As the ga was his sole form of contact with Xu Wennuan, whenever he missed her more than usual, he would open the ga habitually and look at her profile picture while telling himself that they were not completely out of touch. This thought would make him feel slightly better.
She had been sleeping soundly for the past six months. Except for the recent night when she had sent him a ssage to thank him, she had only been replying to him early in the morning, so when he saw that she had sent him a ssage in the middle of the night again, he beca anxious. He quickly opened the chat window and, through the smoke from his cigarette, he saw the words “my stomach hurts…”
She’d sent the ssage only two minutes ago, so Lu Bancheng imdiately replied to her without hesitation, “Have you taken your dicine?”
A minute passed, and there was no response, so he sent her another ssage. “Did you call the doctor?”
There was still no reply after two minutes, even though the ga showed that Xu Wennuan was still online. Lu Bancheng beca increasingly uneasy. He searched around and, while fumbling for change in his pocket, walked over to a public phone booth to call her.
The phone rang for a long ti, but she never answered, worrying him greatly. He then called her again and, when the phone rang the fifth ti, he ended the call and verified her address on his phone, as he had helped her find her apartnt. He imdiately called 120 to send an ambulance to her apartnt and then quickly ran to his car as he fumbled for his keys in his pocket.
Lu Bancheng had lived in Beijing since he was a child, and his familiarity with the heart of the city allowed him to swiftly navigate his car to Xu Wennuan’s apartnt building. After parking, he ran into the building and took the elevator to her apartnt’s floor. At the door of her apartnt, he pressed her doorbell several tis, but she didn’t answer.
Lu Bancheng roughly approximated the configuration of the floor and ca up with an idea. He pressed the doorbell of her neighbor’s apartnt, and a minute later a middle-aged woman opened the door. He succinctly explained the situation, followed by his intention to use the woman’s balcony to access Xu Wennuan’s balcony. The woman was confused and hesitant, especially with the idea that perhaps Xu Wennuan wouldn’t want him in her apartnt but, after her concern for Xu Wennuan being in a life-or-death situation, she finally told Lu Bancheng that if he didn’t appear in her doorway and tell her what was happening within three minutes, she would call the police.
Lu Bancheng hastily agreed and thanked her. He then took off his shoes, entered her apartnt, and walked onto the balcony. Without even slowing down, he smoothly flipped over to Xu Wennuan’s balcony, where he found the French door locked, but through the glass, he clearly saw her sprawled motionlessly on the carpet. He imdiately spotted a plant, picked it up, and threw it at the window. At the sound of glass shattering, the neighbor anxiously yelled from her own balcony, “Young man, what are you doing?”
Lu Bancheng ignored her and went straight inside. He randomly grabbed Xu Wennuan’s cell phone, purse, and so clothes before he bent down, lifted her up, and strode out of the apartnt.
Reviews
All reviews (0)