21. Emergency Room Crisis

They finally struggled their way to the hospital; beads of sweat the size of soybeans had already soaked through Gao Weizhao's shirt. Wen Mingjuan, cradled in his arms, had all but lost consciousness. Heaven only knew how this fever had come on so suddenly and so fiercely.

Could she have caught a chill, on top of not adjusting well to a new place?

Gao Weizhao carried Wen Mingjuan onto the hospital bed at top speed, and medical staff rushed over immediately, quickly taking the patient's temperature. The result was shocking — a full forty-one degrees.

Blood snaked its way down Gao Weizhao's left arm; the wound that had only just stopped bleeding had split open again from the strain of holding her so tightly, and small pools of blood were rapidly gathering on the floor, spreading out drop by drop.

"Sir, you need to stop that bleeding and get an antibiotic shot right away, or it'll get infected." A young nurse reminded Gao Weizhao. "Just leave the young lady to us — go get yourself checked into the surgical emergency room."

"Never mind me!" Gao Weizhao clearly had no patience for the nurse's good intentions. "Treat her first!" His voice rose in volume along with his anxiety.

"No, that won't do! How can you keep going like this? We'll do our best to treat the young lady, don't worry." The nurse kept trying to persuade him.

"I said I don't need it, so I don't need it!"

Gao Weizhao's presence was genuinely intimidating; the young nurse was startled into silence.

In the emergency room at five in the morning, a chill, forbidding air hung over everything.

It wasn't until around six that the fever-reducing medication began to take effect; Wen Mingjuan's temperature started to drop, and her consciousness gradually returned. She saw Gao Weizhao standing guard at her bedside without moving an inch, fresh blood soaking his sleeve again, and her heart ached. She understood it was the result of him carrying her so forcefully to the hospital, so she weakly begged him to let the doctor treat his wound. Only after much coaxing did he finally agree to be treated.

This time Wen Mingjuan's high fever had come on both fierce and sudden; the doctor's diagnosis was pneumonia. It seemed she had caught a chill while dozing off in Gao Weizhao's living room, and then, taking off her little jacket to bind up his bleeding, had frozen her already unwell body in the light rain under the northeast monsoon wind. But she had forced herself through it to take care of Gao Weizhao, and the result was this serious case of pneumonia.

The fever went down, but a few hours later it came roaring back, tormenting her over and over, leaving Wen Mingjuan utterly wrung out, able to survive only on an IV drip. By now she had begun coughing uncontrollably, each cough making Gao Weizhao's heart ache all the more, wishing bitterly he could take her suffering upon himself.

Past noon, a commotion broke out in the emergency room — the thing Gao Weizhao had been dreading had come true after all.

Tulong led his men in, swaggering and menacing, as if the whole world belonged to them, as if this hospital were something his own family had opened. The patients and their families all went pale with fright, and even the medical staff didn't dare step forward to say anything. Every one of them wore a scowl, and it was obvious at a glance they'd come looking for trouble.

"Brother Wei! Quite the nerve this little chick of yours has, pulling tricks on me. Looks to me like she's tired of living." The whole troop fell into position, immediately clearing a path for Tulong.

"If I don't teach her a proper lesson today, she'll think she can treat me like her own son." Every word of his was aimed straight at Wen Mingjuan's "crimes," but every sentence was clearly meant for Gao Weizhao's ears.

This was what they call cursing the bald donkey while pointing at the monk.

Gao Weizhao had already considered every possibility from the moment he decided to bring Wen Mingjuan to the emergency room, and he had prepared himself for the worst.

"Skip the nonsense, let's get straight to the point." Gao Weizhao gave Tulong a cold look. "I'll go with you. Don't give anyone else trouble — Miss Wen included."

He was trying to use himself as the bargaining chip for Wen Mingjuan's safety.

"No..." Hearing Gao Weizhao say this, Wen Mingjuan wanted to speak up and stop him but had no strength left, only managing a token wave of her hand.

"Give me a little time. Wait until Miss Wen's fever has truly broken, and I'll go with you." Gao Weizhao said quietly to Tulong.

"Since when did you get so sentimental and righteous? The sun must be rising in the west today."

"Cut the crap." Gao Weizhao gave Tulong another cold glance.

"Deal." After mulling it over for a good while, Tulong agreed to Gao Weizhao's terms. Getting Gao Weizhao to come along without spending a single soldier — what a bargain that was. He knew Gao Weizhao's character well; his word was gold, he always kept his promises. Since Gao Weizhao had said it, there was nothing to refuse.

"But let me be blunt about this beforehand — if you try any funny business again, forget about that girl, everyone in this room will die an ugly death. Don't say I didn't warn you." Tulong still couldn't resist getting one more warning in.

"You... you can't..." Wen Mingjuan moved her hand, which refused to obey her, trying to speak.

"Tulong! I said I'd go with you, and I'll keep that promise. Now take your men and clear out of the emergency room, and leave the patients some peace and quiet." Gao Weizhao took Wen Mingjuan's hand, without so much as a glance at Tulong.

"Listen to me. It's me they want, and if I go, this whole thing can end cleanly." He sat down and said seriously to Wen Mingjuan, "Don't feel guilty about this."

"No, you can't." Wen Mingjuan tried to say something, but suddenly a violent fit of coughing overtook her, and she couldn't get a single word out.

"Don't talk, just rest. I'll wait until your fever's gone before I leave." Gao Weizhao patted her back tenderly. It was for his sake that she'd ended up like this; whether or not she had feelings for him in her heart, he was moved all the same.

Behind them, Tulong's men had gradually dispersed, taking up positions at every possible exit as instructed, and the emergency room slowly settled back into quiet.

"Should we call the police?" The medical staff inside all exchanged glances, faces still pale with shock.

"No need." Gao Weizhao said flatly. "If you call the police, your troubles will only get bigger — you'll never have a peaceful day again."

He wasn't speaking to anyone in particular; he simply said it while holding Wen Mingjuan's hand, lightly, almost as if talking to himself. But everyone understood what he meant, and no one asked another question. After a bit of murmured whispering, they all went back to their own business.

"Gao... Weizhao..." Tears slid down the corners of Wen Mingjuan's eyes, falling in a steady stream. In her heart she knew perfectly well that once Gao Weizhao left, there would be no chance of him coming out alive.

How could she bear it?

Why did these underworld people always have to resort to killing and violence, taking a life as easily as reaching into a bag, without so much as blinking?

But right now she didn't even have the strength to object or resist — how could she possibly stop Gao Weizhao? All the worry and grief in her heart tangled together into tears, and every drop was agony.

"Don't cry, and don't talk. Sleep a little, maybe the fever will break soon. You need to rest." He stroked her cheek, forcing out that same habitual almost-smile of his.

"Don't worry, I'll wait until your fever breaks before I go." He comforted her.

Outside, his men waited in orderly silence; as a matter of principle, Tulong's group didn't dare make too much of a scene outside the emergency room either, afraid of drawing police attention — that would be even worse. And Gao Weizhao stayed composed at Wen Mingjuan's bedside, perhaps having already resigned himself to life and death; perhaps his heart was so consumed with the woman before him that he had no room to spare a thought for anything else — he looked nothing at all like a man about to face execution.

It wasn't until past three in the afternoon that Wen Mingjuan's fever showed signs of finally easing; her hand, held in Gao Weizhao's palm, had also grown considerably cooler. Gao Weizhao gazed at her, downcast, his heart full of things he couldn't bear to let go.

It was time to go with Tulong.

Tulong had come in and out to check on them dozens of times by now.

Though there was still a chance the fever would return, he couldn't keep dragging this out any longer.

"Mingjuan." Suddenly, Gao Weizhao called out to her softly.

"Take care of yourself. This time, I can only walk with you this far. I brought you out with me, but I can't bring you safely home again. I'm sorry — I couldn't keep my promise to you."

"I'm sorry! When you're feeling better, go back south by yourself, and please be careful."

"I'm leaving." he said.

"No..." Wen Mingjuan wanted to hold onto Gao Weizhao's hand, but she was powerless to do anything, and could only watch as his hand slipped further and further from her fingertips.

Even if she cried her eyes dry, it wouldn't bring Gao Weizhao back.

She understood.

It was all her fault. If she hadn't been so useless, why would she have come down with such a high fever? Caught pneumonia of all things? Gao Weizhao would never have disregarded his own safety to force himself here just to get her medical care.

It was her.

If she hadn't insisted on following Gao Weizhao to Taipei, if she hadn't disobeyed him and stayed behind at that park, none of this would have happened.

All of this was because of her.

Why was it only when things had come to this that she finally understood what it meant to regret something beyond recovery?

Why was it only when things had come to this that she finally understood Gao Weizhao held her in his heart?

Beneath that cold, aloof exterior of his that kept everyone at arm's length, he had shown her the warmest tenderness of all.

But now that she understood what love was, and understood that Gao Weizhao loved her, all she could do was watch helplessly as he walked away.

Gao Weizhao.

That name was etching itself, in mottled patterns of pain, deep into Wen Mingjuan's heart.