Life is Like a Journey – Chapter 49
by Little PandaVolume 1: Rise
Adoption
Give it to me, I’ll take it home
After hastily rinsing with saline solution, Lu Qingshi put on gloves again and quickly strode into the ward. Yu Gui hurriedly made way for her. The boy lying on the hospital bed had his limbs firmly secured with bandages, five people were holding him down, and only after administering two shots of diazepam1 did he finally calm down.
Lu Qingshi opened his eyelids and shone a penlight: “Yu Gui, go ask the person who brought him in how long these symptoms have been persisting.”
“He’s never been like this before! Today was the first time. Not long after returning to the dormitory, he started shouting and yelling, saying things we couldn’t understand, jumping up and down like a madman. Doctor, look, he even bit and injured my hand.”
As the boy spoke, he showed his wrist to Yu Gui. Indeed, a layer of skin on his wheat-colored skin had been bitten through, looking even more severe than Teacher Lu’s injury.
Yu Gui’s heart tightened, and her expression became somewhat serious: “First, go find a nurse for wound debridement, then quickly go get a blood test. I’ll write you an order for it.”
She didn’t bother returning to the office, and instead stood there, her pen moving swiftly like a dancing dragon and snake, quickly writing out a lab order for him.
Seeing her expression as if facing a great enemy, the boy also became nervous: “Doctor… Doctor… He doesn’t have some infectious disease or something, does he…”
Yu Gui answered honestly: “We’ll only know after further tests are done.”
When she returned to the emergency treatment room, Lu Qingshi was in the midst of resuscitating the patient. The values on the ECG monitor had all turned into flat lines, and the machine was beeping continuously.
“Establish an open intravenous line.”
“Supplement with balanced solution.”
“Rapidly correct electrolytes.”
“Are the complete blood count and biochemistry results out yet? Go and hurry them up!”
Yu Gui also joined the resuscitation team, quickly connecting the defibrillator after Lu Qingshi finished a round of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, their coordination seamless.
“Charge to 200 joules, charging complete, stand clear!”
“Director Lu, the complete blood count and biochemistry results are here,” a nurse came running in, handing her the lab report.
Lu Qingshi glanced at it, slightly furrowing her brow.
The blood drug concentration had reached 0.6 mg/L.
“Please call for a consultation from the Hematology and Anesthesiology departments.”
“Teacher Lu, the heart rate still hasn’t come up.” After several rounds of resuscitation, the patient had a weak heartbeat, but all vital signs were still far below normal values.
“Hao Renjie, intravenous injection of 2mg naloxone2, give me a 7.5 size tube.”
Lu Qingshi leaned over the head of the bed, took the catheter handed by Yu Gui, and along with the laryngoscope, inserted them into the patient’s mouth. Her movements were fluid, and she quickly completed the tracheal intubation.
The ECG monitor at the bedside quieted down, and the staff from Hematology and Anesthesiology departments also arrived. After looking at the test results, they all furrowed their brows.
Yu Gui, holding the medical record, approached Lu Qingshi: “Teacher Lu, the classmate who brought him in said he was also bitten, but this doesn’t look like rabies to me. Rabies causes photophobia and hydrophobia, and at this stage of the disease, he probably wouldn’t have been able to leave the house. However, he has limb convulsions, pharyngeal spasms (muscle spasms), and reportedly was abnormally excited before the onset, which does indeed resemble rabies symptoms…”
Rarely showing signs of thinking through the problem, Lu Qingshi glanced at her: “So what do you think it is?”
“I…” Yu Gui scratched her head, “can’t really explain it…”
“It’s certainly drug intoxication, no doubt,” the anesthesiologist pushed up his glasses, “possibly some kind of central nervous system depressant.”
Some drugs of this type are also used in anesthesia, such as ketamine.
“Let’s do a toxicology screen then. Where are the family members?”
“Uh… we haven’t been able to contact them yet.”
Lu Qingshi, wearing gloves, pried open his jaw and examined it carefully, then used a cotton swab to scrape inside his mouth repeatedly. Apart from finding a piece of vegetable leaf, she didn’t discover any viral remnants.
Her gaze fell on the boy’s arm. It was the height of summer, yet he was wearing long sleeves.
Lu Qingshi rolled up his sleeve, and her pupils constricted slightly: “Before contacting the family, we should probably contact the police first.”
Yu Gui leaned in for a look. On the snow-white arm, blue veins were faintly visible, and several needle marks appeared before their eyes. This location, above the elbow, was never a place doctors would choose for intravenous injections.
So that could only mean—
She drew in a sharp breath.
When Qin Xuan came down from the Obstetrics and Gynecology department to find Lu Qingshi for lunch, she happened to see Xiang Nanke coming out after taking a statement from the boy’s classmate. The two made eye contact, and Xiang Nanke casually averted her gaze, but it was Qin Xuan who hesitated for a moment. Turning back now would seem too deliberate under everyone’s watchful eyes, so Dr. Qin, who was usually overflowing with enthusiasm for everyone, approached with a stiff smile on her face.
“Well, if it isn’t Officer Xiang. What wind has blown you here today?”
Xiang Nanke glanced at her. Unlike Lu Qingshi’s low-key and cool style, Qin Xuan couldn’t help but dress up flamboyantly every day. Even when wearing a white coat, she would wear different styles underneath. Today she wore a dark red vintage dress with seven-inch high heels. Already tall, the heels made her leg lines appear even longer, giving her a graceful figure as she stood in the hallway.
“Chanel No. 5 wind.”
“…”
Wasn’t that just the scent of her perfume?!
Ever since that time she got drunk and did something indescribable to someone, Qin Xuan felt a bit sheepish whenever she saw her. She always felt that the officer’s eyes, which seemed to be smiling yet not smiling, looked at her with deep meaning. Especially that night when she sent her home, the look she gave her was particularly profound.
“Dr. Qin, have you ever considered that the person by your pillow might not be a good person?”
Qin Xuan, drunk and wobbly, was hanging onto her neck. Upon hearing this, she immediately let go and her eyes turned cold: “What do you mean?”
“I…” She meant to warn her, but saying too much would violate confidentiality regulations: “Nothing. It’s for your own good.”
“I don’t need you to control my life under the banner of ‘for my own good’,” Qin Xuan stood up straight. She wasn’t a fool. Xiang Nanke had repeatedly intruded into her life, which seemed far too frequent for someone who was supposed to be a complete stranger.
Xiang Nanke fell silent for a moment: “I won’t harm you.”
Qin Xuan slightly curled her lips, looking at her with eyes capable of captivating everyone: “I don’t understand why the deputy captain of the Criminal Investigation Division of Jinzhou City Public Security Bureau would ignore a bunch of lawbreaking criminals and come to care about the private life of a small citizen like me. Would Officer Xiang please explain this to me?”
A flash of astonishment crossed the officer’s usually gentle face, easily caught by a woman accustomed to navigating romantic scenes. Qin Xuan had seen this kind of look many times before, and she was slightly surprised inwardly.
Xiang Nanke quickly adjusted her expression. During interrogations, she was used to engaging in verbal sparring to break through the psychological defenses of suspects, but at this moment, she found herself at a loss for words. Under the doctor’s aggressive questioning, she uttered that all-purpose phrase.
“Protecting citizens is the duty of us people’s police…”
Before she could finish speaking, the woman three steps away from her let out a derisive laugh, but then suddenly turned serious, her gaze becoming soft yet determined: “Officer Xiang, you’re a good person, but I’ve crawled my way out of the mud. Someone like me, mud can only match with mud, do you understand?”
Xiang Nanke recalled her case file: molested by her father starting at age five, lasting for twelve years. For some reason, looking at her seemingly calm face now, she felt a dull pain in her heart, and thus frowned, remaining silent for a long time.
Qin Xuan turned to go upstairs, suddenly feeling unbearably tired, her legs as heavy as if filled with lead.
Suddenly, someone grabbed her wrist. She turned around and fell into a sea of tranquility.
“But flowers can bloom even in the mud, can’t they?”
She had mulled over this sentence for a long time. Just like now, every word she said seemed to carry deep meaning, yet was also vaguely puzzling, or rather, separated by a frosted glass that neither of them was willing to break through.
Fortunately, Lu Qingshi followed closely behind, coming out of the emergency treatment room. The back of her hand had already received basic treatment, and she was about to go get a blood test.
Qin Xuan’s face lit up as if she’d seen a savior and rushed over: “Oh! My darling! What happened to you?!”
Lu Qingshi avoided her with a look of disgust: “Stay away from me. I was bitten by a patient.”
“Come on, come on, occupational exposure is a serious matter. If it turns out to be hepatitis B or AIDS or something, you’d be in trouble. Let’s quickly go get you checked,” Qin Xuan said, dragging her along. As they passed by Xiang Nanke, the officer slightly lowered her head.
“Dr. Lu, please do your utmost to ensure the patient’s safety. He is a very important lead for us.”
Lu Qingshi turned around: “I can’t guarantee that.”
Qin Xuan looked up and saw two armed criminal investigators standing at the door of the hospital room at the end of the corridor. Even nurses going in to change dressings had to undergo strict body searches.
She raised an eyebrow slightly: “What kind of patient is this, a head of state?”
Xiang Nanke’s eyes flickered for a moment: “Anyway, we’re counting on you, Dr. Lu.”
After work, the two of them sat with their heads close together, eating fried noodles at a street stall. Lu Qingshi’s overall demeanor seemed out of place with the surroundings, yet surprisingly, she was eating with great relish.
“Boss, do you have any vinegar?” A greasy vinegar bottle was passed to her hand, and Lu Qingshi took it without hesitation and poured it onto her plate.
Qin Xuan smacked her lips: “I’m telling you, when you’re particular about things, you’re extremely particular, but when you’re not, you’re really not.”
Lu Qingshi ate with extreme elegance, speaking slowly: “Are you very familiar with Officer Xiang?”
Qin Xuan suddenly choked: “Cough cough…”
She picked up the plastic cup beside her and gulped down several mouthfuls of warm water: “Why are you asking about this?”
“Today, while taking statements, she indirectly asked me about Boss Bao’s affairs.”
Xiang Nanke’s questions were extremely subtle, but Lu Qingshi, being exceptionally smart, quickly deduced the truth she wanted to know after a moment’s thought.
In fact, the patient admitted today for drug overdose had nothing to do with Qin Xuan or Bao Fengnian, so it was strange to inquire about them.
Qin Xuan frowned: “Don’t mind her.”
“I think…” Lu Qingshi finished the last noodle on her plate and dabbed the corner of her mouth with a napkin: “You’d better stay away from her. With your level of intelligence, you can’t outsmart her.”
“…” Angered, Qin Xuan grabbed the disposable chopsticks and threw them at her. Lu Qingshi easily dodged them, stood up, and waved goodbye.
“I’m off, see you later.”
Arriving at the foot of the apartment building, Lu Qingshi instinctively looked up. The sixth floor was dark, without any lights on. It seemed that person hadn’t been home for several days. The last message on her phone was still the “Good night” sent the day before yesterday.
Lu Qingshi moved her fingers, typed a few words, then deleted them. She put the phone in her pocket and prepared to go upstairs.
“Sister, sister, over here, please save it!” came the urgent cry of a child.
Lu Qingshi couldn’t help but pause her steps. After a moment’s thought, she turned and walked deeper into the residential area.
A group of seven or eight-year-old children were standing around a tree. Beside them stood a tall, slender figure. She immediately recognized it as her neighbor whom she hadn’t seen for many days.
Gu Yanzhi spat twice into her palm and rubbed her hands together: “Watch me.”
Her gaze was drawn over. The tree was about three stories high, next to a sunshade. On the fragile plastic canopy crouched a pitiful little kitten, mewing softly. It seemed to be trapped there, unable to climb up or down.
Her tree-climbing skills were excellent. The firm back muscles protruding from her tank top curved down into her waistline, below which were long, straight legs. Her movements were graceful and fluid. With her long arms outstretched, it took only a few moves for her to climb to the height of three floors.
Lu Qingshi walked to the base of the tree, looking up to see her firmly grasping a branch with one hand while stretching out the other arm to reach for the little kitten.
Startled, the kitten instinctively shrank back. It was just a step away from the canopy. The weather was too hot, and a thin layer of sweat appeared on Gu Yanzhi’s forehead.
“Meow meow, meow meow…” She tried to attract the kitten’s attention with her calls. Her originally clear voice was deliberately lowered, sounding somewhat odd.
Lu Qingshi couldn’t help but burst into laughter, drawing an angry glare from the person in the tree: “Dr. Lu, what are you doing here?!”
—How embarrassing.
Lu Qingshi cleared her throat: “Just passing by on my way home from work.”
Below, a group of elementary school students watching the spectacle were looking at her with anticipating eyes. And there was Lu Qingshi—she absolutely couldn’t make a fool of herself in front of her.
Thinking this, Gu Yanzhi stretched her body to the limit, taut as a horizontal line. Her fingertips were just five centimeters away from the little kitten. The canopy was too light; it definitely couldn’t support the weight of an adult.
Watching her movements, Lu Qingshi rummaged in her backpack and pulled out a jacket. The hospital air conditioning was cool, so she often brought it for night shifts in case of need. Now it came in handy at just the right moment.
She estimated the falling point and distance, then spread the jacket with both hands. She nodded at Gu Yanzhi, who understood. Gu Yanzhi broke off a tree branch and extended it towards the little kitten.
Startled, the kitten kept retreating, its back fur standing up. Suddenly, a sharp cry rang out, and a white shadow fell from mid-air, landing securely in Lu Qingshi’s arms.
Gu Yanzhi also quickly jumped down from the tree and came over to Lu Qingshi to stroke the little kitten: “Is it okay?”
The kitten’s front paws were firmly planted on her chest, its body trembling like a sieve. Its thin, soft cries were very ear-catching and pitiful.
Lu Qingshi parted its fur to examine it: “It’s fine.”
When she was about to put it down, the little kitten clung to her wrist, holding on with its two front paws. Under the light, its eyes were actually a pale blue, glistening with moisture. Its nose was also wet, and its cries became even more babyish.
“Uh…” The doctor looked somewhat troubled and glanced at Gu Yanzhi: “You saved it, you keep it.”
Gu Yanzhi quickly waved her hands: “I have a vicious dog at home, a vicious dog. I’m afraid Hamburger might crush it to death with one paw.”
Lu Qingshi pressed her lips together: “Then what should we do?”
Gu Yanzhi’s eyes lit up for a moment: “Why don’t you take it home? It looks like a Ragdoll breed.”
Imagining a scene with cat hair everywhere, Lu Qingshi was about to go crazy.
“I refuse.”
A kitten abandoned right after birth wouldn’t survive for more than a few days in the wild, so the two of them found a cardboard box. Gu Yanzhi brought some old clothes from home to line the bottom, while Lu Qingshi prepared clean water and milk, placing them together in the box.
The kitten lapped it up with relish. Reassured, Lu Qingshi stood up to leave. After a few steps, she heard a rustling sound from the box.
She turned back to look. The little kitten had climbed out of the box and was stumbling after her footsteps. It couldn’t go far before plopping down on the ground, then struggling to stand up again on shaky legs, swaying like a reed in the wind.
Gu Yanzhi ran over, picked it up, and put it back in the cardboard box. After walking a few steps, there was another rustling sound. Looking back, the kitten had climbed out of the box again.
Gu Yanzhi held her forehead and ran back again, holding it and pretending to be fierce: “Don’t follow us anymore, okay?”
Then she gently placed it back in the cardboard box.
Lu Qingshi turned and continued up the stairs. After a few steps, she suddenly stopped. The kitten had climbed out again and again, and even though it was stumbling and tottering, it was still heading towards her.
On this ordinary night, Lu Qingshi felt a rare persistence from an ordinary cat.
As Gu Yanzhi picked it up once more, Lu Qingshi took it from her: “Give it to me. I’ll take it home.”
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