Not a god

Chapter 195 Disease

In the 1990s, the hospital ward lacked the advanced equipment of later generations. The cramped environment was similar to some rental rooms, with yellowed walls, old wooden beds and cabinets, and the fine tile floor that had just been mopped was still damp.

A gentle breeze rustled the sheer curtains on the window, causing the light and shadows inside to shift and change with the wind.

On a summer afternoon, a young child stood at the door of the ward, carrying a small backpack and holding a book. He stood there for a long time, unsure whether to go in or leave. When the continuous chirping of cicadas disappeared, the room became unusually quiet.

Just then, the wind outside the window stopped, and the falling gauze curtains darkened the room slightly, making it less glaring and allowing the woman's face to become clearer.

She was a very gentle woman, a faint smile playing on her lips, as she used the back of her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Xixi came to see her mother?"

"Yes, Xixi is here."

Under the curious gaze of the woman in the hospital gown, the toddler who had been standing at the door entered the room, put down the book he was holding, took out the small bag he was carrying, and then pulled out... several very large building blocks.

After taking out the building blocks, he carefully stacked six or seven blocks together under his mother's watchful eye, eventually building a small tower.

Then, he looked up at his mother.

"Okay, great!"

His mother praised him.

Chen Xi nodded in satisfaction, then took out a small box containing modeling clay from her bag.

After taking out the clay, under her mother's watchful eye, she kneaded it continuously until it was finally shaped into a small animal.

Look up at your mother again!
The woman's gaze shifted back and forth between her son's calm little face and the playdough in his palm, feeling a slight strain, and her tone wavered: "Yes, little cat...?"

"It's a puppy."

"XiXi is amazing! This kitten is so cute!"

Two-and-a-half-year-old Chen Xi twitched his little nose, and a satisfied look appeared on his face again. Then he put the clay aside, wanting to grab something else.

But the bag is only so big, and it can only hold so much stuff. I stuck my head in to look, and then lifted it up, but there was nothing left to empty.

He had no choice but to rebuild the blocks and look up at his mother.

"..." The mother and son stared at each other in silence. The woman on the hospital bed looked at her son's appearance, pondered for a moment, and then exaggeratedly exclaimed, "Wow! Xixi is so amazing..."

She knocked it down, rebuilt it, was praised, knocked it down, rebuilt it, was praised... This went on for about six or seven times before Chen Xi finally put everything back in her bag, satisfied.

He brought a book with him this time. He was only two and a half years old and could already read and recognize words. His father and Aunt Jiang praised him as a child prodigy and a super smart child.

He took the book with pinyin annotations, walked to his mother's bedside, and with her help, climbed onto the bed and took off his shoes.

"What story will Xixi tell Mommy today?"

"Battle Through the Heavens... no, what story should I tell..."

He felt his mind was a bit of a mess, as if he had a lot of stories to tell, but where did these stories come from?

The woman on the bed just laughed and picked up the book he had brought to look at: "Mommy, look at this book, is it Snow White or Little Red Riding Hood... The complete Journey to the West? Doesn't Assistant Chen know you're only two years old?"

"By the way, we're going to talk about Journey to the West today!"

"Wow, that's amazing! Journey to the West has so many words!"

"Does Mom know this story?"

"I've seen it on TV."

"Then I won't tell you anymore..." The woman watched as her son put the book away on his own and hurriedly coaxed him, "Tell me, tell me! Even though you've seen it on TV, Mommy still wants to hear Xixi tell you the story again!"

After sorting through the extra memories, Chen Xi looked up at the woman. The blurry face in her memory became clear. She looked at her with a smile, and her small figure was reflected in her eyes.

Wang Xiuhua, an ordinary name, an ordinary appearance, a junior high school education, and the woman who passed away twenty years ago, his mother.

Why are you looking at Mom like that?

"Mom's eyes...are so beautiful."

"Pfft, you should save that for when you like a girl in the future."

"Mom, let me tell you some other stories. I have so many stories..."

Where to begin? Let's start with Wanwan, who's always clumsy and needs his help to get through anything.

He'll be starting kindergarten next year, and he's super talented there; all the teachers love him.

Later, he returned to his hometown to attend primary school. There were many brothers and sisters in his hometown. The countryside was lively and fun right after the turn of the millennium.

He developed some bad habits in junior high school, and because of these bad habits, his family found out, and he was taken back to the city for high school...

Chen Xi was talking, and his mother was listening, always looking at him with a smile. Outside the window, the sun was setting, the cicadas were fading, and the moon was rising above the willow branches.

I guess it was because no one bothered me that this dream was very long.

It was long enough for Chen Xi to talk for a very long time.

Assistant Chen appeared once, glanced at them, and left, seemingly to discuss the upcoming surgery with the doctor.

Aunt Jiang came over with a basket of fruit and was holding Jiang Wanwan, who was also only two years old. Chen Xi pointed at Jiang Wanwan and told his mother that she was his future wife.

It was just because the conversation was about graduating from university and the spiritual energy was reviving that it brought out a certain peeping tormentor from the shadows. Obviously, at this time, he only felt that someone was playing hide-and-seek with him, but he had never seen her. Yet, he was able to simulate her in his dream, which was incredibly realistic.

Chen Yan suddenly appeared, jumping around and asking him how he knew so much.

My mother kicked me out.

When Chen Xi was little, she thought her mother was a very powerful adult.

He told his mother a lot of things, and she listened quietly and gently to his imaginative 'stories' throughout.

"Xixi, it's time to go back."

After Assistant Chen finished the other formalities, he came back and called him home.

Chen Xi remembered that when he left that day, he asked when his mother would come home with them. His father said it would be soon, but in fact, this was the last time he would see his mother.

Just like how he hesitated to come in earlier, he stood at the door, unwilling to leave. After the moon came out outside the window, on a summer night, frogs were croaking in the hospital pond, one after another, making a lot of noise.

Frogs have it so good. In the summer evenings, they can croak as much as they want, attracting mates and mating. After mating, they give birth to tadpoles. In winter, they can hibernate. After repeating this cycle for three or four years, they die. They die if they encounter predators, if they can't catch insects to eat, or if they are caught by human children. All frogs need to do is croak, hibernate, and die. They don't have to think about anything else.

My mother is going to die now.

"Mother."

"what happened?"

"Get well soon!"

The woman on the sickbed smiled and nodded gently in response.

(End of this chapter)