UD | Chapter 4 – It’s Not Even Been Two Minutes Yet, You Can Still Take It Back
by North_SkyRong Leying followed the little boy all the way back to the operating room entrance.
Xu Yunfei was still sitting there.
His beard was unkempt, his face haggard and exhausted.
The only difference from last time was the toy airplane model now clutched tightly in his hands.
“Big Sister, can you help me tell my dad something?” the boy asked. “Tell him not to keep coming here anymore. I don’t hate him. I want him to go back to how he used to be.”
He lowered his head before continuing softly.
“And tell him to take good care of Mom.”
Rong Leying looked at him.
“I can pass along your message, but whether he listens to me or not is another matter.”
The last time she’d told Xu Yunfei she could see ghosts, he’d practically treated her like a mental patient.
There was no guarantee he’d believe her this time either.
“Big Sister, I know you’ll definitely make my dad believe you!”
“Don’t flatter me. That trick doesn’t work on me.”
The little boy pouted.
Operation Flattery had failed.
Still, this was her first delivery order.
With the spirit of seeing a good deed through to the end and carrying the Buddha all the way across the river, Rong Leying walked over and stopped in front of Xu Yunfei.
“Uh… Big Brother…”
Hearing her voice, Xu Yunfei slowly raised his head.
A pair of swollen, lifeless eyes looked up at her.
When he recognized her, a hint of focus gradually returned to his gaze.
“Oh… it’s you…”
“It’s me.”
Rong Leying felt unexpectedly touched.
She hadn’t expected him to remember her.
Xu Yunfei blinked.
“Who are you?”
Rong Leying: “…”
It’s not even been two minutes.
Can I still revoke this conversation?
…
At that moment, Liao Jiamu and a colleague hurried toward the operating rooms.
“Has the patient’s family signed the paperwork?” Liao Jiamu asked.
“They signed already. They’re paying the fees now.”
Liao Jiamu nodded and quickened his pace.
As he passed Rong Leying and Xu Yunfei, he subconsciously glanced at them.
The two doctors entered the operating room.
After the doors closed, his colleague couldn’t help speaking.
“That little boy’s father came again.”
Ever since the child had been brought to their hospital and passed away despite rescue efforts, the man had come to sit outside the operating room every single day.
Sometimes he would sit there for an entire day.
Sometimes for several days without moving.
The hospital staff worried he might collapse one day.
Even more, they worried he might suddenly lose control and hurt himself—or someone else.
But no matter how much they tried persuading him, he refused to listen.
And they couldn’t exactly throw a grieving father out of the hospital.
Liao Jiamu sighed.
“The pain of losing a child isn’t something that disappears overnight.”
The sudden death of a loved one was like a nightmare from which you couldn’t wake.
People had to struggle with every ounce of strength they possessed to climb out of that darkness.
Then continue living.
For themselves.
And for the loved one who could no longer do so.
…
Rong Leying plopped down beside Xu Yunfei.
“Big Brother, you probably think I’m crazy.”
“But I really don’t have any mental problems.”
“Your son, Xu Zihang, is standing right in front of you.”
Xu Yunfei remained silent.
Rong Leying continued.
“He’s wearing a black T-shirt, khaki pants, and a pair of Ultraman shoes…”
Xu Yunfei’s pupils contracted.
Shock filled his face.
She was right.
That was exactly what his son had been wearing on the day he died.
How could she possibly know that?
Could she really see ghosts?
Was his son actually standing here?
“…There’s a mole on the tip of his nose. He has single eyelids. His mouth looks a lot like yours…”
Rong Leying rattled off one identifying feature after another.
Then the little boy suddenly jumped in.
“Also! Dad and I have a secret code!”
He hurriedly added,
“‘I’m just a tiny, tiny little bird. If I had a pair of mechanical wings, I could fly really high!'”
Rong Leying immediately relayed the message.
“He says you two have a secret code.”
“‘I’m just a tiny, tiny little bird…'”
She stared at Xu Yunfei expectantly.
Waiting for him to finish the sentence.
Xu Yunfei looked at her.
Excitement flooded his exhausted face.
His voice trembled.
“…If I had a pair of mechanical wings, I could fly really high.”
“That’s it! That’s the one!”
Rong Leying clapped excitedly.
“See? Now you believe me, right?”
If he still didn’t believe her after that, there was nothing more she could do.
Truthfully, he’d already begun believing her when she accurately described his son’s appearance.
But the secret code shattered all remaining doubt.
Only he and his son knew that phrase.
No third person had ever heard it.
“Zihang…”
Xu Yunfei’s voice shook violently.
“Is he really here?”
“Master! Can you let me see him?”
He frantically looked around.
But saw nothing.
Rong Leying pointed directly in front of him.
“I’m not a master.”
“Your son is right here.”
“Less than half an arm’s length away from you.”
“But I can’t make you see him.”
“However, he asked me to tell you something.”
“He says he doesn’t hate you.”
“He doesn’t want you to keep coming here.”
“He wants you to go back to how you used to be.”
“And he wants you to take good care of his mother.”
Beside them, the little boy nodded repeatedly.
That’s right.
He wanted his dad to go back to normal.
Not stay like this forever.
His dad wasn’t cool at all anymore.
Xu Yunfei stared fixedly at the spot Rong Leying pointed toward.
His heart felt as though it were being sliced apart.
His entire body trembled uncontrollably.
Tears streamed down his face.
“Zihang…”
“I’m sorry…”
“It’s all Dad’s fault…”
“If only I hadn’t answered that phone call…”
“I’m sorry…”
…
Xu Yunfei was an airline captain.
Because of his job, he worked in different cities and rarely had time to stay with his family.
Years of neglect gradually eroded his relationship with his wife.
Eventually, they divorced peacefully.
Custody of their son went to his ex-wife.
Xu Yunfei paid child support every month and promised his son that he would visit once every week.
But work always got in the way.
Again and again, he broke his promises.
He couldn’t even make it to his son’s birthday celebration.
Last month, he finally managed to secure several days of leave and took his son on a trip.
The father and son had a wonderful time.
Then, on the day they were supposed to return home, everything changed.
They were staying in a sixth-floor hotel room with a private balcony.
While preparing to leave, Xu Yunfei received a work-related phone call.
He became completely absorbed in the conversation and failed to notice his son playing with the airplane model on the balcony.
At some point, the toy accidentally flew over the railing and fell downstairs.
The boy asked his father to help retrieve it.
But because Xu Yunfei was focused on the call, he didn’t hear clearly.
He simply said,
“Wait a minute.”
Then ignored him.
The child went downstairs by himself.
While searching for the airplane, tragedy struck.
A young couple in an upstairs room had been arguing.
In the heat of the moment, someone threw a metal thermos cup off the balcony.
The cup struck the child directly in the head.
The location was at the rear of the hotel.
Aside from staff, almost nobody passed through that area.
The arguing couple never even realized they had hit someone.
By the time Xu Yunfei finished that work call—
A call that lasted more than thirty minutes—
It was already too late.
His son was rushed to the hospital.
But because of excessive blood loss, the rescue efforts failed.
The child died.
When his ex-wife learned the news, she nearly lost her mind.
Both families were devastated.
Everyone blamed him.
Including himself.
If only he hadn’t answered that call.
It hadn’t even been anything important.
Just a junior colleague calling because they couldn’t solve a minor problem.
If only he hadn’t smugly lectured over the phone for half an hour…
Everything was his fault.
He hadn’t watched his child properly.
He was the one who had killed his son.
“…I’m sorry…”
“It’s all Dad’s fault…”
The quiet hospital corridor echoed with the sound of a broken father’s sobs.
Xu Zihang silently stood in front of him.
Watching.
Listening.
Unable to wipe away his father’s tears.
Unable to tell him that he had already forgiven him.
Unable to say one final goodbye.
Only the sound of Xu Yunfei’s remorseful crying lingered in the stillness.