Chapter 4: Shadow of Critical Illness

Diana stood quietly at the stairs, took a deep breath, tried to calm her inner turmoil, and then slowly walked into the house.

The door opened slightly, and in the living room, the haggard figure of father Alan came into view. He leaned weakly on the sofa, staring at the TV screen. In the kitchen, the busy figure of his younger brother was looming.

Hearing the door open, Alan forced a smile: "Xiao Di, you're back?" He tried to sit up, but Diana quickly stopped him: "Dad, lie down, don't move."

Looking at her father's increasingly thin face, Diana's heart ached and her eyes could not help but turn red. Alan smiled lovingly and said, "Silly girl, Dad is fine. He feels much better after returning home."

" Dad, let's go to the hospital. I have money. My design works are becoming more and more popular. We will have more money in the future." Diana squatted in front of her father, her eyes filled with tears, and took out her mobile phone to show the account balance.

Alan looked at the figure of more than 200,000 and said softly, "My child, you have worked hard." He knew that he was seriously ill, but he had never expected that he was in the late stage of liver cancer. Thinking of his daughter who had been silently enduring, he was filled with guilt and self-blame.

Diana 's defenses collapsed instantly. She shook her head with red eyes and held her father's hand tightly: "It's not hard, Dad, it's not hard at all. As long as you and Liam are fine, I will be satisfied. Dad, you can go to the hospital for treatment with peace of mind. Today's medical technology is very advanced and it will definitely be cured."

Alan stroked his daughter's head lovingly and said earnestly: "Xiao Di, you are already 24 years old. If you meet the right person, get married early. Having children when you are young is good for your physical recovery."

In order to reassure her father, Diana made up a white lie: "Dad, I have a boyfriend, he's my colleague, we've known each other for more than two years, and he's always taken good care of me. He confessed his love to me yesterday, and I like him a lot. I'll bring him back to you someday, and if it's a good match, we'll get married."

Alan smiled with relief after hearing this: "Great, great colleague, I know him well and he's reliable."

" Dad, don't worry, I will take care of everything. I will take you to the hospital now." Diana stood up and tried to help her father.

Alan held her hand tightly: "Xiao Di, Dad won't go. Don't waste money on me, you still need money for your wedding." He sighed inwardly. He couldn't bring himself to talk about Liam's cochlear implant. His daughter had suffered too much.

Diana burst into tears: "Dad, I'm still young, I can make money, I can make a lot of money. But there is only one of you, and there is only one life, I want you to stay with me more."

"Dad, can we go to the hospital?" Diana choked, her whole body trembling slightly.

Alan couldn't bear to see his daughter so sad, and his heart ached. He looked towards the kitchen and said slowly, "Dad misses home too, and wants to stay at home for a few days. I've brought back the medicine from the hospital, and there's still enough for several days. When the medicine is finished, we'll go to the hospital again." He knew that he didn't have much time left, and just wanted to spend more time with his family at home. However, he was reluctant and worried.

"Dad, the hospital will have a CT scan and other tests tomorrow. Can we go to the hospital after dinner?" Diana looked at her father with pleading eyes.

Alan didn't dare to look directly into his daughter's determined gaze and red eyes. He compromised with a painful heart: "Okay... Dad will go to the hospital tomorrow. Tonight, Dad wants to stay at home."

At dinner, the family sat around the table, enjoying themselves. Alan 's appetite was surprisingly good. He not only ate more than a bowl of rice, but also drank two small bowls of soup. Diana and her brother saw this and were very happy. They hoped that their father would get better.

After dinner, the two siblings watched TV with their father for a while. Fearing that their father was tired, they helped him back to his room to rest at around 8 o'clock. The next morning, Diana got up early to prepare breakfast. She got up twice in the middle of the night to check on her father, and was relieved to see that he was sleeping soundly.

However, just after frying the omelette, her father suddenly coughed violently in the room. Diana was startled and threw down the spatula and rushed into the room: "Dad..."

The light blue quilt was covered in blood, which was shocking. Diana ran to her father's bedside and dialed 120 with trembling hands : "Hello, is this the emergency center? Please come quickly, my father is vomiting blood, in Liyuan Community, please come quickly..."

Alan tried to grab the phone, but Diana held it tightly. She regretted not insisting on sending her father to the hospital yesterday afternoon.

"Xiao Di, child, don't cry, listen to daddy..." Alan leaned against the head of the bed, and it seemed difficult for him to speak.

"Dad, don't say anything, don't say anything. Liam, I'll go call Liam." Diana was afraid that her father would leave like this.

The younger brother Lucas was born deaf and dumb, so he couldn't hear anything. But he noticed something was wrong and ran over. When he saw the blood, he cried out in anxiety without a sound.

Alan smiled with red eyes and reached out his hand to Liam . "Ah...ah..." Liam screamed in pain. Alan made gestures with difficulty to comfort him: "Child, don't worry, Daddy is fine."

" Woo woo, Daddy..." Diana choked and knelt beside the bed holding her father's hand, staring at the time on her phone with one hand, hoping that the ambulance would arrive soon.

"Xiao Di, you shouldn't have to endure these hardships... When you graduated from college, your father told you... that you are not your biological child, but was picked up at the playground. You should go find your biological parents..." Alan's words were intermittent.

"Dad, please stop talking. Please stop talking." Diana burst into tears. "In this life, I will only be your daughter."

Her father mentioned this past event when she graduated from college. That year, her father picked her up at the playground and waited there for a day, but no one came to find her. From then on, her father treated her as his own and raised her with all his heart.

" Silly child, why are you so silly? You should have gone to find your biological parents after graduating from college..." Alan 's words were full of guilt and reluctance.

"Dad, please stop talking and save your energy. The ambulance will be here soon." Diana held her father's hand tightly.

"Xiao Di, stop struggling. Daddy doesn't want to go to the hospital... he wants to stay at home." Alan's voice became weaker and weaker.

"No, Dad, let's go to the hospital, let's go to the hospital." Diana called anxiously.

"Dad wants to... see your boyfriend..." Alan said, spitting out blood again. He felt that he didn't have much time left, and wanted to see his daughter's boyfriend before he died. If there really was a soul after death, he would know who to bless.