Pats Little Shrike's Tail - Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Shen Qingyi got into Ms. Chen’s Maybach, and on the way, Ms. Chen briefly told her about Mr. Chen’s story.

“When my great-grandfather returned to the country, the war was already nearing its end, and my grandfather was in his teens,” Ms. Chen said, gently stroking the old cover of the book in her hands. “I heard this story from my grandfather. He said that when he was little, the adults would always say nasty things about my great-grandfather. Even my great-grandmother often complained about him. Over time, all my grandfather had left for his father, whom he had never met, was hatred. It seemed all the suffering my grandfather endured was because my great-grandfather abandoned his wife and child.”

Ms. Chen said, “Actually, a large part of this book is plagiarized. The reason is that my great-grandfather wanted to find his family quickly when he returned to the country, so he used this method of publishing a book and putting out a notice, hoping that the Chen family would see the protagonist’s name and story and come to find him on their own.”

“But nobody went to find him,” Ms. Chen glanced at Shen Qingyi and sighed softly. “My great-grandfather abandoned his wife and child and went to the UK. Although he married a new wife, his life wasn’t so wonderful. I heard that his British father-in-law was a very powerful capitalist and also a racist. He thought that East Asians were only a little higher in status than Black people. And my great-grandfather didn’t have a stable job in the UK. The longest job he had was being a free pianist in a church, leading a children’s choir.”

Hearing this, Shen Qingyi asked, “What happened after that?”

“After that…” Ms. Chen rested her head on her hand, looking out at the empty streets, and said calmly, “The Chen family didn’t go to find my great-grandfather. I heard he eventually died in a rented room and was rolled up in a worn straw mat by his landlord and neighbors and thrown into a mass grave.”

She said helplessly, “I always thought this ending was more exciting than the one in the story, because my great-grandfather was not a good husband, a good father, or a good son. It was what he deserved to not have anyone bury his body.”

Humans are born to face death. Along the way, whatever wrongs they have done will more or less have consequences when they die.

Shen Qingyi also believed in karma, not in a superstitious way, but simply that there are causes for every effect. When you do bad things, you will always lose something.

Ms. Chen was also very tired. She talked to Shen Qingyi on and off in the car, and they soon arrived at a hospital.

This private hospital had excellent conditions and was one of the best places in the country for comprehensive treatment and care services. It was said that at least eight hundred to a thousand wealthy people were sent off here.

At four in the morning, a time when everyone should be sound asleep, a few figures suddenly appeared in the empty hospital corridor.

Ms. Chen’s steps were quick, her high heels steady. As she got closer to the ward, her face became particularly serious.

Shen Qingyi followed behind her, her hands in her pockets. One hand was holding Shan Ling, preventing the little chubby bird from flying away. This was her treasure, and she was already regretting bringing it out. She wished she had a box.

As the few people approached, Shen Qingyi saw three to five people standing outside a ward at the end of the hallway.

Some of them were sitting, some were standing, all in suits and ties, looking less like people who came to care for a patient and more like security guards.

When Shen Qingyi saw that these people were wearing earpieces, she was sure that they were indeed security personnel hired by someone. She just didn’t know who they were protecting.

“Ms. Chen,” one of them seemed to recognize Ms. Chen. He walked over, looked at Shen Qingyi behind her, and asked, “What brings you to the hospital this late?”

“I came to see my grandfather,” Ms. Chen introduced Shen Qingyi to the man. “This is someone I asked to come visit my grandfather. How is my grandfather’s condition now?”

“He’s still the same. He’s awake for shorter and shorter periods. The doctors have told everyone to be mentally prepared.”

Ms. Chen’s face was grim. She looked at the man and said, “Is my grandfather awake now? I have something I want to show him.”

The man hesitated for a moment, glanced at the light in the ward, and said, “Please wait a moment. I’ll go in and ask.”

Shen Qingyi looked at the man’s respectful manner and couldn’t help but wonder who this old man named Chen inside was.

Before Shen Qingyi could think, the man who had just gone in came back out. He said to Ms. Chen, “The old man is awake. He said you could come in.”

Ms. Chen looked back at Shen Qingyi. “Miss Shen, I apologize for the trouble.”

Shen Qingyi said, “Since I agreed to come with you, I’m not afraid of trouble.”

Ms. Chen smiled and went into the ward with her.

There was a peculiar smell in the ward, a mixture of disinfectant and medicine. It wasn’t pungent, but it lingered in every corner of the room like a ghost.

Shan Ling poked her little head out of Shen Qingyi’s pocket. Her shiny black eyes darted around, and she saw the old man lying on the hospital bed with an IV drip.

The man looked very old, so thin that he seemed to be just a skeleton wrapped in a layer of dry, yellowing skin.

The old man’s eyes were sunken, and it was almost impossible to see what he looked like. His slightly heaving chest showed that he was still alive.

But the flame was sputtering out.

Standing by the bed was a woman in a caregiver’s uniform. She said politely to Ms. Chen, “The old man just woke up. He had some water, and he’s in pretty good spirits.”

Ms. Chen walked to the bed, looked down at the withered old man, and said with a gentle smile, “Grandfather, your granddaughter has come to see you. Look at what I brought you.”

With that, Ms. Chen held up Old Stories of Longcheng in front of the old man and said, “This is the book you had hidden in your bookcase. I had someone restore it, and now it’s as good as new.”

The old man’s cloudy eyes glanced at the book, and he slowly reached out his hand.

Ms. Chen knew the old man heard her, so she took out her phone, played the newly created music, and placed it by the bedside.

The awkward notes slowly rose, bringing an unfamiliar tune.

The sound swirled in the sickroom, as if it had traveled nearly a hundred years to get here.

“Do you hear it?” Ms. Chen said to the old man on the bed. “This song was found in this book, Grandfather. Have you heard this song before?”

The old man’s chest heaved a little more. The monitor next to him showed that his heart rate was starting to accelerate. He widened his eyes, seemingly wanting to grab something in the air. A dry sound came from his throat.

“It’s this song… it’s this song…”

The old man seemed to have seen something. A rare soft expression appeared on his face. “I never thought… I would have the chance to hear this song again…”

Ms. Chen looked at her grandfather, holding his hand, and whispered, “Grandfather, this song has been hidden in that book all this time. What does it mean? Is it a song my great-grandfather left for you?”

The old man was silent, looking at the ceiling. He just held his granddaughter’s hand tightly and slowly closed his eyes.

“So… that’s how it is…” The old man seemed to have figured something out. His voice was ethereal and weathered. “I finally understand… Father…”

Shen Qingyi stood to the side, looking at the person on the bed.

What did he understand?

After having such a terrible father, what could he possibly forgive?

Shen Qingyi didn’t quite understand. She wasn’t this centenarian, nor had she experienced that harrowing war. It was impossible for her to understand what the old man on the bed was thinking.

She just stood there quietly, watching him shed two lines of cloudy tears.

Shan Ling sensed Shen Qingyi’s low spirits. She crawled out of her pocket, flapped her wings, and landed on Shen Qingyi’s shoulder.

What’s wrong? You look like you’ve been bullied. Do you want to cry, too?

Shan Ling rubbed her face against Shen Qingyi, using her warm, little body to give comfort, and “cheeped” softly twice.

Shen Qingyi came back to her senses. She glanced at the little chubby bird on her shoulder and, after a long time, reached out and stroked it.

After that, she didn’t know what happened, but a few people with briefcases came into the ward.

The old man said something from his bed. Ms. Chen stood by with a serious expression, and Shen Qingyi and Shan Ling on her shoulder were asked to leave.

Ms. Chen’s driver took Shen Qingyi home. Since it was almost six o’clock when they got to the neighborhood, Shen Qingyi simply bought some breakfast at the entrance before going home with Shan Ling.

After a sleepless night, both the person and the bird were exhausted. Shen Qingyi ate two steamed buns and went to bed. Shan Ling also flew over and openly nestled on Shen Qingyi’s chest to sleep.

They slept until two in the afternoon. Shen Qingyi was woken up by Jiang Yi’s phone call.

Jiang Yi had been waiting at the door for more than ten minutes. When no one answered her knocking, she called Shen Qingyi.

“Why are you still sleeping?” Jiang Yi came in and saw Shen Qingyi yawning. She asked, puzzled, “What were you doing last night? It’s two o’clock. Are you taking a nap or something?”

“I didn’t sleep all night,” Shen Qingyi said. She took a bottle of water from the fridge, twisted the cap off, sat on the sofa, and casually turned on the TV. “I went to the hospital and only got back at six in the morning.”

“The hospital?” Jiang Yi looked at her anxiously. “Are you sick or not feeling well? Which hospital did you go to? What did the doctor say? Is it serious? Should I tell your father?”

Jiang Yi’s rapid-fire questions made it difficult for Shen Qingyi to answer. She took a sip of water and smiled helplessly. “No, I went with someone to the hospital.”

Just as she was speaking, a news flash came on the TV.

[Chen Xinzhou, the richest man in Hong Kong, passed away today at 10 a.m. in this city at the age of 103. It is reported that Chen Xinzhou’s ancestral home was in Shanghai, and he was a well-known philanthropist and politician in China…]

Shen Qingyi and Shan Ling both widened their eyes at the photo on the news.

“Oh, that man,” Jiang Yi also looked at the news and said to Shen Qingyi as if it were a big deal, “Your father went to the hospital to see him today, too. I heard he left all his assets to his youngest granddaughter, who is only in her thirties.”

Shen Qingyi silently took a sip of water, while Shan Ling became slightly excited. The reason for her excitement wasn’t that she had discovered some secret, but that her merit box had reacted!

Ding—

[Merit +100,000]

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