He Xiu stared at the incoming call for two seconds, hesitating. Nevertheless, he accepted it. “What is it?”
He Jing Long’s voice seemed to contain some anxiety. “Have you returned?”
“Mn, just got off the plane.”
“Then you need to come to Center Hospital. He Chen was caught in that traffic accident and was transported to the hospital.”
“Traffic accident?” He Xiu’s brows twisted slightly. Jian Yan also turned her head to look at him.
He Jing Long replied, “Mn, don’t know if you heard, but a large bus heading into the city this morning turned over. He Chen was there at that time.”
He Xiu thinned his lips, the corners downturning as he asked, “How’s the current outlook?”
“I haven’t seen him either. When we rushed over, he was already brought into the operation room for surgery.”
“I got it. I’ll head over right now.” He Xiu hung up the call and said to the driver, “Sir, I apologize, but drive to Center Hospital first.”
“Okay, okay,” the driver repeated as confirmation.
Jian Yan asked him worriedly, “What happened? Who was in the traffic accident?”
He Xiu said, “He Chen.”
Jian Yan stared at him blankly for a moment before asking, “How is he? Is it life-threatening?”
“We still don’t know.”
The driver had been listening to the radio speak of the road conditions. When he heard their conversation, he very considerately changed the frequency to a news station. The program was tracking that large traffic accident since early in the morning.
Due to road closures, it took the driver longer than usual to reach Center Hospital.
“Huo, so many people.” The driver couldn’t help but sigh in lament when he caught sight of all the strangers and cars crowding the scene.
Ambulances constantly transported wounded people, the blaring siren disturbing everyone’s mental states and making it difficult for them to remain calm. He Xiu and Jian Yan paid the fare and carried their luggage with them inside. Because there were just too many people, even the consultation stand was completely surrounded by people. He Xiu also didn’t want to go up, calling He Jing Long directly instead to ask where they were.
Outside the operation room, Zhao Ying Fang was already sobbing. In her heart, she continued to reproach herself. If she hadn’t slapped He Chen that evening, he wouldn’t have gotten angry and dashed out, thus avoiding getting caught up in this traffic accident. He Jing Long had consoled her for a long time, but her tears would not stop. He Jing Long was helpless.
The sound of hurried and brief footsteps from far away gradually grew closer. He Jing Long followed the sound and saw He Xiu and Jian Yan rushing over.
“How’s the situation at the moment?” He Xiu asked.
He Jing Long shook his head. “Still in surgery.”
Zhao Ying Fang saw He Xiu and suddenly jumped up. Her aggravated state of mind had her howling at him, “What did you come here to do? Did you come to see if He Chen died?! f.u.c.k off for me!”
He Xiu furrowed his brows but didn’t pay attention to her, pulling Jian Yan to the side to stand and wait. He Jing Long pulled Zhao Ying Fang back to her seat and glared at her as he said, “What are you doing? This is the hospital, don’t make a scene.”
“I don’t make a scene? Then what did you intend to do by calling He Xiu over this time? Let me tell you, don’t go counting your chickens before they hatch. Nothing will be wrong with He Chen!!”
He Jing Long was also getting angry. “What are you saying? He Chen is also my son and He Xiu’s own younger brother. We all don’t wish for him to come to harm!”
“Ah, save it! The way I see it, He Xiu is looking forward to him being harmed!”
He Xiu’s brows once again furrowed, but he still remained silent. Jian Yan patted his hand, quietly comforting him. “He Chen’s current outlook not clear; her state of mind is definitely agitated.”
“I know,” He Xiu said, gripping Jian Yan’s hand a bit tightly.
Soon after, a nurse walked out and asked them, “Are you all the patient’s family?”
He Jing Long stood up and replied, “Yes, what’s going on?”
The nurse said, “It’s like this. Currently, the blood bank is in short supply of blood. We have already applied for an urgent delivery of blood from the blood bank, but we are hoping that a family member would be willing to donate blood instead to maintain the blood reserve.”
Hearing this, Zhao Ying Fang shot out of her chair. “Draw from me!” She didn’t know who she had heard it from, but if a patient requires a blood transfusion, some doctors would request a blood donation from a family member first. This way guaranteed that the patient was able to be the first to have their blood transfused. Right now, He Chen’s situation was very dire, so they could not delay for even a short moment!
He Xiu glanced at her and walked up to the nurse as well, saying, “I’ll go with you to donate blood.”
Between Zhao Ying Fang and He Xiu, the nurse would naturally pick He Xiu to donate blood. She nodded and said to him, “Good. The blood station will dispatch a staff member. Right now we’re giving priority to family members donating blood, so follow me.”
He Xiu glanced at Jian Yan, hinting that she had to wait here alone, and then followed the nurse. Zhao Ying Fang watched as they got farther away, her pursed lips voicing, “Don’t think that I’ll thank him for doing this.”
He Jing Long gaped at her, seemingly desiring to say something but ultimately not.
He Xiu came back a good while later, his coat removed and his left dress shirt sleeve rolled up to his elbow. A cotton swab was pressed against the crook of his elbow. He Jing Long saw him return and asked, “Are you okay?”
He Xiu replied, “They only drew several hundred milliliters of blood. I’m fine.”
Zhao Ying Fang coldly snorted from her seat to the side.
Jian Yan grabbed He Xiu’s coat, which had been hanging on his arm, and helped him into a chair. “You donated several hundred milliliters?”
He Xiu stated, “400 milliliters.”
Jian Yan nodded and said to him, “Apparently, if you donate 800-1000 milliliters of blood, the family member’s blood transfusion will be free of charge.”
He Xiu said, “Then I satisfied those requirements long ago. I donate blood every year.”
“Not bad, not bad, very high conscientiousness.”
Zhao Ying Fang glared in their direction. “Can’t you be a bit more quiet?”
Jian Yan blinked owlishly and closed her mouth at the same time He Xiu did.
Xu Ying and her mother received the news and had just come over at this time as well. Catching sight of He Xiu and Jian Yan sitting to one side of the hallway, Xu Ying’s mother stopped walking and then continued heading straight to Zhao Ying Fang. “How is He Chen doing right now?”
Zhao Ying Fang said, “We still don’t know; the surgery hasn’t finished yet.”
“Don’t be too worried, misfortunes will definitely turn into blessings.” She sat next to Zhao Ying Fang and comforted her.
Xu Ying saw that He Xiu’s post-blood-donation appearance and asked him, “What happened to you?”
He Xiu replied, “It’s nothing; I just donated a bit of blood.”
“Donated blood? Are you alright?”
He Xiu raised his head to look at her. “You should be concerned about He Chen first.”
Xu Ying choked at his words. Her mother turned her head over and yelled at her, “Ying Ying, what are you doing standing over there?”
Xu Ying eeped and walked over to comfort Zhao Ying Fang with her mother.
He Chen’s operation took a very long time. It was quickly approaching noon yet the operation room’s light was still bright. Xu Ying and her mother had already left. Outside the operation room, only He Jing Long, his wife, He Xiu, and Jian Yan were left. He Jing Long glanced at He Xiu and Jian Yan and said to them, “You two should go eat something. It’s fine if only we keep watch here.”
He Xiu thought for a moment before stating, “You two should go eat first. Jian Yan and I will stay here and keep watch.”
Jian Yan nodded firmly. Zhao Ying Fang shouted in opposition, “I’m not leaving! If you want to eat, then go eat yourself!”
He Jing Long heaved a sigh. “Staying here the entire time to keep watch is also useless. Don’t make it so that when Chen’er wakes, you also have to be admitted into the hospital.”
Zhao Ying Fang lifted her head and glared at him. “My son is currently on the borders of life and death. I do not share that mood of yours. I don’t feel like eating.”
He Jing Long frowned slightly. It seemed that he was going to fight with her once again. He Xiu stood up to leave, saying to them both, “Then I’ll go with Jian Yan first and bring back something for you both to eat.”
He Jing Long a.s.sented, “Okay, that’s fine.”
He Xiu grabbed the luggage they had set to the side and said to Jian Yan, “Let’s go.”
“Mn.” Jian Yan followed him out of the hospital. The hospital no longer resembled as it did early in the morning, packed with many people. It was still a boiling cauldron of voices, however, as family members, doctors, and nurses were all in a hurry.
There were a lot of people in the restaurants surrounding the hospital at the moment too. Jian Yan and He Xiu explored for a while before choosing a restaurant. They randomly chose a few appetizers. After the waiter delivered the food, He Xiu didn’t move his chopsticks. Even though she saw that he had no appet.i.te, Jian Yan still placed food into his bowl. “You cannot collapse right now. Only by eating a lot will you have the strength to receive a scolding.”
He Xiu finally chuckled lowly and picked up his chopsticks to begin eating.
“Actually, in the matter about my mother, He Chen is the most innocent.” He Xiu’s voice deepened, as if he was a midnight radio station anchor. It was just that the contents of his words were somewhat heavy. “I still took out my anger on him though and had never given him face. As a child, he was, in fact, very adorable. In order to curry favor with me, he would even bring his favorite toys to me to share, but I would ruthlessly drop and break those toys.”
“Oh…I think he certainly must have felt deeply hurt.”
“At that time, he would cry very miserably. Possibly because of my indifference stabbing him time and time again, he later became as harsh as his mother,” He Xiu said this with a self-deprecating laugh. “At that time, He Chen was five years old. I loathed that five year old kid; I earnestly loathed him so much. Thinking about it now, even I think my younger self was somewhat excessive. If I wasn’t so horrible to him back then, perhaps he wouldn’t be like this right now.”
Jian Yan consoled, “That cannot be blamed on you. You were only seven years old back then. What did you understand? I think the main problem was that He Chen’s mother did not teach him well. If she wasn’t so horrible to you, He Chen wouldn’t have imitated her example.”
He Xiu sighed and mumbled, “It’s no use talking about this now.”
Jian Yan countered, “He Chen will definitely be alright. I believe that if you both are willing, your relationship can definitely be restored.” As for Zhao Ying Fang…she would never ever accept He Xiu, and He Xiu would also never accept her.
The two of them hurriedly finished lunch and brought back two dishes to the hospital. When they reached the operation room, they discovered that the aunt in charge of cooking at He Mansion had delivered lunch to them. He Jing Long’s a.s.sistant had also come and was in the middle of saying something.
The aunt saw He Xiu and Jian Yan return and took the initiative to walk up and inquire, “Eldest Young Master, I brought over food I just made. Do you want to eat some more?”
He Xiu shook his head, but the aunt was not rea.s.sured. “I heard you donated 400 milliliters of blood. Drink some soup to supplement the loss?”
“It’s really not necessary.” He Xiu turned his head to say to Jian Yan, “You should eat some more. Just a moment ago, you didn’t eat very much.”
Jian Yan also shook her head. “I’m full.”
“Ai,” the aunt sighed. She knew everyone had no appet.i.te as there still was no news about He Chen.
As a dense cloud of worry hung in the hallway, the operation room’s light finally extinguished. The doctors and nurses very quickly came out. Zhao Ying Fang was the first to rush forward, an impatient expression on her face as she asked, “Doctor, how is my son?”
The doctor took off the surgical mask on his face and looked at all of them. “Don’t worry, the patient isn’t in danger.”