Along the way, Mai Xiaoshu's heart seemed to be hanging in the air. Even after experiencing the sudden farewell of her parents, she still couldn't face life and death calmly.
Entering the emergency room of the pet hospital, a foul smell of disinfectant hit me in the face. The black bear fell on the operating table as if dead. Mai Xiaoshu ran over in panic and almost tripped over a trash can when she walked towards the bed.
At this moment, a dark shadow appeared in front of her, grabbed her, and turned sideways to hold her tightly in his arms.
Just as Mai Xiaoshu was about to say thank you, she looked up and saw An Chengye. Thinking of the black bear lying on the hospital bed whose life or death was in danger because of him, she couldn't say the word thank you.
“Let go!” Mai Xiaoshu pushed him away and ran towards the black bear in panic. However, the black bear squinted its eyes and was dying. He shook it but it didn’t respond. “What’s going on? Didn’t he just take a sedative? Why did he faint?”
Mai Xiaoshu gently stroked the black bear's body, her fingertips trembling slightly.
"We checked the surveillance footage. When the black bear was locked in the laboratory, it had its back to the screen and we didn't know what it ate. I suspect it swallowed some metal products. It's very likely that... it wanted to commit suicide." Jiang Xingye made a bold hypothesis.
Mai Xiaoshu and An Chengye were stunned for a moment.
"How could an animal know how to commit suicide?" An Chengye, who had been silent for a long time, frowned and uttered a word.
Mai Xiaoshu was about to retort when a doctor-looking man standing next to him said, "It's not impossible. Studies have shown that many stray or abused animals have suicidal tendencies. Although they don't have human intelligence, they can feel sadness just like humans."
"All of you get out!" Mai Xiaoshu looked at everyone with tears in her eyes, but her tone was cold, especially when her gaze fell on An Chengye.
Mai Xiaoshu's next words were like a basin of ice water poured over him: "If it wanted to die, it wouldn't tell you what it swallowed with you all here." When she said this, she felt extremely heavy.
Everyone in the room felt a little sad and turned their eyes to An Chengye.
He did not refute, but frowned, looking at the dying Black Bear on the bed, then looked around at everyone in the emergency room and said slowly: "Everyone, get out."
Before leaving, An Chengye paused and said, "Mai Xiaoshu, you must save it." There seemed to be regret in his tone, and then he left with everyone.
Mai Xiaoshu ignored him. When everyone left and only she and the black bear were left, she begged him on the bed: "I know you are awake. Please tell me what you swallowed so that the doctor can help you take it out. I promise you that when you get better, I will find a way to take you out of the laboratory. Don't you miss your children? What will happen to them if you really die..."
"Can I really go back? I want to be with my children... "
"Yeah!" Mai Xiaoshu nodded solemnly.
Finally, the black bear tremblingly uttered the word "spoon".
When Mai Xiaoshu heard this, she felt a chill down her spine. Without wasting time, she quickly ran out to inform the attending doctor who was waiting at the door.
"Doc, it swallowed the spoon."
"Little girl, how do you know it was a spoon?" the doctor asked Mai Xiaoshu in disbelief.
"I..." Mai Xiaoshu looked at the doctor and hesitated to speak.
"Please believe me!"
"Doctor, there is no time to explain now. I promise that what she said is true. Let's perform the surgery as soon as possible." Mai Xiaoshu turned her head and saw An Chengye, who had been sitting calmly on a chair in the waiting area, walking towards her and the doctor.
"But if we perform the operation without checking, and if there are adverse reactions during the process, how can I take responsibility?" Doctors have their own professional ethics, and it is understandable that they have concerns, but the black bear's condition was not good just now. If the operation is not performed, it may be in danger.
"Doctor, please help it, please help it?" Mai Xiaoshu kept begging. Despite this, the doctor was still hesitant. She suddenly felt so insignificant.
"I will bear all the consequences." An Chengye's voice was like a ray of sunshine, breaking through the dark clouds. He said firmly, "Doctor Wang, I am its manager. I am willing to bear all the consequences."
With An Chengye's words, the doctor led the assistant doctors and nurses to the operating room as if he had made up his mind.
after an hour.
The doctor came out of the operating room holding a bloodstained iron spoon and told them with a smile that the operation went smoothly. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
At this time, An Chengye walked out alone in silence in front of everyone.
Night has already fallen unknowingly, and the temperature outside is several degrees lower than that inside...
Under the inky sky, An Chengye looked up and saw dust particles floating quietly under the dim street lights. Although humble, they were also one of the substances existing in the universe.
He thought of Mai Xiaoshu. Perhaps her persistence was right. After experiencing everything tonight, he suddenly realized that his past remarks that only the strong could survive seemed biased.
Although he developed the Reiki ZOO software, his starting point has always been profit. Even if he pretends to be righteous on the surface, saying that animals are our most sincere friends and that animals will achieve true equality with humans in the future, in fact, in his heart, he is like most people and thinks that humans are the masters of this earth...
In his eyes, most other animals are actually no different from goods in shopping malls or exhibits in exhibitions.
What could they understand? They are just a group of creatures living on instinct.
However, the suicide of the black bear made him doubt the truth he firmly believed in. In his eyes, things that were originally just simple commodities seemed to suddenly become different.
They have thoughts and emotions like humans, so when they heard that a black bear committed suicide, it felt like they had done something wrong and caused someone to commit suicide, and they were filled with guilt.
At this moment, he truly realized that they were also living beings and deserved to be taken seriously.
However, his long-term belief still left a glimmer of hope in his heart.
He controlled his trembling body and comforted himself: "What happened today might just be an accident..."
A week later, Mai Xiaoshu received a message from Gong Wanzhi during class: Black Bear had recovered successfully and would be discharged from the hospital soon, but the Reiki ZOO project was still going on.
Mai Xiaoshu was still angry with An Chengye because of what happened last time and had not been to work. Strangely, An Chengye did not send anyone to talk to her about the penalty for breach of contract. She originally thought that if An Chengye came to her senses, things would change, but the facts told her that things were not developing in the good direction she wished.
At night, Mai Xiaoshu tossed and turned in bed. She couldn't sleep all night because she thought that because of An Chengye and the Reiki ZOO project, there might be many cases like Black Bear's in the future.
If she knew there was a big pit ahead and still let the animals die, then she would be committing a serious sin . After a night of internal and external struggle, Mai Xiaoshu decided to find An Chengye the next day to settle the matter.