Rebirth of Brotherly Love

Chapter 05

He accepted the call, bringing the phone to his ears. A deep and muffled voice asked a simple question in a flat tone, "How is my Ge?"

Zhou Chengping thought for a moment, then replied, "Do you want to hear the euphemistic description or the worst possible outcome?"

An Ze firmly said, "The worst possible outcome."

"The worst possibility is that afterwards he... may be disabled. Of course, I'm only saying maybe."

An Ze didn't respond.

The sound of breathing from the other side of the line didn't change, yet the atmosphere suddenly seemed to have turned stiff.

After a minute of silence, Zhou Chengping whispered, "An Ze, both of your Gege's legs are injured, but his right leg is especially serious. The comminuted fracture is determined to have been caused by a heavy hammer, the ones who did it should've been his abductors."

An Ze continued his silence, as if to consider something.

"He was missing for several days and was later found by some construction workers in an abandoned factory. When our ambulance arrived, he was already dying, his heartbeat had stopped on the way to the hospital. It wasn't very easy to bring back his pulse..."

Still silence.

Zhou Chengping had no choice but to go on: "The orthopedic surgeons will continue to follow up with his treatment. In my opinion, his legs are unlikely to heal completely. But, of course, that depends on his state of mind and his body's ability to recover..." He paused. "Why aren't you talking?"

Finally, An Ze said, "It's better than I thought."

Zhou Chengping, surprised, "Did you imagine worse?"

"When I received the news, I thought he would've died on the operating table or go into a vegetative state."

Zhou Chengping was silent, then said, "Your possibility is indeed worse."

Calmly, An Ze went on to say, "In a miserable time, thinking of a more tragic outcome will give ease to my heart." He smiled. "For me, the fact that he's alive is already a blessing."

His voice didn't betray any emotions. Zhou Chengping carefully pondered over his words, feeling that there was a point of reason to them. Compared to directly dying or going into a vegetative state, the fracture is indeed much better.

Zhou Chengping nodded. "As you said, it's already a good thing that your Gege is alive."

An Ze, not a word or movement, shifted the topic: "What about the other two? Are they back?"

"The other two? Oh... you're talking about An Yan and An Mo?"

An Ze nodded. "Ah."

"They haven't come back yet. From what your father said, An Yan is in Paris participating in Fashion Week and An Mo is in New York to see the art exhibition. Oh, that's right, just a moment ago, your grandfather was really angry outside the operating room. He shouted, saying that you brothers must return here within the next three days."

"I got it."

Zhou Chengping doubted. "You got it? Are you planning to go home?"

"No."

He paused. "Your Gege is severely injured yet you don't intend to come back to see him?"

"He's been taken to the ICU, right?"

"Yes."

"Do you think I should drop the important task in my hands just to go home and sit outside the intensive care unit, only to stare blankly at the words 'Declined all visits' on the window?"