Chapter 437: Chapter 294: Carefree Farewell [Additional 4000 Characters ]_2
Translator: 549690339 ,
He had managed to hold on until now just by sheer willpower.
He always said that his family was not large, and he didn’t have many relatives. If he left, and his kid came back one day and saw nothing, how sad would that be?
Back in the day, I, Old Chen, was also a tough guy who carried a gun. I wasn’t afraid of gunfire. If I said I wouldn’t die, I wouldn’t die.
Even the Grim Reaper is afraid of me.
Everyone hoped that this stubborn old man’s dream would come true.
But time is the most merciless dull knife in the world. No one can resist it. Even the toughest old man, who had persisted year after year and escaped death time and again, would eventually have to admit defeat.
His wish became more and more unlikely to be fulfilled.
Now he was finally forced to give up.
Harrison Clark swallowed and asked, “Is Moor Clark inside? How is he doing now?” 6
The doctor looked at him with slight surprise, “You are…?”
“I am his grandson, Harrison Clark.”
Everyone: “What!”
Thirty seconds later, Harrison appeared by the bedside.
The old man didn’t know he had come in, lying softly on the half-raised bed. There were apples on the cabinet beside the bed – they had been peeled long ago and had turned somewhat black due to oxidation.
There was also a bowl with leftover glutinous rice balls from the morning. This had been his habit for many years, but unfortunately, he couldn’t finish them this time.
The old man’s hands were crossed on his chest, his fingers interlocked, his head tilted slightly, and his cloudy eyes were looking out the window.
The sun outside the window was shining brightly on the elm tree.
The gentle breeze blew, making the branches sway slightly.
Compared to twenty years ago, the old man’s face had many more wrinkles like gullies.
His expression was calm, but his teeth were clenched tightly.
He was trying hard to breathe, but his breath was steadily weakening.
On the heart rate monitor next to him, the fluorescent beats were slowing down little by little, but as he took each forced breath and his chest raised slightly, there would be a slight acceleration.
Although he said he just wanted to be alone and quietly face death, he still refused to give up.
Harrison slowly approached and carefully whispered, “Grandpa, I came back.”
The old man suddenly turned his head.
He stared at Harrison blankly.
The cloudiness in his eyes seemed to dissipate at a visible speed. An indescribable smile blossomed on his wrinkled, dark-spotted face. He opened his mouth to say something, but all that came out were wheezing sounds, as if he had phlegm.
It seemed he couldn’t speak anymore.
He suddenly raised his right hand and stretched it toward Harrison’s face.
The rough touch felt like a knife on Harrison’s face, but he didn’t dodge or avoid it.
There was a lot Harrison wanted to say, but he couldn’t utter a word.
“Heh-heh! Heh! Cough! Ptui!”
The old man suddenly sat upright, then spat out phlegm to the side. He turned his head back to look at Harrison again.
He could finally make a sound from his throat.
His voice was deep and resonant, his laughter like a blooming flower.
“Ha! Hahaha! You’re back!”
“Yes, I’m back.”
The old man stared at him, “I’m not being tricked. They didn’t get someone to impersonate you. You look just like your father.”
As the old man spoke, he scraped Harrison’s face with his hand.
“What’s your name now?”
“Harrison Clark.”
“Still have the surname Chen?”
“Yes.”
“Hahahaha!”
The old man laughed wildly, his smile growing brighter and brighter. But tears streamed down from the corners of his eyes.
He quickly raised his left hand, desperately rubbing his eyes, “No good, no good. These damn things are blocking my view, and I can’t see you clearly. I need to take a better look.”
Harrison sat down beside him, “It’s okay. I’m rich now and can afford to cure you. Grandpa, just get better quickly so you can see me as much as you want.” The old man shook his head, “No need, this is enough. I know my own situation. If I don’t leave now, the Grim Reaper will quit. It’s fine, after all, this life was enough for me.”
Harrison didn’t reply to that.
The old man asked again, “Are you married? Do you have kids?”
“Not yet.”
“Do you have a partner?”
Yes. ‘ You’ll have to work harder then!”
“Yes.”
Grandfather gradually became more excited, speaking louder, “Hey, why am I asking all these questions? Anyway, you’re back now, and after I go down I’ll have something to say to the Chen family members, and to your parents.”’ Harrison wanted to say it wasn’t time for him to go yet, but talking about it was pointless at this moment.
Grandfather touched Harrison’s face again, “Kid, you’ve suffered a lot. Have you been through a lot of hardships?”
Harrison: “It’s… it’s alright.”
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have let your cousin take care of you. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have gotten lost.”
“It’s fine. I’m back now, aren’t I?“
Grandfather: “Yes, you came back just in time, just perfect.”
After saying this, Grandfather suddenly lay down weakly, even his hand that had been rubbing Harrison’s face lost its strength and fell.
Harrison clenched his lips tightly and held onto his hand.
He spoke weakly but kept on teaching, “Don’t cry! A real man bleeds but doesn’t cry! Lin Guider has said that birth, aging, sickness, and death are natural No one can escape it. I’m not afraid of dying; I’m afraid of dying meaningless. Can’t you see I’m laughing and happy?”
“But you cry first.”
“I’m about to die. What’s wrong with crying? You’re different; you still have a long life ahead.”
“Yes.”
Grandfather: “Harrison.”
“Here.”
“Actually, I shouldn’t have lectured you the moment we met. But when you were young, I lost you before I had a chance to teach you about life. I’m afraid it will be too late if I don’t do it now.”
Harrison: “Grandpa, you can say it, I’m listening.”
“Remember, don’t let down those who are good to you, and act with sincerity in everything you do. Don’t hate your fate; some things are destined. Look at me, I’ve waited for you for twenty years, but these few minutes have made me completely satisfied.”
“Yes.”
“Your father is a stalwart man, and your mother is a strong woman. They have done what they are supposed to do. Don’t blame them for not taking care of you while growing up.”
“I won’t.”
“NOW, you’re also a strong man. We, the old Chens, only produce strong men. I can see that you have something on your mind, big things, but you can definitely hold up. No matter what you encounter in the future, just think about my words.”
Grandfather lifted his hand again, hung it around Harrison’s neck, “I have to go now.”
Harrison couldn’t find the words to reply.
But you really don’t have to be sad, I have no regrets at all. All the things I wanted to say to you in my life add up to just this much. Everything else is nonsense; it doesn’t matter if you don’t hear it.”
Harrison: “Yes.”
Grandfather: “I’m really leaving now.”
The hand fell.
A continuous alarm from the heart monitor was piercingly loud.
Harrison sat in the chair for a long, long time.
Grandpa was exactly like the most beautiful image he had imagined.
But the time they spent together was too short.
So short that Harrison had not even had time to react to the beautiful moment before it was gone.
For a brief moment, he really wanted to rush out and ask the heavens why.
What had he done wrong to deserve this punishment?
But, he quickly realized that there were indeed no gods in this world.
And if there really were any, it would probably be himself.
He recalled Grandfather’s incredible boldness and grace.
He didn’t know if Gramps pretended to be that way to keep him from being sad
or if he was just born with unwavering strength.
But that question would go unanswered forever.
Does the Chen family only produce tough men?
Harrison looked at Moor with his eyes closed.
He might have seen something within himself that others couldn’t.
Can I really hold on…?
Doctors and nurses filed in one after the other from outside.
Harrison stood up, took off his hat, turned to look at everyone, bowed deeply and said, “Thank you.”
“Harrison!”
Someone recognized him at a glance.
Harrison nodded, “It’s me.”
Eight days later, Harrison quietly returned to Oxfordshire.
He hadn’t informed anyone about his trip to London other than Avril.
During these few days, Avril, who knew what was going on, called him from time to time, seemingly wanting to ask about his condition and chat casually. Harrison knew her purpose was probably to comfort him.
He personally felt it was unnecessary. With such a bold and unrestrained Grandpa, it was difficult for him to be sad even if he wanted to.
After the funeral, he planned to wait until May 26th to return, spending more time here, taking walks every day, and relaxing his mind in preparation for the mission ahead.
But something minor happened in Oxfordshire, so on May 22nd, he ended up leaving anyway..