DBTHDCAR Chapter 79

When the students heard that parents had entered, they ignored the teachers’ attempts to stop them and rushed en masse toward the eastern wall. The teachers couldn’t hold them back.

The parents outside, hearing this, seemed pumped full of adrenaline, and surged forward to follow.

Ning Xiaobei led the way, rushing to the eastern wall—the same wall where he and Fan Xia had both been hurt before.

Since the last incident, all the desks and clutter in this area had long been cleared away. To prevent any more students from climbing over the wall, the school had gone the extra mile—barbed wire now ran along the top, and shards of glass were embedded throughout.

These obstacles were enough to intimidate students trying to skip class, but they couldn’t stop Ning Jianguo from wanting to see his son.

After all, he had been a scout for many years. Even though he was well past forty, this height posed no challenge to him at all. The only thing holding him back was behind him—if Zhao Jingwen hadn’t been straddling the wall and gripping his arm tightly, he would have jumped down already.

“Dad, what are you doing here?”

Ning Xiaobei was on the verge of losing it; nothing like this had ever happened in the original world!

“Call the police! Call the police! Call the police!”

The principal was behind them, furious and almost incoherent, shouting, “Whose parent is this? How can they behave like this? How can they do this?”

“Xiaobei!”

Seeing his son, Ning Jianguo struggled even harder. Zhao Jingwen barely managed to hold him back a few times.

“Dad, there’s no point! Go home. If you come in, you’ll be quarantined too.”

Ning Xiaobei craned his neck, shouting.

“I’m coming down to stay with you. I’ll quarantine with you, Dad can cook for you.”

On the evening news, as infection numbers and death tolls climbed day by day, the textile school had also started to feel the tension in the past two days. Ning Jianguo, responsible for cafeteria logistics, had spent several days at the school without going home.

That morning, he had planned to return home for a proper rest. Instead, he heard from some teachers eating breakfast that the suburban X University Affiliated High School had been locked down; nobody could go in or out.

Immediately, his hands and feet went cold, and he almost collapsed.

When he tried to start the truck to get to school, it wouldn’t start after several attempts. He called Zhao Jingwen, took his car, and finally arrived at the school.

By then, parents had already swarmed the gates in a dense crowd. Ning Jianguo saw Lele’s mother almost kneeling to beg for her child’s entry; people couldn’t get in, and even the items they brought couldn’t be delivered.

He suddenly remembered the incident during freshman military training, when two students had gotten into trouble. According to Fan Xia, it had started because a student stole a classmate’s phone and tried to escape over the eastern wall.

Without thinking twice, Ning Jianguo turned and ran toward the eastern side.

Unlike the heavily guarded main gate, here there was not a single soul. The school officials, who had just received the lockdown notice, were so focused on the front and back gates that they never imagined a parent would try to climb over the wall.

“Zhao Jingwen, let go of me! Put me down!”

Ning Jianguo saw the crowd below the wall growing larger, with some even calling security and police-looking people, begging Zhao Jingwen desperately.

“I can’t leave Xiaobei in there alone. I beg you, let me down, let me stay with him!”

He had once thought this disease called SARS was far away. Even though it had already disrupted his life and work, he believed it wouldn’t reach people around him. They had started protection so early, prepared so much at home listening to Xiaobei’s warnings. Shouldn’t disinfectant and masks have kept it away?

Why were people getting infected even at school? Didn’t the TV say that protecting primary and middle school students was the focus of epidemic prevention? Why did it have to be the affiliated high school? Why did it have to be Xiaobei’s school?

“Jianguo, calm down! Jumping won’t help anyone. Think this through!”

Zhao Jingwen was filled with regret. Why had he driven Ning Jianguo to school? He should have taken him straight home to rest and calm down!

As he struggled, the barbed wire and shards of glass tore through Ning Jianguo’s clothes, cutting his elbows and thighs. Blood dripped, boiling like twin pools of hot oil in Ning Xiaobei’s eyes.

“Dad, go back. I’m fine! Don’t do this, Dad!”

Having survived two epidemics, Ning Xiaobei was far calmer than a panicked and irrational Chang Leyun.

At this moment, Ning Jianguo forcing his way into the school wouldn’t solve anything; in fact, he might even lose his job.

What was even scarier, many parents watching began to imitate him. Fathers flexed and prepared, each showing their own tricks, while mothers cheered them on from behind. A few frail-looking parents even wished they could sprout wings under their arms to fly over the wall.

“Zhao Jingwen, let go of me! If you don’t, today is the end of us!”

Ning Jianguo had completely lost his mind—just a little more, and he could be with Xiaobei. He needed to see him; he needed to make sure he was safe.

Suddenly, the world spun.

Ning Jianguo clutched his chest as a sharp, piercing whine rang in his ears, almost tearing through his eardrums.

Huff… huff…

All sound vanished from the world, leaving only the heavy rhythm of his own breathing.

He lowered his head, and there were countless children’s faces, youthful and innocent. They looked up at him. The one in front was the face he was proudest of: his son.

The one he had raised, all by himself—Ning Xiaobei.

One hand on his chest, the other reaching out.

The child’s face suddenly went pale with fear, eyebrows high, mouth wide open. His son stretched out both arms, tears sliding down his perfect face.

My child, what are you afraid of?

Dad is here. Don’t be scared.

Huff… huff…

The hand pressed against his chest felt as if it were being torn apart. He lifted his head, trying to take a deep breath, to speak to his son again.

The sky was so pure and blue. Days and nights spent in the school cafeteria’s back kitchen—disinfecting, sterilizing, cleaning, checking utensils, contacting suppliers—he hadn’t seen sunlight like this for days.

He felt his feet lighten, his body as if being carried by something, and the next moment he landed on a soft, white cloud.

So comfortable, he thought.

He just wanted to keep sleeping, to shake off the exhaustion of the past few days.

But he couldn’t. His child, his Xiaobei, was still waiting down below.

Ning Jianguo struggled, lifting his right hand high, trying once more to stand strong, but his strength failed him.

“Dad, Dad, ahhh!”

Ning Xiaobei clutched his head and screamed under the wall.

Fan Xia was screaming too. He and Ning Xiaobei pressed against the wall, slapping it frantically with their hands.

Zhao Jingwen, still perched atop the wall, dragged the suddenly collapsing Ning Jianguo. He stared into his lover’s unfocused eyes, his pale, bloodless face, lips turning blue-black—and in that moment, Zhao Jingwen’s own heart seemed to stop.

“My dad! My dad has heart disease! Call an ambulance, call 120!”

Ning Xiaobei shrieked.

Now he understood. He finally understood why it had failed before.

Losing the subsidized housing, losing the job, the forbidden romance that couldn’t be exposed, even the three million swindled by Ding Zheyang were all secondary. The critical reason for his dad’s death was his own body.

In the real world, after losing his formal job, Ning Jianguo had to work multiple jobs alone to support his son’s schooling and care for his mother. The accumulated strain had worn down his once-strong body, ultimately triggering a myocardial infarction (heart attack).

In this world, the relentless labor of recent days, combined with the school lockdown as the final straw, had prematurely broken down Ning Jianguo’s relatively young body.

This is the reason why he had returned to this world again. This was the long-sought missing puzzle piece.

But why? Why place this puzzle piece before him in such a cruel way? He was trapped here, completely powerless!

“Uncle Zhao, my dad might be having a heart attack! Get him to a hospital! Don’t delay! Don’t delay!”

Each cry was almost a scream of blood.

“Fan Xia, take care of Xiaobei!”

Zhao Jingwen shouted at Fan Xia before leaping down from the wall with the unconscious Ning Jianguo in his arms.

“Make way! Make way!”

Doctors and police from the town hospital, dressed in epidemic protective suits, had arrived outside the wall. They were initially there to disperse people, but seeing this, the doctors wasted no time and immediately began emergency treatment on Ning Jianguo.

Ning Xiaobei felt as if his heart had been ripped apart. Clutching the wall, tears streaming down his face, he listened to the chaos outside. He heard sirens, Zhao Jingwen’s heart-wrenching shouts, and the startled cries of other parents.

But what about Dad? What was happening to Dad outside?

“Xiaobei, climb the tree!”

Fan Xia grabbed his shirt and pointed back.

Perched high in the tree, Ning Xiaobei watched from afar as the paramedics lifted his dad onto the stretcher and into the ambulance.

Even from that distance, he could see Dad’s pale, ominous face and tightly shut eyes. His legs felt like jelly, the world spinning upside down. If it weren’t for Fan Xia holding him from behind, Ning Xiaobei would have collapsed.

Uncle Zhao kept explaining to the staff, and eventually they allowed him to ride along in the ambulance. Before getting in, Zhao Jingwen looked back at the two kids in the tree, waved at them, and made a call me gesture.

The usually mischievous Fan Xia nodded with firm determination.

He wouldn’t mess up this time, he thought.

He had sworn—he had sworn to Xiaobei—to be someone responsible, someone who could shoulder the burden.

Fan Xia held onto the branch with one hand and wrapped his other arm tightly around Ning Xiaobei, locking him securely in his embrace.

His chin rested on Xiaobei’s hair. He could see the boy’s translucent, pale ears trembling like a frightened young animal that had suddenly lost its mother’s protection on the open prairie—fragile enough to shatter at a touch.

Or like willow branches in spring, battered by a sudden storm—seemingly resilient, yet forced to whip and shiver helplessly in the wind.

Xiaobei’s thin back pressed against his chest; their hearts beat in sync through their flesh. The closeness of their pulse, almost blending together, made Fan Xia feel as if his own heart were being ripped apart.

“Xiaobei, Xiaobei… it’s okay, cry… let it out…”

He murmured into his ear, one hand supporting his waist so he wouldn’t try to endure too much.

“Don’t be afraid. Uncle Ning will be fine. Don’t be afraid… I’ll stay with you.”

“I’ll always stay with you.”

………………

The normally quiet town became the eye of the storm when its prestigious school was locked down.

The inexperienced school staff, after an initial scramble, decisively reinforced weak points, low walls and gardens, and stationed security inside and out. Young male teachers were assigned to patrol the campus. Finally, the situation stopped escalating.

Reporters showed up wanting interviews, but they were turned away with the excuse of epidemic control—no exceptions.

Although parents couldn’t enter, the clothes, bedding, food, and medicine they brought for the kids were all disinfected and stored, waiting for the students to collect them.

Afternoon classes went on as usual. If it weren’t for occasional stifled sobs from a corner of a classroom, one could almost forget the isolation was happening, and that boarding life wasn’t normal.

But everyone knew deep down: different is different.

Dinner wasn’t like usual. The cafeteria, normally open at noon, was suddenly closed. The kids lined up in the cold night wind, wrapped up tightly and masked, receiving their meals, packaged in foam takeout boxes, from the cafeteria staff.

Fan Xia carried two portions back to the dorm. Passing the first floor, he heard shouts from inside: “It’s so cold! We’re all frozen stiff!”

He took off his gloves and touched the meals; they were indeed cold.

The lockdown was so sudden that the school hadn’t prepared enough insulated containers. Even the takeaway boxes were borrowed from nearby small restaurants.

In other words, it was chaotic.

Soon, long lines formed at the small shop too. All the unusual-flavored instant noodles and ramen were sold out.

Fan Xia squatted in a corner and ate his portion haphazardly. He pressed the lunchbox meant for Xiaobei to his chest, trying to warm it with his body heat.

“You’re back?”

Opening the dorm door, Ning Xiaobei wiped his tears and looked at him.

“Yeah, let’s eat. It’s still warm.”

Fan Xia took the lunchbox out from behind him.

“And yours?”

“I was too hungry. I ate it as soon as I got it.”

Fan Xia said this, then turned to pour him some hot water.

“The wind is so strong down there. What if you get diarrhea from eating it cold? Better to bring it up here next time.”

Ning Xiaobei opened his lunchbox and took a bite.

“Yeah… I’ll bring it back tomorrow.”

Fan Xia sat across from him and suddenly laughed.

The conversation just now reminded him a bit of how Uncle and Uncle Ning usually talk.

He scratched his face, feeling a little embarrassed.

“Is Uncle Ning okay now?”

When he went to get his food, Xiaobei had been talking to his uncle on the phone.

“Yeah… it was a bit dangerous at the time, but thankfully the doctors treated him in time.”

Ning Xiaobei took two more bites, realizing the rice was cold.

Why is the rice cold? It should only have been cooled by the wind outside…

He paused mid-bite, and from the corner of his eye noticed the inside hem of Fan Xia’s open sports jacket. The white lining had small red and yellow stains, scattered like tiny flowers on a white wall.

Could it be that he…

“What’s wrong? What happened next?”

Fan Xia thought he was choking and quickly pushed the water cup over.

Ning Xiaobei lowered his head, feeling his heart like it had been thrown sky-high on a roller coaster.

His eyes darted left and right, like a young, confused deer at a crossroads trying to find its way.

But, after all, he wasn’t really seventeen; his old, worldly soul quickly calmed him down.

“Is Uncle still in the hospital?”

“Yeah… they said he should stay for observation, do a 24-hour ECG monitor.”

“And Uncle Zhao… he knows the head of cardiology at Changhai Hospital. The plan is to transfer him there later for a careful re-examination.”

Actually, this was Ning Xiaobei’s idea.

After Ning Jianguo woke up in the car, he insisted he was fine and didn’t even want to go to the hospital. In the end, Uncle Zhao had to force him to go to the nearest top-tier hospital for a checkup.

When Uncle Zhao called to report he was safe, his dad was already fussing about leaving the hospital, saying he was perfectly fine and just needed to go home to pack clothes for his son, planning to return to the school the next day.

Ning Xiaobei told Uncle Zhao not to let his dad have his way. He insisted on a full examination. Sometimes his dad would overwork to the point of being breathless, especially after staying up late to watch sports, and the next day he would drag his feet while walking—something Xiaobei only realized in the past few days.

It turned out his dad’s symptoms had appeared much earlier than he originally thought. But because Ning Jianguo always appeared so healthy, never even catching a cold in years, and the early signs were so subtle, even Xiaobei had almost overlooked them.

“Don’t worry, boss. Good people get rewarded. Uncle Ning will be fine. My uncle will take good care of him.”

Ning Xiaobei nodded, continuing his struggle with the now completely cold meal.

Suddenly, a voice rang through the hallway, cracking with anger and tears, accompanied by stomping feet.

“I told you not to come back, so don’t come back!”

“Before, I begged you to come back, even if it meant dying in Japan. Now it’s so dangerous here at home, why come back? I’m fine at school! Don’t come back, seriously, don’t!”

It was Ding Zheyang’s voice.

……………… 

Author’s Note:

The angst is over. The next chapter will be sweet, perfectly sweet. I promise.

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