Awake

Chapter 25

Ever since Yibo got a call from Zhan to come pick up a package at the hospital no matter how hard he wrecked his brain, he couldn't figure out what that package would be.

The exchange between the two men was so quick but yet so detailed that even on his drive home, Yibo was still confused as to what just happened.

He was handed his father, a bag full of medicines and a long list of instructions and detox places to call in case of emergency, and he couldn't get a hold of Zhan.

His father sat silently next to him, just looking at him as if he were seeing a ghost. To his defense, he was told over and over again that his son died. It had to be quite overwhelming to be suddenly sitting next to him right now.

"Hello, Yibo."

"Hello, father. I believe this is our sixth greeting so far. Do you wanna say something else to me?"

Yibo was aware that the situation with his father was bad, but he didn't expect it to be this bad.

"Did you come back with mom?"

"Whose mom dad?"

"Michelle, my wife. She left with you and never came back to me. Did you come back with her?"

"No, dad. Mom and I didn't go to the same place."

"Oh."

That was all his father could manage before Yibo noticed that his father had sweat beads forming on his forehead. Zhan told him that depending on how often he was given the drugs, Yibo would start seeing withdrawal symptoms very soon, and once they start, they won't let up until the end.

They soon got to Zhan's place, and Yibo quickly set up everything for his dad in the guestroom. Zhan did a great job labeling everything he gave Yibo. The doses, time to administer the meds, how often, and instructions on how to handle things like cramps, vomiting, and seizures. Everything was written down in detail. From the handwriting, Yibo could tell that the notes were written in a hurry.

He bathed his dad and hooked him onto an IV with the first round of meds. This was not the first time Yibo had to assist someone on a detox. His uncle also went through the same thing after his mom passed away. Uncle Zhuyi had gotten himself addicted to drugs for a season, and when he decided to kick the habit, he did it with Yibo's assistance.

No matter what he had gone through with Uncle Zhuyi, there was nothing that could have prepared him for the sort of battle that lay ahead.

It didn't take long before his dad started to show withdrawal symptoms. He started complaining of nausea, and soon, vomiting followed. Yibo knew that he needed to keep his dad hydrated and comfortable.

Every hour was a battle against new symptoms. The hardest ones to deal with were seizures and cramps. Yibo felt alone and tired by the end of the second day. He couldn't call Zhan or Yubin for help because they were keeping Ziyi distracted at the hospital. He also didn't want to draw any suspicion towards Zhan.

On top of dealing with his dad's situation, he had to finish working on the financials of the Wang company. He had to prove that there was a lot of money laundering going on in the company, and at the center of it was Ziyi and her minions. She was paying so many people with the company profits and then misrepresenting the truth in the books. She had so many people in her payroll that it was hard to get people to talk or turn on her, so Yibo had to depend on fact.

Because of the relationship between Yubin and his brother, it was easy to get the companies financials. Fanxing was young and didn't know a lot about business, so he depended on Yubin's input and advice for a lot of things. Maybe that's how the relationship started.