Ye Snr. rested until he found it easier to breathe. His lips moved slightly but this time, his voice was even softer and weaker than before.
He looked at his son hopefully and there was a plea in his eyes as he said, “Ah Hao, after I’m gone, you must do two things for me. First, you must take good care of your mother on my behalf and ensure that she lives out the rest of her days in peace. Don’t make her upset or get angry with her.”
Ye Hao nodded and his tears flowed freely.
Naturally, he would look after his mother since she was his closest relative.
Ye Snr. paused for a moment before he said, “Second, you will be the head of the household after I’m gone. I know that you are not on very good terms with your three half-siblings but I don’t want to see you fighting with them after I’ve passed on. This is especially so for Ye Yi since he has always harbored resentment toward me because of the decision I made two years ago. I’m worried that he might do something rash. But Ye Hao, he is still your brother after all and both of you share the same bloodline. Regardless of what he has done, I don’t want to see his life destroyed in the future. I don’t wish to see this happen to any one of my children and if this happens, I will not be able to rest in my grave.”
Ye Snr. suddenly started to cough.
Ye Hao quickly stretched out to press the button that would summon a doctor but Ye Snr. stopped him with a wave of his hand.
“I’m fine,” Ye Snr. said with a slight shake of his head. “Have you committed my earlier words to memory?”
Ye Hao nodded without a second’s hesitation.
He didn’t have the heart to turn down his father’s request when he saw how bad his father’s condition was. Although he detested Ye Yi, he wouldn’t target him as long as he didn’t step out of line.
Ye Snr. suddenly pursed his lips into a small smile. He hardly ever smiled and as someone who was usually so serious, it was rare that he would smile so calmly.
He had played the corporate game for more than 30 years and now that his life was about to come to an end, he realized that he did not care about money nor fame, but his family, his wife, and his children. He was most worried about his wife.
“Go on out and ask your mother to come here and keep me company,” Ye Snr. said after he had given his instructions to Ye Hao and waved his hand.
Ye Hao only left the room after he had tucked his father into bed. Then, he called his mother into the room.
His face was still streaked with tears when he emerged from the ward. He wasn’t very sorrowful at the impending death of his father but this thought upset him.
He knew that his father didn’t have much longer to live.
In the span of a year, he lost the woman he loved and now, he was losing his father. This was a kind of sorrow that most ordinary men would be unable to withstand.
Ye Yi rushed over the moment he saw Ye Hao emerge from the ward.
He grabbed Ye Hao’s sleeve and said loudly, “What did dad tell you? Why are the doctors saying that he is refusing to transfer hospitals nor undergo another operation?”
Ye Yi was so worried that cold sweat had beaded on his forehead.
He assumed that his father would call him into the room to give him a long list of instructions, and even imagined that his father would end up gifting him with expensive items. However, there was none of that.
His father had only called Ye Hao into the room before he called for his step-mother Xia Jingshu.
Did the plight of the three siblings not concern his father? His dad had always doted on him the most when he was younger and had personally raised him.
Why was dad refusing to change hospitals? Why was dad giving up on treatment altogether?
Ye Hao pulled Ye Yi’s hand off him but he didn’t speak since he didn’t want to get into an argument.
He sighed, then walked toward the end of the corridor.