Chapter 447: Life Hangs by a Thread
’It can’t be Wu Sheng. It’s impossible. He already called to say he was safe, that he was coming back soon.’
Because of that call, she had been able to relax a little. She could even sleep at night, just waiting for Wu Sheng to return safely...
’Not Wu Sheng, not Wu Sheng...’
Amidst Su Li’s silent chant—or perhaps it was a prayer—of ’Not Wu Sheng,’ Wu Qihua’s voice came through, sharp and clear.
"Su Li, Wu Sheng’s been in an accident. He’s on his way back to the Imperial City by air right now. I’ve arranged for someone to pick you up at the school gate."
Wu Qihua’s voice was thick with emotion, and she spoke extremely quickly.
But Su Li heard it. She heard every single word.
A roar went through her head, and then her mind went completely blank.
"Impossible, impossible..."
Wu Qihua’s voice came through again.
"Su Li, I know you can’t believe it. I can’t believe it either. But I’ve already confirmed it. It’s true."
"You have to come. Come... if... you should come see him one last time."
’One last time... one last time...’
Only those three words echoed in Su Li’s mind.
Her mind was blank, a vast emptiness. She wasn’t thinking about anything; she couldn’t think of anything at all.
She didn’t know how much time had passed before her homeroom teacher’s voice startled her back to reality.
"Su Li, let’s go to the gate. I’ll walk you."
As her homeroom teacher helped her up, Su Li realized she had unknowingly collapsed onto the floor.
She came to, staring blankly at her teacher, and then her senses finally returned.
Once she processed what was happening, Su Li shot to her feet and bolted toward the school gate.
Su Li ran for the school gate with single-minded focus. Her mind was a blank slate. She thought she would be crying, but her eyes were painfully dry, without a single tear.
"Miss Su Li, over here."
Just as Su Li reached the school gate, a car pulled up. Without a second thought, she got in.
The car sped off at top speed, finally stopping at the Imperial City First People’s Hospital.
Su Li’s mind was blank the entire way there.
When the car stopped and she went to get out, she discovered she couldn’t move.
Her body was wound too tight, completely numb. She took a deep breath, and then another, before she finally managed to get out of the car.
Wu Sheng... hadn’t arrived yet.
He was still on his way, but details about his condition had been sent ahead. The hospital was already preparing for surgery to ensure they could operate the moment he arrived.
When Wu Sheng fell, he landed right on a tree branch that was on the ground.
The branch was a little thicker than a grown man’s thumb. It had been sharpened from being chopped for firewood and had instantly pierced Wu Sheng’s chest.
If he hadn’t been focused on protecting Little Hei, Wu Sheng could have easily avoided that branch. But in this world, there are no what-ifs.
The branch hadn’t penetrated too deeply, but its location was critical—it was far too close to his heart.
The doctors in Wucheng couldn’t guarantee a successful surgery. Since the helicopter was still there, the decision was made to transport him directly back to the Imperial City.
By getting him to the Imperial City, there might still be a chance.
Bai Xinyue and Little Hei were transported back at the same time.
Little Hei had suffered various injuries to its head and internal organs. It was unconscious and also needed surgery.
As for Bai Xinyue, her left eye was injured. In all likelihood, she was now blind in that eye.
In her previous life, Bai Xinyue had lost her sight several years from now, in a car accident.
In this life, however, it happened years ahead of schedule, and while she was with Wu Sheng.
All three people at the scene were injured. No one knew exactly what had happened.
The moment Su Li arrived at the hospital, she was told about Wu Sheng’s condition.
Outside the pre-op room sat Wu Qihua. Her eyes were bloodshot, but she was forcing herself to remain calm as she listened to the doctor’s briefing.
In a room not far away, Li Xian sat with red-rimmed eyes. He wanted to move but didn’t have the strength to stand up.
He was wearing only a thin shirt, without a hat or overcoat; he had abruptly left a meeting the moment he heard the news.
He had rushed to the hospital immediately, summoning the best, most authoritative surgeons for the operation.
"...but we won’t know the actual situation until the patient arrives."
"However, based on the reports from the helicopter, the patient’s blood loss is severe. Our hospital’s blood bank has an insufficient supply, and we’re waiting to hear back from other hospitals..."
The doctor had just finished speaking when a voice came from behind him.
"Use mine. Use my blood. You can use my blood! I’m type O."
The doctor turned, surprised. "You are...?"
Wu Qihua stood up. "Su Li, you’re here."
Su Li gave a frantic nod and turned back to the doctor. "Doctor, test my blood, quickly. Draw it so it’s ready."
The doctor nodded and was just about to ask a nurse to take Su Li for testing when the latest update came.
"The patient is here."
Wu Sheng was quickly wheeled past. Su Li and Wu Qihua weren’t allowed to go to him; they had to wait at the doors to the operating room.
The instant she saw Wu Sheng on the stretcher, Su Li’s mouth fell open, and she forgot to breathe.
’Wu Sheng... Wu Sheng, is that really Wu Sheng?’
’Is that person covered in blood, utterly lifeless, really Wu Sheng?’
The once-vibrant Wu Sheng now lay silent and still on the stretcher.
"Wu Sheng!" Wu Qihua’s cry snapped Su Li back to her senses.
She reached out a trembling hand, but before she could even touch him, Wu Sheng was wheeled into the operating room.
Staring at the closed doors of the operating room, Su Li felt a fear unlike any she had ever known.
Only in this moment did Su Li truly understand what Wu Sheng meant to her.
’Wu Sheng, Wu Sheng, Wu Sheng...’
’Wu Sheng has to be okay. As long as he lives, nothing else matters.’
’As long as he lives...’
Forcing herself to be strong, Su Li grabbed a nurse who was coming out of the room. "Take me to give blood. It’s for Wu Sheng, in there."
The nurse had just been instructed by the doctor to find Su Li, so she immediately led her away.
Wu Qihua snapped to her senses and grabbed the nurse’s arm. "And mine! You can take my blood, too."
The nurse shook her head. "Direct family members can’t donate to each other. You and the patient are mother and son, so we can’t use your blood."
Su Li followed the nurse to have her blood tested and drawn. When the needle was finally in and her blood began to flow, Su Li let out a sigh of relief.
"Can you draw it faster? Take as much as you can. I have plenty of blood. It’s okay if you take more."
The nurse listened with a helpless sigh and said softly, trying to soothe her, "We can’t take too much. Please, try not to worry."
’The last thing we need is the patient’s family member collapsing on us.’
"I..." Of course, Su Li knew that. But she truly wanted them to take more. As long as it could save Wu Sheng, she would let them drain every last drop of her blood.
But she knew it was impossible. Something like that could never happen.
"Just take the maximum amount you can. As much as is possible..."
Su Li murmured insistently.
This time, the nurse just sighed in acknowledgement.
Wu Qihua, who had been standing guard at the operating room door, came over to check on Su Li and overheard her pleas.
She had been desperately holding back her tears, but at this, she finally broke down, her face streaming with them.
"Everything will be alright. It will be..."
she murmured.
The blood draw soon stopped. Even when Su Li insisted they could take more, the nurse just shook her head.
Wu Qihua waited for Su Li, then helped her back to the doors of the operating room.
And then began the long wait.
Waiting is always the hardest part, let alone a wait like this.
Su Li was enduring the most difficult time of her life.
It wasn’t that each day felt like a year—each second felt like a year.
And in that time, where every second stretched into a year, Su Li saw with perfect clarity what Wu Sheng was to her.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t live without Wu Sheng. Without him, she would still go on.
But she would be unhappy, like a fan that has lost the wind—the fan is the body, but the wind is its soul.