Give Me Another Smile

She would be satisfied so long as she could get a look.

Holding back her tears, Tang Yu nodded and let Gao Rang help her up. It was a cold and rainy night, and her legs had already started to go numb even though she had crouched for only a short moment. As a result, she had to rely on the support beside her to slowly limp back to the ward.

When Yu Wanrou woke up to check on her daughter and found the bed next to her empty, she nearly broke into tears out of panic. Before she could even get out of her bed, though, she saw a doctor escorting Tang Yu back to the ward.

"She's fine. She only wanted to look for someone," Gao Rang explained when he saw the look of self-reprimand on Yu Wanrou's face. During times like this, the family members of patients often felt more saddened and distressed than the patients themselves. If patients began to show emotional instability, their family members' emotions would also be swayed.

When Tang Yu saw the look on her mother's face, she took the initiative to hold her mother's hand and comforted the older woman. However, this only served to sadden Yu Wanrou even further. Even at this time, her child was still thinking about her.

"Thank you, Doctor Gao," Yu Wanrou thanked Gao Rang with tears in her eyes.

Waving his hand, Gao Rang said, "I'm only doing what I should do."

…

After taking care of Tang Yu's matter, Gao Rang returned to his on-call room. However, he did not lie back down to rest. Instead, he picked up the medical records folder and looked through the files of the currently hospitalized patients.

"Both are just high-schoolers… How did they get into such a state…" Gao Rang couldn't help but sigh as he set aside the folder. Then, he took off his gold-rimmed glasses and massaged the bridge of his nose.

According to the medical records, the other girl was still in the intensive care unit, so she should be in an even worse state than the girl he had just met... It was no wonder Tang Yu's parents did not tell her about the other girl's condition.

…

With anticipation for tomorrow, Tang Yu covered herself in a pure white quilt and fell asleep. Perhaps, the Yin Zhao-an in her dreams would be just like before, laughing and jumping in front of her while softly calling out to her, "Tang-Tang."

…

It was already bright outside, but the rainy weather covered the scenery outside the window with a layer of dull gray. Even the buildings in the distance were shrouded in dark clouds.

Laying on the hospital bed, Tang Yu's face was abnormally flushed, and her slender eyebrows tightened as tears leaked from the corners of his eyes.

From midnight until now, Tang Yu had continuously suffered from a high fever. Yu Wanrou had fetched hot water to wipe Tang Yu's body and moisten her daughter's chapped lips the whole night.

Fang Ling sat beside the hospital bed, sobbing softly as she looked at her friend. Fang Lang, who came with his little sister, also had difficulty believing that two people who were supposed to enter high school happily would have such a terrible encounter on the first day. One of them had even nearly lost her life.

Eventually, Fang Ling's sobbing got to Yu Wanrou. Unable to bear the depressing atmosphere any longer, Yu Wanrou offered to give some privacy to her daughter and her daughter's friends.

After crying for some time, Fang Ling's emotions did not improve. On the contrary, she grew even more grief-stricken as she said, "Tang Yu, please don't leave me... Please wake up and talk to me..." After a slight pause, Fang Ling began monologuing, "A hateful person came to our house. She keeps trying to snatch my big brother away... I still have many things to say to you..."

Seeing his little sister's sobbing growing fiercer, Fang Lang hurriedly pulled her into his arms and said, "Shh, don't disturb Tang Yu's rest. Also, Big Brother won't get snatched away. Nobody can take me away from you."

Embracing her elder brother, Fang Ling sniffled and said, "Then... Then... Will you stop paying attention to Meng Lu?"

"Okay, okay. I'll ignore her," Fang Lang said helplessly.

...

Yu Wanrou met Wang Zhen on the sheltered rooftop. Wang Zhen had lost a lot of weight during this period, and her eyes always carried heavy bags under them.

"How is An-An?" Yu Wanrou asked, her body trembling slightly as she sat next to Wang Zhen on the bench.

Wang Zhen looked a little dazed as she stared off into the rain. After a moment of silence, she said, "There's going to be another surgery tomorrow."

Yin Zhao-an had never stopped undergoing surgeries since she was admitted to the hospital. She had suffered multiple bone fractures throughout her body, and several ribs had nearly pierced her internal organs. Every visit to the operating theater was no different than paying a visit to the netherworld's gate. Nobody knew when that gate was going to open and welcome her in.

"I'm sorry..."

Wang Zhen's hands hanging by her sides moved a little. Then, her slightly purple lips parted as she said, "It's her own choice, so there's nothing to be sorry about. Also, she wants to live." Turning to face Yu Wanrou, Wang Zhen emphasized, "She wants to live more than any of us. Do you believe it?"

"...I believe it."

...

While walking down a corridor with a medical record folder in hand, Gao Rang came across a young boy standing blankly outside an intensive care unit. The boy was grieving as he quietly looked at the person lying inside.

"You are her..." Gao Rang walked over to ask the boy for his identity. Over the past several days, he had seen many people standing outside Yin Zhao-an's intensive care unit. However, most of them were the special police who had escorted Yin Zhao-an to the hospital. This was the first time he had seen someone who wasn't an adult.

Zhao Yu wiped the tears staining the corners of his eyes in a panic. Then, after glancing at the tall doctor before him, he lowered his head and said, "I'm her classmate."

Oh, a classmate? Gao Rang nodded thoughtfully. Then, he pointed at the nearby bench and said, "Many people will visit this place. You can rest there if necessary."

Zhao Yu nodded but kept his head lowered at all times.

Gao Rang smiled kindly before turning around to leave. Although he understood Zhao Yu's behavior, he honestly didn't think a boy of Zhao Yu's age should have to be ashamed of crying.