Chapter 23: 23. Heart Rate Exceeds 100 Part 1

Time seemed to rapidly disintegrate in that instant, then reassemble piece by piece.

Freezing Ji Qingyou in this long, eternal moment.

In her daze, she felt she could hear the ticking of a second hand. But when she tried to turn her wrist, she realized she wasn’t wearing her watch.

Then, belatedly, she realized it was her own heartbeat.

After a long moment, the air conditioning from the ceiling lifted Yu Qinjiu’s soft strands of hair, gently brushing them against Ji Qingyou’s neck. Only then did her frozen fingers tremble faintly.

“I… I’m covered in sweat.” Ji Qingyou’s shoulders were stiff. The muscle soreness from hours of surgery couldn’t compare to the tension of this single moment.

After the long surgery, she definitely looked a mess. Not only was her back soaked with sweat, but after taking off her surgical cap, her tied-up hair was a mess, stray hairs plastered to her face and forehead, a few strands at her neck all tangled up by the wind.

Yu Qinjiu chuckled softly, her gentle voice floating over with the AC. “This is the mark of Dr. Ji’s hard work. How could I ever dislike it?”

She phrased it as a question.

But Ji Qingyou really didn’t know how to answer. The gears in her mind seemed to have rusted, stopping involuntarily. She could only remain silent, her breath seeming to stop in that second.

Probably sensing her tension.

Yu Qinjiu just patted her back a few more times before letting go quickly, turning the hug completely into a supporting, comforting gesture.

“You’re still so unused to physical contact.” She said this, staring at the thin layer of sweat on the tip of Ji Qingyou’s nose.

Ji Qingyou was stunned, unsure how to respond.

She simply turned her head slightly, avoiding Yu Qinjiu’s eyes, and changed the subject. “The surgery was successful, but she’s been transferred to the ICU for closer observation and care. Once her condition improves, she’ll be moved to a general ward. I’ll be watching over her for the next few days and will let you know when she’s better.”

“Okay, I understand.” Yu Qinjiu nodded. “What about you tonight?”

“I’m not going home.” Ji Qingyou leaned against the wall, looking tired, her head slightly bowed. “Didn’t you have something to do and couldn’t make it? Why are you here now?”

Yu Qinjiu looked at her. “I finished up and came over.”

Ji Qingyou nodded and said nothing more.

Yu Qinjiu’s lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but seeing Ji Qingyou’s exhausted state, she ultimately said nothing. She tilted her head and studied Ji Qingyou’s face, not looking away for a long time.

Ji Qingyou avoided her gaze. “What is it? Is there something on my face?”

“Nothing.” Yu Qinjiu’s eyes lingered on her clean profile. She couldn’t help but reach out and tuck a strand of hair blocking her view behind her ear, her voice soft. “I just think you’re very beautiful right now.”

Ji Qingyou paused for a few seconds. She looked down at her empty scrubs, stained with large patches of sweat, then touched the tangled strands at her neck. Finally, she tucked her stray hair behind her ear.

Growing up, she had been called pretty a fair number of times. But being called pretty under circumstances like these was definitely a first.

She hesitated for a few seconds before not refusing Yu Qinjiu’s kindness.

“Thank you.”

“I mean it!” Yu Qinjiu stared at her intently, a soft smile on her lips. “You have to believe me. I don’t usually just call anyone pretty.”

Despite her words, Ji Qingyou still shook her head. “I doubt it.”

“I doubt you’re not.” Yu Qinjiu teased her.

Ji Qingyou wasn’t a childish person, but she said, “You also called Li Nanli pretty.”

Yu Qinjiu looked puzzled. “Did I?”

Ji Qingyou hummed in affirmation, her tone flat. “Yes. First semester of sophomore year, you said she was pretty because she gave you her seat. Second semester of junior year, you saw her playing badminton and called her pretty then too. After we graduated from junior year…”

She stopped.

“Hmm? Why’d you stop?” Yu Qinjiu rested her chin on her hand, her eyes curving into a smile. “Let’s see just how good Dr. Ji’s memory really is.”

Ji Qingyou pursed her lips. “The day Li Nanli danced the girl group dance at the graduation party. You also called her pretty.”

She skillfully avoided the sensitive term “graduation party.”

“Alright.” Yu Qinjiu stared at her for a moment before slowly looking away. “So Dr. Ji’s memory really is that good. You can even remember how many times I complimented Li Nanli.”

Ji Qingyou looked at her. “A little better than yours.”

Yu Qinjiu raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? Dr. Ji’s memory is so good, yet you forgot the most important thing.”

Ji Qingyou’s heart skipped a beat. “What?”

Yu Qinjiu’s eyes curved into a beautiful smile, her clear eyes reflecting Ji Qingyou’s expression. “I’ve called you pretty way more times than I’ve called anyone else.”

Her racing heart settled back down. Ji Qingyou’s halted breath began to flow normally again. She straightened her back from the wall. “I need to go organize the surgical records.”

“So busy…” Yu Qinjiu furrowed her brow slightly. “After a surgery that long, can’t you rest a bit more?”

“I can rest.” Ji Qingyou said. The strand of hair she had just tucked behind her ear fell loose again, landing on her cheek, obscuring her bright eyes. “But I’ve already rested enough.”

“Alright.” Yu Qinjiu responded slowly. “Then can you give me one more minute?”

Ji Qingyou tilted her head, a flicker of confusion in her eyes.

Yu Qinjiu’s eyes curved into a smile again as she pressed Ji Qingyou down onto the nearby bench. As she did, the sweet, soft rose scent enveloped her, surrounding her.

Before Ji Qingyou, still dazed, could react, Yu Qinjiu moved behind her.

She deftly slipped the hair tie from Ji Qingyou’s hair, letting her soft hair fall loose. Then, with her warm, soft fingers, she slowly gathered Ji Qingyou’s hair.

Her fingers wove through the strands, as if teasing Ji Qingyou’s sensitive nerve endings, making her tremble involuntarily. Her heartbeat seemed to follow Yu Qinjiu’s fingers, reaching every quiet corner of the corridor.

She pressed her hands down on her knees. “I can do it myself…”

“Don’t move!” Yu Qinjiu’s fingers brushed past her ear, her tone a bit scolding. “I just fixed it, and now you’re messing it up again.”

Ji Qingyou didn’t move anymore, just slightly bowed her head to cooperate with Yu Qinjiu’s actions.

In that brief and eternal minute, Yu Qinjiu skillfully helped her tie her hair up. She could feel each of her messy, frizzy strands being gently smoothed by Yu Qinjiu, finally gathered in the warmth of her hand, secured with a thin hair tie.

Yu Qinjiu’s movements were very gentle, never pulling her hair. She smoothed every strand into a neat, clean high ponytail.

After it was done, Ji Qingyou was still a little dazed.

Yu Qinjiu walked around to face her again, studied her for a moment, and satisfied, snapped her fingers in front of her. “I said one minute, and it was one minute, right? Were you timing me?”

Ji Qingyou glanced at the clock on the wall and shook her head. “No.”

“Alright.” Yu Qinjiu mumbled, then put her hands in her pockets, her eyes curving into a smile. “I don’t think it was more than a minute anyway. After tying your hair for so many years, I have that much confidence.”

Ji Qingyou stood up, a little tense. “I’ll get going now.”

Yu Qinjiu didn’t object. She smiled and followed her out.

The quiet corridor gradually became noisy.

The clamor of the crowd flooded her eardrums. The wind seemed to stop in that moment. As she looked at Yu Qinjiu, Ji Qingyou thought she could hear the ticking of a stopped clock. It was the one minute she had mentally set a while ago.

The countdown only ended now, along with her slowly returning heartbeat.

But in reality, Yu Qinjiu had finished her actions by the forty-fifth second she had set. In those forty-five seconds, if Ji Qingyou hadn’t miscalculated…

Her heart had beaten over 100 times.

~ ~ ~

Yu Qinjiu didn’t stay at the hospital for long. She only spoke a few words to Li Nanli’s parents before leaving, saying she had things to do.

Ji Qingyou continued organizing the surgical records.

At dinner time, she went to the ICU to check on Li Nanli. On her way out, she saw Li Nanli’s parents, their faces haggard, staring intently at the ICU ward.

She handed them the packed meals she had bought from the cafeteria. “Uncle, Auntie, please eat dinner first. Li Nanli will be out in a couple of days.”

Father Li silently picked up his chopsticks, then put them down again. “Thank you so much, Xiao Ji…”

His voice choked up. “What kind of luck is this? How did all this bad luck fall on my family?”

Ji Qingyou helped them open the lunch boxes. “It’s not bad luck. As long as she can be cured…”

Mother Li wiped her tears. “That’s true. But Xiao Li got married less than a year ago, and then she got this illness. That heartless bastard divorced her immediately. Now she’s lost her job, and we still have debts from a previous business we haven’t paid off. If it weren’t for the hospital’s aid program, we might not even be able to afford the medical bills.”

The hospital is a place that witnesses the most emotions and the hardships of life.

Ji Qingyou looked at the parents’ faces, worn out from lack of sleep. She remembered seeing them taking turns watching over Li Nanli at night, huddled by the small bed, afraid to close their eyes.

Her fingers holding the lunch box went numb.

She knew that illness was the culprit that could dismantle most families overnight. She also knew that fighting illness took a tremendous amount of energy.

But in the end, all she could do was utter a pale, powerless statement. “She’ll be fine.”

Father Li choked up and nodded. He gripped her arm. “Anyway, you’ve worked hard these past few days. Since the surgery went well, you should rest too. Don’t worry about us all the time.”

“Exactly.” Mother Li looked at her with tear-filled eyes. “The other hospitals weren’t as good as yours. You have an aid program, and we met a doctor as careful as you…”

Ji Qingyou silently pursed her lips. She was about to end the conversation when she remembered something and asked hesitantly, “Aid program?”

“Hmm…” Mother Li slowly nodded. “We were worried about the surgery costs before. Then Xiao Yu checked online for us and said there was some kind of fundraising aid program online. Our family happened to meet the conditions, so she applied for us. Otherwise, even with insurance, the rest of the surgery fee would have been a problem.”

The noise of the ward clustered together.

Ji Qingyou listened quietly, holding back her dry, thin hand. She said, word by word, “As far as I know, although crowdfunding programs exist online, the approval usually isn’t this fast. And…”

She looked at the stunned parents. She suddenly remembered that Mother Li had mentioned Yu Qinjiu’s name. Her thoughts flickered back and forth a few times, and she understood what must have happened, though it needed verification.

After a few seconds.

The words she hadn’t spoken yet—”usually you have to apply yourself to raise funds on online platforms”—lingered on her lips. In the end, she hesitated and changed her words.

“Maybe your family’s situation is special and urgent, so a platform donated the funds.”

The parents’ hearts seemed to settle down. They grabbed her hand, tears and snot mingling. “Then we still have to thank Xiao Yu for helping…”

Ji Qingyou’s hand was wrapped in two pairs of old, rough hands. She felt her throat move, wanting to say something, but in the end, she said nothing. She just watched the parents eat their dinner, then returned to the on-call room, thinking about this so-called “aid program.”

When Qin Shuangchi came to find her in the on-call room, she was lying on the couch, holding a dark green fascia ball, repeatedly kneading it. Her eyes followed the ball in her hand, fixed in one direction.

No one knew what she was thinking.

“Dr. Ji, the surgery is done, why aren’t you going home?”

Qin Shuangchi plopped down onto the sofa, tossed her glasses onto the table, and rubbed her brow. “Director Qin is waiting for you to come home for dinner. You haven’t been home for a meal in days.”

The fascia ball landed in Ji Qingyou’s hand. She looked sideways at Qin Shuangchi and said somewhat slowly, “I need to stay at the hospital today to monitor the situation. I’ll go in a few days.”

“Forget it, I know you too well.” Qin Shuangchi gave her a look, a hint of intentionality in her tone. “You just don’t want to go back.”

Ji Qingyou pursed her lips slightly, denying it. “No, I don’t.”