Originally, Han Sha’s birthday plans for his daughter were simple.
Taking advantage of his daughter’s improving health with the new medication, he planned to take Han Wan to the park near the hospital to bask in the sun and eat a cake in the sunlight… that simple.
For ordinary children, these might just be two trivial little things, but for Han Wan, who had been chronically ill and weak, she hadn’t properly enjoyed sunbathing for a whole year. Most of the time, it was only through Han Sha’s homemade “sun reflector” that a few spots of light could shine into the hospital room.
By all rights, the plan should have been like this.
When Han Sha got into the back seat of Lei Hong’s car, his mind went completely blank. Song Nanshi, who was the last to lock up, was still carrying the cake he had custom-ordered for his daughter. In just over ten hours, it should have been in Han Wan’s hands, but—
“Boss, how is Xiao Wan’s condition now? Why are you at the hospital?”
Song Nanshi dove into the car, and immediately Lei Hong stepped on the gas, taking them onto the elevated highway, speeding toward the hospital.
Gripping his cold, sweaty palms, Han Sha heard Bai Yang’s anxious voice coming from Song Nanshi’s phone: “I’ve been here these past few days… She was fine yesterday, but today they said the recent cold weather made Xiao Wan catch a cold. Her lung condition wasn’t good to begin with. Did you bring Old Han over?”
“Tell the boss ten minutes to arrival, there’s some traffic at this hour.”
Lei Hong overtook a car without taking her eyes off the road. In the distance, Han Sha could even see the red characters of Central Hospital.
Originally, after using the new medication, Han Wan’s lung infection should have greatly improved—she could even go a week without phlegm drainage.
He didn’t want to see the large bruises on his daughter’s waist and abdomen from the compression during phlegm drainage anymore.
Han Sha closed his eyes, suddenly feeling warmth on the back of his hand. Song Nanshi said gently: “It’s okay, Brother Han. The boss said it’s just a cold, don’t worry too much… there’s no life-threatening danger.”
Song Nanshi said “human words” as best she could, but Han Sha knew very clearly in his heart.
Although it was just a cold, for Han Wan it could be fatal.
Han Sha couldn’t help thinking of those first few years when, even though he worked desperately to earn money, what he could afford was still insufficient for Han Wan to receive adequate medication. Because of this, her lower limbs and cardiopulmonary functions had suffered considerable damage. From then on, the ventilator couldn’t leave her side, and she definitely needed a wheelchair for mobility.
Thinking of these things, Han Sha felt ice-cold inside. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but when his gaze fell on the cake in Song Nanshi’s arms, Han Sha swallowed the words at his lips.
In this world, no one would truly treat him as a friend anyway.
Therefore, he never had the right to demand others understand his worries.
In less than ten minutes, Lei Hong swung the car into the hospital parking lot.
All the way upstairs, Han Sha felt as if he were in a replay of scenes from the past ten years. During Han Wan’s most dangerous days, he would often stare at the changing numbers on the hospital elevator, imagining they were his daughter’s age, going from 1 all the way to 30—
The doctor had said that without adequate medication, Xiao Wan couldn’t possibly live to thirty, but Han Sha just had to defy fate.
He wanted his daughter to live out her full life properly.
Almost as soon as the door opened, Han Sha saw his worried boss standing in the elevator area. Bai Yang rushed up first: “Old Han, don’t worry yet, she’s already had an examination…”
But at this moment Han Sha had lost all patience. He rushed into the hospital room in two quick steps, and immediately—
“Happy birthday, Daddy!”
As a bunch of streamers covered Han Sha’s face, before he could react, someone charged out of the bathroom to hug his legs.
Han Sha: “…”
He looked down to see Han Wan in her wheelchair, properly dressed and wearing an elaborately braided hairstyle for the first time in a long while. A small exploded party popper lay on her lap, and she was staring at him cheerfully like a little animal.
“Daddy, did I scare you?”
Han Wan stuck her tongue out at him, and Han Sha’s sharp mind didn’t lack blood flow for long. He quickly realized what was happening and frowned: “Bai Yang has been preparing this with you these past two days?”
“Let me say first, this was Xiao Wan’s idea, not mine—I wouldn’t dare scare you with something like this.”
Bai Yang entered from outside with his other two employees, conveniently placing a pointed birthday hat on Han Sha’s head, emphasizing: “This was also specifically requested by your daughter.”
“Throwing me a birthday party?”
Han Sha chewed over his daughter’s words just now, looking somewhat puzzledly at the mother who was pushing the wheelchair with a smile: “Aren’t we celebrating Xiao Wan’s birthday?”
“Tomorrow is my birthday. Today is to make up your birthday, so Daddy can have some time that belongs to himself too!”
The little girl explained crisply: “You haven’t had a birthday in so long, Daddy. You didn’t this year, didn’t last year, didn’t the year before… I’ve been thinking for so long about making up a birthday for you.”
“So you conspired with Uncle Bai to deceive me?”
Han Sha raised his eyebrows, his expression unreadable as to whether he was angry. The little girl, understanding his thoughts so well, immediately hugged his legs pitifully: “Daddy, don’t be angry. I just wanted to give you a surprise… don’t blame Uncle Bai either. To keep it from you, he’s done a lot of fake moves these past two days.”
“You mean making those cupcakes in front of me?” Han Sha looked coolly at Bai Yang. “This was Bai Liu’s idea, wasn’t it? Wasting store ingredients on fake moves?”
Bai Yang, rarely able to fool Han Sha once, was pleased as punch, written all over his face: “It wasn’t wasted. Aren’t you taking your daughter to the park tomorrow? Those were prepared for tomorrow.”
“And the cake I custom-ordered from you? Also a fake move? I paid you to perform fake moves for me? And tonight Xiao Song and Xiao Lei’s performance was also your fake moves? To deceive me?”
Han Sha sneered coldly, his gaze looking like he might devour Bai Yang alive the next second.
Bai Yang: “…”
With no choice, he could only look pleadingly toward his last teammate. Fortunately, Han Wan was very reliable, immediately pulling Han Sha’s hand and saying obediently: “Daddy, I’m planning to share the cake you ordered for me with Uncle Bai and the others tonight… because without them, I couldn’t have made a cake for you either.”
“A cake for me?”
Han Sha narrowed his eyes: “He actually dared take you out to make cakes?”
“No, no, Uncle Bai brought cream in a cooler box and has been teaching me piping these past few evenings.”
As she spoke, Han Wan had her grandmother wheel her to the refrigerator, carefully taking out a five-inch cake from the small two-layer fridge.
Unlike the exquisite cakes in the store, the cake Han Wan brought out was somewhat lopsided. On top, bright colored cream simply depicted an unsmiling man holding a little girl’s hand, with a brilliant sun above their heads.
“For you, Daddy.”
The little girl lit the candles and presented the cake to him, as carefully as if she were holding a diamond.
“There’s no second person in the world who would help me borrow sunlight, so Daddy is my sun… I hope Daddy can also be happy, not always doing things he doesn’t want to do for me, that he can have his own life, make friends he wants to make, love people he wants to love, trust others and be trusted by others, then live openly and honestly with me and Grandma.”
Han Wan had rehearsed this speech in her mind for several days, but only when she actually said it did she realize she didn’t need to memorize it at all.
This was a truly heartfelt wish, so she delivered it so smoothly in one breath, those warm flames dancing quietly in her eyes.
“Boss, do you want tissues?”
In the quiet, only Song Nanshi’s soft inquiry to Bai Yang beside her could be heard.
“What are you thinking about?” Lei Hong nudged Han Sha’s shoulder. “Are you going to make the little girl keep holding it? Hurry up and make a wish. Today is your ‘birthday,’ a day that belongs to you.”
Come to think of it, how long had it been… since he’d celebrated a birthday with others? After all, after giving up those “luxuries” that belonged to him, wishes didn’t seem so important anymore… he hadn’t even considered matters concerning “Han Sha” as a person for a long time.
In a daze, Han Sha took the cake, noticing that the girl on the cake was standing upright, holding her father’s hand under the sun, just like an ordinary child who had never been sick.
If this was his daughter’s wish—
“As for wishes, didn’t she already say them all for me?”
As if unwilling to let others notice the tremor in his voice, Han Sha kept his voice very low as he blew out the candles.
“For Xiao Wan’s sake.”
At this moment, in the dim hospital room, only his daughter’s eyes reflected the lights from the corridor, bright as the sun at night.
Han Sha said softly: “Boss, for today’s events, I’ll temporarily let it slide.”
[Extra Chapter 3 Complete]