Extra Thirteen
"This incident happened so suddenly. We didn't expect Xu Qiao to fall into the sea at all. By the time we realized what was happening, he had already been there for a while."
The lights in the emergency room were on brightly. Song Yu sat on a chair outside and listened to her boss telling her what happened. She woke up on her own not long after she fainted, and then rushed to the hospital immediately. The head teacher knew that she seemed to have only this one brother, so he put down everything he was doing to accompany her, and also asked Xue Li to come along.
"The catch in the sea areas we often go to recently hasn't been very good, so that day we had to go to a farther sea area. We had originally planned to be gone for a few days and then come back, but who would have thought that we would encounter a storm on the way back. The accident happened so suddenly."
"Boss, you said it took several days for you to return this time?" Song Yu asked with red eyes, "How long did you leave?"
The boss mentioned a time, and Song Yu closed her eyes and tears welled up again. It was exactly the day after the incident. The notice must have been very hasty, and Xu Qiao didn't have time to tell her that he fell into such a vast, boundless and dark ocean alone, and she didn't know how scared and desperate he must have been.
It was all her fault! Perhaps if they hadn't escaped in the first place, Xu Qiao wouldn't have to do this job. She knew how dangerous it was, but why didn't she try to persuade him? If she had, he might have found another job and wouldn't be lying on the operating table now.
Song Yu's eyelashes were wet with tears. Looking at the emergency room, she seemed unable to do anything at this moment and could only wait for the verdict of fate.
"Don't worry, I will go back and sell everything I have to raise the medical expenses for you." The boss was a very honest man, and Xu Qiao also said that the boss had helped him a lot.
But Song Yu had no time to care about these things now. He stared at the door of the emergency room and asked, "How long has he been in there?"
"It's been almost three hours."
For 3 hours, she held her hands tightly against her chest, determined to get out safely.
She is the only one left by Xu Qiao's side, she must be strong and hold on, but if Xu Qiao really... can she hold on?
She had not experienced any major changes since childhood, and there were few people with whom she had established deep relationships. When she heard about someone's death, she usually had no reaction. She just felt it was a light thing and she had just heard it.
She had only seen emergency rooms on TV. In almost every scene, the lights in the emergency room were on, and there were benches on both sides of a white corridor outside. Relatives and friends were crying, and enemies were happy. Although she didn't understand, she could still understand it. After all, her loved ones were lying in there, their lives uncertain, so she should cry. At that time, she only thought of her parents. She felt that if they were lying in there, she probably wouldn't react at all. She would wait for the doctor to come out and announce the results, and then sign and leave no matter what it was.
But when the person lying inside was Xu Qiao, her heart seemed to be on fire, so painful that when the lights in the emergency room went out, she thought she was hallucinating.
"Doctor, what's wrong? Doctor."
"His vital signs are now saved, but he needs to be transferred to the ICU for treatment and observation. The family will pay the bill." The doctor said after taking off his mask.
A huge stone weighing on her heart was removed, and Song Yu felt that she could breathe again. She took a step forward, her voice trembling with hope, "Doctor, when can I go in to see him?"
"Wait a few days. We'll let you know when you can visit," the doctor said. "We don't know how long you'll need to stay. Please pay a deposit first."
When she came here, she had already brought all the money and bank cards she could find, but she didn't know if it was enough. She turned to look at the boss and said, "Boss, come with me to pay the fee."
"Okay." The boss wiped his sweat.
The head teacher received a phone call, and it seemed that something happened in the school. Seeing that the situation was stable now and she might not be needed, she said goodbye to Song Yu and left with Xue Li.
Song Yu and his boss had just reached the hospital's payment counter when they heard a woman holding a child, her face filled with anxiety, running over and grabbing his hand, asking, "How is he? Is he okay now? Where is he?"
The boss said, "He just came out of the emergency room and is now in the ICU. The doctor said he needs to be observed for a few more days."
The woman's anxiety faded, and she looked hesitant. "Will staying in the ICU cost a lot of money? But where is the money at home right now? What should we do?"
Song Yu was still standing nearby, and the boss quickly stopped him, "What are you talking about? I hired Xu Qiao, and something happened while he was working. Now, even if I have to sell the house, I have to save him, understand?"
The woman's face was obviously unhappy, but it was indeed the truth, so she kept silent and didn't say anything else.
Song Yu watched from the side without saying a word.
A deposit of 2,000 yuan was paid at the window, and the payment would be settled when she was discharged from the hospital. Song Yu added the ICU ward's WeChat and left her phone number, so she would be notified if visits were allowed.
Several people said goodbye at the hospital gate. The boss told her not to worry about the money. Song Yu took a look at their child, who looked less than a few months old. The boss also looked very young, in his early 30s. He might not have slept well for several days and nights after this incident, and his face was full of fatigue.
"Thank you, boss, for taking care of Xu Qiao." Song Yu said, "I have something else to do, so I'll leave first. If there are any developments here, we will inform you as soon as possible."
"Hey, all right," the boss said. "Don't be afraid, girl. Xu Qiao will be fine."
The hospital was about five kilometers away from their home. Song Yu took a look at the bus map and finally chose to walk back.
It was drizzling on the road. She didn't have an umbrella with her. She just felt that everyone on the road was walking in a hurry, as if she was the only one resisting going home.
The sky was gloomy, and the whole room was dark. She felt for the light on the wall and turned it on. She had taken all her bedding to school, so after taking a shower, she could only sleep in Xu Qiao's bed.
It turned out that he wasn't angry, but there was no signal at sea and he couldn't contact her. For so many days, so many calls that didn't go through, so many messages that received no response, didn't she have a trace of resentment? She wouldn't even believe it if she told others.
But she didn't expect that it was because of this. She curled up on Xu Qiao's bed, and the emotions she experienced in the hospital surged up again. What if Xu Qiao's condition was not good? What should she do?
She was just a high school senior who had just reached adulthood. She had no money, and in the adult world, her grades were nothing.
No one had anticipated this. The boss, his family of three, and Xu Qiao had all suffered this unprovoked disaster. Did he really have to sell his house to raise the money? His child was still so young, his warm little hand clutching her thumb as he left. How could she possibly feel at peace with herself?
She stayed awake all night.
The next morning.
"Xue Li, how is Song Yu doing? Has her brother been rescued?" Jiang Hao caught up with Xue Li and asked, carrying his schoolbag. He saw Song Yu fainted yesterday and wanted to go to the hospital with her, but the teacher didn't let him.
Xue Li took a bite of his breakfast and said, "He's been transferred to the ICU and needs further treatment and observation. Even visitors are not allowed."
"In the ICU?" In the eyes of these students, being in the ICU means that the person is dying and needs to be kept alive by drugs and machines. He frowned, "How is Song Yu doing? Why did you come to class as usual today? Shouldn't your good friend be with her now? She is all alone now and only has this one brother. How sad it must be."
Xue Li rolled his eyes. "Don't I know all this? If you ask me, I would have already asked a long time ago. I only came to study because Song Yu didn't allow me to. Besides, that guy is not Song Yu's brother at all."
Jiang Hao had a look on his face that said, "You're lying to me!" Xue Li rolled his eyes again. "Forget it if you don't believe me. Anyway, I'll just give up on this idea. It's impossible for you to do that."
"Why?" Jiang Hao grabbed Xue Li.
"If it's not my brother, then guess what it is?" Xue Li smiled smugly at Jiang Hao's frustration. "Song Yu likes Xu Qiao, and Xu Qiao definitely likes Song Yu too. They're a couple, so you, a male 18, shouldn't get involved, okay?"
"What's going on with them?"
Xue Li said, "You can't visit Xu Qiao, and Song Yu will definitely come to school today if she has nothing else to do. You can ask her yourself when the time comes and see if she will tell you."
Xue Li just likes to act like a slut and watch others being helpless with her. Jiang Hao really couldn't do anything with her, so he turned around and shut his mouth in hatred.
However, the morning reading had already passed, and Song Yu was nowhere to be seen. Xue Li was afraid that something had happened to Xu Qiao, so he ran to the office to ask the teacher, only to find out that Song Yu had taken a leave of absence.
"Go home?" Xue Li exclaimed in shock. "Teacher, you said Song Yu asked for leave to go back to his hometown?"
"Yes." The head teacher said, "He asked me for three days' leave and said he wanted to go back."
"If she...she goes back, will she be able to come back?" Xue Li murmured.
The head teacher didn't understand what Xue Li was talking about. "She only took three days off, so of course she has to come back. Her brother is still in the hospital. With such a big thing happening, her parents should come over too."
The teacher knew nothing. Xue Li came out of the classroom and squatted in a secluded place to call Song Yu. Whenever an emergency occurred, she would always praise the mobile phone as the greatest invention in human history.
The first call, as expected, didn't go through. She called the second one, and after a long call prompt tone, no one answered. Just when the call was about to automatically hang up, there was a slight ring and the call was connected.
"Hello, Xue Li, what's the matter?" She heard Song Yu's voice coming vaguely from the microphone, and the voice sounded very tired.
"Song Yu, where are you now?" Xue Li was very anxious. "The teacher said you asked for leave and went home. Which home did you go back to? It's not the home you told me before, where your parents were perverts and sent you to the correctional facility, right?"
Xue Li heard Song Yu chuckle over there, and suddenly became more anxious, "Don't laugh, Song Yu, you really can't go back. What if you go back and can't come back? Xu Qiao is still waiting for you."
"If you need money, tell me. I'll steal my parents' bank card. At worst, you can pay me back when you make money later."
Song Yu said, "I also wish that the money could be solved so easily, but Xue Li, that's not a small amount. You're still just a student, so don't get involved in our affairs. I'll go back and I'll be able to resolve this matter no matter what."
"Besides..." Song Yu sat by the window on the train, watching the green plants rapidly receding outside the window. "My problems with my family can't be solved by me not going back. In name, they are still my parents, and I can't stay in Haicheng forever."
Xue Li squatted in the corner sadly and whispered, "Why can't you stay in Haicheng forever? You can, what's wrong with staying in Haicheng?"
Song Yu coaxed him like a child, "Okay, Xue Li, it's okay. I'll be back in three days at most. Don't worry."
After hanging up the phone with Xue Li, Song Yu leaned on the railing of the car window, closed his eyes, and felt the wind of freedom in what might be his last moment.
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