Super Soldier in the City

"Tianxing, you and your friend sit, I’ll go make some tea for you!" The girl’s father greeted the two of them to sit down, and was about to go boil some water. Zhang Tianxing hurriedly reached out to grab the girl’s father, but his hand only caught empty air. The girl’s father froze for a moment, looked at Zhang Tianxing’s dangling sleeve, and instinctively asked, "What happened to this arm of yours?"

"It’s nothing, Uncle, just sit, we’re not thirsty, no need to bother." Zhang Tianxing shook his head and said.

"This arm of yours..." the girl’s father asked again.

Zhang Tianxing grinned and said, "I accidentally got hurt a bit. Uncle, I came today... to see Yangyang. How is she doing now?"

At the mention of his daughter, the girl’s father’s face stiffened. He thought of the few hundred thousand that Zhang Tianxing had left before he left back then. If not for that money, they probably would’ve had to sell the house by now. But with housing prices here, even if they sold the house, they might not have been able to hold on till now. So, in a way, the reason his daughter could hang on to this day was largely thanks to the young man in front of him. He nodded and said, "Yangyang... is still in a coma. These past few years she’s woken up seventeen times. Sometimes for a few days, sometimes only a few hours. The doctors can’t even figure out what’s going on!"

If they could figure it out, they would’ve treated it long ago. Over these years, the girl’s family had actually tried many methods, gone to many hospitals, consulted many experts, but none of it worked. Just keeping her alive was already very difficult.

Zhang Tianxing nodded lightly and asked, "If she can wake up, it means there’s still a chance. We absolutely can’t give up!"

"We won’t give up. Her mother and I will never give up. As long as we’re still here, we’ll take care of Yangyang and make sure she wakes up." The girl’s father said.

Zhang Tianxing bit his lip. If it weren’t for Li Yifei’s assurance, he would have fallen into despair himself at this moment. He glanced at Li Yifei, and when the latter nodded, Zhang Tianxing felt more confident. He said, "Can I take a look at Yangyang?"

"The way Yangyang looks now..." The girl’s father hesitated.

"It’s okay, I can accept however she’s become. Besides, I’m not exactly in great shape myself right now. Uncle, I’ll just go in, take one look, and then come out. I won’t disturb Yangyang!" Zhang Tianxing pleaded sincerely.

"Alright then!" The girl’s father said as he stood up and led Zhang Tianxing to the sunlit bedroom on the right.

The bedroom was very clean. For a patient who’d been bedridden for years and didn’t even have conscious awareness, the smell in the room was actually considered good. After all, she couldn’t control her excretion on her own. Even things like breathing required a ventilator, a suction machine, and many other auxiliary devices. All these pieces of equipment had been bought a few years ago and had cost quite a bit.

As soon as he entered the room, Zhang Tianxing saw the girl lying under the quilt. Her face was deathly pale, as if there was no blood left in it. The prolonged vegetative state meant her body was extremely malnourished. Her face was so thin it seemed only a layer of skin remained, her eye sockets sunken, her facial features almost a bit grotesque. The rest of her body was hidden under the quilt; Zhang Tianxing didn’t even dare imagine how frail she’d become. She used to be a healthy one hundred jin at one meter sixty-seven. Now, did she even weigh seventy jin? Maybe not even that.

He tried his best to walk normally as he entered the girl’s room. Seeing those machines still keeping her alive, Zhang Tianxing couldn’t hold it in anymore; tears streamed down instantly. He wiped them away hard, circled around the equipment in a few steps, walked to the girl’s bedside, and, looking at the girl with her eyes closed, gently called her nickname—Yangyang.

Of course, the girl didn’t respond. In fact... in her current condition, her life could end at any moment, because her body had already started to deteriorate. Even with the two elders taking care of her around the clock, a normal person lying motionless for years couldn’t possibly stay healthy. She couldn’t even afford a common cold; even a minor cold could threaten her life.

And in these past few days, she’d even had episodes where her heart stopped. Just the day before yesterday, she’d been rushed to the ER. The doctors were helpless. Whether she stayed in the hospital or at home, the outcome was basically the same.

Most vegetative patients wouldn’t be on the brink of death at all times, but the girl had injured her cerebellum in the fall; there was a hematoma, damage, so everything was unpredictable.

Zhang Tianxing slowly walked closer and looked at the girl. He held his breath, afraid his breathing might disturb her. Her eyes were tightly shut, her brows furrowed with a trace of pain. It had been years—time had flown by—and every day she’d been living in this state of knowing nothing. Was she in pain?

She surely was in great pain, but what could she do? The person who deserved punishment was that one who should have been held accountable, yet he was still at large, carefree. Even though Zhang Tianxing had taken revenge, the other man was still living just fine, living freely.

Scenes of their time together years ago flashed before Zhang Tianxing’s eyes. He wanted to reach out and touch the girl’s cheek—no, it could hardly be called a cheek anymore, because her face was so thin, just a layer of skin left, with none of the soft flesh it used to have.

His hand stopped midair. A voice in his heart was shouting, "Yangyang, hold on a little longer. The captain will be able to bring you back soon. Just hold on a little longer!"

Thinking of this, he didn’t want to waste any more time. He immediately turned around, walked over to Li Yifei and the girl’s father, and said, "Let’s go out."

"Mm. Yangyang being like this... is also her fate. Tianxing, you’ve already done everything you can. Her mother and I are very grateful to you. If it weren’t for the money you left back then, we might not have been able to hold on till now. But don’t worry, we’ll definitely find a way to pay you back!" The girl’s father promised.

Zhang Tianxing shook his head and said, "Uncle, that money was something I wanted to give. I wanted to do something for Yangyang, so let’s not bring up the word ’repay’. I never thought about taking that money back."

"You’re a good kid, but... we can’t do that. Yangyang and you are friends. I think she wouldn’t want to be a burden to her friends either, so..."

"Uncle Xu, you really don’t need to!" Zhang Tianxing said again.

"Sigh, we’ll talk about it when the time comes. If Yangyang is gone, her auntie and I won’t have any other attachments either. When that happens... we’ll leave this house to you. That way, you’ll at least have a place to stay here." The girl’s father said.

Zhang Tianxing didn’t respond to that. The three of them went back to the sofa. He looked at Li Yifei and asked, "Boss, let me explain."

"Mm." Li Yifei nodded.

The girl’s father was a bit confused. He looked at the two of them and asked, "What is it?"

"Uncle Xu, it’s like this. This is my captain. You know I was discharged from the army, but the unit I was in was called the Flying Hawk Squad!" At this point, Zhang Tianxing glanced at the girl’s father. Seeing that he was only slightly surprised and didn’t react much, he realized the man didn’t know about the Flying Hawk Squad, so he continued, "The Flying Hawk Squad is Huaxia’s number one special operations team. This is my captain, his name is Li Yifei."

"Li Yifei? That name sounds a bit familiar!" The girl’s father frowned.

He hadn’t heard of the Flying Hawk Squad, but when he heard the name Li Yifei, the girl’s father did seem to recall something. Li Yifei figured he must have seen it in the news.

Zhang Tianxing didn’t know the reason behind it. He nodded and continued, "Our captain inherited some medical skills from his family, and they’re really incredible. I begged him specially to come over and take a look at Yangyang. I know, Uncle, you might not quite believe it, but I’ve seen the captain’s miraculous medical skills. A few hours ago, I was still lame—this leg was useless—but in just this short time, I can walk normally again, so..."

At these words, the girl’s father looked at Li Yifei and tentatively asked, "Li... I really do feel like I’ve heard your name somewhere. You can really wake my daughter up? Are you from a Traditional Chinese Medicine family?"

"There should be a way, but I’m not from a Traditional Chinese Medicine family. Uncle, if you trust me, you can let me try. I’m somewhat confident." Li Yifei replied.

If he hadn’t said he was somewhat confident, the girl’s father might actually have believed him more. Or if Li Yifei had been an old man with white hair and beard, he would have been more willing to believe. But a comrade from the army... He hesitated, "I definitely trust Tianxing, but... will the treatment process be dangerous? Yangyang was just taken to the hospital for emergency treatment a few days ago. The doctor said we can’t subject her to any more strain, otherwise it could be life-threatening, so..."

"Uncle, I swear on my honor, the captain is absolutely trustworthy, and my leg really was just treated!" Zhang Tianxing said anxiously. If her parents didn’t agree to treatment, then there was nothing they could do. They couldn’t force treatment on her.

Li Yifei, however, wasn’t in a hurry. He’d already anticipated that the girl’s father would agree, so he said, "There’s no real danger in the treatment."

"But is it acupuncture? Last year we invited an acupuncture master to help, but unfortunately there wasn’t much effect either." The girl’s father asked.

Li Yifei shook his head and said, "It’s not acupuncture, it’s a kind of energy. It sounds rather mysterious, but you can think of it as similar to Qigong!"

"Qigong, huh? We haven’t tried that method yet. But... how about this, I’ll call her mother back. This is a big matter; we should at least discuss it together." The girl’s father said uncertainly.

Li Yifei nodded and said, "Of course."

Zhang Tianxing glanced at Li Yifei, and only when he saw that he wasn’t angry did he feel relieved. He then said, "Uncle, please don’t worry. I would never gamble with Yangyang’s life. I just want her to wake up sooner. She’s been sleeping for so many years; it’s time she woke up."

"I believe you, and I believe your captain as well. It’s just... sigh, I’ll go call her mother. She’ll be back soon." The girl’s father sighed as he said this.

Li Yifei signaled to Zhang Tianxing not to rush. Although the people back there were anxiously waiting to hold the wedding, this little bit of time wouldn’t make a difference.

The two of them watched the girl’s father go make the call, while Li Yifei observed the room’s furnishings. On both sides of the TV cabinet were photos of the girl.