He immediately walked across the street, picked out three of the cutest cartoon balloons, and excitedly returned to Mengyao's side.
Mengyao had chosen a romance film and booked her seats when she looked up and found Song Jiaping wasn't beside her. She immediately started looking for him.
Soon, she saw Song Jiaping walking towards her, the strings of balloons clutched in his hand, his smile radiant.
Mengyao couldn't help but grin too. She hadn't expected him to buy balloons; he was treating her like a child.
Song Jiaping quickly crossed the street. As he neared her, he smiled and asked, "I thought these three cartoon balloons were so cute, for you..."
Suddenly, with a deafening bang, Mengyao watched in horror as a car struck Song Jiaping right in front of her.
Song Jiaping was sent flying!
"Jiaping!" Mengyao screamed, the sudden turn of events pushing her to the brink of collapse.
Song Jiaping landed heavily on the ground. He couldn't feel any pain, but he knew he was bleeding. Yet, he forced his eyes open until Mengyao reached his side.
"Yao, the balloons... the balloons are for you..." He still clutched the balloon strings tightly, but as he tried to hand them to Mengyao, he finally lost his grip.
Mengyao knelt beside him, no longer caring about the balloons that had flown away. Her mind in chaos, she yelled, "You'll be alright, you'll be alright! Hold on! The ambulance... the ambulance will be here soon!"
Song Jiaping's vision gradually blurred, and he could no longer see Mengyao's panicked face. He wanted to comfort her, to tell her not to be afraid, but his vision went black, and he lost consciousness.
...
Outside the emergency room, Mengyao sat tensely on the bench, finding the entire corridor unnervingly quiet.
She could barely recall the car accident that had just happened.
How Song Jiaping was carried into the ambulance, how she followed him to the hospital – she couldn't remember.
All she remembered was the amount of blood that had gushed from Song Jiaping's body along the way.
When Mengyao touched the blood on him, it was still warm... warm! She glanced at the dark red blood that had already congealed on her own hands and couldn't bear to look. Grasping her hair, she wished they had never left the hotel that night, never gone out for a stroll or a meal.
At that moment, hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor. It was Qin Tianyi and his wife, who had been informed.
When Song Jiaping was first wheeled into the emergency room, the nurse had reminded her that any other relatives of the injured party could be notified.
Her hands trembling, she held Song Jiaping's phone. She couldn't think of anyone else to call, but seeing that he had the most frequent contact with Qin Tianyi, she dialed him.
"Mengyao, is Doctor Song alright?" Susu asked, seeing Mengyao sitting alone and trembling, and quickly hugged her.
Mengyao's voice was also trembling as she said, "He's still in surgery... but that car hit him so hard..." As she spoke, she could no longer hold back her tears and burst into sobs.
Susu held her close and said, "It'll be okay, it'll be okay. Doctor Song will be blessed with good fortune."
Qin Tianyi paced back and forth outside the emergency room. Seeing Mengyao completely overcome with emotion, he realized she couldn't clearly explain the situation at the moment.
However, he knew that Song Jiaping had met with Hong Jiaxi that day and had likely confronted him.
And it was too unusual that Song Jiaping had been involved in a car accident on a narrow road that very evening.
Seeing Susu constantly comforting Mengyao, Tianyi moved to a further spot and contacted a few acquaintances, wanting to know what exactly had happened with Song Jiaping's accident.
From what he gathered, the driver who hit Song Jiaping was a novice female driver.
This female driver was unfamiliar with the road conditions in that area and was rushing to an appointment. While answering her phone, she didn't notice someone crossing the road ahead, thus hitting Song Jiaping while driving at a slow speed.
According to the traffic police's accident determination and investigation results, this was the case.
The female driver had not fled the scene and had even called an ambulance.
The car and the driver were currently held at the traffic police detachment, and it appeared to be a normal traffic accident.
Tianyi could only ask for further investigation into the female driver's family background and other circumstances.
They waited outside the emergency room until dawn, when the door finally opened from the inside.
Mengyao rushed forward, asking the doctor at the front, "Is he alright?"
The chief surgeon looked at them and said, "The rescue was timely, and he is temporarily out of danger. Did the injured party have a previous head injury?"
"Yes, he was a doctor in a field hospital abroad before and was once shot in the head," Mengyao replied quickly.
"That explains it. He already had an old injury to his brain, and this time he lost too much blood from his head. Therefore, his life is still in danger at any moment. It depends on whether he can survive the critical period in the intensive care unit."
Mengyao felt her legs give out. Susu supported her.
Tianyi calmly asked, "Thank you, Doctor. How long will it take for my friend to wake up, and how long is the danger period?"
"It's hard to say when he will wake up, but he needs to at least get through the seventy-two-hour danger period. If he wakes up, then his life will no longer be in danger." The doctor then explained Song Jiaping's injuries in detail to Tianyi.
Song Jiaping also had multiple fractures, but fortunately, none of them were critical. The main problem was the head injury.
So, whether he would recover depended on the healing of his head injury.
Song Jiaping was then transferred to the intensive care unit.
Susu watched Mengyao outside the intensive care unit, seeing how extremely weak she was, looking as if she might faint at any moment.
"Mengyao, let me take you back to rest first. Let Tianyi stay here for now. If anything happens, he will notify us immediately."
Mengyao shook her head, her expression sorrowful and dejected. "I want to stay and watch over him. I won't go anywhere until he wakes up."
Susu persuaded her, "But if you continue like this, you'll get sick yourself when he wakes up. How can he rest assured and recover if you're unwell when he wakes up? Listen to me, go back and rest first. We're here, and we won't let Doctor Song be harmed, okay?"
Mengyao's pale face offered no clear answer.
Susu firmly helped her up, preparing to take her away from the hospital, feeling that if she didn't get a good night's sleep, she wouldn't be able to hold on.
Seeing that she was about to take Mengyao away, Tianyi stepped forward and said, "After you settle her down, contact me. Be careful on the road."
"Okay, I'll leave this to you. I'll bring you some food later," Susu replied.
Tianyi asked, "Do you want me to escort you to the car?"
"No need, you should sit here and rest for a while too," Susu instructed him before helping Mengyao out of the hospital.
Once they were in the car, Susu learned that Mengyao was currently staying in a hotel and had not returned to the Huangfu family residence.
Following the hotel address Mengyao provided, she had Xiao Lin drive them there.
On the way, Susu continuously encouraged Mengyao, hoping she would be strong.
"Now more than ever, you need to take good care of yourself. Only by resting well and eating properly, and having plenty of energy, can you take care of Doctor Song when he wakes up."
Mengyao seemed to be listening, yet also not hearing. She was more worried about whether Jiaping could survive the critical period.
Upon arriving at the hotel room, Mengyao finally showed a bit more resilience and took the initiative to take a shower.
Susu ordered some food from the hotel restaurant for her and had it delivered to the room. She watched Mengyao eat something before she lay down on the bed and fell asleep.