Chapter 45: The Whole World Collapsing  

Noodletown Translated Editor: Noodletown Translated

Huo Mian couldn't remember how she managed to leave her apartment and how she got to the hospital's emergency room.

The operating room was already closed, and a group of people was waiting outside the door.

She saw her mother collapsed in a chair in the hallway, wracking with heart-wrenching sobs.

"Mom, how's Zhixin?"

"Oh, my poor Zhixin. You have got to be okay. How will mom live with herself otherwise?" As though she was unable to see Huo Mian, Yang Meirong continued to wail with her eyes closed.

Two young nurses walked over, intending on scolding her to keep it down. They were surprised when they saw Huo Mian. "Huo Mian, are you the patient's family, too?"

Huo Mian nodded, her face pale. "Weiwei, how's my little brother? What's the situation?"

"We don't know yet. But it was pretty scary when they brought him in. His heart rate was irregular, and his blood pressure was frighteningly high… The attending is trying to save him. You have to wait for now."

"Okay, I understand."

Huo Mian felt the strength drain out of her body; she was close to collapsing.

They were just eating lunch together around noon, chatting and laughing. How could something like this happen in the same afternoon?

If anything were to happen to Zhixin, she couldn't imagine how she and her mother could continue living on this Earth.

Seven years ago, Uncle Jing's death had already veiled their family in a sheet of frost. If something were to happen to her brother now, she was afraid that she would lose the courage to live.

By now, she noticed that other families were crying outside the operating room, and only then did it occur to her to ask what happened.

A middle-aged man, about forty years old and wearing gold-rimmed glasses, walked over.

Huo Mian recognized him. He was Jing Zhixin's university professor.

"Professor Sun, what in the world happened?"

"From what I heard, Jing Zhixin was involved in a car accident on his way back to his dorm from the library. He wasn't the only one injured. There were three other students who sustained serious injuries. It was classified as a chain reaction collision." The professor's tone was grave.

Huo Mian stiffened for a second.

"How could that be? Isn't there a speed limit on campus? At such low speeds, how could such a serious car accident have taken place?"

"I wasn't present when it happened. We need to wait for the surveillance footage to be processed to know the details. But from what student witnesses said, a Porsche sports car was speeding. It caused significant damage to the university's infrastructure, hitting and injuring four students before slamming into a tree."

"A Porsche sports car?" Huo Mian's brows furrowed. She couldn't imagine who could race a sports car through a university campus, packed with students, and cause damage to the infrastructure.

"What about the perpetrator? Where are they?" Huo Mian was filled with rage.

"He ran away. I heard that the girl in the passenger seat of his car was also seriously hurt and is undergoing emergency care at the hospital. However, the school already called the police. They are now investigating, so you don't need to worry."

"How could I not worry when I don't know how my little brother is doing?" As she spoke, Huo Mian's tears began to fall.

Three hours later, the doors to the operating room opened.

Huo Mian and her mother dashed up to the doctor at once, blocking his path.

"Doctor Liu, how is my brother?"

"The situation doesn't look good, we've already done what we can to save him. However, there is hemorrhaging within his cranium. In addition, the location of the bleeding is extremely sensitive. We don't have full confidence in proceeding with a second operation. In a moment, the department of neurosurgery will come up with a plan. We'll discuss how to proceed with treatment with the family members then."

Hearing this, both Huo Mian and her mother felt their knees give way under them.

'The situation doesn't look good' meant that he hadn't stabilized yet.

She understood the theory behind cranium hemorrhaging. The surgery that Qin Chu performed with her before was for a patient who was suffering from this condition.

It was a technically-demanding procedure, and the slightest mistake could result in lasting side-effects. Less severe cases could result in decreased cognitive function or compromised motor movements. Severe cases could outright cause paralysis or leave the patient in a coma.

"Heavens, my poor baby boy. What have I done to deserve this?" Yang Meirong wailed, kneeling onto the ground.

At that moment, Huo Mian felt the sky fall down around her.