Fang Ke Xin smiled bashfully but couldn’t hide her restlessness. Her gaze kept drifting toward the courtyard. The relentless wind and rain had soaked her bangs, and when she brushed them aside, her fingers came away ice-cold. Beneath her bandaged hand, blood seeped faintly through the gauze.
Unable to sit still, she busied herself in the kitchen, but a growing sense of unease gnawed at her. Her stomach churned with nausea, and she barely managed two spoonfuls of porridge before abandoning her bowl. She pulled out her phone and dialed the one number she knew by heart.
The unanswered call only deepened her fear. She tried to reassure herself: I’m overreacting. He’s fine. Maybe he’s just busy. Maybe he’ll walk through that door any minute now.
The sound of yi yi ren porridge bubbling on the stove marked the passing of minutes, then ten, then twenty. Fang Ke Xin felt her composure unraveling. Anxiety, frustration, and dread wove a suffocating web around her, leaving her unable to think or breathe.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted outside. Voices called urgently, “Doctors, come quickly! Something’s happened! Call 120!”
Her body froze, a chilling numbness spreading from her feet to her head. She dropped her apron and bolted out of the kitchen.
In the courtyard, several villagers were pulling doctors toward the door, shouting, “It’s Dr. He! We found him, but he’s unconscious. He has several injuries—we didn’t dare move him and left someone to guard the site.”
A wave of pain so intense it felt physical crushed her chest. But her instincts as a doctor took over, forcing her mind into sharp focus. “I’m coming too!”
The few hundred meters from the clinic to the village felt like the longest distance she had ever traveled. The path stretched endlessly before her, shrouded in rain and mist. She ran as if every second might cost her a lifetime.
Her vision blurred, her mind a whirlwind of fear and desperation. Only one thought repeated in her heart:
He Su Ye, as long as you’re okay—just be okay. If the heavens demand I give up everything, I will, as long as you’re safe.
At the entrance of the village, a small crowd had already gathered. Seeing them run over, someone exclaimed in relief, “The doctors are here, they’re here!”
The lead doctor rushed forward, and Fang Ke Xin followed close behind. The sight before her made her almost break down in tears. An experienced doctor crouched to assess the situation, his face grim. “Concussion, contusions. Externally, no severe injuries, but we can’t rule out internal bleeding or a brain shift. We can’t make any optimistic conclusions just yet.”
Lying there, He Su Ye looked as though he was peacefully asleep, but to Fang Ke Xin, he appeared as if he might never wake up. Fear, despair, and an unbearable cold coursed through her, choking her breath and clouding her vision with a misty haze of gray.
Everyone could only pray that the ambulance would arrive quickly.
After what felt like an eternity, the wailing of sirens broke the oppressive tension, jolting everyone awake. The ambulance screeched to a halt, and a team of paramedics expertly lifted He Su Ye onto a stretcher. Fang Ke Xin jumped into the vehicle. “I know him best—let me go with him.”
Rain poured down, stinging her eyes, but she forced them open to watch as the doctors checked his blood pressure and pulse. The noise in her head was deafening, and she struggled to stay calm, repeating to herself, Stay composed. Stay composed.
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