"Dad! Dad! Wake up!"
He was choked and his nose and snot were streaming down his face. He coughed violently and gritted his teeth as he dragged the person out into the corridor.
Mr. Cheng was already foaming at the mouth, still clutching the suicide note tightly in his hand. Cheng Zhen cried for help to no avail. Trembling, he pulled his phone out of his pocket, wanting to dial 120, but the phone fell to the ground. He burst into tears. When the call was connected, he roared through his tears.
"Taikang Industrial Park! My father... he committed suicide by burning charcoal... Please come quickly... save him!"
The ambulance arrived with its horn blaring, and Cheng Zhen and the medical staff lifted him into the vehicle and took him to the nearest hospital.
He pushed the wheelchair, running nonstop. The lights in the corridor were blindingly bright. After pushing the person into the emergency room, he collapsed to the ground, muttering incoherently.
"It's okay...it's okay...Dad...Dad...there's still time...there's still time..."
He seemed to be talking in his sleep, or perhaps trying to comfort himself.
The lights in the emergency room went out.
The doctor took off his mask and came out.
"It's too late. The patient is already brain dead. Let the family go in and see him one last time."
No one told him what to do in this situation, whether he should cry out loud or kneel down and beg the doctor not to give up and continue the rescue.
In short, Cheng Zhen did everything.
The doctor saw that he was young and was crying pitifully, so he felt a little sorry for him and helped him up.
“We’ve done everything we can. Brain death, there’s really nothing we can do. Child, go in and see your father one last time.”
Cheng Zhen got up and walked in a daze. He stepped into the space between life and death. When he saw his father's pale and bloodless face, he couldn't hold back anymore. He rushed over and shook his father's shoulder with tears streaming down his face.
"Dad! Wake up! Didn't you say you were going to watch my match?! Ah! I won the championship! The championship! Open your eyes and look at me! I promise I'll train hard from now on and never make you angry again..."
On the nearby electrocardiogram monitor, the readings fluctuated erratically.
The doctor came forward, pulled the person away, and began performing chest compressions.
"Adrenaline 0.5mg IV push!"
"Prepare for intubation!"
"Defibrillator ready!"
Mr. Cheng bounced up and down with the help of the machine, only to fall heavily back onto the bed.
After a sharp beep from the monitor, all the curves fell silent, and Mr. Cheng's arm hung limply from the gurney.
The thin sheet of paper fell to his feet.
The doctor came forward and covered the person with a white sheet.
"At 5:48 a.m., the patient's resuscitation efforts failed, and he was pronounced dead."
From the moment his plane landed until now, Cheng Zhen had been in a daze, as if in a dream. Only now, when the doctor's words struck him like a heavy hammer, did he realize that he had truly lost his father.
The boy knelt on the ground and wailed loudly.
This was the first and last time he cried at the age of eighteen.
The emergency room in the hospital was like a never-ending banquet; as soon as one person was brought in, another was taken out. He followed the doctor indifferently through all the procedures and sent the person to the morgue. It was already morning.
He plopped down on a bench outside the morgue before belatedly realizing that he was still clutching a piece of paper in his hand.
As Cheng Zhen watched, her eyes reddened, her shoulders trembled, and she gritted her teeth to keep from shedding a single tear.
He felt a mixture of emotions, a mixture of anger, sorrow, sadness, and regret, all pressing down on his chest.
He felt like his head was about to explode when the phone rang sharply.
He then came to his senses and realized that he should inform his mother about such an important matter. Without even looking at the screen, he answered the phone.
He hasn't opened his mouth yet.
Zhou Mu's voice carried a hint of fear.
“Cheng Zhen, where are you? Hurry home. I’m near your house. I just saw several burly men with weapons knocking on the door and barging in. They don’t look like good people.”
Cheng Zhen's head buzzed, she stood up, and ran away as fast as she could.
"Zhou Mu, run! Don't let them see you! Those people... are here to collect loan shark debts!"
Zhou Mu hid behind the bushes in front of his house, biting her lower lip anxiously: "Loan sharks... how could this be..."
"Don't ask me the specifics, just get out of there as soon as possible!"
After Cheng Zhen finished speaking, she hung up the phone.
Zhou Mu paused in his steps as he was about to leave, then turned back, looking at the villa standing quietly in the early morning.
The girl gritted her teeth and dialed the number anyway.
"Hello, is this 110? I need to report a crime..."
***
For some reason, Xie Shi'an felt uneasy when she woke up this morning. She picked up her phone and saw that it was already past eight o'clock. The person in charge of Huacheng Trading Company had sent her a text message.
"The money has been transferred to you. I'm at the hospital entrance now. When can I go up to pick up the contract?"
"Come up in five minutes."
Xie Shi'an typed while sending Yan Xinyuan away.
"Coach Yan, I want to eat the pan-fried buns near the hospital."
Yan Xinyuan came in from outside the door.
"Okay, I'll go buy it for you."
When the man came up, he was carrying some nutritional supplements for her, which Xie Shi'an glanced at.
“Take them back, I don’t need them.”
"Oh, I forgot, it's inconvenient for you to accept it."
The man was startled, then came to his senses and took out a thick stack of envelopes from his suit pocket and placed them on her bedside table.
"I'll take the things back, but you can keep the money. It's cash; there are always times when it's inconvenient to use a card while hospitalized."
Xie Shi'an took the contract out of the drawer and handed it to him. She intended to return the money as well, but the man only took the contract, took a step back, bowed slightly to her, and quickly left.
"Then I won't disturb your rest any longer."
Not long after he left, footsteps echoed in the corridor again, so Xie Shi'an had no choice but to open the drawer and sweep the envelope inside as well.
Yan Xinyuan knocked on the door and came in.
"What's wrong? Why are you in such a panic so early in the morning?"
"No, I'm looking for the remote control."
Yan Xinyuan picked up the remote control from next to her pillow.
"Isn't it right here?"
Xie Shi'an took it, turned on the TV, and it happened to be playing a sports channel.
"Look at my memory, I forgot where I put it after watching it last night."
"You're sick, so you should get some rest early tonight. Here, have some hot soy milk and pan-fried buns. Hey, don't change the channel, you can watch the game."
***
Jian Changnian got up very early today. She played some ball in the training room before it was time to gather. She and her teammates boarded the bus and headed to the competition venue.
The draw for the team competition has been released. The good news is that they were placed in the upper half of the bracket, avoiding the formidable South Korean team. However, the bad news is that their first match will be against the Canadian team, which includes Anton, currently ranked third in the world.
However, that's not something Jian Changnian should worry about. Anton, this hot potato, should naturally be left to Yin Jiayi to solve. She just needs to play her own game well, win a big game from the Canadian team, and not drag everyone down.
As the athletes from both sides entered the stadium, Kim Nam-ji spotted Yin Jiayi, who was standing in front of the Chinese team, from afar. She playfully stuck out her tongue at her and made a face, as if to say that it was a pity she didn't meet Yin Jiayi in the first match.
Yin Jiayi avoided her gaze, but a smile unconsciously crept onto her lips, and she momentarily forgot to move forward.
The teammates behind him urged him on.
"Captain, it's our turn to enter."
She then coughed lightly, snapping out of her daze.
"Okay."
Before the match, Wan Jing gathered everyone together, and they put their arms around each other's shoulders and heads together.
"Leave Anton to Jiayi. Everyone else, just focus on your own tasks. If we win by three points, we'll have a chance to advance to the next round. Understand?!"
"clear!"
"Team China—"
"Go! Go! Go!"
The audience behind him roared and cheered.
The team members dispersed to prepare for the match.
Jian Changnian took a deep breath and picked up her racket. She usually watched from the sidelines as a spectator, but this was her first time standing on the world stage. She was excited but also a little nervous.
Yin Jiayi came over and patted her on the shoulder.
"Play freely and enjoy the game, I'm here for you."
The boy nodded vigorously, and a smile finally appeared on his face.
"good."
Commentator A: "China's first match will be played by the young newcomer Jian Changnian. He's only sixteen years old, right? He's very young."
Commentator B: "I saw in the information that she was originally from the Binhai Provincial Team and entered the national team as a substitute through the selection competition. Oh, speaking of which, I would like to mention that Xie Shi'an, whom the audience is eagerly anticipating, is still hospitalized and cannot play for the time being."
Commentator A: "Although she can't come, her junior sister is here. The two of them are from the same school, both under the guidance of former national team head coach Yan Xinyuan. We all know that Coach Yan is a very, very senior figure, the first person in the history of the Chinese team to win the World Championships men's singles gold medal."
Commentator B: "Yes, strict teachers produce outstanding students. The competition has officially begun. Let's look forward to Jian Changnian's performance today!"
***
Early the next morning.
Qiao's mother woke up early. When she got up, Qiao Yuchu was still lying on the sofa, with several wine bottles scattered haphazardly on the coffee table next to her.