On Standby - Chapter 18

The night was still, and the streetlights outside the window cast their unchanging orange glow. Lin Ye leaned against the window frame, his gaze drifting through the sparse leaves of the plane tree to settle on a small figure below.

Just half a minute earlier, he had pushed open the security door of his apartment and, before even taking off his shoes, received a WeChat message from Tang Feihuan. The message was neither long nor short:

“Lin Ye, since you didn’t reject me outright, does that mean I still have a chance? You said earlier that I should treat the person I like better, but right now, that person is you. So, from now on, if you don’t want me to treat you well, just tell me directly. Don’t force yourself. Let’s follow our hearts.”

He admitted that reading those words felt like a warm breeze brushing against his heart, leaving him momentarily dazed. But the memories of the past quickly resurfaced, and his rationality snapped back into place. After all, the person who had written this message was the same one who had called him at the stroke of midnight on his birthday to be the first to wish him well, who had sent flowers, gifts, and cakes across international borders, yet had then vanished for 49 hours without warning, offering no explanation for her absence.

Later, these disappearances became increasingly frequent. Lin Ye had made excuses for her, telling himself she was busy with her studies, overwhelmed with work, and under immense pressure. After all, when Tang Feihuan had applied to Heidelberg University’s joint master’s and doctoral program at the Medical School, the faculty had imposed a strict condition: she was to return to China only when absolutely necessary, spending her initial free time in the lab and, if her clinical skills proved exceptional, later in the hospital.

The final straw that broke the camel’s back had appeared, shattering her trust and making it impossible to deceive herself any longer. Yet she didn’t reveal this “straw” to him tonight, because it no longer mattered…

The air conditioner hummed, circulating cool breezes that brushed against the woman’s stray hairs near her ears. Her gaze darkened as she placed her phone on the bedside table and turned to leave the bedroom.

On a bench in the nearby parking lot, Tang Feihuan, unwilling to go home just yet, had been sitting in silence for half an hour. The dim yellow light above her head attracted swarms of insects that buzzed around the source. The air was stiflingly hot, but her usually restless heart was now strangely calm.

She understood the reasons for their separation, knew it was entirely her fault, and realized that wallowing in self-pity would be futile. So she had examined herself, reflected deeply, and finally sent Lin Ye that message. After sending it, Tang Feihuan felt a weight lift. She pulled up a photo they had taken together in the office earlier that day. Gazing at Lin Ye’s image, a gentle smile spread across her face, as warm and tender as the soft, breezy nights of early spring.

After a long while, she exited the photo album and tapped the pinned profile picture on WeChat, sending two words:

“Good night.”

After working a 24-hour shift, taking a day off to rest, Lin Ye was back at his desk before 7:30 a.m. on Saturday. Lu Yuqing, who had been on the night shift and swamped with emergency surgeries all night, rushed over to grab some breakfast.

“Thanks for the treat,” Lu Yuqing said, eating the wontons Lin Ye had brought her. She looked up and asked, “Hey, what’s up with Tang Feihuan lately?”

“Hmm?”

“Ever since Tuesday night, she’s been posting daily ‘inspirational quotes’ on her WeChat Moments, one in the morning and one at night.”

Lin Ye had already noticed that Tang Feihuan would post a status update on her WeChat Moments immediately after sending him her daily “good morning” and “good night” messages.

“The longest journey is from one’s own body to one’s own heart, and from one person’s heart to another’s,” Lu Yuqing read aloud from Tang Feihuan’s status update, posted just thirty minutes earlier. “Has she lost her mind? Or did you do something to upset her?”

“Maybe she’s just going through a philosophical phase,” Lin Ye replied casually, scrolling through his WeChat Moments. He casually shared a health popular science article, and thirty seconds later, a heart notification popped up.

Without even checking, Lin Ye knew it was Tang Feihuan. Over the past three days, she had liked every single one of his six status updates, whether they were work-related or personal. After Lu Yuqing finished breakfast and left, Lin Ye sent Tang Feihuan a WeChat message.

“Doctor Tang, you don’t need to like every single one of my status updates. If it’s not something you can sustain long-term, there’s no need to do it.”

The reply came instantly: “Okay!” followed by, “Dr. Lin, I’ll still send you my ‘good morning’ and ‘good night’ messages.”

Lin Ye sighed and set his phone aside. He glanced up and noticed Tang Feihuan had also put her phone down and was already working. She seemed more focused than before, when she used to space out before her shift ended.

Before the shift change, Gu Yan burst in, “Director Lin, a patient who fell from the third floor will be arriving in two minutes. Teacher Liu is busy and can’t leave. We need your help.”

“Alright,” Lin Ye and Tang Feihuan stood up simultaneously, exchanging a brief glance. Tang Feihuan indicated she would come too. Lin Ye nodded, and they both rushed to the emergency room.

Outside the emergency room, an ambulance sped to a halt. The paramedics, drenched in sweat, urgently reported to Lin Ye, “Male patient, 23 years old. Bl00d pressure 65/51, heart rate 139. Hypovolemic shock. We’ve already established dual intravenous access.”

Lin Ye instructed, “Bed three in the emergency room.”

The curtain was pulled back, and the patient was transferred to a flat bed. Lin Ye stepped forward to examine him, with Tang Feihuan assisting. After listening to the patient’s heart and lungs, Lin Ye put away his stethoscope and immediately ordered, “Dopamine 200mg + Metaraminol 100mg + 20ml normal saline via infusion pump to raise bl00d pressure. Perform a bedside ultrasound.”

Tang Feihuan and Lin Ye worked in tandem, palpating the patient’s abdomen while listening with a stethoscope. Tang Feihuan added, “Prepare four units of red bl00d cells. We’ll need a standard four-tube bl00d draw. Given the high probability of internal bleeding, we’ll need to operate as soon as possible.”

The Resident Physician and nurses sprang into action. Lin Ye asked the paramedics, “Where are the family members?”

The paramedic pointed toward the door. “They’re outside. His boyfriend witnessed the fall—he’s probably terrified.”

“Boyfriend?” Lin Ye instructed Tang Feihuan to gather more information. “If they’re not married, we need to notify his immediate family. If we operate for internal bleeding, there’s a high risk he won’t survive the surgery.”

Tang Feihuan nodded. “Understood. I’ll go.” She removed her bl00d-stained gloves and headed out.

The Emergency Department doors slid open, and a nurse called out, “Family of Dong Guo, are you here?”

“Here!”

Tang Feihuan followed the voice to find a young woman in a white shirt crouching in a corner. Hearing the patient’s name, she reflexively stood up, her face still etched with terror, and rushed toward Tang Feihuan, asking anxiously, “How is he?”

“He’s in hypovolemic shock, likely due to internal bleeding. Once the ultrasound confirms it, we’ll need to perform emergency surgery immediately,” Tang Feihuan explained, using language the woman could understand.

The family member was Dong Guo’s girlfriend, Cao Yangqiao, who urgently asked, “Surgery? Are there risks?”

“Any surgery carries risks, especially considering the patient’s fall injuries, internal bleeding, and unstable vital signs,” Tang Feihuan replied. Noticing Cao Yangqiao’s trembling hands, she lowered her voice and asked gently, “You’re his girlfriend, right? You’re not married?”

Cao Yangqiao shook her head.

“Can you contact his parents?”

“They’re out of town,” Cao Yangqiao explained. “There’s no airport nearby, and taking the high-speed train would take fifteen hours.”

“Call them first,” Tang Feihuan reminded her.

“Oh, right.” Cao Yangqiao fumbled for her phone, taking two minutes to find Dong Guo’s father’s number before dialing.

After two rings, the call was abruptly disconnected.

Tang Feihuan frowned. “Why did they hang up?”

Cao Yangqiao admitted, “His parents disapprove of our relationship. We haven’t spoken in three months.”

“Send them a text message,” Tang Feihuan instructed. “Tell them Dong Guo fell and is in critical condition.”

Cao Yangqiao sent the message as instructed. Within five seconds, her phone rang. She answered, and a frantic voice on the other end demanded, “Guoguo fell? How could he fall? Did you push him?”

Cao Yangqiao didn’t lie. She told the truth: “No, Uncle, I broke up with Dong Guo, but he refused to accept it and threatened to jump.”

Dong Guo’s father demanded, “You wouldn’t reconcile? And Guo Guo jumped?”

Cao Yangqiao nodded softly.

“How could you be so heartless?” he accused.

Tang Feihuan, who had received the news half a minute earlier that Dong Guo was bleeding internally from two major abdominal organs, couldn’t bear to watch any longer. She signaled Cao Yangqiao to hand her the phone, pressed the record button, and said, “Hello, this is Doctor Tang from the Emergency Department at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Shu Jiang University School of Medicine. Patient Dong Guo fell and is bleeding internally. He needs immediate surgery. Do you consent?”

“Is surgery absolutely necessary? Can you guarantee success?”

“The patient is losing a significant amount of bl00d. We can’t guarantee success, but without surgery, he won’t survive much longer.”

The voice finally agreed, “Do it. Do it now.”

“Very well. This conversation has been recorded. Please understand.”

Tang Feihuan returned the phone to Cao Yangqiao and turned to leave when Director Gao suddenly called out, “Xiao Tang, the hospital’s emergency skills competition is tomorrow morning. Do you have time to participate? You can join Director Lin.”