The hospital's answer
Time seemed to freeze under a thick, sticky fear.
Lin Zhiyi knelt on the cold ground, maintaining the position supporting Lu Shixu, not daring to move. Her legs ached from the broken porcelain shards, gradually becoming numb, and her shoulders and neck, bearing most of his weight, were sore and aching. But these physical discomforts paled in comparison to the panic in her heart.
He was still breathing. Steady, long, even with a childlike innocence. But at that moment, that breathing sounded more unsettling than any other sound. This wasn't sleep; it was a kind of uncontrolled slumber she couldn't comprehend.
"Time sequence?" she tentatively called out to him in a very soft voice, her voice trembling uncontrollably.
There was no response. Only warm breath brushed against her skin, a testament to her continued life.
A wave of overwhelming helplessness washed over her like ice water. What should she do? She knew nothing about medicine, didn't know his condition, or if he was in danger. Would moving him cause further injury?
Yes! Doctor! We need to see a doctor!
She suddenly remembered that Lu Shixu had mentioned that he had a childhood friend who was a doctor, and it seemed that... his surname was Chen? He worked at the nearby community hospital!
Lin Zhiyi used all her strength to carefully and extremely slowly adjust her posture, trying to free one hand to reach for the bag that had fallen to the side without disturbing him. Her movements were clumsy and difficult, and every slight movement made her heart pound with fear, afraid that she might accidentally hurt him.
Finally, her fingertips touched the leather strap of the bag. She practically dragged the bag to her side, her hands trembling as she rummaged through it to find her phone. Because of her sweaty hands, she entered the wrong password several times while unlocking the screen.
She found her contacts and quickly swiped through them, but there was no mention of "Dr. Chen." She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down, and recalled Lu Shixu's occasional mentions—"Chen Xu," yes, that was the name!
She immediately dialed Lu Shixu's number. Fortunately, he hadn't silenced it, and the phone vibrated on the workbench. She stretched out her arm, reached for his phone, unlocked it with his fingerprint, quickly found the name "Chen Xu" in the contacts, and dialed it.
Every second of waiting for the call to connect felt like an eternity. Lin Zhiyi bit her lower lip tightly, her eyes fixed on Lu Shixu, who seemed to be asleep in her arms, her heart pounding in her chest.
"Hello? Shixu? It's rare for you to call me, what's up?" The call was quickly answered, and a gentle and steady male voice came through. The background noise was a bit noisy, as if someone was busy.
Lin Zhiyi grasped at a straw, her voice trembling with uncontrollable sobs and urgency: "Dr. Chen? I'm not Lu Shixu! I... I'm his friend, he... he suddenly fainted! We can't wake him up no matter what we do! He's at the 'Shixu' watch shop!"
Chen Xu on the other end of the phone paused for a moment, but his voice immediately became serious and professional: "Fainted? What exactly happened? Tell me slowly, don't panic."
“We…we were talking when he suddenly…dropped the cup from his hand, and then he just collapsed limply without any warning! Now…now he seems to be asleep, his breathing is steady, but we can’t wake him up!” Lin Zhiyi described incoherently.
"It happened suddenly, accompanied by loss of muscle tone (cataplexy), and then he immediately fell asleep..." Chen Xu repeated the key words in a low voice on the other end of the phone, his tone becoming increasingly serious. "Ms. Lin, is that right? Listen, don't move him unnecessarily, make sure his airway is clear, I'll bring the equipment and stretcher right away! I'll be there in five minutes!"
The call was abruptly ended. Lin Zhiyi listened to the dial tone and steadied herself slightly. Chen Xu's calm voice was like a temporary lifeline, preventing her from being completely consumed by panic.
As instructed, she carefully adjusted Lu Shixu's head and neck to allow him to breathe more easily. Then, she could only remain in this extremely uncomfortable position, waiting. Her gaze swept over the mess of broken pieces and tea stains on the floor, over his excessively quiet sleeping face, and then over the still torrential rain outside the window. A huge sense of absurdity and heartache, a feeling of the capriciousness of fate, gripped her tightly.
It turns out that behind his casual remark about "slacking off" was such a shocking scene.
Less than five minutes later, the shop door was suddenly pushed open, and the wind chimes made a loud, chaotic noise. Two medical staff in white coats rushed in carrying a stretcher. The one in the lead was a young doctor with glasses and a refined demeanor. His sharp eyes swept across the scene and immediately locked onto Lin Zhiyi and Lu Shixu.
"Dr. Chen?" Lin Zhiyi felt like she had seen a savior.
Chen Xu nodded quickly to her, without any further pleasantries, and immediately squatted down to skillfully check Lu Shixu's pupils, pulse, and breathing.
“It’s a cataplexy followed by a sleep attack,” he quickly told the nurse beside him, his tone certain. Then he looked at Lin Zhiyi, his eyes reassuring, “Ms. Lin, don’t be afraid, this is a typical symptom of his condition. We need to take him back to the hospital immediately for further observation to prevent sleep paralysis or other complications. Please help me move him to the stretcher.”
Under Chen Xu's professional guidance, Lin Zhiyi assisted in carefully lifting Lu Shixu onto the stretcher. Watching him being securely restrained and covered with a thin blanket, her legs went weak, and she almost collapsed as well, but fortunately she managed to grab the workbench in time.
She watched as Chen Xu and the nurses carried the stretcher, rushing quickly and steadily out of the store and disappearing into the rain. The whole process was as fast as if it had been fast-forwarded.
The shop emptied instantly, leaving only a mess on the floor and countless clocks still ticking. The air seemed to still carry the aroma of black tea, and that chilling sense of dread.
Lin Zhiyi stood there blankly. Rain was blown in from the open shop door by the wind, wetting her trouser legs and bringing a chill. She looked down at her slightly trembling hands, which seemed to still retain the touch and weight of the body she had supported.
Chen Xu's words echoed in her ears—"This is a typical symptom of his illness."
disease.
A word she had known before, but had never truly grasped its weight, was now slammed into her in such a cruel and direct way.
She slowly crouched down, picked up a sharp shard of white porcelain, and the icy touch stung her fingertips. That man, usually so aloof, focused, and occasionally revealing tenderness and vulnerability—it turned out that his world had always harbored a trapped beast called "disease," ready to break free at any moment.
And she had just witnessed the fangs of this trapped beast.
What should she do next?
And when he wakes up, how will he react to her knowing all of this?
Lin Zhiyi clutched the shards tightly in her hand, letting the subtle pain remind her of the coldness of reality. She stared at the empty doorway, the rain still raging, but her heart sank into a silent, chaotic fog.
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