Chapter 103: Injured
The call disconnected abruptly. You Ruxu jolted awake, sitting up in bed. Ignoring the pain in her leg, she immediately got out of bed, stumbled, and steadied herself against the nightstand, then called Zhou Tianzui.
The ringing echoed in the corridor, sharp and insistent. The man’s face paled, and before Zhou Tianzui could react, he tried to pull out the knife, but she grabbed his hand. He was holding the baby in his other arm, unable to use his full strength. The nurses’ station was nearby. She turned and shouted, “Call the police!”
The nurses rushed out, their footsteps echoing in the corridor. The man, unable to pull out the knife, yanked his hand back and kicked Zhou Tianzui hard in the leg, sending her sprawling to the floor.
“He’s taking the baby! He’s killing someone!” Someone screamed, and the lights in all the wards flickered on. Zhou Tianzui breathed a sigh of relief, her hand clutching the wound, the blood flowing freely, her face pale. A nurse started crying, “Dr. Zhou! Dr. Zhou!”
Other doctors and nurses also rushed over. The man, seeing this, quickly ran towards the stairwell. Zhou Tianzui gasped, her voice weak and strained, “The baby…”
Before she could finish, a scream came from room sixty-two, “Where’s my baby?!”
The ward erupted in chaos.
When You Ruxu arrived with the police, the scene was chaotic. Zhou Tianzui had been taken into surgery. The police were chasing the man down the stairs. The patients were all holding their babies, standing outside their rooms. The husband of the patient in bed sixty-two grabbed the woman from bed sixty-three by the collar, “Where’s your husband?!”
The woman cried out desperately, “He’s not my husband!”
“I don’t care if he’s your husband or not! Give me back my son!” The man, his eyes filled with rage, tried to grab the baby from her arms, but was restrained by another man and dragged away. His wife screamed at him, “Go find him! Go find him!”
Having just given birth, she was still weak, collapsing onto the bed after just a few words, the other patients looking at her with pity. Several mothers, holding their babies, watched from a distance. You Ruxu, supporting herself against the wall, asked a nurse, “Where’s Zhou Tianzui?”
The nurse’s face was pale, still in shock, tears in her eyes, “Dr. Zhou’s in surgery.”
You Ruxu looked down and saw a pool of blood on the floor. She swayed slightly.
“Dr. Zhou was the first to notice.”
“Dr. Zhou was stabbed.”
“What happened? Was he trying to steal the baby?”
“Is he part of the gang from the maternity hospital?”
Voices all around her, a cacophony of noise, but You Ruxu couldn’t hear anything, her mind blank, her ears ringing. She leaned against the wall, her hands and feet cold, supporting herself on one leg, trying to find the operating room, her vision blurry, she stumbled forward.
“Reporter You!”
A nurse caught her, and You Ruxu, gripping her arm tightly, asked, “Which operating room?”
Yu Qiao arrived at the operating room, her face pale and drawn, looking at the brightly lit sign above the door, listening to the nurse, “Auntie, Dr. Zhou is in surgery.”
She heard them talking about surgical plans, consent forms, risks, but Yu Qiao’s mind was blank, her body numb. She couldn’t understand how this could happen, how could someone be attacked while working at the hospital?
She stood there, stunned.
Then she heard You Ruxu call out, “Auntie.”
Yu Qiao turned, her movements mechanical, momentarily forgetting their earlier argument, “Xiao Xu? What happened to Xiao Tian?”
You Ruxu’s eyes were red-rimmed, tears threatening to spill. She blinked and reached out to support Yu Qiao, noticing her trembling hands. Yu Qiao looked down at her hands, clenched them, then realizing, her expression hardening, but she didn’t pull away.
They stood together, You Ruxu supporting herself on one leg with difficulty, but she didn’t move, or rather, she forgot she could move.
She stood there like a statue, oblivious to the pain, the exhaustion, numb.
Until a nurse said to her, “Reporter You, your leg…”
She looked down, “It’s fine.”
Yu Qiao, hearing this, said, “Go sit down.”
You Ruxu’s hand, still gripping Yu Qiao’s, was cold and trembling. Yu Qiao helped her onto a bench.
“What happened?” Yu Qiao asked, “How did Xiao Tian get hurt?”
You Ruxu wanted to speak, but her throat was tight, a lump forming, she suddenly remembered Zhou Tianzui standing by her bedside earlier, her eyes red and filled with anguish, that desperate fear of loss, she now understood it completely.
“It was…” You Ruxu’s voice was hoarse, lacking its usual clarity, dry and raspy.
A police officer hurried over.
A crew-cut officer stopped in front of You Ruxu and asked, “Is Dr. Zhou alright?”
Yu Qiao, seeing them, quickly asked, “What happened to Xiao Tian?”
The officer looked apologetic, “Dr. Zhou seems to have witnessed a crime.”
“A c-crime?” Yu Qiao was confused. She looked at the officer, then at You Ruxu, wanting to ask, but not knowing what to ask. You Ruxu spoke, “That man, was he involved with the missing baby from the maternity hospital?”
The officer nodded: “They’re part of the same gang.”
Using the identity of a patient’s husband, they could freely enter and leave the wards without suspicion. The expectant mothers were abducted from remote villages, their husbands held hostage, threatened with harm to their families and newborn babies if they called the police, forcing the mothers to cooperate.
Yu Qiao said, “What does that have to do with our Xiao Tian?”
“Dr. Zhou seems to have figured it out.” But she hadn’t raised the alarm, and the man, sensing her suspicion, had acted rashly. The officer continued, “Our colleagues have apprehended the suspect, the baby is safe.”
The baby was returned safely. The mother from bed sixty-two, along with her family, rushed to the operating room, profusely thanking everyone, her husband even kneeling down, thanking Zhou Tianzui, thanking Yu Qiao. Yu Qiao’s eyes reddened as she cried.
The scene was chaotic, but You Ruxu seemed oblivious, her eyes fixed on the operating room light, everything else blurred, fading away. She could hear her own heartbeat, rapid and frantic, each beat a desperate cry.
Calling out Zhou Tianzui’s name.
Zhou Tianzui’s surgery was successful.
The doctor emerged from the operating room and informed them. You Ruxu tried to stand up, but her movements were slow and unsteady. Yu Qiao rushed over to the doctor, gripping his hand, “How is Xiao Tian?”
“The surgery was successful, the knife didn’t penetrate too deeply, Dr. Zhou…”
You Ruxu, following behind, her legs giving way at those words, she collapsed onto the floor.
Yu Qiao turned around and saw You Ruxu.
You Ruxu said, her voice trembling, “Auntie, she’s okay.”
Yu Qiao’s lips trembled, she didn’t speak.
You Ruxu, her voice choked with tears, repeated, “She’s okay.”
Yu Qiao gritted her teeth, looked at You Ruxu, then looked away. After a few seconds, she turned back and helped You Ruxu up. You Ruxu gripped her hand, her fingers cold, the coldness spreading to Yu Qiao’s hand.
The chaos didn’t subside until late into the night, but the online discussions continued to rage.
[A doctor at Jindu First Affiliated Hospital was murdered!]
[I heard it was also about a stolen baby!]
[Don’t spread rumors, she’s still in surgery.]
[Holy shit, is this real? Did they catch the killer?]
[Have you seen the video? Blood everywhere, don’t click if you have a weak stomach!]
Many people were present at the time, some called the police, others filmed the scene. Zhou Tianzui leaned against the wall, surrounded by doctors and nurses, her white coat stained crimson, her hand clutching the wound, her face pale.
Even then, she still managed to tell them that the baby belonged to the patient in bed sixty-two.
You Ruxu didn’t dare watch the video, her heart clenching painfully. Her face ashen, she sat on the bed, listening to Wu Xiulian say, “It’s alright now, Dr. Zhou’s condition is stable.”
She nodded, looking at Wu Xiulian, “Can I go see her?”
“Your leg…”
“I’m fine.” You Ruxu said, “I want to see her.”
Before Zhou Tianzui was out of surgery, she had been restless, the doctors taking her back to her ward. Now, it was almost morning, Zhou Tianzui was out of observation, and You Ruxu wanted to see her.
Wu Xiulian said, “Her mother is also there.”
You Ruxu nodded, “I know.”
Wu Xiulian said, “I’ll wheel you over.”
You Ruxu sat in the wheelchair, being wheeled towards the elevator, thinking of Zhou Tianzui, of Yu Qiao, and suddenly said, “Aunt, if I had told Chen Xiang earlier, to investigate the backgrounds of the other patients in that ward, would Zhou Tianzui still…”
“Xu Xu.” A hand rested on her shoulder. Wu Xiulian bent down and looked at You Ruxu, “Don’t think like that, if you could think of it, the police could too, this was an accident, it happened so quickly, no one was prepared. Dr. Zhou was already very cautious.”
Remaining calm and composed, not alerting the attacker, that was already remarkable.
It was just that the attacker was experienced and sensed her suspicion, hence his rash action.
Thankfully, Zhou Tianzui had been prepared, stepping back, grabbing the man’s hand, preventing the knife from penetrating too deeply, even managing to stall him and buy some time, “Don’t blame yourself.”
You Ruxu’s expression eased slightly, but the thought of Zhou Tianzui lying in a hospital bed still made her feel nauseous. They reached the ward. You Ruxu, seeing Wu Xiulian about to knock, instinctively grabbed her hand. Wu Xiulian looked at her.
You Ruxu released her hand, her face pale as a sheet.
The door opened with a soft click. Yu Qiao was standing there. You Ruxu and Wu Xiulian stood outside. The three of them looked at each other for a few seconds. Wu Xiulian finally spoke, “Sister, is Dr. Zhou awake?”
Yu Qiao’s gaze was fixed on You Ruxu.
Her expression much calmer than their previous encounter at the apartment. She hesitated, then said, “No.”
You Ruxu’s eyes dimmed. She called out, “Auntie, can I…”
Yu Qiao glared at her.
You Ruxu continued, “Can I go see her?”
A hint of pleading in her tone. Yu Qiao’s hand tightened on the doorknob, she looked at the person inside the ward, then at You Ruxu, then after a long moment, said, “Go ahead.”
You Ruxu breathed a sigh of relief, wanting to smile, but it looked worse than crying. Yu Qiao, in her memory, You Ruxu was always elegant, beautiful, composed and capable in front of the camera, so different from the You Ruxu now, her image crumbling.
She was disheveled, anxious, worried sick about Zhou Tianzui.
Yu Qiao saw it all.
She glanced at Wu Xiulian, then went to the pantry.
Several people were waiting in line for the water dispenser, chatting casually as they waited.
“There was an incident at the hospital last night!”
“I know, it was Dr. Zhou from the obstetrics department, right? I saw the video.”
Yu Qiao’s grip on the water bottle tightened.
“I heard she was stabbed multiple times!”
“Is she dead?”
“The knife missed any vital organs.”
“That’s good, that’s good. Not many doctors are willing to put themselves in harm’s way these days.”
“She was lucky, there was a reporter hospitalized there, and her police escort arrived just in time to apprehend the suspect.”
“Was it that baby kidnapping case from the maternity hospital? Apparently, it’s a gang, they caught several of them last night…”
Yu Qiao, listening to their conversation, was in a daze.
“It’s all thanks to that doctor, otherwise who knows how many babies would have been harmed. They still haven’t found that baby from the maternity hospital.” A few family members chimed in, “I hope the doctor is okay, it would be such a loss if something happened to her.”
“Exactly.” Another one said, “She’s so young, and I don’t think she’s even married.”
“I wonder if she has a partner, her family must be terrified.”
Yu Qiao walked out of the pantry with her water bottle and returned to the ward. She saw Wu Xiulian standing outside in the corridor. Wu Xiulian hadn’t entered, just standing there. Hearing footsteps behind her, she turned around, “Sister.”
Yu Qiao nodded curtly and stood beside her, looking through the small window above the door. You Ruxu was sitting by the bed. Zhou Tianzui was awake, her hand, adorned with a red string bracelet, reaching out to hold You Ruxu’s.
You Ruxu also wore a red string bracelet on her wrist.
Yu Qiao took a deep breath and didn’t enter.
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