Chapter 3.2 - Savior (2)

The next day, Ankang Hospital.

Wu Tong helped her brother into a wheelchair and took him out for a walk in the central garden.

“Sis, the sun is too bright here. Let’s go sit down over there.” Xiao Yuan pointed to a nearby pavilion.

“Okay.” Wu Tong wheeled him over to the pavilion.

“Sis, drink some water.” Xiao Yuan looked at his sister’s pale face in worry as he passed her a bottle of water.

“Thank you.” She accepted it with a smile.

"Sis, have you been sleeping properly? You don’t have to accompany me all the time. You need to rest too. Look, you’ve lost weight and your complexion isn’t as good as before.” Xiao Yuan teased, “You won’t be able to find a boyfriend like this.”

“What does a kid like you know?” she huffed.

“I’m not a kid anymore, I’m already a first-year college student…”

“That’s right… if it weren’t for this disease, you would be going to college right now.” Wu Tong smiled bitterly. She had watched the day-by-day changes as her bright and handsome brother turned into a pale and bony youth. Even his hair was gone due to chemotherapy.

Sensing the change in his sister’s mood, Xiao Yuan hurriedly tried to comfort her, "Sis, don't worry. I'll be fine. The doctor said I'm recovering well."

"Yes, you will be fine. Oh, I forgot to tell you. When I went to visit our second uncle last time, he agreed to do an organ matching test to see if his bone marrow is compatible. But he’s busy with work right now, so we’ll have to wait until he’s free,” Wu Tong reassured her brother. No matter what, their second uncle was Xiao Yuan's last hope. Wu Tong didn’t plan on giving up.

When she thought of what the doctor had told her half a month ago, she only became more determined.

"Wu Tong, your brother doesn’t have much time left. Without a compatible bone marrow, he’ll have two months at most to live. I suggest that... we stop giving him chemotherapy.”
  
“Second uncle?” Xiao Yuan’s impression of his second uncle was a shallow one. When he was young, their families were only close because of his grandfather. After his grandfather died, they became distant. The last time he saw his second uncle was three years ago during his grandfather’s funeral.

“Yes. When he heard that you were sick, he looked really worried,” Wu Tong said with a smile, "The doctor said that the compatibility rate between relatives is very high. You’ll be okay!”

“Mhm.” Though he wasn’t sure if her words were true, Xiao Yuan still nodded happily. He didn’t want to make his sister worry.
  
“Let’s go back to your room.” Afraid that staying outside too long would impact Xiao Yuan’s health, Wu Tong quickly brought him back to his ward. When she opened the door, they were both stunned to see her second uncle’s family standing inside.

“Second uncle, second aunt…” Wu Tong greeted them in confusion.

"Wu Tong.” Wu Liren nodded at her, then he turned and looked at Xiao Yuan with concern. “Xiao Yuan, I’m sorry for being so late to visit you.”

“It’s alright, second uncle. Thank you all for coming anyway,” Xiao Yuan responded with a smile.

"We didn't just come to see you. Your second uncle heard that you need a compatible bone marrow, so we’re here to see if any of us is compatible. He even called your cousin back from abroad,” Mrs. Wu took the opportunity to say.

While Xiao Yuan felt touched, Wu Tong was bewildered. Her second aunt’s rejection last week was still vivid in her mind. She remained in a daze even after the blood-drawing was finished.

“It will take about a week for the results to come out. Since Xiao Yuan’s condition is urgent, we will try to have it done by next Monday. I hope it’s good news.” The doctor smiled and nodded before leaving.
  
“Second uncle, thank you so much.” Wu Tong stood up and bowed.
  
“Of course, Wu Tong. It’s only natural for family members to help each other.” Wu Liren quickly stopped her. He sent his wife a look.

"Yes, yes. Wu Tong, there’s no need to be so polite,” she added.
  
“Are we done here? Can I go back now?” Wu Zhizhi said with some displeasure.

Wu Kai, on the other hand, just shrugged.

“Alright, then. We’ll come back again next week,” Wu Liren said.

"Okay." Wu Tong was too happy to care about Wu Zhizhi’s dark expression and complaints. She personally walked them to the door.

Once the family was back inside their car, their expressions immediately changed. Wu Zhizhi said directly, "Don’t tell me we’re actually going to do the transplant if one of our bone marrows is compatible? I heard it’s painful.”

“Don’t we just have to wait till next Monday for the results? If you don’t want to offer up your bone marrow, you can go chase the eldest young master of the Qin family and convince him to marry you," Wu Kai said with a smile.

“That boor? You think I want to marry him? I like gentlemanly men like their second young master.”

“It’s a pity he doesn’t like you back,” Wu Kai gloated.
  
“Aren’t you worried?” Wu Zhizhi asked.

“I don’t really care. I wasn’t against doing the bone marrow transplant in the first place. You and mom were the only ones that disagreed. I was even planning to sneak over for a visit this weekend…”
    
As soon as Mrs. Wu heard that, she wanted to scold him. “You—”
  
“Why are you still arguing about this? Is there a point?!” Wu Liren roared. Finally, it became quiet in the car.
  
Right now, Wu Liren was just like Wu Tong. He hoped that his bone marrow was compatible.
  
“But what are we going to tell cousin Wu Tong if the bone marrow matching is successful?” Wu Kai couldn’t help but ask. “No matter how I think about it, I feel like we’re taking advantage of her.”
  
“Shut up!” Mrs. Wu glared at her son.

‘Wu Tong, you have no choice but to agree! Do you think we would give you a bone marrow for free?’


VIN: I left "ge" (big brother) in pinyin for Qin Huai because the literal English equivalent of "ge" would be "bro," but that feels too informal considering Qin Huai's character. I used "sis" instead of "jie" for Xiao Yuan and Wu Kai's dialogues though because their personalities are suitable, but the inconsistency bothers me. What to do? @.@

EDIT: Life became too busy after all despite it being summer. Unfortunately, I will be dropping this novel and quitting the novel translation scene in general.