Siyan?”

“Pretty much,” Lu Huaiye replied. 

“Are you not ready for marriage yet? Why would you break up now?” 

Lu Huaiye made a face like discussing this with Xia Wennan was the last thing he wanted.
He glanced out the door; from his vantage point, he could just about make out Ming Sichen’s figure in the garden.
“I think I’ve changed,” he told Xia Wennan a while later.
“The feelings I had for Siyan at the start are no longer there.”

“Wow.
That’s pretty scummy of you, don’t you think?” Xia Wennan blurted. 

The look on Lu Huaiye’s face was very ugly.

Xia Wennan thus said, “Siyan didn’t wrong you or anything, right?”

Lu Huaiye remained mute.

At this time, Aunt Zhang emerged from Ming Sichen’s bedroom.
When she saw that Lu Huaiye was here, she seemed a little shocked as well, but she greeted him before proceeding to the garden.

Lu Huaiye didn’t go and see Ming Sichen a second time, speaking to Xia Wennan instead: “Could you help me persuade uncle to take Sichen to see a doctor?” 

“Sure,” Xia Wennan agreed.

Lu Huaiye nodded and left.

When Xia Wennan returned to the dining room, he noticed that Ming Qin had only taken one bite of his sandwich before returning it to its plate.
Until now, he had yet to finish his meal.

Xia Wennan moved to sit down, intending to wait for Ming Qin to finish eating, but the second his ass touched the chair, Ming Qin stood up and said, “I’m taking Sichen to the hospital this morning.”

Xia Wennan looked at him.
“Dad, aren’t you going to finish your breakfast?”

Ming Qin dusted off his hands.
“I’m not hungry.”

Xia Wennan and Ming Qin did not go to the company when Ming Luchuan’s driver arrived, instead helping Ming Sichen into the car and instructing the driver to take them to the hospital.

“Which hospital?” the driver inquired. 

Ming Qin and Ming Sichen were ensconced in the backseat.
Although the latter’s eyes were open, he seemed wholly listless, his head listing to the side and resting on Ming Qin’s shoulder.

When he heard the driver’s question, Xia Wennan, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, peered over his shoulder at Ming Qin.

Ming Qin had wrapped his arm around Ming Sichen’s shoulders.
“Not his usual hospital,” he said, drawing his gaze away from where it had been trained out the window.

“How about we go to mine?” Xia Wennan proposed after some thought.

Ming Qin turned to him.

“I’m friends with one of their doctors,” Xia Wennan explained. 

The driver dropped them off at the hospital.
He retrieved the wheelchair from the boot of the car and erected it, then carried Ming Sichen out of the car. 

Xia Wennan called Lin Shuqiu and scheduled an examination for Ming Sichen. 

They waited in the hospital the entire morning.
Ming Sichen had several exams scheduled, but the results wouldn’t be out for some time, and there were also parts of the exam that required appointments, which meant that they couldn’t be arranged for the time being. 

Lin Shuqiu advised Ming Sichen to remain in the hospital.

“He’s not doing too well at the moment, I recommend that he be hospitalised for observation,” said Lin Shuqiu. 

Ming Qin’s expression was grave.
“After his car accident, he went through a long period of treatment overseas, and I also consulted specialists when he returned to the country.
They performed a craniotomy for his brain injury at the time, and the doctors said that while it was serious, his recovery  after surgery wouldn’t be too bad.
He’s been getting retested and going to therapy for the past two years… so I figured he’d get better over time.”

Lin Shuqiu shook his head.
“I’m unable to give you an immediate answer.
For the time being, it appears that more detailed examination results are needed before a diagnosis can be made.”

A nurse came over in a hurry and called for Lin Shuqiu.

Lin Shuqiu expressed his apologies then left. 

The only people left in the hospital room were Ming Qin and Xia Wennan.
Ming Sichen had dozed off where he lay on the bed, exhausted.

Xia Wennan approached the bed and leaned in to take a look at Ming Sichen. 

Ming Sichen’s breathing was laboured.
He appeared much skinnier than he had previously, his entire being exuding a fragile air.
When he rolled over on his side, the position he was in appeared to be so taxing on his body that Xia Wennan couldn’t resist the urge to assist him.

As Ming Sichen lay there with his back to Xia Wennan, Xia Wennan suddenly noticed the tattoo on his nape.
This was the first time Xia Wennan had been able to examine it so closely, and he couldn’t help but stick out a finger and gently touch it.

“The car accident also injured his nape,” Ming Qin explained.
“Siyan took him to get tattooed to cover up the scar.”

Xia Wennan retracted his hand, saying, “No wonder his nape feels a little rough.” Curious, he then asked, “Why does Siyan have the same tattoo though?”

“Siyan got tattooed along with him.
They grew up together, and Siyan was also with him when the accident occured.
He’d been the most upset, back then.”

“Oh,” replied Xia Wennan. 

Come noon, Ming Luchuan and Ming Siyan arrived at the hospital. 

Ming Siyan wore a guilty expression when he saw Ming Sichen lying in the hospital bed.
“The doctor never mentioned anything wrong with Sichen’s examination results every time I took him for his regular checkups.
I also asked why it felt like Sichen’s condition was only getting worse, but the doctor told me that it was most likely due to the aftereffects of his traumatic brain injury.”

Ming Qin shook his head wordlessly. 

“Why don’t you go eat lunch first?” Ming Luchuan suggested.
“I’ll tell the driver to pick up Aunt Zhang so she can accompany Sichen.”

Yet Ming Qin shook his head again.
“No,” Ming Qin said, “I’m not hungry.”

“Sichen has been like this for more than a day or two…” Xia Wennan trailed off, swallowing the rest of his sentence.
He’d wanted to say that Sichen had been ailing for so long, and yet all Ming Qin cared about was his relationship with Yin Zejing—he’d never really taken Ming Sichen’s health seriously in the first place, so why act all anxious now? 

But he didn’t have the heart to voice it all out.
He reasoned that Ming Sichen was different from Ming Luchuan after all, being Ming Qin’s biological son—Ming Qin must surely still love him. 

However, regardless of which son it was, Ming Qin was a man who, unfortunately, loved himself the most.
If he claimed that he had no idea how to be a dad when Ming Luchuan ended up in his care and couldn’t be emotionally involved with a child, then in that regard, when faced with Ming Sichen and Ming Siyan, rather than showing them unconditional love and care, the only thing he probably provided was money.

Because of Ming Luchuan, Xia Wennan had no fondness for Ming Qin.
He also believed that the man’s present concern for Ming Sichen was nothing more than him looking for a distraction after his relationship fell apart.

“Dad, I’ll stay here with Sichen,” Ming Siyan told Ming Qin.
“You should go get something to eat.” 

Ming Qin continued to shake his head. 

Xia Wennan and the others remained at the hospital with Ming Qin until the driver brought Aunt Zhang over.

Ming Qin was still unwilling to leave, however, so all Ming Luchuan could do was arrange for someone to bring him lunch.

Ming Luchuan, Xia Wennan, and Ming Siyan eventually left the hospital together.

Ming Siyan seemed a little distracted as he walked ahead on his own.
Ming Luchuan and Xia Wennan trailed behind him unhurriedly, and Xia Wennan subconsciously grasped Ming Luchuan’s hand.

Xia Wennan caught a glimpse of Ming Siyan’s nape tattoo, which, despite being slightly obscured by his hair and collar, was undeniably identical to Ming Sichen’s tattoo. 

Ming Sichen came to a halt, turned around, and asked, “Da-ge, Wennan, are you going back to the company?”

Ming Luchuan nodded.
“Let’s go together.”