Chapter 42: Chapter 42 Dr. Qiao, you are really good!
Qiao Xi pushed the door open quickly.
Liu’s old lady had collapsed on the ground, her complexion ashen, clutching her chest as she quickly lost consciousness.
Qiao Xi’s face was heavy, and she rapidly pressed the ergency bell beside the hospital bed.
“Liu’s old lady!”
“Old lady, wake up.”
Ti was of the essence and there were few nurses available during the lunch break. She laid the old lady flat on her back, observing her weak breathing and rapidly declining heartbeat.
...
She placed the heel of one hand in the center of her chest, the other on top, and began cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
“1001!”
“1002!”
She counted in tension while a nurse quickly arrived to assist by contacting the cardiology departnt.
“Secure the oxygen mask, attach electrode patches.”
“Yes! Hang in there, Qiao Xi!” said the nurse, kneeling on the side, preparing the equipnt. In such situations, a nurse wouldn’t dare interrupt a trainee’s resuscitation efforts.
“No need for defibrillation! Continue chest compressions!”
She made it within the golden four minutes!
Qiao Xi bit her lip, her temples soaked with perspiration, as she continued the forceful and rapid compressions!
The nurse monitored the ECG, her body tense. Suddenly, the lines normalized, “Doctor Qiao! The heartbeat has resud!”
Qiao Xi released her hands and slumped down on the floor.
“Get ready for oxygen therapy, check her.”
The waiting nurses and doctors took over the situation promptly as Qiao Xi, exhausted, sat on a nearby chair, staring blankly at her hands in a daze.
Liu’s old lady was moved to the hospital bed and, after a series of examinations, showed no other symptoms.
It was an accidental fall that caused her cardiac arrest.
“I’m fine, really,” said Liu’s old lady, regaining consciousness and sowhat embarrassed, “I just felt so sensation in my lower limbs and wondered if I could walk.”
The possibility of recovery from paraplegia of the lower limbs was hopeful; Doctor Yan’s dical skills had indeed impressed Mrs. Liu.
After confirming she was all right, the doctors and nurses left, instructing Qiao Xi to keep an eye on her.
The room was filled only with the steady beeping of machines.
“Xiaoqiao, thank you. I almost t King Yan,” said Liu’s old lady weakly from her bed, “It would’ve been nice to see my husband if I had died.”
With the mask on, Qiao Xi’s ears reddened from the tight elastic, as she advised, “You should hire a caregiver to look after you regularly; otherwise, you might not be so lucky next ti.”
She wasn’t a critical patient and, given her temperantal nature, the doctors and nurses couldn’t spare that much attention. Who could have expected such an incident would occur?
“I don’t want a caregiver. I just want to go ho, where everything still bears my husband’s traces,” Liu’s old lady said with teary eyes, “I miss him. Every day I offer three sticks of incense before his tablet, and it’s good.”
So it turned out the rumors of her and her husband’s profound love were true.
No wonder she had taken her husband’s surna.
“Doctor Xiaoqiao, call by my na,” she requested.
“Liu’s old lady.”
“Not that, call by my na.”
“Liu Qiushuang,” Qiao Xi recalled her na from the dical record.
“Ah.”
Liu’s old lady choked up, “It was the na he gave . He said it was elegant and feminine. He was called ‘Startling Spring,’ and I was ‘Autumn Frost’; together, we made a pair.”
Listening, Qiao Xi felt a pang in her heart, a sourness in her throat.
From the doorway of the hospital room, the sound of intermittent sobbing could be heard, uncontrollable.
Qiao Xi turned her head and saw a well-dressed, mature-looking lady and a tall, privileged middle-aged man intimately linking arms.
With reddened eyes, the beautiful lady cried out, “Mother! If you want to go ho, we’ll go ho.”
Liu Huimin threw herself into the old lady’s embrace, “I won’t stay in the hospital in the future, I’ll go back to my parents’ house to be with you. Each ti we leave the hospital after treatnt, I’ll live there.”
“Huimin, I miss your father.”
Mother and daughter held each other and wept bitterly.
Seeing this, Qiao Xi stepped out of the ward.
“Are you Doctor Qiao? I’m Xu Guangyao, the man inside is my mother-in-law. We have all heard about the critical condition, thank you for saving her, and we will surely reward you handsoly,” the middle-aged man said with a courteous yet distant tone.
That air of superiority was always evident, leaking out a bit here and there.
“You’re welco, it’s my responsibility,” Qiao Xi said indifferently, “Please arrange for soone to look after her as soon as possible.”
“Sure.”
Xu Guangyao felt she looked familiar, squinting his eyes as he scrutinized the visible parts of her face.
After speaking, Qiao Xi left.
As she passed by the nurses’ station, Nurse Shu Xue gave her a thumbs up.
“Qiao Xi, you’re really sothing. If sothing big had happened today, the Liu Family is not to be trifled with.” She ca out from the nurses’ desk and handed an orange to Qiao Xi.
“You deserve half the credit, thank you for your help,” Qiao Xi said, leaning against the wall and breaking the orange in half, placing one piece in Shu Xue’s hand.
Shu Xue waved her hand dismissively, “It’s nothing.”
She leaned in closer to Qiao Xi and gossiped, “The middle-aged couple that just went into the ward are Xu Guangyao and Liu Huimin, parents of our Dean Xu Xiuyuan. Back in the days, the poor young man Xu Guangyao married Liu Huimin, the prized pearl of the Liu family, creating a sensation throughout the city. It was with the Liu Family’s help that the Xu Family rose to beco one of Haicheng’s new powerhouses.”
“You’re such a gossip,” said Qiao Xi, munching on the orange.
“There’s even more gossip. Our Dean Xu is known for his integrity, respect for elders, and loving care for his siblings. His brother and sister are twins. The sister is considered the precious pearl of both the Liu and Xu families. She used to frequently visit the hospital to see him; she’s really pretty.”
Shu Xue looked closely at Qiao Xi, “I think you look a bit like her, but you’re prettier than she is!”
“Nonsense.”
“You’re known as the beauty of our Rehabilitation Departnt,” Shu Xue said, pulling out an exquisite gift box from the nurses’ station, “You dropped this during the rescue effort. I was worried about it getting lost amidst the crowd, so I picked it up for you.”
“Thank you!”
Qiao Xi took the gift box and then rembered.
This was the gift ant for Huo Xingzhou; she had seen his date of birth on his ID card.
“I’ll be going now.”
…
Inside Ward 2103.
Liu Huimin was feeding dicine to the elderly lady, “Mom, you said that Doctor Xiaoqiao looks like , is it true? I never expected such a coincidence.”
“There is a connection,” the old Mrs. Liu reminisced about the past, “Twenty-two years ago, you and a young maid in our household gave birth on the sa day, which was also a coincidence. Unfortunately, her daughter didn’t survive, and we’ve heard nothing from her since.”
The speaker ant no harm, but the listener took it to heart.
Standing to one side, Xu Guangyao’s gaze flickered, and he felt extrely guilty.
But he quickly regained his composure; he wasn’t worried that his secrets would be discovered. After all, he had covered his tracks thoroughly back then, leaving no trace behind.
He held a cup of water and smiled, “Mom, it’s been so long, you still rember that.” Pretending it was a casual inquiry, he asked, “Is Doctor Qiao an orphan?”
“No, she has parents and family,” the old lady responded with mixed emotions, “She’s the girl from the Su Family who had an arranged marriage to the second branch of the Huo Family to bring them luck, the wife of Huo Xingzhou.”
“It’s actually her!” Liu Huimin was taken aback.
And for Xu Guangyao, this was even more reassuring.
There are so many look-alikes in this world; he had no need for undue paranoia.
Nobody would ever find out what he had done all those years ago.
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