Chapter 6

The meteorological station had forecast yesterday that, due to the typhoon, the weather was about to change drastically. Sure enough, before the shift change even began, torrential rain poured down. The rain brought by the typhoon wasn’t like the lingering drizzle of plum rain season but like the surging Yellow River, fierce and rough. Tang Feiwan used this brief lull to chew on a piece of bread and drink milk, glancing outside. The dense curtain of rain, driven by gale-force winds, hammered the ground with a crackling sound.

This is bad. How am I getting home? Can I even get a taxi in this weather? She could only pin her hopes on Tang Anhua, hoping Teacher Tang would still remember his daughter after dropping off Director Jiang.

To be prepared, Tang Feiwan shamelessly called.

Tang Anhua agreed, not forgetting to nag a couple of times. “I told you to buy a car. It’s safer and less worry. In typhoon weather like this…”

He repeated the same words until Tang Feiwan’s ears had grown calloused. She found an excuse to escape. “I’m going to the handoff. I’ll contact you later.”

Tang Feiwan hung up. On the other end, Tang Anhua complained, “It’s only 7:15. What handoff? She’s just tired of listening to me.”

Jiang Junli said honestly, “Sometimes you really do talk too much.”

Tang Anhua finally shut up. His profession, especially as a homeroom teacher, had made him habitually preachy.

Speaking of handoffs, unlike other departments, critical care physicians had to do bedside handoffs for critical patients and those from the day’s emergency surgeries, understanding the current condition of the critical and surgical patients in order to monitor and manage them further. Therefore, it was almost 9 a.m. by the time Tang Feiwan finished handoff. She had just entered the office when Lin Ye announced, “Good, everyone’s here. Let’s have a quick meeting.”

This was Group 2’s habit. Whenever a patient’s rescue failed, they would sit around the office after handoff for a debriefing. The meeting wasn’t a one-sided monologue from Lin Ye; everyone could speak. After all, the emergency department had the most pressure in the entire hospital. Even the most capable, experienced doctor might wonder if they’d been negligent or hadn’t done enough. So they talked it out, to minimize the chances of still replaying it in their heads during their time off.

Simply put, it was a method of collective communication to relieve individual pressure.

Colleagues spoke one by one. When it was Tang Feiwan’s turn, she pressed her lips and asked directly, “Director Lin, given Professor Zhong’s condition, after 25 minutes of CPR without return of spontaneous circulation, the probability of successful resuscitation was close to zero. Even if he’d been lucky enough to regain spontaneous circulation, the prolonged hypoxia would have led to irreversible brain damage or other organ failure. So why did you persist?”

“Do you think it was also a kind of torment for Professor Zhong?”

Tang Feiwan swallowed. “Yes. The patient had been bedridden for months. We couldn’t even find a place to insert a needle in his arms.”

Lin Ye spoke slowly. Her voice was light but resolute. “As doctors, in the face of death, we should first consider the patient, or their closest family. They were still full of hope for life. How could we give up so easily?”

“The patient himself…” Tang Feiwan rubbed the web of her left hand with her right, weighing her words, and did not mention the old professor’s request before he lost consciousness.

“Moreover, during the resuscitation, Professor Zhong’s children were still on their way to see him one last time.”

Word by word, Tang Feiwan read the word “regret” clearly in her tone and expression. For a moment, she wanted to remind the other woman that, as a doctor, being overly empathetic might not be a good thing.

She had clearly wanted to relieve her colleagues’ stress, yet ended up bearing the greatest pressure herself.

“Meeting adjourned.” The meeting ended in just 15 minutes. Lin Ye gathered her notebook and patient files. The other doctors rushed to leave, while Tang Feiwan lowered her head and flipped through medical records absently, hesitating. She wanted to bring something up but didn’t know how. In the end, she returned to her seat, deciding to find another chance later.

By the roadside outside the Second Affiliated Hospital, Tang Feiwan held an umbrella in her left hand and her phone in her right, calling Tang Anhua.

A mechanical female voice came through: “The number you dialed is switched off. Please try again later.”

Unreliable. He must have forgotten to charge his phone last night.

Tang Feiwan gave up and tried to hail a ride on WeChat. Unfortunately, Didi showed no available cars nearby, and no one took her express ride. She sighed, put her phone away, and prepared to flag a taxi by the curb. In the rain, the tall, thin figure in a black T-shirt—her white athletic pants already more than half soaked—stretched out her right hand to hail a car. No car came, and she got splashed with water instead. Just as she was about to go to the parking lot, put on her rain gear, and ride home, a white Volkswagen Golf stopped in front of her.

The driver’s window rolled down, revealing Lin Ye’s lovely, refined face. “Get in,” she said softly. The wind rushed into the car, whipping her long hair across her face, leaving only a pair of clear eyes, like a touch of ice in the summer heat. Time seemed to freeze, and Tang Feiwan stood rooted.

“Doctor Tang?” Lin Ye raised her voice.

“Oh, thank you.” Tang Feiwan snapped back, suppressed the fluttering thoughts from her racing heart, opened the door, collapsed her umbrella, and got in.

Lin Ye hadn’t expected her to sit directly in the passenger seat. She froze for two seconds, the surprise in her eyes fading, then said in a low voice, “There’s a new pack of face towels in the bag in the back seat. Wipe yourself off.”

She spoke caring words, but her tone was flat. Yet Tang Feiwan heard the long-lost gentleness and felt her nose sting. For the umpteenth time, she regretted not fighting for her back then. When she finally regretted it and sent a long message, she found she’d been deleted and blocked.

The rain outside grew more urgent, making it impossible to see the cars ahead. Lin Ye worried about an accident and said, “Turn around and get it first. I’ll start driving after.”

“Okay.” The successive acts of care struck the softest part of Tang Feiwan’s heart. She sniffed, turned to rummage in the bag, took out a face towel, and sat back, fastening her seatbelt.

Lin Ye finally started the car. Unusually, she didn’t turn on the car stereo. The car was silent until a ringtone broke the quiet.

Tang Feiwan watched her tap the car’s Bluetooth and answer. Though Lin Ye wore an earpiece, sitting beside her, Tang Feiwan could vaguely hear the warm voice on the other end.

“Mommy, are you driving?”

Lin Ye’s lips curved, and she replied patiently, “Mm, Mommy’s driving.”

“Coming home?”

“It’s raining hard, so Mommy’s dropping off an auntie first.”

Lin Yangyang’s voice was babyish. “Okay. Mommy, drive carefully. Yangyang won’t disturb you.”

Lin Ye’s smile deepened. “Good girl, Yangyang.”

“Mommy hangs up first.” The child had already learned the phone etiquette Lin Ye had taught her.

Lin Ye acknowledged and ended the call.

From the moment she answered and the other end called “Mommy,” Tang Feiwan promptly pulled herself out of her earlier self-indulgent sentiment. She waited anxiously for the call to end, then forced a smile and said sincerely, “Your daughter is adorable.”

Lin Ye drove attentively and replied, “Thank you.”

The car continued. About fifteen minutes passed.

“You can stop at the intersection ahead. It’s easier for you to turn around.” She even remembered her address. Tang Feiwan felt dazed. In her unsettled state, the car pulled smoothly to the curb. She thanked her again, grabbed her umbrella at her feet, and stepped into the rain.

The torrential rain raged for a full day and night, finally stopping by 10 a.m. the next morning. Tang Feiwan habitually liked to plan ahead: when to buy a motorcycle, when to renew her license, when to take Tomato for a checkup. For example, today, she had planned to go to the gym after lunch to work out. Emergency doctors needed not only comprehensive knowledge and skills but also physical stamina. She’d heard that of the ten doctors in their emergency department, four chose swimming, three chose ball sports, and the rest probably chose fitness training.

At 2:40 p.m., a well-rested Tang Feiwan took a taxi to a gym near Shujiang University. As soon as she entered, the front desk salesperson greeted her warmly, introduced the classes, then asked about her fitness frequency and what kind of membership was convenient. Finally, they settled on a coach.

The salesperson said, “Only two coaches are free at this time. Which one would you like?”

Tang Feiwan naturally chose the female coach.

“During the same time slot, the coach will handle two people. That’s fine, right?”

“No problem.”

After signing the gym contract, the salesperson took her to change, then led her to the studio. “Stretch first. There are 11 people inside. With you, 12.”

The salesperson had already spoken to the coach. Tang Feiwan waited for her to leave, then gently pushed the door open, not wanting to disturb anyone. With just one glance, she spotted Lin Ye in the second row, far right. She stood there, doing her movements, her snow-white skin almost blending into the white wall behind her.

Some people, you can’t avoid no matter how hard you try.

The coach noticed her frozen in place and called, “Classmate, take the open spot in the second row, far right.”

Tang Feiwan’s feet seemed rooted to the ground. She forced herself to walk toward the second row, finally standing to Lin Ye’s right, with enough space for two people between them.

“Everyone, listen to the music and follow my stretching.”

“Now for the hamstring stretch, pair up and help each other.” After the coach finished, the other ten people, excluding Lin Ye and Tang Feiwan, had already voluntarily paired up, facing each other. Tang Feiwan glanced sidelong at Lin Ye, who was standing just as stiffly as she was, her expression slightly heavy, clearly unsettled by the coach’s arrangement.

What should I do? she thought. The next moment, before the coach could urge them, Lin Ye sat down on the floor, legs extended, and looked up at her. Her soft voice drifted over like the wind: “Doctor Tang, help me out.”