Chapter 58 Overcoming Difficulties Together Zhu Liushuang looked around at the mixed crowd...

"Shuangshuang, what's wrong?" Zhu Liushuang heard someone ask her with concern. It was Tian Xingyu's voice. "Where...where is Senior He?"

The indifferent-looking man was nowhere to be seen; only the soft sobs of the young girl were unsettling.

Tian Xingyu frowned almost imperceptibly. She squatted down, maintaining the same posture as Zhu Liushuang, and asked in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "Could it be... that he hurt you again?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Liushuang shook her head violently. She removed her hands from her face, her lips trembling slightly, and uttered the words that struck her like a bolt from the blue.

"Dr. Xie... fainted at home... is on the ambulance."

Dr. Xie? Tian Xingyu didn't react for a moment and looked confused. Just as she was about to ask more questions, she saw Ye Xingzhi rush over in one stride.

"What? How could you suddenly faint?" Ye Xingzhi's face turned deathly pale instantly. "How serious is it? Which hospital were you taken to?"

Faced with Ye Xingzhi's repeated inquiries, Zhu Liushuang shook her head blankly: "I don't know, I didn't have time to ask."

Tian Xingyu's expression suddenly turned serious. In her stuck thoughts, "Dr. Xie" and "Grandpa He Ming" became synonymous: "So, he has already rushed to the hospital?"

Zhu Liushuang nodded emphatically: "He left as soon as he got the call."

Compared to her obvious loss of composure, Ye Xingzhi was much calmer. He pondered for a moment and said, "Instead of wasting time worrying here, why don't we go and take a look? There's only one top-tier hospital in Gucheng; presumably, the ambulance will take you there."

“Okay, you two go get the car first… I’ll call He Ming beforehand to ask him about the situation, but he might not answer.” Ye Xingzhi made a quick decision. “Let’s meet at the People’s Hospital parking lot in a bit.”

Having squatted on the ground for so long, her legs were a little numb, so Zhu Liushuang and Tian Xingyu helped each other to their feet. She had been lost in a daze when He Ming had just left, but now she was completely clear-headed.

Dr. Xie was the closest person to him in the world, and at such a critical moment, she could not let him fight alone.

"Senior Ye, if there's any important news later, please call me! Ayu is driving, so it's inconvenient for her to answer." Zhu Liushuang glanced at Ye Xingzhi, then took Tian Xingyu's hand and walked quickly towards the school gate.

Behind him, Ye Xingzhi called out, "I'm going to the convenience store to buy some food. What do you guys want to eat?"

"Whatever—" the two hurriedly walked away, saying in unison.

————

The silver-gray sports car sped along the asphalt road, while ahead, a traffic jam stretched out, with vehicles moving slowly in a long queue.

"The traffic is this bad at midday; I've never seen this many cars before!" Tian Xingyu couldn't help but mutter. As she spoke, she glanced at Zhu Liushuang in the passenger seat and softly comforted her, "Don't overthink it; maybe it's just low blood sugar?"

“Dr. Xie has high blood sugar.” Zhu Liushuang looked straight ahead, his brows furrowed. “He also has high blood pressure.”

The convoy sped up, and Tian Xingyu overtook two cars in one go. She sighed, "I hope it's not too serious!"

The parking lot at People's Hospital was much less crowded than usual on Sundays, saving people the time of waiting in line for a parking space.

As soon as Zhu Liushuang and Tian Xingyu got out of the car, they saw Ye Xingzhi running towards them carrying a large plastic bag. Because he had run so fast, he spoke with heavy breathing: "I made five phone calls before I could get in touch with him... He's already been sent to the ICU. Brainstem hemorrhage, 4ml."

None of those present were medical professionals and didn't know what a brainstem hemorrhage meant. Zhu Liushuang vividly remembered that her neighbor, Grandpa Qiu, had suffered a brain hemorrhage ten years ago, which amounted to about 15ml. Grandpa Qiu had narrowly escaped death back then, but he has since recovered well.

4ml, that should be considered minor bleeding, right? Was he sent to the ICU so quickly because Dr. Xie is old?

Zhu Liushuang's mind was still in turmoil. As she followed the other two, she opened her phone and searched for "brainstem hemorrhage".

The words that popped up on her phone screen made her heart race.

"The brainstem is the center of life. Once a brainstem hemorrhage occurs, the patient will quickly fall into a coma. If the hemorrhage is less than 3ml, the mortality rate is about 70%; if it is more than 5ml, it is about 90%..."

The professional doctor's explanations continued to appear on the phone screen, but Zhu Liushuang couldn't concentrate on them. Things were far from as optimistic as she had imagined.

Zhu Liushuang had visited the People's Hospital many times, accompanying her mother in and out of the inpatient department several times, but she had never set foot in the intensive care unit on the fourth floor of the inpatient department.

With a "ding," the elevator doors opened. Pushing aside the black-clad figures, the words "Intensive Care Unit" came into view. Outside the tightly closed blue doors, several groups of people stood.

Zhu Liushuang looked around and found He Ming, who was all alone, in the crowded throng.

While others sat on recliners, stools, or playmats, he sat directly on the cold, hard marble floor of the hospital. His back leaned against the white wall, his knees bent, and his head tilted slightly upward, gazing at the monotonous ceiling.

Zhu Liushuang had never seen him like this before.

Empty, ashen-faced, like a "walking corpse".

Since she met him, he had always been calm, restrained, and composed.

Ignoring Ye Xingzhi's strange look, she ran over first.

"Senior." She cast a shadow in front of him and called out to him cautiously.

Several seconds later, He Ming finally snapped out of his daze. He moved his lips, a bitter taste rising in his throat, choking back a thousand words.

This was the first time she had looked down at him. She gazed at his unusually pale face, at his eyes, like a cold, misty pool.

My heart felt like it was being gripped, throbbing with pain.

Zhu Liushuang suppressed the urge to cry and asked in an extremely gentle voice, "Dr. Xie, how are you doing now? Do you need surgery?"

He Ming lowered his head and said calmly, "The location of the brainstem is too special. If we operate, given Grandpa's age and physical condition, he might not survive the operation."

Ye Xingzhi, who had been hesitating for a long time, couldn't hold back any longer. He broke free from Tian Xingyu's grip on his clothes and stepped forward, asking urgently, "How about we transfer to another hospital? My aunt is in a hospital in the provincial capital, or we could transfer to Haishi Hospital. The technology there is better than here..."

He Ming paused for a moment, then calmly stated the facts: "The doctors here are all people my grandfather knows. The vice president just came by and said that in this situation, it doesn't matter whether he's transferred to another hospital or not. I consulted experts in Beijing and Shanghai, and they gave me the same answer. He's on a ventilator right now, and his blood pressure and temperature are unstable. He simply doesn't meet the criteria for transfer..."

"So we can only wait?" Ye Xingzhi stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

"Well, we can only treat it conservatively, and it's all up to fate. If the blood clot can be absorbed on its own and doesn't compress the surrounding brain nerves, then there might be a chance of recovery. But if the bleeding continues... I'm afraid there's not much time left."

After uttering the last half of his sentence, he seemed to have used up all his strength. His taut back hunched over, and he buried his face in his knees, saying nothing more.

The three people present felt a sinking feeling in their hearts, and no one could utter those high-sounding words of comfort. They tacitly remained silent, taking turns to sit beside He Ming, keeping him company in his agony.

Family members are not allowed to stay in the ICU, and visiting hours are limited to a mere 15 minutes in the afternoon each day. Even so, the ICU is still filled with anxious family members waiting outside.

Their hearts clenched tightly, heavy with anxiety, despair, and hope. Some were told they would soon be transferred to regular wards, some were repeatedly advised by doctors to give up, and some, despite accumulating huge debts, were determined to fight to the very last moment…

Zhu Liushuang didn't know how long Dr. Xie's battle would last, or what the outcome would be. The only thing she was certain of was that He Ming was definitely the kind of person who would stop at nothing to save her grandfather's life.

After a long while, under her gaze full of heartache and pity, the person who had been keeping his head down for so long raised his head.

He regained his usual calm and composure, his sharply defined face expressionless, making it difficult for anyone to find any trace of his vulnerability or helplessness.

“There’s nothing you can do here,” He Ming said hoarsely. “Go back early and get on with your own business. I’m enough here.”

Aside from her feelings for him, they were also schoolmates, friends, and work partners. Zhu Liushuang simply couldn't bring herself to leave gracefully.

"Senior, it's Sunday today, I don't need to go to work," Zhu Liushuang said, enunciating each word clearly.

“Yes, I’m on summer vacation and I’m really bored,” Tian Xingyu added.

"The students haven't officially started school yet, so I have time," Ye Xingzhi said, stroking his chin.

He Ming's silent gaze swept across the faces of the people around him. He roughly knew their decision, and a warm feeling welled up in his heart, but it quickly returned to numbness.

"Thank you—" he managed to squeeze out, a fire burning in his throat, each swallow feeling like rubbing against rough sandpaper.

A rustling sound came from the bag, and Ye Xingzhi took out a bag of bread from the white plastic bag: "I haven't had lunch, so I'll just grab something to tide me over."

He Ming declined, saying, "I have no appetite."

"Health is the foundation of everything! How can you have the strength to stand guard outside the door if you don't eat and drink your fill?" Ye Xingzhi provoked him.

He Ming withdrew his outstretched hand, clutching the bag of bread tightly in his grasp.

Seeing him unpack the bag and mechanically eat, Ye Xingzhi felt relieved. He then took two more bags of pineapple buns and gave them to Tian Xingyu and Zhu Liushuang: "Make do today, next time when Dr. Xie is discharged from the hospital, I'll treat you to a big meal at the faculty and staff canteen."

Perhaps to ease the tension, Ye Xingzhi forced a smile as he spoke: "It's okay if you eat all the food on my meal card."

Zhu Liushuang looked at the smile on his face that was more like a grimace, bit her lip, and said, "Okay."

————

After the doctors returned to work in the afternoon, the attending physician spoke with He Ming again, explaining that Xie Jingzhi's blood pressure and temperature were still unstable, so she couldn't be moved from the ICU for a second brain CT scan. If her condition improved tomorrow, they would do another scan tomorrow morning to check if the bleeding had increased.

The doctor instructed He Ming that he did not need to stay at the ICU entrance all the time, but his phone should be kept on 24 hours a day, and he should arrive within half an hour if he received an emergency call.

He Ming's home is about a 20-minute drive from the hospital, but he didn't dare go home to stay, so he booked a single room at a hotel across from the hospital. He planned to stay at the hospital during the day and spend the night at the hotel.

He came in a hurry and didn't bring anything with him, so someone needs to go home and pack some clothes and toiletries for him.

"Such a private matter, wouldn't it be more appropriate to ask Aunt Yuan to go?" Zhu Liushuang thought to herself. But she looked around and couldn't see Aunt Yuan anywhere.

"Senior, where is Aunt Yuan?" Her attention was focused on He Ming and Xie Jingzhi, and she hadn't paid any attention to Yuan Xiaoqin.

“I was terrified. I had his son take him home to rest,” He Ming explained, answering her question.

"Oh—" Zhu Liushuang uttered a single word in a muffled voice. It seemed that no matter what, he would always be considerate of others.

Ye Xingzhi glanced at his watch and said, "Brother, how about I go pack for you? I know your house very well anyway. It'll be visiting time soon. Write down what you need in your memo and send it to me, and I'll be there now."

He Ming's hesitation lasted only two seconds; he didn't like others touching his personal belongings. But perhaps there was no better way at the moment, so he had no choice but to nod in agreement.

He pulled up his phone's memo app, made a simple list of necessities, took a screenshot, and sent it to Ye Xingzhi, briefly instructing him: "The laptop is on the desk in the study, and everything else is in the bedroom. Call me again if you can't find it."

Ye Xingzhi glanced at the screenshot quickly, stood up by pushing himself up from the floor, and walked towards the elevator without looking back.

The other patients' family members sitting around were somewhat curious about the young people in the corner. Their gazes would occasionally sweep over Zhu Liushuang and the others, their probing and pitying scrutiny clearly revealing the bitterness of "fellow sufferers in the same boat".

ICU visits are not allowed every day; they must be conducted on an alternating basis according to the patient's bed number (odd or even). Xie Jingzhi's bed number is 11. When the ICU door opened, several family members of patients with odd-numbered beds were crowding at the door waiting for their numbers to be called by the medical staff.

Their eyes kept glancing inside, as if their loved ones would be safely pushed out at any moment.

Zhu Liushuang stared blankly into the room, but saw nothing but an empty corridor. She could hear the beeping of various instruments, mixed with irritating alarms.

She silently turned her head, her gaze fixed on the back of the human wall.

Unlike other patients' family members who crowded to the front, He Ming stood silently at the back, his face expressionless except for slightly red eyes.

"Family member of bed 11." Surprisingly, the doctor called out to him first.

He Ming pushed aside the people blocking his way and showed his head, saying, "Here."

The mask covered most of the doctor's face. Zhu Liushuang watched as he called He Ming aside and they whispered something. Judging from the tone of their voices, Zhu Liushuang guessed that they knew each other.

After the conversation ended, He Ming said "thank you," put his hands in his pockets, and walked back to where he had been sitting without any expression.

"Can't we go in to visit?" Zhu Liushuang asked, looking up.

He Ming hummed in agreement and said, "There was projectile vomiting just now, and the doctor is worried that there might be other complications that require immediate resuscitation. So there's no visitation today... but he said he'll send me some videos of my grandfather."

The power of words seems insignificant in the face of life and death. Zhu Liushuang chewed on her words for a long time before managing a weak smile. Since nothing she said could comfort him, she might as well use a smile instead.

While He Ming went downstairs to buy the items the doctor had instructed, she stared at the cold ceiling and muttered to herself, "Good people are always blessed! Dr. Xie, you have saved so many lives, you will surely be rewarded."

Tian Xingyu reached out and hugged Zhu Liushuang: "Shuangshuang, Dr. Xie will definitely pull through. We must believe in the tenacious will to live of humankind. He certainly wouldn't want to leave He Ming behind..."

Tears welled up in her eyes again; she couldn't bear to hear the last sentence.

If... Dr. Xie were to leave like this, how lonely he would be!

Her damp eyelashes trembled slightly, and through her teary eyes, she saw the elevator doors slowly open in front of her, and that familiar figure stepped in. He was carrying a large plastic bag in his right hand and several stacks of sanitary pads in his left. His once-white sneakers were now stained with mud, and his trouser legs were also splattered with glaring mud.

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The author notes: "The brainstem is the center of life. Once a brainstem hemorrhage occurs, the patient will quickly fall into a coma. For hemorrhages less than 3ml, the mortality rate is approximately 70%; for hemorrhages greater than 5ml, it's approximately 90%..." —From online science popularization.

[Chin resting on hand][Chin resting on hand] I'm stuck on writing... I even made it onto the 21,000th most popular list this week, I wonder if I'll ever be able to finish it!