Chapter 25
The time spent on rescuing people outside the room seemed to be stretched into an endless line.
The night had already swallowed up the last bit of light outside the window, and the incandescent lights in the corridor were as cold as ice, forcibly lowering the temperature in the air to the lowest level.
Zou Ping's hand was still tightly holding Tang Yuchuan's, and her fingertips could feel his slight and rapid trembling.
If he could still maintain his outward composure at noon, then at this moment, his pale and bloodless face completely exposed his inner uneasiness and worry.
The door was tightly closed, and behind it was a silence that seemed to separate life and death.
When the doctor pushed the door open, his expression was so calm that no one could tell if he was happy or sad. "Tan Jing's family, right? Tan Jing's condition has stabilized for now, but she's still in a coma and needs observation."
Tang Yuchuan: "Thank you, doctor."
What good news! Recent events had piled up one after another, from encountering a snake in the mountains, to Tang's father's death, to Tan Jing's suicide... Zou Ping suddenly felt that she had never wanted everyone to be safe more than now.
However, the next moment, Tang Yuchuan's face suddenly darkened, his brows were tightly locked, and his breathing became so rapid as if a thousand-pound stone was pressing on his chest.
"Tang Yuchuan!" Zou Ping almost shouted.
He couldn't hold on, his knees gave way, and he fell heavily to the cold ground.
Fortunately, it was in the hospital, fortunately!
The doctor reacted immediately and asked the medical staff to push a stretcher and send him to the examination room of the emergency department.
The corridor was instantly filled with hurried footsteps, and the walls reflected the cold sounds of machines - the ticking of the ECG monitor, the whirring of the blood pressure monitor, and the intermittent gasps under the oxygen mask.
Zou Ping stood beside the bed, staring at the pale face.
At this moment, the layer of daily restraint and calmness was peeled off bit by bit, revealing true fragility and fatigue.
The doctor's voice came through the air conditioning: "First, do an electrocardiogram, blood pressure monitoring, and blood tests to rule out the possibility of myocardial ischemia."
Her heart tightened with every beep of the instrument.
Looking at Tang Yuchuan's face, Zou Ping's mind suddenly began to flash back to scenes from yesterday to today.
She thought he'd probably been up all night, racking his brains over the mess at work and at home. His stomach trouble was lurking, and his asthma made his breathing occasionally come with a stifling, rapid rhythm...
But these did not diminish his edge, but instead seemed to cover his eyebrows and eyes with a layer of moonlight.
Those fragmented memories formed a picture in her mind: his straight back stretched out in the dim light, the lines of his suit neat and clean, his profile as stern as a sword quietly sheathed. Even when he was so exhausted that he seemed about to be swallowed by the night, he was still the most unforgettable sight she had ever seen.
At this moment, she even thought - she must draw this picture when she gets back.
That lamp, that figure, and the loneliness and silence that never let go.
But the next second, the waveform on the monitor suddenly fluctuated, and a sharp alarm sound pierced the air.
The doctor's expression suddenly became serious, and he leaned over the bedside and worked quickly.
Zou Ping's heart ached at the sound, but in her panic, she even managed to look at his face—even then, her gaze was still captivated by the quiet lines drawn to his face. It was truly... speechless and ridiculous.
She forced herself to look away, staring at those cold curves. But the dancing waveforms seemed to be mocking her powerlessness - she could see, but could not help.
She wanted to help him because she liked him, but she also knew that what she liked was his politeness and restraint, his unwillingness to push the burden onto anyone else, and his calmness, as if he was born to carry everything on his own.
What a contradiction! If he really wanted to rely on her for everything and share the burden with her, she might not like him so much.
She had fallen in love with him, so she wanted to share his burden.
So much has happened today, from this morning till now.
He even became her boyfriend.
But even so, she always felt that there was a vague gap between the two of them, as if there was a door between them. On the other side of the door were his worries and fatigue, and on this side of the door was the warmth she wanted to pass on.
She wanted to push it away, but she didn't completely want to push it away.
Her fingers seemed to be hovering slightly on the invisible doorknob, hesitant.
She longed to penetrate the thin barrier and touch his true heart, but she was afraid that once she pushed it away, the sadness and vulnerability he hid would burst out like a flood, catching her off guard.
She was afraid that if she tried too hard, she would break this rare tranquility and might even lose the man she was becoming increasingly dependent on.
This door is both a protection and a barrier.
She wanted to be that gentle key, but was afraid that this key did not belong to her.
So, she chose to knock gently, timidly, to test his response, hoping that one day he would take the initiative to open it for her.
The doctor took off his mask, his eyes still steady, his tone just right: "The patient's vital signs are currently stable, and the cause of the coma needs further investigation. If there is any examination, it will have to wait until tomorrow, as those departments are all closed."
He looked up at Zou Ping and softened his tone a little: "His physical function doesn't seem to be very good. Did he have any chronic illness in the past?"
Zou Ping lowered her head, her fingers slightly tense. "He has stomach problems, and I think he has asthma, but I haven't heard him mention anything else."
The doctor nodded. "Okay, I see. It's getting late now, so a detailed examination will have to wait until tomorrow. But he's stable for now. Come with me to complete the formalities, and we'll arrange for him to be transferred to the ward."
Zou Ping asked softly, "Can you... arrange for him and Tan Jing to be in the same ward? That way it will be more convenient for me to take care of them both."
The doctor glanced at her, seemed to understand her feelings, and nodded gently: "I will try my best to help you coordinate."
Zou Ping finally breathed a sigh of relief. There was tenderness in her eyes, but also unspeakable worry.
After Zou Ping finished the formalities and returned to the ward, she saw Tang Yuchuan lying quietly on the bed. His face was still pale, but his breathing and heartbeat were much steadier than before. Then, she gently held his hand and felt his weak pulse.
Zou Ping sat down beside Tang Yuchuan's bed, but her eyes inadvertently fell on Tan Jing next to her.
She had to admit that she was curious about her.
Tan Jing closed her eyes and lay there quietly, as if her whole body was wrapped in white sheets and cold light.
Her illness made her face look slightly pale, but it did not diminish her natural gentleness and calmness.
Her brow arches were soft and relaxed, and her slender eyebrows were like a light stroke of ink, still neat and sparse under the light.
Her long eyelashes drooped slightly, casting a faint shadow on her cheekbones, and her breathing was so light that it was almost inaudible, as if she was afraid of disturbing something.
There is an air of quietness that makes it difficult for people to approach it, like a stone at the bottom of a lake that has been polished into a round shape by time, calm, introverted, and powerful in its own way.
There was no smile or sadness on the corners of his mouth, but it was just restrained, as if all his worries were locked deep in the mist.
Zou Ping thought for a moment - this kind of beauty is not the passionate flowers, but the mist in the mountains in the early morning, which is faint, but makes people unable to help but take another look.
She suddenly became curious. When Tang Yuchuan said she was "like someone", what exactly was he thinking of as being similar?
They are clearly not alike at all, from their temperament to their facial features...
Zou Ping lowered her eyes, and the subtle emotions in her heart were stretched out by the light.
She couldn't help but wonder what Tang Yuchuan meant by "like the same person".
Was it the occasional curve of his eyebrows, or the moment he lowered his head? Or was it just an illusion that he couldn't explain?
Or perhaps it was the way she looked while painting. When he watched her paint, the look in his eyes was quiet and profound, as if he were gazing at another person across time. Zou Ping recalled what he had said, something like, "Your painting reminds me of someone."
She suddenly wanted to see Tan Jing's paintings. She wondered if the answers might be hidden when someone put their deepest thoughts on paper.
But as soon as this thought came to her mind, she shook her head slightly.
Some questions shouldn't be asked hastily, just like that door. If you push it too quickly, it will scatter whatever's inside.
She lowered her eyes and gently held Tang Yuchuan's hand, feeling the warm pulse at her fingertips - that was the only solid thing she could grasp at the moment.
As the night deepened, the only sounds in the ward were the ticking of the ECG monitor and the occasional sound of footsteps in the distance.
Zou Ping leaned on the side of Tang Yuchuan's bed, her eyelids became heavier and heavier, and her consciousness gradually became blurred.
She knew she should hold on as there were two unconscious patients in the room, but in the end she couldn't resist the sleepiness and fell asleep.
Half asleep and half awake, she felt a pair of hands gently holding her up, warm and firm.
It felt soft and safe, like returning to the warmest embrace of childhood.
She hadn't had a sweet dream for a long time. Lately, she was always haunted by nightmares. In her dreams, she could never find the present and the world could collapse at any time.
Why is today different?
She suddenly became obsessed with this dream!
Isn’t it said that when you’re dreaming you don’t know you’re dreaming?! But Zou Ping felt like she knew. She was deeply trapped in this dream and didn’t want to wake up.
She couldn't see who was holding him. She was clearly in a dream, but she seemed unable to open her eyes.
But she felt it was Tang Yuchuan, a kind of intuition, a sense of security.
In her dream, she heard his breathing, his heartbeat, and his silent protection.
The early morning light filtered through the curtains, gently filling the entire ward.
Zou Ping slowly woke up and found herself lying on a hospital bed, wrapped tightly in a quilt.
A shy blush unconsciously appeared on her cheeks, and her heartbeat quickened slightly.
The vague dream from last night gradually became clearer - he carried her to bed, it was real, not a dream.
She turned her head slightly and saw Tan Jing still sleeping in the bed next to her, her face pale but quiet.
Not knowing when she would wake up, Zou Ping was secretly worried.
But what about Tang Yuchuan?
Her eyes suddenly darkened, and her mind immediately emerged with his pale face and rapid breathing when he fainted yesterday.
Her heart tightened, and worry enveloped her like a thick fog.
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