Chapter - 9

                                    

                                          
Mrs. Xiao was in deep thought when her phone rang and it disturbed Xiao Zhan. He stirred in his sleep. The slightest movement helped Mrs. Xiao to come back from her trance and she ran towards her bag, which she had left on the sofa for who knows how long. She took out the phone from the bag and picked up the call before the next ring. 
“Hello, Jagiya.” Her voice was weak. 
“How is ZhanZhan? Is he awake?” Mr Xiao asked his wife. 
“Still the same." Her voice trembled a bit, uttering the words that caused her more pain than cannot be described. 
"Are you okay? Did something happen again? Is ZhanZhan fine?" Mr. Xiao felt the pain in her voice which worried him. 
"I can't, Jian... I can't." She said shaking her head and dropping herself on the sofa tiredly. 
“What you can’t? Tell me what you can't. What’s going on there?" From the other side of the phone, Mrs Xiao could hear the sound of a pile of papers being tossed on a hard surface far away. There was no response from her, only a slow snort reached Mr Xiao's ears which made him scared. "You're worrying me. Don’t be quiet. Tell me, Liya. What is disturbing you?" 
That was enough for Mrs Xiao to break down. 
“I can't see.... him like this anymore Jian.... I can't." Mr. Xiao's pleading but calm voice broke down all barriers of self-restraint that she had been maintaining. "Please, do something, Jian. Before we lose him completely, please do something. I want our sunshine back in my life. I want my son back like before. Living and smiling. I can't see him getting hurt every day. I can't see him in pain. I can't see him crying every minute"  Along with her words, she let her pain off through her eyes too. 
“Liya….” Mr. Xiao's voice also sounded pitiful when he heard his wife so broken. 
“Get him back before we lose him forever. I was scared by the emptiness in his eyes a few days ago, though I tried to keep my faith in God. But. I'm losing it now.” Her voice cracked with every word, remembering the blank look in his eyes after seeing that ad. She glanced at her son to make sure he was fine. 
“Liya, get hold of yourself. I know what you are feeling but you have to be strong….for our son. You have to be his strength. He will soon be fine.” Mr. Xiao comforted her. 
“I'm trying, Jian. I'm trying. But what about me? I can do anything for my son but my heart can't bear to see his suffering anymore.” She sobbed. 
"I'm coming on the next available flight."  Her husband could not bear her pain. 
"But...you have to attend a conference in Japan in the next two days." She is shocked by his sudden decision to be there and realizes that she has scared him as well. But what could she do? She was overwhelmed by the events of the recent few days and her already wounded heart could not take it and needed support to steady herself. 
“You and our ZhanZhan are more important than anything.” Mr Xiao said. 
“I know.” She didn't need words to tell her how important their son was to him. He is the sunshine of their little world, without which they cannot imagine their life. She felt relieved at the announcement that he would soon be with her. Perhaps the same thing would be good for their son as well. 
The comfort she got from her husband made her feel better. They spoke a few more things before hanging up. Reminiscing the old days in her memory, she allowed her tired body to rest comfortably on the sofa. Just then, she heard a sob and hurried towards the sound but the sight shattered her again. 
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The elevator stopped at the 8th floor. Wang Yibo came out of it and met with Miss Qui who was waiting outside. He took the documents from her that Dr. Shen had asked her to give to Wang Yibo. He checked them and headed towards the VIP ward after thanking her.