Life Plan

Chapter 30, Unable to Hear

After today, Jiang Xiaonv's visitation period will have exceeded the deadline. Liu Chichi finished writing the necessary documents for reporting the overdue visitation early this morning and saved them in her email. If all goes well, this email will be sent an hour before the end of the workday.

Dr. Li was off today, but still sent two messages before lunch to inquire about the results. However, a murder case with conclusive evidence is unlikely to see much change. Liu Chichi calls every morning to check on the progress, but there's been no change, which makes her somewhat anxious.

Jiang Xiaonv is compliant and has a strong will to survive. Whether from the perspective of experimentation or life itself, Liu Chichi does not want to give up on her.

An autumn breeze carried a dark brown leaf into the office, and she couldn't help but recall the day they first met, Jiang Xiaonv's calm eyes. The only blank spot in this case now is the motive; perhaps that's where she could start.

However, a silent weed is hard to understand.

Jiang Xiaonv has a limited vocabulary and cannot read completely. The police sought help from a sign language interpreter, but Jiang Xiaonv's sign language system is chaotic, a mixture of local customs and official sign language, and can only be partially deciphered, which is a challenge for both the lawyers providing legal aid and the police handling the case.

Liu Chichi didn't believe this was the only case of social hardship faced by people with communication disorders. She searched for related cases online, and sign language lawyers came to mind. She tentatively left a message on a forum: "Can unofficial sign language be translated? The client has normal hearing but is almost illiterate."

Every time her phone rang, she would check it, and some netizens left comments to "like" her. More than two hours later, she finally saw a message: "[You can try this out. Which city and district are you in?]"

They had the same IP address, and after Liu Chichi left a message, the two communicated via private message. Soon, the other party informed her that there was a sign language lawyer in their team who lived in the same city but in a different district, and would arrive in about an hour.

Liu Chichi copied the phone number sent by the other party, but before she could save it, her phone's auto-suggestion function popped up the contact's name. She was shocked to see the contact name: Yan Shaohai.

She instinctively dialed to confirm, "Hello, Mr. Yan?"

Yan Shaohai's low, husky voice rang out: "It's me. Wait for me at the bureau entrance."

Jiang Xiaonv is now living in a special medical area. Yan Shaohai came prepared and quickly completed the handover with the previous lawyer before starting to process the formalities with the documents.

Upon hearing the words "release on bail pending trial," Liu Chichi quickly dialed Dr. Li's number: "Dr. Li, Jiang Xiaonv has a chance of being released on bail pending trial. Should we make the visit today?"

There were still two hours until the hospital outpatient department closed, and it was Dr. Li's day off, but she soon heard light footsteps: "You contact, oh no, I'll contact the nurse, you can process the self-service invoice first."

Liu Chichi stood outside the door, while Yan Shaohai and two policemen were inside. Occasionally, she could hear the rapid, incessant arguing inside, as well as the sound of documents being slammed onto the table.

She had only seen movies and thought lawyers were all bespectacled, polite gentlemen, but Yan Shaohai's argument was as loud as haggling at a market.

Ten minutes later, Yan Shaohai walked out the door with his head held high, his shirt cuffs unbuttoned, and his voice even hoarser. He cleared his throat, took a bottle of mineral water from the car and quickly drank it down, then looked down at Liu Chichi: "The medical parole procedures aren't finished yet, so the police have to take her to the hospital. I'm her guarantor, so be careful and don't let her escape."

Yan Shaohai's face appeared cold and ruthless, but Liu Chichi had clearly heard him slam his fist on the table inside, making a deafening noise: "Suspects are human beings too. No one can take away their right to life before they are convicted. What harm can a person with cancer, only six months to live, unable to speak, and wearing handcuffs possibly do to society?"

Liu Chichi pretended not to have heard anything and nodded seriously: "I will definitely keep an eye on her."

Compared to our last meeting, Jiang Xiaonv looked much heavier. Her skin had an unusual plumpness. Last week's visit revealed that the targeted therapy wasn't working well for her, resulting in a generalized swelling that resembled weight gain. Her dry, yellow hair hung loosely on her head. She hadn't undergone chemotherapy, so her hair loss wasn't significant; it looked like a plump mushroom, a blend of decay and vitality.

She stood quietly between the two policemen, her hands clasped together, head bowed, as she boarded the bus. Before getting in, Jiang Xiaonv glanced at Liu Chichi, her eyes still calm.

Liu Chichi felt that Jiang Xiaonv wanted to say something, but Jiang Xiaonv quickly turned her back.

She followed in Yan Shaohai's car. The roads were congested during the evening rush hour, and all she could see was a sea of ​​red traffic. Only the rear windshield of the police car in front of her framed a thick patch of darkness.

Liu Chichi couldn't help but turn to look at Yan Shaohai, who noticed her gaze and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I'm just curious. I never heard of Teacher Yan having this skill before."

"What, are you interviewing me? I need to demonstrate my abilities?"

Liu Chichi turned her head instantly: "That's not what I meant."

After the outpatient clinic closed, the examination locations were scattered across the emergency room and inpatient ward. The emergency room was busy, and they could only rush to the hospital during the gaps between patients. People lying on beds after being rushed off ambulances were unconscious, children held in the arms of their families had wounds bleeding profusely, and patients with high fevers were shivering in thick coats.

Liu Chichi subconsciously shrank into the corner, worried that she would affect the treatment of others. Plainclothes police officers paced back and forth. At such a critical moment of life and death, it would be difficult for ordinary people to remain indifferent.

Jiang Xiaonv remained quiet, head bowed and body hunched, motionless, until a bright drop of water fell from her face. Soon, more and more droplets appeared, almost forming a line.

Liu Chichi subconsciously looked at her, and many years later she still remembered that scene—Jiang Xiaonv's weathered face was wrinkled, every line from her brow to the corner of her mouth squeezed into deep and shallow furrows, her mouth half-open, crying like a helpless child, but only some weak breaths came from her throat. The crying made it difficult for her to breathe, her upper body arched and heaved violently, and even at this moment she still did not choose to look up, but bent over even more deeply, as if to hide.

Liu Chichi could hear the sound of the rollers scraping on the ground, the patient's painful cries, the anxious inquiries of the family members, the busy footsteps of the medical staff, and even the sound of someone tearing open a bag of potato chips, but she could not hear Jiang Xiaonv's cries.

Before her illness brought her death, she faced a trial. She could hear everything—her own body decaying, the charges against her, even the misunderstandings others made about her sign language—but no one could hear her.

In this emergency room where life and death alternate frequently, the person who is even more afraid than them is Jiang Xiaonv, who has heard the countdown to death.

Liu Chichi suddenly remembered the word that always came to mind whenever she saw Jiang Xiaonv: quiet. She was quiet, but the world was too noisy.

Liu Chichi raised her hand and covered Jiang Xiaonv's ears. "Don't listen, just like you told Sun Zhixiao, don't listen to other people's voices."

The daughter, whom Jiang Xiaonv protected at school with her only means of communication, was completely unaware of the current situation. Her understanding of her mother was still limited to the joy that she was using the new free medicine, that her health was getting better and better, and that she had even gained a little weight.

Jiang Xiaonv told her that she and her husband had gone to work in another city and wouldn't be back until the Chinese New Year. Sun Zhixiao even said in a spoiled tone that she missed her, and she sent Jiang Xiaonv many voice messages. She knew that her mother couldn't speak or type, and as before, no one replied to those voice messages, but she kept sending them out of habit, not caring about getting a reply.

Jiang Xiaonv once apologized for not being able to reply to her daughter's messages, but Sun Zhixiao told her, "Mom, I know you love me, and love doesn't need to be shown through replies."

Jiang Xiaonv has never been as afraid as she is today, afraid of leaving this world, afraid of leaving the girl she loves most in this world.