Chapter 49: The surgery went smoothly

Xia Xi pressed her lips together, doing her best to stay calm: 'Which hospital?'

'Renxin, Renxin Hospital.'

Su Jinru cried as she spoke the hospital's name, repeating it several times urging her to come quickly; through the receiver came a faint voice, like that of medical staff: 'Family members, where are you? Sign the informed consent form; the patient needs surgery immediately…'

Xia Xi didn't hear the rest; probably Su Jinru, in her panic, accidentally touched the phone and the call dropped.

But just those few short words made Xia Xi's heart clench tightly.

Huang Shiyu immediately said: 'Sister Xi, let me go; getting to the hospital is urgent.'

At this moment Xia Xi really couldn't attend to her; she gripped the steering wheel tighter and pulled over to the side of the road.

Huang Shiyu swiftly opened the car door and got out, worrying as she glanced at Xia Xi—she was already somewhat absent‑minded, and hearing that a family member had gone to the hospital only made her more flustered; as she closed the door she cautioned: 'Drive carefully.'

Xia Xi gave a vague reply, found a spot ahead to turn around, and rushed toward the hospital.

Just as luck would have it, traffic started to jam; ahead at the intersection a collision seemed to have occurred, the wail of an ambulance piercing the sky, making people's hearts anxious.

Cars lined up in a long dragon, stalled for a long time; Xia Xi felt anxious, picked up her phone to call Su Jinru to get a firsthand update, but the ring went on and on with no answer.

Xia Xi tapped the steering wheel, tilted her head to look ahead at the road situation, the phone's dial tone still ongoing.

After more than half an hour, Xia Xi arrived at Renxin Hospital; upon getting out she called Su Jinru again. This time the call was finally answered, and Xia Xi urged: 'I'm here, Mom—where are you?'

'Emergency surgery room on the third floor, hurry!'

Xia Xi pushed through the crowd into the emergency lobby, scanned the surroundings, saw a crowd waiting by the elevators, and decided instead to take the stairs, asking Su Jinru as she climbed: 'What happened—did Grandma or the child have an accident?'

'No.' Su Jinru sobbed, 'Your sister—her heart suddenly gave out; when she was brought in she still had injuries, we don't know where, her skirt was soaked in blood, and she was already unconscious.'

Xia Xi climbed to the third floor, turned the corridor door, and at once saw Su Jinru waiting outside the operating room.

A petite woman leaned against the wall for support, her back slightly hunched; one hand held the phone to her ear, the other covered her mouth, tears streaming down incessantly, pattering onto the floor.

On the nearby bench sat Xia Xuan's husband Chen Songbai, together with her mother‑in‑law Miao Cuixia.

Xia Xi hung up, frowning; wasn't Miao Cuixia supposed to have returned to her hometown after the young couple's marriage? Why is she here?

'Mom.' Xia Xi called out, ran to Su Jinru's side, and put an arm around her shoulders.

Seeing her, Su Jinru felt she had found her mainstay: 'Your sister's surgery years ago was very successful; follow‑up checks said she had recovered extremely well, living normally with no issues—only a few years have passed, how could it relapse?'

Xia Xi looked at Chen Songbai, head bowed, hands clasped over his head: 'This is something I need to ask my brother‑in‑law about. A perfectly fine person—how could he fall ill out of the blue?'

Chen Songbai hadn't spoken yet when his mother objected, standing up with a stiff neck: 'What do you mean?! We were terrified enough already—we were just cooking, chatting a few words with her, and suddenly she collapsed. Even though we knew she had a heart condition, we never imagined it would be this flimsy. If we'd known, who would dare take her in?'

'Mom, say less—what time is this?!' Chen Songbai lifted his head and shouted at his own mother.

Miao Cuixia's cheek twitched, her voice lowering a bit: 'It's because this second daughter of the Xia family started questioning me as soon as she arrived, which made me angry; listen to what she's saying—she's clearly accusing us of bullying Xia Xuan.'

Xia Xi gave the elder a cold stare: 'I want to ask—what did you talk to my sister about?'

Xia Xuan's surgery six years ago, and she had been taking good care of herself afterward; as long as she avoided heavy labor and stimulation, she could live like a normal person without special attention.

They've barely been married, and already she's in the hospital—who else would she blame if not Chen Songbai?

Chen Songbai's face flushed then paled, his eyes full of guilt: 'I failed to protect her.'

Even without him speaking, Xia Xi could guess roughly: Miao Cuixia had come from her hometown, meddled in the young couple's life, and likely brought up the issue of childbearing again—she is strong‑willed and sharp‑tongued, speaking without restraint, which had upset Xia Xuan. 'Fine, I won't pursue the cause of the illness for now; my mother said Xia Xuan arrived covered in blood—I ask you, what happened?' Xia Xi's gaze was sharp, pressing Chen Songbai so he couldn't lift his head.

Miao Cuixia's eyes darted about, she fumbled with her hands and stammered: 'Xia Xuan……when she fell, she was chopping vegetables, holding a kitchen knife, and it struck the top of her foot.'

Xia Xi narrowed her eyes, highly doubting the truth of her words; the actual facts would have to wait until Xia Xuan woke up. She didn't want to engage in pointless argument here, silently she helped Su Jinru to another bench and sat down.

Miao Cuixia, out of Xia Xi's sight, curled her lip and muttered: 'Rich and mighty, so arrogant…'

Hearing that, Chen Songbai glared at her, warning her not to talk nonsense.

*The surgery lasted four hours, night had deepened, the hallway was deathly quiet. When the lights went out, Xia Xi sprang to her feet, waiting for the doctor to come out, then immediately stepped forward to ask about the condition.

'The surgery went very smoothly; she still needs to be observed in the ICU for a while. She had undergone surgery before, and logically this shouldn't have happened. Moreover, the wound on the top of her foot—her blood vessels were severed, stitched with over twenty sutures; she must be especially careful, otherwise poor healing could affect her walking.'

During those four hours of waiting, Su Jinru had cried herself dry; hearing the doctor's words, she lowered her head and burst into tears again. She couldn't imagine how painful such injuries must be—her poor daughter, why must she suffer this fate?

Although Xia Xi tried hard to restrain her emotions, she couldn't help but feel her eyes well up.

Miao Cuixia looked frightened and dazed, thinking a simple bandage would fix the wound—how could it be so serious?

At that moment, a nurse came trotting over and said: 'Are you Xia Xuan's family? Her admission procedures haven't been completed, and the related fees haven't been paid—who will go with me to handle this?'

When Chen Songbai went out he had brought Xia Xuan's ID and health insurance card; hearing this, he took a step forward, but Miao Cuixia, having regained her composure, grabbed his arm, he turned his head blankly, and Miao Cuixia gave him a meaningful glance.

Seeing Chen Songbai hem and haw, Xia Xi darkened her face, snatched the documents from his hand, and followed the nurse away.

After a while, Xia Xi returned, took out a tissue to wipe the tears from Su Jinru's tear‑streaked face, and advised: 'Xia Xuan is in the ICU, with professional monitoring doctors in charge; we can't go in for now, let's go home to rest, pack some things, and come back tomorrow to see her.' Worried her mother wouldn't take it in, Xia Xi quickly added: 'If you wear yourself out, how will you be able to look after her?'

Su Jinru nodded through her tears, and followed Xia Xi out of the hospital, glancing back every few steps.

Seeing this, Miao Cuixia opened her mouth to yawn, tugged at Chen Songbai's sleeve, and said: 'Let's go; the child's own mother and sister have already gone back—why are we still hanging around here? This old bone of mine is about to wear out.'

Chen Songbai didn't move: 'You go back; I'll stay here and keep watch.'

'Blockhead, what good does it do you to stand guard here?!' Miao Cuixia jabbed a finger at his forehead, her voice like a cracked gong: 'Didn't you hear them say you can't get into the ICU? Waiting here is pointless.'

Chen Songbai paid her no heed, insisting on staying at the hospital.

'How did I end up giving birth to someone as stubborn as you…'

A nurse came over to remind her: 'Auntie, please don't make a loud noise in the hallway.'

Miao Cuixia closed her chattering mouth.

As she was leaving, Xia Xi kept a thought in mind, told the ICU nurse: 'If Xia Xuan's condition changes, please call me right away; anyway, that mother‑son pair can't reach her at other times, so we can relax.'

The next day, Xia Xi asked her grandmother to help look after the child; she didn't dare tell the elderly woman the true situation of Xia Xuan, fearing excessive worry would harm her health, and then drove Su Jinru to the hospital.

On the way she received a call from the nurse saying Xia Xuan had woken up, and according to hospital policy, ICU patients' family members would be uniformly arranged for visitation.

'All right, thank you—I'll be there right away.'

Xia Xi pressed the accelerator a little more, the speed gradually increasing; she gazed ahead, her eyes calm and restrained.

She wanted to hear from Xia Xuan herself why she had fallen ill and how she had been injured.

Ah, just to mention, yesterday's second update was locked; I've revised it and released it now. If you encounter this kind of untimely update again, please be patient—most likely it got killed, O(∩_∩)O haha~ (End of chapter)