Chapter 146: Surgery
You Ruxu still couldn’t figure out how she ended up wearing the nightgown. She had clearly seen Zhou Tianzui wearing it when she came out of the bathroom, just as she had imagined, Zhou Tianzui’s figure swaying as she walked towards her, like a seductive siren, and then somehow, the nightgown was on You Ruxu, while Zhou Tianzui wore a long, white silk robe, reaching her ankles, the sleeves covering her hands. When she touched You Ruxu, the silk slid against her back, You Ruxu looked at Zhou Tianzui, speechless.
Zhou Tianzui sat facing her on the edge of the bed, raising her hand, the wide sleeve of her robe falling back to her elbow, revealing her fair, slender arm, her wrist moving deftly as she gathered You Ruxu’s hair.
Was she tying her hair up for bed?
You Ruxu looked at her, “What are you doing?”
Zhou Tianzui said, “Admiring the view.”
“What…” You Ruxu followed her gaze and looked down, indeed a beautiful view, what exactly were those flimsy straps covering?!
You Ruxu abruptly sat up, Zhou Tianzui, having finished tying her hair, let her, You Ruxu looked down at Zhou Tianzui, who tilted her head slightly, her eyes clear and bright, her features sharp and defined, unusually so, You Ruxu, meeting her gaze, paused, unable to look away, the warm yellow light of the bedroom lamp casting a soft shadow on Zhou Tianzui’s jawline, her long, elegant neck half-hidden in the shadows.
She was fully dressed, the robe long-sleeved, low-cut, the neckline tied with a silk ribbon, her chest rising and falling beneath the fabric, You Ruxu’s gaze lowered, but her hand was caught by Zhou Tianzui.
“Where are you going?” Zhou Tianzui asked, and You Ruxu said, “To sleep.”
Zhou Tianzui said, “Finish the cake first.”
You Ruxu said, “I’m full.”
Zhou Tianzui said, “Just a little more.”
She scooped up some frosting with her finger and offered it to You Ruxu, who looked at her, seemingly trapped, unable to refuse. After a moment, You Ruxu opened her mouth, and Zhou Tianzui slipped her finger inside.
You Ruxu, lying on the bed, still thought,
So even after eating the cake, she still wasn’t allowed to sleep.
The next day it rained, and it continued raining for two days straight. Zhou Tianzui switched her lunch shift with a colleague early on, wanting to have lunch with Yu Qiao, who reminded her to come home early, Zhou Tianzui, looking at the overcast sky before leaving for work that morning, replied, “I know.”
Yu Qiao said, “Drive safe.”
Zhou Tianzui nodded and turned to You Ruxu: “Going to the police station?”
You Ruxu said, “I’ll drive you there, I might be going to the hospital later.”
Li Ting had woken up. The police, using Sang Qi as bait, had finally gotten Li Ting to reveal Zhang Ping’s location. They were going to apprehend him today. You Ruxu didn’t have to go to the scene, but she wanted to see Li Ting at the hospital, Zhou Tianzui asked, “Going to the hospital? To see Captain Zhou?”
You Ruxu: “To see Li Ting.”
Zhou Tianzui’s instinctive worry, “What’s so interesting about seeing a criminal?”
You Ruxu said, “I have a few questions for him. Don’t worry, the police are all at Yuxin Hospital, nothing will happen.” Li Ting was under heavy guard, they were worried about Sang Qi retaliating, so his safety was their priority, Zhou Tianzui’s expression still showed a hint of displeasure, and You Ruxu added softly, “I’m not going to see Captain Zhou.”
A soft chuckle beside her. You Ruxu glanced at Zhou Tianzui and opened the car door, getting in.
After dropping off Zhou Tianzui at the hospital, she went to the TV station, Shi Qi wanted to see her, her old position was filled, so they wanted to assign her to a different department, then transfer her back to field reporting when an opportunity arose, You Ruxu didn’t object. After discussing it, she went straight to the police station. Fu Guang was in a meeting. Seeing You Ruxu, she made space for her, “Done with your meeting?”
You Ruxu nodded. Fu Guang said, “Why don’t you just join my team?”
Her feedback was always so timely, her work efficient and reliable, she really liked having her as an assistant, You Ruxu chuckled, and Fu Guang said, “It would be a waste of your talent though.”
They whispered to each other, Captain Yao, now fully in charge of the case, had visibly lost weight, his beard unkempt, he scratched his chin as he spoke, You Ruxu asked Fu Guang, “Are you also going to the scene this afternoon?”
“Yes.” Fu Guang’s reply was concise and to the point. “But you don’t have to stay at the station today, go check on the informant at noon.”
“The informant?” You Ruxu asked, “What’s wrong with him?”
The informant was originally Captain Zhou’s, and with her injury, his protection fell to Captain Yao, who assigned two officers to guard his room, Fu Guang occasionally went to interview him, but his mood had been unstable, easily agitated, “He said something happened at home,” Fu Guang said, “Hopefully he can hold on, we should be able to catch Zhang Ping by noon, if everything goes smoothly, we can’t have anything go wrong at this stage.”
You Ruxu said, “Okay.”
Fu Guang said, “I talked to him last night, hopefully he can stay calm.”
You Ruxu looked at Fu Guang, who nodded at her. This informant was a loose cannon, she knew, and today’s operation was crucial, they couldn’t have anything go wrong, “I’ll go see him after the meeting,” You Ruxu said.
Fu Guang: “Okay.”
The meeting was short. Fu Guang went with Captain Yao to change. You Ruxu returned to the monitoring room to pack her things when her phone rang. It was Zhou Tianzui, asking if there was a red file folder in her car, You Ruxu hadn’t noticed it earlier, “Hold on,” she said.
She rushed to the car, and there it was, tucked between the passenger seat and the center console, Zhou Tianzui must have dropped it this morning and hadn’t noticed, “Should I bring it over to you?”
Zhou Tianzui asked, “Are you free?”
You Ruxu said, “I’m going to Yuxin Hospital, it’s on my way.”
Zhou Tianzui said, “Okay, can you be there in half an hour? I’ll meet you at the entrance.” You Ruxu said, “Approximately.”
She hung up and drove towards the hospital. Just as Zhou Tianzui put down her phone, she heard someone call out, “Dr. Zhou!”
She looked up, “Dr. Zhou! Hurry! Car accident, pregnant woman, light bleeding, they’ll be here soon!”
Zhou Tianzui followed the head nurse downstairs, asking, “Is operating room three available?”
“Yes.” The head nurse said, “Dr. Fu is in operating room two, and Dr. Li is in number one.”
Zhou Tianzui reached the elevator and saw the patient being wheeled inside. She looked down at the patient’s chart, “Car accident, passenger seat, impact on the driver’s side, driver seriously injured, patient no external injuries, light bleeding, thirty-eight weeks pregnant, no other symptoms detected, abdominal pain…” the accompanying nurse reported.
The expectant mother was biting her lip, her forehead covered in sweat, her hands gripping the doctor’s arm, “Save my baby.”
Dr. Zhou held her hand, “Relax, take deep breaths, what’s your name?”
The patient seemed disoriented, just repeating “save my baby.”
They reached the emergency room, Zhou Tianzui asked, “Has her family arrived?”
“They’ve been notified, they should be here soon.” The nurse replied, “Take her to the operating room, prep for surgery, and call He Wei.” Zhou Tianzui instructed.
The head nurse wheeled the patient away, Zhou Tianzui changing into her surgical gown outside the operating room when she heard He Wei say, “Dr. Zhou, Auntie’s here.”
Zhou Tianzui frowned, “My mom? What’s she doing here?”
He Wei said, “She brought some cupcakes, said it’s your birthday today.”
Zhou Tianzui said, “I see.”
She entered the operating room, “Hurry up and come in.”
He Wei quickly scrubbed and changed, Yu Qiao hadn’t planned on telling Zhou Tianzui, she had made some cupcakes that morning, they turned out well, and she was so happy, she wanted to share them with Zhou Tianzui’s colleagues, to thank them for taking care of her, and when she arrived at the hospital, she was told Zhou Tianzui was in surgery, so she gave the cupcakes to the other doctors and nurses, leaving one on Zhou Tianzui’s desk, “Auntie, are you leaving now?” a colleague asked.
Yu Qiao nodded, “Yes, I have to go home and prepare dinner, Xiao Tian’s coming home for lunch.”
The colleague said, “Dr. Zhou is so lucky.”
Yu Qiao smiled faintly and was about to leave when she ran into You Ruxu at the door, they both froze, You Ruxu took half a step back and called out, “Auntie.”
Yu Qiao didn’t speak.
You Ruxu said, “Zhou Tianzui left her files in my car, I brought them over.”
Yu Qiao’s expression was stiff, then after a few seconds, she said, “Thank you,” her tone cold and distant, You Ruxu stood at the doorway and heard the nurses say, “Was it a car accident victim who was just taken into operating room three?”
“Yes, Dr. Zhou’s operating on her.”
Yu Qiao said, “Give me the files, I’ll give them to Xiao Tian.”
You Ruxu handed her the files, “Thank you for your trouble.”
“It’s our Xiao Tian who’s causing you trouble,” Yu Qiao said, turning and entering the office, You Ruxu watched her go, pursed her lips, and left. In the elevator, she deliberately waited for a while, hoping to avoid Yu Qiao, but Yu Qiao didn’t come, probably avoiding her as well.
She still hated her that much.
You Ruxu stood in the elevator, watching the floor numbers change, reaching the lobby, the doors opened, and a crowd of people rushed in, she moved aside, letting them pass, mothers with their children, patients in wheelchairs, a delivery driver in a brown uniform, his helmet under his arm, carrying a small takeout box, smaller than usual, as he passed by You Ruxu, she glanced down and saw the watch on his wrist, a gold watch with a thin strap, which looked out of place on his large frame.
She didn’t have time to look closely before she was pushed out of the elevator, the doors closing. You Ruxu looked at the elevator, suddenly realizing where she had seen that watch before.
On Sang Qi.
You Ruxu’s eyes widened slightly. She looked at the elevator, which had already reached the third floor. She immediately called Captain Yao, who said, “Zhang Ping has appeared.”
“What about Sang Qi?” You Ruxu asked anxiously, “Sang Qi, he…”
Before she could finish her question, a loud bang echoed through the phone. You Ruxu froze, “Evacuate the area, I’ll ask the team at Yuxin Hospital to assist,” Captain Yao said, and You Ruxu hung up, rushing upstairs with the security guards.
Fifteenth floor, maternity ward, gunshots.
The moment the elevator doors opened, she was met with screams and chaos, people running, mothers clutching their babies, patients in hospital gowns, a chaotic scene. You Ruxu grabbed a nurse, “What happened?!”
“He’s by the operating rooms!” The nurse, also panicked, You Ruxu’s heart sank, and she rushed towards the operating rooms with the security guards, a man lying in a pool of blood, You Ruxu recognized him, it was the informant!
She didn’t have time to think about how he ended up here, just helped the others, the informant had been shot twice, once in the chest, once in the leg, he was wearing a bulletproof vest, so his chest was fine, but his leg was bleeding profusely, the crowd was quickly evacuated, then another group of people gathered, from other floors, having heard the commotion, the security guards trying to control the crowd, You Ruxu, crouching on the floor, applying pressure to the wound, heard a nurse say, “He went into Dr. Zhou’s operating room!”
You Ruxu’s hand slipped, the gauze falling into the pool of blood. She turned, her gaze fixed on the operating room, a trail of blood leading to the door.
Sang Qi had a knife wound on his shoulder, he seemed unfazed, but the hand holding the gun trembled slightly, his face pale, sweat dripping down his cheeks, he held a nurse hostage, his voice menacing, “Get inside!”
Zhou Tianzui, hearing the commotion, turned around, she could hear the noise from outside, but it wasn’t as shocking as seeing it with her own eyes, the nurse, about to scream, bit her lip hard, He Wei’s voice trembling, “Dr. Z-Zhou…”
Sang Qi pushed the nurse inside, frowned seeing the woman on the operating table, and asked in a low voice, “Where’s Su Ying?”
“Su Ying…” Zhou Tianzui, her gaze on the patient, her hands still working, “Su Ying was transferred.”
“Transferred?” Sang Qi’s brow furrowed. “When?”
Zhou Tianzui’s voice was calm: “Two hours ago.”
She didn’t look up, her hands moving steadily. The patient’s water had broken, she was bleeding, if they didn’t operate immediately, the baby would suffocate, so even hearing the commotion outside, even seeing Sang Qi standing there, holding a nurse hostage, she couldn’t stop, she couldn’t put down her scalpel.
“Damn it!” Sang Qi said, “Go get Su Ying.”
He said to He Wei, who stood there, her legs trembling, but her voice firm, “She was transferred two hours ago, I don’t know…”
“Then go find her!” Sang Qi pointed the gun at the nurse’s head. The nurse, unable to bear it any longer, started crying. He Wei was also terrified, her face pale, she stammered, “I…”
Zhou Tianzui said, “Go outside and make the call.”
He Wei looked at Zhou Tianzui, who gave her a look, silently telling her to leave. He Wei, composing herself, swallowed, and nodded. Just as she was about to move, Sang Qi said, “Make the call here!”
He Wei said, “There’s no phone here.”
“You think I’m stupid?” Sang Qi said, “Isn’t that a phone?”
He Wei followed his gaze, paused for two seconds, and walked towards the phone. Sang Qi, listening to her make the call, his grim expression easing slightly, said to Zhou Tianzui, “Come here and stop my bleeding.”
Zhou Tianzui said, “It’s not a fatal wound, I’ll have…”
“I said, you!” Sang Qi was clearly losing his patience, his temper flaring, the blood loss making his voice weaker, “You, come here!”
Zhou Tianzui, holding the scalpel, looked at Sang Qi.
The scar on Sang Qi’s face made him look even more menacing. He stood against the wall, the nurse he had been holding hostage now cowering in front of him, her face ashen, Sang Qi pointed the gun at Zhou Tianzui, his voice low and menacing, each word a threat, “I said, you, come here.”
The words echoed in the operating room like a thunderclap.
Zhou Tianzui’s gaze met Sang Qi’s.
After two seconds, she said, “If I go over there, she’ll die.”
“What do I care if she dies?” Sang Qi sneered. “If you say another word, I’ll shoot her right now!”
He pointed the gun at the patient. Zhou Tianzui’s grip on the scalpel tightened. Sang Qi, seeing this, narrowed his eyes, “Don’t want her to die? Fine.” He turned the gun towards Zhou Tianzui, “You die instead of her.”
The beeping of the machines suddenly intensified, a shrill alarm, He Wei looked down, the patient’s blood pressure was dropping, she had been bleeding since she arrived, if they didn’t stop the bleeding soon, both mother and child would die.
She looked at Zhou Tianzui.
Everyone was looking at Zhou Tianzui.
Zhou Tianzui, holding the scalpel, looked down at the patient, and suddenly thought of You Ruxu.
[Sometimes, I don’t understand my father.]
[My work is important, but what about me?]
[Some choices are instinctive.]
[Instinct is a subconscious decision, but choices are conscious. I think, choices can also be instinctive.]
Zhou Tianzui looked down at the scalpel in her hand, then at the clock on the wall, “March 20th, 10:03 am, continuing surgery.”
