B5SB -Chapter 345 Stroke

After work, Gu Yihan returned home and saw the courtyard gate open—she immediately knew Lu Huailin was back.

The moment she stepped into the living room, a waft of garlic scent hit her nose. She followed the aroma into the kitchen.

With a bright smile, she asked, “Honey, what delicious thing did you make? It smells amazing!”

Lu Huailin’s ears twitched, and his heart leapt with joy as he turned to glance at his wife.

“Wife, it’s steamed black fish.”

Gu Yihan looked surprised and walked over to his side, asking softly, “Where did you get the fish?”

Lu Huailin replied, “I traded with some nearby villagers. Alright, wife, go rest for a bit. The meal will be ready soon.”

Gu Yihan nodded with a smile and turned to sit on the sofa.

Haohao came in cheerfully, backpack on his back, calling out, “Mom! Mom! I skipped a grade and got into first grade!”

Hearing this, Gu Yihan scooped him up and planted a “smack” kiss on his little face.

“Just as I thought, my son is so clever!” she praised.

Haohao lowered his head and raised his hand to wipe where his mom had kissed him.

In a small voice, he mumbled, “Mom, can you not kiss me anymore?”

“Sweetie, Mom heard you.”

Haohao’s little face instantly flushed red. He twisted his small body and buried his head in his mother’s shoulder.

Gu Yihan stroked his back. “Does it make you uncomfortable when Mom kisses you?”

Haohao gently shook his head while lying in her arms, whispering, “Mom is a girl treasure, Haohao is a boy treasure… we can’t kiss.”

Gu Yihan chuckled softly. “I’m your mother, and you’re my son. Why can’t I kiss you?”

Haohao, anxious, said, “Mom, I’m grown up now.”

Just then, Lu Huailin brought the freshly stewed fish to the dining table and called out to the two of them sitting on the sofa, “Time to eat!”

“Coming!”

Gu Yihan stood up and held Haohao’s hand as she walked, saying, “Mom promises not to kiss you anymore.”

Haohao looked up, beaming with happiness, and cheerfully said, “Thank you, Mom!”

Lu Huailin, serving rice, glanced at Haohao with mock annoyance.

“You little rascal, if you want your mom to kiss you, you still have to ask Dad’s permission.”

Haohao stuck out a funny face at Lu Huailin, grinning proudly. “Dad, you’re just jealous that Mom likes me more.”

Gu Yihan laughed and interrupted, “Alright, let’s eat.”

At that moment, the living room phone suddenly rang, “Ding-ling-ling.”

“Wife, you eat first. I’ll take the call.”

With that, he strode to the sofa and picked up the phone.

Shocked, Lu Huailin shouted, “What?”

“Which hospital? Okay, I’ll be there right away.”

Hearing this, Gu Yihan quickly turned to look at him as he changed his shoes and jacket, softly asking, “Huailin, what’s happened?”

Lu Huailin put on his coat, hurried to his wife, and hugged her tightly, his voice tinged with panic.

“Wife, Mom fell and had a stroke. She’s in the hospital. I need to go see her.”

Gu Yihan froze for a moment. Then, realizing, she quickly asked, “Do you want me to go with you?”

Lu Huailin glanced at Haohao, who was eating, and shook his head. “No, probably won’t be back tonight. I don’t feel comfortable leaving Haohao alone at home.”

Gu Yihan nodded. “Wait, I’ll get you some money.”

Without waiting for him to reply, she went upstairs two steps at a time.

Lu Huailin patted Haohao’s head and whispered, “Haohao, Dad won’t be back tonight. Can you stay with Mom and sleep with her?”

Haohao nodded firmly. “Dad, don’t worry. You go see Grandma. I’ll take care of Mom.”

Gu Yihan went downstairs and handed an envelope of money to Lu Huailin.

“Here’s 400 yuan. Take it, and if it’s not enough, call me and I’ll get more.”

Lu Huailin clutched the envelope tightly, choking back his voice. “Wife, thank you.”

He hadn’t expected that his usually distant wife, who didn’t get along with his mother, would hand over money without hesitation after hearing she was hospitalized.

He felt even more guilty for not handling the relationship between his mother and his wife properly.

Gu Yihan waved her hand, reminding him, “Be careful on the way.”

Lu Huailin hugged his wife once more and stepped into the night.

Beijing City Hospital

When Lu Huailin reached his mother’s ward, he saw his father sitting in a chair nearby and hurried over.

“Dad, what did the doctor say?”

Lu Huailin’s father looked up and sighed. “The doctor said you brought her in too late… she’s paralyzed.”

Lu Huailin froze, his chest tight as if someone were choking him.

“How… how did she have a stroke?” he struggled to ask.

“I saw her last week, and she was full of energy.”

His father glanced at Lu Huailin’s mother on the bed, speaking coldly, “Probably from scolding you, huh? She was full of energy when she did that.”

Lu Huailin looked at his father and remained silent, pressing his lips together.

“Don’t be sad. She brought this on herself.”

Lu Huailin looked at his father in disbelief. After all these decades, how could his father say something like that about his mother?

His father glanced at him and explained, “She ate a banana and carelessly threw away the peel. When she got up in the morning, she stepped on it, fell…”

“When the neighbors found her, several hours had passed, and the best time for rescue was missed. Who can you blame for that?”

Lu Huailin lowered his gaze, saying nothing. As a son, he had no right to accuse his father of indifference, nor to say his mother had brought this on herself.

Father and son sat quietly like that, one standing, one sitting, waiting for the mother to wake up.

“Ah… Xu… lai…”

Hearing the fragmented calling, Lu Huailin rushed forward, holding her hand, whispering, “Mom, I’m here…”

His mother’s eyes darted, and her face twisted as she wailed, “Ah, ah…”

Seeing that she couldn’t form a complete sentence, Lu Huailin immediately ran toward the doctor’s office.

“Doctor, my mom can’t speak!”

The doctor glanced at him, indifferent. “Your mom, the stroke patient in Ward 3?”

Lu Huailin nodded anxiously. “Yes.”

The doctor casually said, “You should prepare yourself. She most likely won’t be able to take care of herself in the future. She’ll need help eating, turning over, and cleaning.”

The doctor glanced at Lu Huailin’s trembling eyelids and sighed helplessly. “She has weakness on one side and expressive aphasia. Even if by some miracle she recovers well, she’ll walk in circles, her hands won’t have strength to hold things, and she’ll only be able to speak one or two words at a time. She won’t be able to communicate normally or swallow food like a healthy person.”

Lu Huailin stood there in a daze. He had thought hemiplegia only meant inability to move, with other body functions normal.

He wandered back to the ward, watching his mother’s twisted face screaming and his father sitting idly by.

Tears streamed down his face.

His mother opened her wide eyes, trying to move her body, but couldn’t. She could only scream in fury, “Ah, ah…”

Tears ran uncontrollably, and she sporadically shouted, “Xu… lai…”