Life is Like a Journey – Chapter 39
by Little PandaVolume 1: Rise
June 1st
Miaomiao celebrates Children’s Day for the last time.
Days flowed slowly past like clouds at the edge of the sky. Yu Gui continued to spend every night in the simulated surgery room, Lu Qingshi managed the ward and attended outpatient clinics as usual, Gu Yanzhi persisted in doing rehabilitation, Qin Xuan worked in obstetrics and occasionally ran to the emergency room to crack jokes, and Hao Renjie still bickered noisily with Yu Gui, yet was obedient to his Sister Lu’s words.
Nobody mentioned that matter, but everyone knew it was possibly He Miaomiao’s last time celebrating Children’s Day on June 1st.
The ICU nurses were busy hanging lights and decorating, pasting cute cartoon pictures on the snow-white ward walls. Meanwhile, Qin Xuan was planning a surprise for Miaomiao; she prepared many costumes of dolls like Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, and others. She wanted to fulfill Miaomiao’s unfinished wish of seeing Disneyland.
Lu Qingshi resisted, but on June 1st, she still shyly wore a Minnie costume, being the last one to enter. Everyone laughed uncontrollably, and Hao Renjie, wearing a Donald Duck costume, clutched his belly and laughed so hard he couldn’t straighten his waist.
Lu Qingshi’s face hidden in the doll’s head cover began to heat up, thinking: Luckily, there’s still a head cover; this is too embarrassing. She would rather kneel before Zhou Yuetong’s parents.
After everything was ready, the anesthetist woke up He Miaomiao. The small child opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was the snow-white ceiling, then her dad and mom by the bedside.
Mother He gently held her hand and said, “Miaomiao, look…”
Looking in the direction Mother He pointed, the glass shield door slowly opened, and a group of dolls entered one by one in neat steps. Qin Xuan led the way, lifting her skirt hem and bowing: “Hello Miaomiao, I am Elsa…”
Donald Duck took off his hat and placed it on his chest with a gentlemanly salute: “I am Donald Duck.”
“I am Pluto,” Yu Gui crawled in on all fours, still struggling until the last moment why she was a dog.
“I am Daisy.”
“I am Snow White.”
“I am Goofy.”
“I am Mermaid Princess Ariel.”
…
Lu Qingshi dragged her heavy steps as she stepped in: “I am Minnie.”
The small child, seeing these faces that had only appeared in cartoons now standing alive before her, couldn’t help but cry, causing a large mist to rise on the oxygen mask.
Mother He quickly hugged and comforted her: “Miaomiao, you mustn’t cry, or they will have to leave.”
The child, tortured by illness and thin as a stick, had no flesh left on her face, only big and round dark eyes, seeming to understand as she nodded her head.
As usual, every year on June 1st, the entire medical staff would celebrate a collective birthday for the children hospitalized in the ICU. This year was no exception. Mickey slowly pushed a cake cart in, and the medical staff not dressed as dolls also gathered around. Everyone sang the birthday song together, and Mother He quietly turned her back to cry.
Hao Renjie poked Qin Xuan: “Who played Mickey this year? It won’t still be the dean, right?”
Qin Xuan shook her head: “I don’t know.”
“Renji Medical University’s First Affiliated Hospital’s entire medical staff wishes the children a happy holiday, and also wishes for little He Miaomiao’s speedy recovery!”
“Click—” Father He raised the camera, capturing this precious scene.
“Miaomiao, come and blow the candle.”
He Miaomiao’s fellow patients all suggested letting her blow the candle. The nurse raised the hospital bed a little, and the doctor took off her oxygen mask. She, with a pale face, gently blew a breath, but the candle did not move. So, Father He and Mother He hugged her to complete the ceremony together, and Mickey standing behind quietly raised the camera.
“Click—” Minnie also happened to enter her frame, and Gu Yanzhi pressed save.
Today was an exception; all the children received a small piece of cake, and everyone cheered, turning the ward into a sea of happiness.
In the ICU, every day people pass away; it is always a place of sorrowful clouds and tragic fog, rarely having such happy times. Liu Changsheng watched from outside, his eyes slightly moist, then was pulled in by someone.
Eating cake is the children’s joy, but playing is the adults’ talent. A lump of cake hit Liu Changsheng’s face, and as he squinted, his snow-white lab coat became colorful. Anyway, he couldn’t clearly see who was who, so he simply grabbed some and threw it out.
“Old Liu, ptooey ptooey ptooey!” Dean Meng spat out the cake residue from his mouth.
“Old Meng!” The two high-ranking, powerful people looked at each other’s messy appearance and laughed heartily.
“That’s not right, Dean Meng wasn’t wearing a doll costume, so who is Mickey?” The battle was too intense, and wearing a head cover was undoubtedly being a live target. That group of colleagues all hit too hard, giving him a headache, so Hao Renjie squatted down behind the hospital bed.
Yu Gui, shivering, squatted beside him: “I don’t know, don’t hit me.”
She was even more miserable, her movements inconvenient, having fallen several times like a dog eating dirt.
Lu Qingshi, holding a cake, moved to Miaomiao’s bedside and handed a piece to Father He and Mother He. Miaomiao couldn’t eat, only able to look on enviously, so she lightly wiped a little with her finger and dotted it on her nose tip.
The small child curled in the blanket obediently did not lick it. Her hand, hidden in the blanket, moved, and Lu Qingshi thought she wanted to take the cake from her hand, so she instinctively moved it away a little. However, the child gently lifted her head cover, and a surprised voice sounded.
“Aunt Lu!”
With her identity discovered, Lu Qingshi had to awkwardly take it all off herself.
“That side is Aunt Qin.”
Daisy took off her head cover and smiled at her.
“Hiding behind the hospital bed are Uncle Hao and Sister Yu.”
Yu Gui crawled out, finally able to take off this bothersome thing and breathe deeply, laughing somewhat silly and carefree.
Hao Renjie, coyly: “Oh, stop it~ I still want to play a little longer.”
Everyone burst into dry heaving.
“Goofy is Uncle Liu.”
“The Mermaid Princess is Aunt Chen!”
The people who were named all took off their head covers, wearing the doll clothes, nodding and smiling at her.
He Miaomiao turned her gaze to Mickey: “It’s… Firefighter Sister!”
Lu Qingshi raised an eyebrow, and sure enough, with the head cover taken off, it was a familiar face.
Gu Yanzhi placed the head cover on her chest, raised her right hand in a salute: “Comrade He Miaomiao, I have already completely recovered, you must cheer up too!”
The small child covered the badge on her chest, nodded her head heavily, her smile innocent and bright: “Mm!”
Lu Qingshi’s phone was the first to vibrate, followed by Yu Gui’s, Hao Renjie’s, and Liu Qingyun’s…
Several people exchanged glances and took off their cumbersome clothes. A nurse handed over a white coat, and Lu Qingshi turned to put it on, shaking out the lapel, looking dashing and smooth. As they successively ran out of the ward, she turned her head.
“Miaomiao, goodbye.”
He Miaomiao waved her hand to say goodbye: “Goodbye, Aunt Lu.”
As she ran past the firefighter wearing a funny Mickey costume, the other person bent her beautiful brows and eyes, with sunlight falling on her chestnut-colored hair.
She called her name.
“Qingshi, you must cheer up.”
The doctor wearing the white coat turned her head and slightly smiled, as if a crack quietly appeared on the ice surface.
“Okay.”
She answered her like this.
“One hundred, one hundred one, one hundred two, one hundred three…” Gu Yanzhi was lying on the ground doing push-ups, while Qin Xuan held a stopwatch and counted for her. When she counted to two hundred, she threw away the stopwatch and suddenly pounced on her.
“Dear, you’re amazing, congratulations on being discharged!!!” Gu Yanzhi, with slightly messy hair and a pure white towel hanging around her neck, had some thin sweat on her forehead, yet her face was not red and she was not panting.
Lu Qingshi leaned against the door watching, with a genuine smile floating on the corners of her lips: “Congratulations to you.”
Gu Yanzhi released Qin Xuan, walked over, stood at ease, and gave a military salute: “Thank you, Doctor Lu.”
Qin Xuan teased: “Yo~ wasn’t it just yesterday you were calling her Qingshi so intimately, and today it’s Doctor Lu, tsk tsk, women, change their hearts really fast.”
Not knowing why she was teased like this, the young fire instructor’s face heated up a bit: “Ah… that…”
Lu Qingshi glanced over with a half-smile, making Qin Xuan’s scalp tingle, so she quickly shifted the topic, embracing both of their shoulders.
“How about this, to celebrate Yanzhi’s discharge, let’s go to my house for hot pot tonight.”
“No…” Lu Qingshi began to refuse, but then saw Gu Yanzhi’s somewhat hesitant gaze: “I haven’t had hot pot in a long time.”
She subconsciously changed her words: “Your house is too far.”
The other party’s eyes lit up: “Then let’s go to my house, I’ll cook, and you all can also pet the dog.”
So the three of them agreed to buy groceries together after work. Gu Yanzhi had to first report back to the fire brigade, and Lu Qingshi, after picking up Qin Xuan, drove to the fire brigade entrance since it was on the way.
The troublemaker was standing at the entrance talking to his captain, and unexpectedly saw an expensive luxury car stopped across the street. Lu Qingshi saw her slender, tall back standing under the streetlamp from afar, turned off the car lights, and honked the horn.
Gu Yanzhi turned her head, and with a smile on her face, patted the troublemaker’s shoulder and said goodbye to him: “Then I won’t talk to you now, let’s chat another day.”
Obedient… Does the captain have a partner?
The troublemaker widened his eyes and hid behind the security booth, waiting to see the car owner’s true face.
Lu Qingshi got out of the car and opened the door for her. Today, the doctor wore something slightly casual, a white short sleeve overlaid with a gray-white chiffon shirt, and pants of the same series, making her look clean and fresh.
The troublemaker’s eyes almost popped out: “Lu… Doctor Lu!”
“Fasten your seatbelt,” Lu Qingshi slowly started the engine.
Qin Xuan leaned over her seat back from the back seat: “Hey, why don’t you invite me to sit in the front passenger seat?”
Lu Qingshi glanced at her: “You’re too noisy.”
Gu Yanzhi couldn’t stop laughing: “Hahaha, so to avoid Doctor Lu kicking you out of the car, you’d better be quiet.”
“Sister, I like this, look, see if it looks good?” In the mall, people were coming and going, and because of the holiday, the crowd was shoulder to shoulder. A pair of simply dressed, similar-looking sisters had agreed to go shopping. The younger sister was taller than the older sister and was currently taking a dress from the shelf to compare against herself.
The person she asked snatched the clothes back from her hand and stuffed them into the shelf: “We don’t even have money to eat, yet you’re still buying and buying, quickly go home!”
After saying this, she dragged her out of the exquisitely decorated luxury store, only releasing her hand at the escalator entrance.
The younger sister rubbed her sore wrist and got angry: “What are you doing! Let go! I may not have money, but someone gives me money to spend! Who’s like you, just burying yourself in books! You’re so old yet never been in love…”
“I’ve told you so many times not to spend other people’s money. You’re not even with the person, yet you want them to give you money. No one can endure this; sooner or later, something will happen!”
The older sister appears to be a bit older in age and speaks more composedly.
“You control me,” the young girl snorted, her thick eyeliner extending to the corners of her eyes: “I’m not spending your money, this old lady doesn’t want to hang herself in one place!”
The elevator door opened, and on a hot day, a man was still wearing a pullover hoodie, with a hat obscuring his face, hands tightly in pockets, searching for a target in the crowded people. When he saw that tall back, his eyes suddenly emitted a sinister light.
“I’ll take it,” Gu Yanzhi said, taking the shopping bag from her hand. Lu Qingshi hesitated a bit: “It’s very heavy.”
The other party patted her own bicep: “Strong indeed.”
Qin Xuan wrapped an arm around Lu Qingshi’s shoulder: “I say you don’t worry needlessly, people are eager to show attentiveness to you.”
Lu Qingshi delivered an elbow strike to her chest: “Stay away from me. Why have you been speaking in such a strange tone lately?”
Qin Xuan, covering her softest spot, couldn’t speak: “Lu Qingshi, I hate you!”
As they walked, just about to reach the escalator, there was suddenly a commotion in the crowd ahead. The woman walking in front of Lu Qingshi suddenly turned around, and the two collided. The woman fell to the ground, and Lu Qingshi quickly reached out to help her: “Sorry…”
The woman rolled up and got up, as if a ghost were chasing her: “Kill… killing… quick… quick, run!!!”
Through the chaotic crowd, she saw a man raising a cleaver high, stabbing towards the girl’s chest again and again, as blood blossomed in her eyes.
The pushed-away younger sister screamed: “Older sister! Stop!”
She suddenly rushed over and hugged the man’s thigh, crying and wailing: “Don’t kill my older sister… if you want to kill, kill me instead…”
The man raised the knife again.
“Mother!” Screams rose and fell, mixed with the fragile cries of children. An innocent little child, having lost their mother in the chaotic crowd, stood in place wailing loudly.
“Sh*t!!!” Qin Xuan quickly went to pull Lu Qingshi: “Don’t look, hurry, go, go, go! Call… call 110!”
Lu Qingshi shook her off and ran against the crowd. Gu Yanzhi put down the shopping bag and chased after her, quickly surpassing her, and turned her head to look back: “You save the person, I’ll catch the murderer!”
The other party nodded, and the two spread apart. Qin Xuan, seeing the situation was not good, hesitated for a moment but still gritted her teeth and chased after Lu Qingshi’s back. After a few steps, she felt she couldn’t run fast, so she took off her high heels, held them in her hand, and dashed barefoot on the marble floor like flying.
“Wait for me! Qingshi!”
The mall security also moved with the news, but facing the fierce and evil criminal, no one dared to approach, and instead, a few were injured. The man, dressed all in black, was already stained with blood, making the color unrecognizable. His hands and knife were covered in blood, those eyes deep and dark, and his face full of madness.
“Don’t come over! Whoever comes, I will kill!”
He was waving the knife and had already accidentally injured several innocent passersby, with his hand still grabbing a hostage.
The girl clasped the hand choking her neck, her feet flailing on the ground, and her eyes were already starting to roll back.
The man pointed the knife at her temple: “You think you’re so arrogant! Spending my money while flirting with pretty boys outside! Ah! You think you’re so arrogant! Looking down on me because I’m from the countryside! F*ck you! Today I’ll let you taste the ruin of your family!”
As he dragged the girl toward the mall entrance, he pointed the knife at her: “Don’t move, I want to see who dares to move!”
“Sir, sir, can you hear me?” Qin Xuan helped up a fallen man and with effort dragged him to lean against the wall.
“Can… you… you are…” The man, covering his injured arm, replied with effort, his face pale as cold sweat continuously dripped from his forehead due to the pain.
“I am a doctor!” Seeing that there was nothing nearby to stop the bleeding, Qin Xuan, anxious like an ant on a hot pan, cast a pleading look toward Lu Qingshi by the escalator.
“Qingshi, do you have anything to stop the bleeding?!”
The other party opened her bag; she had the habit of carrying emergency medicine and threw a pack of gauze to her: “Have you called 120? Use sparingly, there isn’t much!”
“I called! I estimate the dispatcher will still take a while.” Qin Xuan tore open the package, pressed a wad of gauze tightly: “Don’t move, take deep breaths and calm down, or the blood will flow faster!”
The injured person beside Lu Qingshi was the girl initially stabbed, with several stab wounds to the chest and a cut on her neck, covered in wounds. The pool of blood from underneath her had also soaked a large part of Lu Qingshi’s shoes.
Lu Qingshi felt her pulse: “Pulse is shallow, heart rate fast, she’s in shock, likely has trauma-induced hemothorax1, Qin Xuan, do you have a pen!”
A German Lamy was thrown through the air, and before Qin Xuan had time to feel the pain of parting with it, the person had already unscrewed the pen cap, and with both hands forcefully stabbed it deeply into the spot three inches below the patient’s ribs, then unscrewed the back cover, and a jet of blood sprayed out, scattering on her snow-white lapel.
A police car roared into the scene, Xiang Nanke, wearing a tactical uniform and bulletproof vest, jumped out before it even stopped properly, drew her gun from her waist, chambered a bullet, and led the charge into the mall.
“Rescue the hostage at all costs!”
Footnotes
- Hemothorax: Occurs when blood builds up in the space between the lungs and the chest wall, called the pleural space. Normally, this space is filled with a small amount of fluid that helps the lungs move smoothly as you breathe. But if blood enters this space, it can push against the lung, making it hard to breathe and potentially causing the lung to collapse.
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