In the clinic, there were a pile of large blocks on the short table. The child Gao Wenxing was very attentive and picked up a block with his little hands to show it to his mother from time to time. Luo Xiaomei accompanied him, with a slightly nervous expression.

Luo Jingyu and Zhanxi sat on a chair not far away, watching Gao Yuan communicate with a middle-aged female doctor.

Gao Wenxing just passed fifteen months and underwent a binaural cochlear implant surgery a month ago. He recovered well after the operation. This day was the day when he started the computer and debugged it.

Gao Yuan sat in a wheelchair, chatted with the doctor for a while, then transferred the wheelchair to Luo Xiaomei, and told her sign language: [Xiaomei, you can start.]

Luo Xiaomei let her go to the side, and the audiologist of the cochlear manufacturer sat down beside Gao Wenxing.

Xingxing found that his mother had walked away, raised her head and called out "Ahhh". Luo Xiaomei called him sign language: [Starxing, be good.]

Gao Wenxing could understand his mother's simple sign language, and when he saw his father, he smiled with his little mouth with six teeth.

He was a beautiful little boy, but at this time he was shaved with a bald head. He wore a cochlear implant's head piece at the back dot above his ears. It was two black flat round equipment, which was a circle larger than a one-yuan coin.

Under the head piece is the implantation device of the cochlear implant. Between the skull and the scalp, the head piece is worn by a magnet to attach to the internal equipment, and can be taken down at any time. Connecting to the head piece by a line is a small box-like speech processor, clamped on his small shoulder.

The working principle of cochlear implant is that the microphone in the header captures the sound in the external environment and transmits it to the speech processor. The processor converts the sound into a digital signal according to the program, and directly stimulates the auditory nerves by implanting the electrode system in the patient's body, thereby restoring, improving and reconstructing the hearing function of the deaf.

Xingxing is still young, Gao Yuan and Luo Xiaomei did not choose an ear-back processor for him. The ear-back style must be worn on the ears all the time, which is too heavy for a child who is only one year old. Even if he chooses a body-based style, Xingxing always wants to remove it, including the two head pieces on his head, which will cause trouble every time he touches it.

Gao Yuan and Luo Xiaomei took a lot of effort to get their son to adapt to this set of external devices. Although they had never turned on the machine, the doctor also instructed the child to wear it every day and to make him accustomed to the existence of these things.

At this stage when the cochlear external devices have not yet been developed to be smaller and lighter, Xingxing’s life will be inseparable from these two headers and speech processors.

Luo Jingyu and Zhan Xi also walked over, they were called by Gao Yuan.

Gao Yuan didn't know that they had consulted IVF, and had always been concerned about Luo Jingyu's attitude towards the "child" and felt that this was also a problem that my brother-in-law and Zhan Xi might face in the future. He just wanted Luo Jingyu to witness the moment when Xingxing heard the sound, and wanted to give him more confidence and let him know that congenital deafness is no longer a medical problem.

The listener explained to Gao Yuan before that in the program he set up, the sound will be very small after the computer is turned on. This volume must be used to the debugging of Xingxing for half a month. Then, debug it every half month. First, let the child enter the audio world from the silent world, and then slowly let him perceive the source of the sound, the volume, the difference between natural sound and human speech, as well as the different meanings of the words, etc.

This is a long process of hard work. After adapting to the audio world, Xingxing must undergo long-term listening and language training. The goal is to allow him to enter an ordinary kindergarten after the age of three, then enter an ordinary primary school, and successfully integrate into the healthy listening children.

Everything is ready and the listener is ready to turn on.

The clinic was silent, and everyone was waiting with a breath of concentration.

Luo Jingyu seemed to be nervous than Gao Yuan. Zhan Xi held his hand firmly, and could feel his nails clenched into her palm.

They looked at the listener and Xingxing intently. The listener had long been used to such scenes and helped Xingxing turn on the phone very easily.

He looked at the computer screen, and everyone else looked at the stars.

How magical, it seemed that in a moment, Xingxing, who was originally playing with building blocks, was stunned for a moment, raised his little head and looked around blankly, then he grinned his mouth and started crying with a "wow".

After crying for a few times, he stopped again, blinked his eyes, looked at Luo Xiaomei pitifully, stretched out his little hand to his mother, and cried even louder.

The listener asked Luo Xiaomei to hug the child and comfort her. When Luo Xiaomei hugged Xingxing, the listener began to tap the table rhythmically. Xingxing seemed to be frightened, and she hugged in her mother's arms and cried so hard that she kept turning her head, as if she was looking for something.

The listener clapped his hands again, picked up some vocal items, and circled around Xingxing and spoke from different places, sometimes allowing him to see it, sometimes not.

When he did these things, Xingxing responded, crying so miserably. After a few times, he seemed to have discovered something. He raised his hand to grab the head pieces on his head, trying to take them off. Luo Xiaomei grabbed his hand, and he twisted his little body, crying so hard that he burst into tears.

The listener did not stop, and his voice became loud, small, and then went to the computer to debug. He "tortured" Xingxing for a long time. The listener signaled everyone to be quiet and no longer use objects to make a sound. Xingxing seemed to sense something, and his expression gradually became calm from panic, and he hid in his mother's arms and sobbed.

After a while of quietness, the listener began to speak again, and Xingxing immediately began to cry in the second round.

The female doctor smiled beside Gao Yuan and said, "It seems that the effect is good. It is normal for children to be afraid and cry. Each child's first reaction after turning on the computer is different. Such a young child has such a reaction that means..."

Gao Yuan looked up at her, his eyes were filled with tears, and he said tremblingly, "It means... he heard it, right?"

"Yes." The doctor smiled kindly, "He heard it."

Luo Xiaomei cried, Zhan Xi cried too, turned to look at Luo Jingyu. His eyes were also red, and his right fingernail pinched her palm so much that it hurt.

He kept looking at Xingxing, and his nephew cried so sadly, but he didn't know that all the adults present were ecstatic.

Gao Wenxing heard it, the operation was successful, and the cochlear implant started working. With the help of modern medicine and technology, a child with congenital deafness could hear the sound.

This is just the beginning. After the commissioning was completed, the doctor and the listener explained a lot to Gao Yuan, such as how to maintain and store the external device of the cochlear implant, and how to train the stars to listen.

"At this stage, don't rush to teach him how to speak." The female doctor told Gao Yuan, "The child is still young, and a child who is so old won't say anything. The key is to let him learn to listen first. You can talk to him more, give him some soft voices, let him know the names of some items, as well as the names of relatives, parents, grandparents, etc. You must make him accustomed to wearing external devices and slowly adapt to wearing them all day. It is important to accompany and comfort the family. Don't worry, give the child some time, and he can learn to speak."

Gao Yuan asked: "When will it be appropriate to start teaching to speak?"

The doctor replied: "According to our experience, it will take about half a year, eight months to more than a year. Let the child listen to the voice for half a year. After he is over two years old, he will enter the language sensitive period and adapt to the voice and learn quickly. You are a healthy listener and have more advantages than those families where both husband and wife are deaf, so you must work harder than your wife."

Gao Yuan cried with joy and wiped his eyes: "I will definitely accompany the child and talk to him more."

After leaving the hospital, everyone got into the car. Gao Wenxing was crying too tired and fell asleep in his mother's arms.

This time I drove Zhanxi's car. Because Gao Yuan was afraid that he would be too excited to drive steadily, he and Luo Xiaomei took the child to the back seat, and Luo Jingyu took the co-pilot.

After Zhanxi started the car, Gao Wenxing woke up again and cried non-stop.

The poor little guy couldn't express his fear at all. He was probably scared by the sound of the car's engine, and perhaps his own cry. He always cried for a while, and looked around with tears in his eyes, not knowing what was going on.

No one can empathize with adults. They cannot guess what kind of situation the stars are in now. Zhan Xi went to the Internet to hear the so-called cochlear implants. They were like electronic sounds, and there were many noises in the stinging and ambient sounds. Whether it was speech or ambient sounds, they felt very unobjective.

She is a strong listener. Who can know what kind of voice the hearing-impaired people hear? They can't prove it. Besides, Xingxing is only one year old and doesn't know anything. At this time, it's probably only fear left.

Amid Xingxing's never stop crying, Zhan Xi sent Gao Yuan's family of three home. After only she and Luo Jingyu were left in the car, she turned around and asked him: "Will we go to the tea room or go home?"

Luo Jingyu replied: [Go home.]

Zhan Xi drove back to Qingquejiayuan. Along the way, she and Luo Jingyu had no communication, nor could they communicate. He never disturbed her when she drove.

The car parked in the underground garage. Luo Jingyu couldn't hold on from getting off the car, entering the elevator, and then entering 1504. Zhan Xi could probably guess what he was thinking. After closing the door, he turned around and hugged him.

Her cheeks were pressed against his shoulders, and her palms stroked his back very hard, one after another. Soon, Luo Jingyu's body trembled, Zhan Xi sniffed, forced herself to hold back her tears, and unexpectedly heard his crying sound, which gradually became uncontrollable from being suppressed in her throat, and finally she burst into tears like a child.

Zhan Xi knew that the little fish was happy for the stars. In addition to being happy, they also envy.

He had no chance to have such an operation.

Twenty-eight years, twenty-eight years! He spent twenty-eight years in the silent world. He had the opportunity to hear it, but he missed it.

We can't blame our parents, and they have no choice. In that era, ordinary families could not afford to sell so much money. Later, he became rich, but he had already passed the age of installation. This is what he has been like in his life, and there is no way at all.

Luo Jingyu hugged Zhan Xi tightly and let the tears flow down.

He knew that Huanhuan understood him and would not laugh at him, so he would let him cry unruly.

He really envied the stars too much. The little guy could hear the sound just by being so big. This was Luo Jingyu's dream of for many years and a delusion that he could not realize in his life.

What is the sound?

The "rattle" when it rains, the "meow" when the kitten crows, the "rumbling" when it thunders, and the "rustling" when the wind blows through the leaves...

This world is filled with countless sounds, instruments can play melodies, people can sing beautiful songs, small animals can tweet... Everyone can speak, each country has different languages, and has created so many onomatopoeia.

Luo Jingyu doesn’t understand all this and never feels it. He just writes it blindly when writing essays.

He would never forget the day he went to consult cochlear implants. He was carrying a bank card with a balance of tens of thousands of yuan, and fantasized with anticipation that if the money was not enough, he would ask his sister to borrow some.

At that time, there were young couples with young children around him. Occasionally, there were a few adults wearing hearing aids on their ears. A girl who was a few years older than him chatted with him in sign language. When she learned that he could not hear at all and had never worn hearing aids, she said that he might not be able to pretend.

Luo Jingyu was only twenty years old at that time, and argued with her dissatisfiedly, saying that even children can pretend, why can't he pretend? He will work hard to learn to speak! He is still so young!

The girl smiled at him and said, "You ask the doctor first."

Later...the doctors completely wiped out hope.

Luo Jingyu cried for a long time before stopping her tears. Zhan Xi took a tissue to help him wipe his eyes, feeling very distressed.

She pulled him to sit down on the sofa. Luo Jingyu's eyes were swollen from crying. She rubbed her face with both hands, and leaned weakly on the backrest of the sofa.

Zhan Xi snuggled beside him, grabbed his hand and stroked the back of his hand with his fingers. Luo Jingyu finally calmed down, turned to look at her, smiled reluctantly, and said, "I'm fine, don't worry."

Zhan Xi called him sign language: [I know you feel sad.]

Luo Jingyu shook her head: [I am not sad, I am happy.]

Zhan Xi dialed in his red nose: [Is it happy to cry like this?]

Luo Jingyu smiled embarrassedly, and gestured with her hands in front of her: [Are you unhappy? Xingxing grew up and could say to the girl he liked in person, "I love you, you can chat with each other and go to the movie together."]

Zhan Xi plays sign language: [You can do it too, haven’t we visited the movies together?]

Luo Jingyu shook his head: [He can make phone calls, listen to music, go to ordinary schools to listen to teachers' lectures, drive, and do many things that I can't do.]

He paused, looked at Zhan Xi with red eyes, and started sign language again, [I am actually... not that greedy, I actually just want to hear your voice. Huanhuan, I really want to hear your voice, but I can't hear it, I can never hear it.]

His tears slid down his cheeks again. This was the first time he expressed such words in front of Zhan Xi. He had already let go, but after seeing the scene where the stars could hear the sound, the regret hidden deep in his heart was easily aroused.

Zhan Xi could no longer hold it back, and tears also poured out of his eyes.

She wondered why Xiaoyu is like this? What should I do if I call her? What's the good thing about her voice? She has been with him all the time. Isn't that enough?

Seeing that she also shed tears, Luo Jingyu realized that his reaction seemed to be too intense. She quickly pulled out a tissue from the coffee table to wipe her tears. Zhan Xi was not grateful and even patted his hand away.

Luo Jingyu panicked, opened her lips slightly, and apologized by signing: [I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I shouldn't say this.]

Zhan Xi took a few deep breaths and started signing to him: [It's okay, I know that you feel sad, and you'll be sad. You don't have to show off in front of me. It's just a little fish, you can cry, but don't really worry about this matter. You know that it's useless to think about it. I know. I never care whether you can hear it or not. You understand. I can now understand all your words. I have said that I am willing to be your ears and mouth for the rest of my life. Just treat it as a small regret. Your wishes, the stars have helped you realize it. We should bless him, he will grow into a good boy and be a handsome and healthy young man in the future. He will be happy, and we will be happy. No one sets the standard of happiness. If you always care about what you have lost, instead of thinking about what you have, life will become very hard. Little fish, I like to see you laugh the most, do you know? You smile really well.]

Luo Jingyu looked at her for a long time and finally started to smile, with a smile from the bottom of her heart, her eyes were swollen and her nose was red, and she still smiled so warmly.

He stretched out his arms and hugged Zhan Xi in his arms, and his emotions gradually calmed down. He felt that he was fascinated and actually envious, jealous and hated a child. Huanhuan was right. Gao Wenxing helped him realize his dream, as if he was looking at himself when he was a child, embarking on another path.

Xingxing will be happy, and he is also very happy now. Being able to meet Huanhuan is the greatest happiness in his life.

——

After Gao Wenxing's cochlear implant was turned on, it was a mess at the beginning. He was the kind of child who had a more intense reaction. He always wanted to take off the head piece and cried from morning to night every day. Gao Yuan naturally would not let him go.
To be continued...