Qiao Xiaoyu ran back to her room, her face flushed and her heart fluttering nervously, as if she truly feared Zhou Hong's eagerness to have children with her.
"Ring, ring, ring...!" Just then, Qiao Xiaoyu's phone rang. She picked it up and saw it was her best friend, Qin Mengxue.
"Hello, Mengxue."
"Wuwuwu!" As soon as the call connected, Qin Mengxue's sobbing could be heard from the other end.
"What's wrong, Mengxue? Why are you crying?" Qiao Xiaoyu asked with concern.
"Xiaoyu, I'm so upset," Qin Mengxue said a few seconds later, crying.
"What happened? What's going on?" Qiao Xiaoyu's face was filled with anxiety.
"My dad just suddenly fainted. Fortunately, we rushed him to the hospital in time, but the doctor said my dad has acute cerebral infarction. His condition is extremely critical, and they've issued a critical illness notice. He's undergoing rescue now, wuwu."
"Ah," Qiao Xiaoyu gasped upon hearing her best friend's words.
"The doctor said to prepare for the worst. What should I do, wuwuwu," Qin Mengxue sobbed inconsolably.
"Which hospital? I'll be right there," Qiao Xiaoyu immediately asked. At this moment, she had to be by her best friend's side to give her strength.
"The First People's Hospital."
"Okay, I'll be there with you right away."
Qiao Xiaoyu didn't have time to say more. She hung up the phone and hurried downstairs.
"Xiaoyu, where are you rushing to? Dinner is almost ready," Qiao Wanli called out loudly when he saw his granddaughter seeming like she was about to go out.
Zhou Hong also noticed Qiao Xiaoyu's hurried demeanor and felt puzzled.
"I'm not eating. Mengxue's dad has acute cerebral infarction and is undergoing emergency treatment at the First People's Hospital. The doctor has already issued a critical illness notice. Mengxue is alone and helpless right now. I need to go be with her and face this together."
"No way. How could Qin Changhui be so unlucky? He was kidnapped not too long ago, and now he has a cerebral infarction," Qiao Wanli was also taken aback.
"I'll go with you," Zhou Hong quickly stood up and said. Although he was no longer involved with Qin Mengxue, Qin Changhui was his former father-in-law. With his life in danger, Zhou Hong couldn't just stand by.
"You...!" Qiao Xiaoyu was a little confused about why Zhou Hong was coming along.
"Why are you thinking so much? Let's hurry. If Qin Changhui is really in life-threatening danger, maybe I can help."
"Oh, oh." Qiao Xiaoyu then remembered that Zhou Hong also knew medicine. However, she thought his medical skills wouldn't be of any use in such a critical condition.
Zhou Hong immediately drove his Porsche, taking Qiao Xiaoyu to the hospital.
About half an hour later, they arrived at the First People's Hospital.
As expected, they saw Qin Mengxue sitting alone and helpless on the floor outside the operating room.
"Mengxue, don't worry. Your dad will be okay," Qiao Xiaoyu rushed over and said tearfully.
"Mm-hmm." Qin Mengxue looked up and nodded with teary eyes. She then saw Zhou Hong and was a little puzzled as to why he had come.
"Mengxue, where's your mom?" Qiao Xiaoyu asked, noticing that Qin Mengxue's mother wasn't at the operating room door.
"My mom went to play mahjong, and her phone is off. I haven't been able to reach her," Qin Mengxue said, sounding on the verge of collapse.
"Ah." Qiao Xiaoyu was speechless.
Just then, the operating room door opened, and several doctors walked out.
"Doctor, how is it? Is my dad alright?" Qin Mengxue immediately rushed forward and asked.
"We are truly sorry. He was brought in too late. We did our best. Please accept our condolences," one of the doctors said apologetically.
"No...!" Qin Mengxue burst into tears on the spot.
Zhou Hong's brow furrowed. Would Qin Changhui really die like this? Zhou Hong had a good impression of Qin Changhui and didn't want him to die.
"I'll go in and take a look," Zhou Hong said, heading towards the resuscitation room.
The doctors didn't stop him, assuming he was family and it was natural for him to want to see the patient one last time.
Zhou Hong rushed into the resuscitation room and saw a white sheet covering something on the operating table.
Zhou Hong couldn't understand the various instruments around and immediately went up to lift the sheet. As expected, he saw Qin Changhui lying there, his face pale.
Zhou Hong checked Qin Changhui's breathing. He had indeed stopped breathing, but his body hadn't gone cold yet, indicating that he had only passed away seconds, or even less, ago.
"Dad." Qin Mengxue also rushed in crying, collapsing onto Qin Changhui's body and weeping. Qiao Xiaoyu's face was also filled with tears.
In contrast, Zhou Hong was very calm at this moment. As long as the body hadn't gone cold and he had passed away within five minutes, it wasn't true death, at least not for Zhou Hong.
"Mengxue, stop crying. Your dad just passed away not long ago. There's still time," Zhou Hong said to Qin Mengxue.
"What did you say?" Qin Mengxue suddenly looked up at Zhou Hong, wondering if she had misheard.
The doctors nearby almost jumped out of their skin upon hearing Zhou Hong's words. What kind of lunatic was this, saying such unscientific things? Dead is dead; there's no such thing as "not dead for long."
"I'm confident I can make your dad wake up again," Zhou Hong said with conviction.
"Hey, friend, if you're here to say goodbye to the deceased, speak properly. If you're here to cause trouble, get out," one of the doctors yelled at Zhou Hong.
"You doctors, if you don't have the ability to save patients, then stand aside and don't interfere with me," Zhou Hong snorted.
"Director, where did this lunatic come from?" the other doctors involved in the resuscitation looked at their director speechlessly.
"Forget it. Let him do whatever he wants," the attending director grunted.
Zhou Hong stopped wasting words and began his actions.
Zhou Hong pressed his thumb onto Qin Changhui's chest, rhythmically moving up and down at an unfathomable frequency, much like a defibrillator. However, Zhou Hong's technique seemed incredibly mysterious. Unfortunately, no one knew what profound art Zhou Hong was employing at this moment.
This went on for about five minutes.
"Beep, beep, beep!" Suddenly, the electrocardiograph beside the operating table started beeping. The previously flat line on the monitor returned to a wavy curve.
"Ah." The doctors who were about to leave were startled and rushed back, seemingly unable to believe it. They checked several times to confirm that the electrocardiograph wasn't broken.
"How can this be? This is impossible," the doctors were dumbfounded, looking at each other.
"Dad!" Qin Mengxue also saw that her father had regained a heartbeat and his chest was rising and falling, though his breathing seemed labored.
"Dad!" Qin Mengxue cried out excitedly, incredulous that Zhou Hong had actually saved her father. At this moment, Qin Mengxue looked at Zhou Hong with an indescribable feeling.
Beside them, Qiao Xiaoyu was stunned to see that Zhou Hong actually possessed such great ability. Looking at Zhou Hong, she suddenly felt he was incredibly handsome. Indeed, a capable man was the most handsome in a woman's eyes.
Unfortunately, Zhou Hong was too preoccupied with the rescue to notice Qiao Xiaoyu's gaze.