Things Left Unsaid

Chapter 15 : Sweet Revenge

Qing's POV

I have been concentrating behind the steer wheel for about 3 hours when finally I arrived in Dayu's hometown. I drove directly to Tianjin hospital.

This morning I left Beijing with a heavy heart. I can't meet Dayu today because I need to visit Zhang Tao. But the sooner I finished my task, the better it will be.

The hospital was quite big, but not as grand as my family's. I walked towards the receptionist with a flower bouquet in my hand.

"Hello miss, could you please tell me where Mr. Zhang Tao's room is? I am his friend."

"Absolutely." She typed the name on the computer "Mr. Zhang Tao is in the room 505. Please keep in mind, the visiting hour is only until 5PM."

"Sure. Thank you miss." I went in the elevator and pressed number 5. The lobby was crowded but here in the level 5 corridor was quiet, but still stuffy and the air has an undertone of bleach. I stopped in front of room 505, knocked and made my way in.

In the center of the room lay a thin, pale man in a narrow hospital bed breathing steadily with the help of a ventilator. On the side of the bed, a pole on wheels held an IV drip attached to his arms. His eyes were closed, as if he were sleeping.

The room had a complete different atmosphere than the corridor. The clean lemon-scented air circulated throughout the magnolia painted room. Bright light peeped through the half drawn off-white linen curtains of the window across his bed.

I put the bright yellow flower I brought on the table beside the bed. One with an eagle eyes could see a small and slender object with a sharp point lurking inside the pretty bouquet. Before I could sit down in the chair beside the bed, the door opened and a middle aged woman came in.

"Oh hello, I didn't know my son has a visitor today."

She must be his mother. I bowed my head a little to show respect. "Hello aunty, I'm Ming Hai, I was Mr. Zhang's student. I'm sorry I just visited now."

She looked happy, clutching my both hands "Thank you! If Tao knows his student comes, he must be very happy! Come sit down!"

I sat on the chair behind me and his mother dragged a chair to sit beside me. "Where are you studying right now?"

"Actually I live abroad now. I'm having my summer holiday here in Tianjin, I'll fly back tomorrow. Yesterday I met my high school friends and they told me that Mr. Zhang has been hospitalized for 2 years. I came as soon as possible." I paused a bit then said "Mr. Zhang was a really good teacher. I was struggling a lot in high school with my study, but he helped me patiently. If he didn't help me back then, I would not have graduated from high school."

Once again she held my hand and her eyes glistened with grateful tears. "Thank you!" I smiled warmly at her.

Then I asked. "Aunty.. Mmm.. Can I ask about the accident? What had happened?"

She took a deep breath, like her lungs longing to be filled with fresh air and then exhaled it long and slowly. "It was August two years ago when he and his friends were driving to an orphanage in countryside for a charity event. I was also invited, but I could not go because of some private reasons. I called him when he was in the car. At first I could hear his friends laughing on the background." She then stopped for a while with tears started swimming in her eyes.

"But then one of his friend asked who turned on the AC to maximum. But no one admitted. I thought it was only a prank. Then I heard music blaring, hurting my eardrum across the phone. I wanted to ask him what happened, but they were panicking. They said something about the radio and wiper went on by itself, the navigator turned off by itself."