Jiang Nan Fang woke up to find it was already dark.
Outside the window, the twilight was deep, and only a glaring incandescent lamp remained in the ward.
She lay alone on the hospital bed, the surroundings empty.
Her phone was missing, Jing Yu was not by her side, and there was no sign of Zhan Bei Jue.
She didn't know how she had fainted, how much time had passed, or what had happened in the interim.
The thought of Tian Tian sent a jolt through her, and she quickly propped herself up with her arms.
Without even putting on her shoes, she pulled open the door, ran into the corridor, and grabbed a passing nurse to ask.
"What time is it?"
The nurse, suddenly grabbed, looked at her as if she were an idiot.
"It's 20:13. What's wrong?"
It was already past eight in the evening?
She had only brought Tian Tian in at 11 AM, and she had been lying in the room all afternoon?
"Why am I lying alone in the ward? Where is Zhan Bei Jue? Where is my daughter? Where is Tian Tian?"
"Hasn't she come out of the emergency room yet? Which ward is she in? I'll go see her!"
The nurse pushed her hand away.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I just finished my night shift and am in a hurry to change dressings for patients. Please ask someone else."
With that, she hurried away.
Jiang Nan Fang looked back at the ward number.
It was on this floor, no mistake. Tian Tian should be in a nearby ward.
Eager to see her daughter, and unaware that the nurse didn't know, she rushed back to the nurses' station.
"Nurse, excuse me, could you please tell me how Jiang Jing Tian, who was brought in for emergency treatment at 11 AM, is doing?"
"Which ward is she in? Can I go see her?"
"Jiang Jing Tian?"
The nurse once again looked at her as if she were an idiot.
"Who are you to her?"
"I'm her mommy. I've been hospitalized here before; your director knows me."
Jiang Nan Fang thought the nurse simply wanted to confirm her identity.
To her surprise, upon hearing this, the nurse's expression became even more intriguing.
"You're really her mommy? Then you don't know that Jiang Jing Tian didn't make it through the rescue at noon and has already passed away?"
What??
Jiang Nan Fang stared at her mouth, stunned for two seconds, and shook her head frantically.
"No, no, no, nurse, I'm talking about Jiang Jing Tian. Jiang as in the 'jiang' in ginger, Jing as in the 'jing' in scenery, and Tian as in the 'tian' in sweet."
"She's only five years old, a very cute child. Are you sure you have the right person?"
The nurse looked down at the computer screen again and again, confirmed it was correct, and turned the screen towards her.
"That's right, five years old, Jiang Jing Tian, father named Zhan Bei Jue, correct?"
"Her body has already been taken away by her father after he signed. Look here."
She pointed.
In the last column of the form, under family signature confirmation, Zhan Bei Jue's name was clearly written.
Tian Tian didn't make it through the rescue and was gone?
Her vision went black, and Jiang Nan Fang almost collapsed onto the information desk.
"How is that possible? How is that possible? Zhan Bei Jue must be joking with me! I don't believe it!"
"Where's my phone? I want to call Zhan Bei Jue and have him send the child back to me! Send both children back to me!"
Her feet felt like they were treading on cotton, weak and unsteady, her body devoid of any strength.
Her heart pounded as if it were about to leap out of her throat.
Jiang Nan Fang, relying solely on willpower, used her hands to support herself against the wall and returned to her room.
However, even after tossing the covers to the floor and rummaging through everything, she couldn't find her phone.
Tian Tian was gone, Jing Yu and Zhan Bei Jue had disappeared together, and they hadn't even left her phone. They wanted her dead!
No.
She had to go find him and demand an explanation, ask him what he wanted, what he intended to do!
If the damned phone was lost, then so be it.
Barefoot, she stumbled again towards the elevator.
There were many people going up and down at the elevator entrance. They saw a woman with disheveled hair, not even wearing shoes, rushing into the crowd with a look of anxiety.
Thinking she had gone mad, they all moved aside.
Finally reaching the first floor, the lobby was bustling with people.
Jiang Nan Fang's head ached, her ears buzzed, and her vision was blurred. She couldn't tell north from south.
Seeing her staggering alone through the crowd, a security guard hurried over to help her.
"Miss, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Which department do you want to see? Do you need my help?"
Nan Fang pushed him away, disoriented, and continued to stagger outwards.
"No, I don't. Stay away from me."
"I'm going to find Zhan Bei Jue, I'm going to kill him, I want to ask him where he took my daughter, stay away from me."
However, she couldn't push the security guard away and instead, weak and listless, fell to the ground.
Unable to understand her muddled words, the security guard squatted down, pulling her with one hand and pressing the intercom with the other.
"Captain, captain, there's a woman in the lobby on the first floor who is disoriented. Can you send two people to help?"
"I'm not disoriented, don't take me away..."
Jiang Nan Fang desperately wanted to break free and leave, but it was as if her muscles had been severed; she simply couldn't muster the strength.
As they were struggling, a news report suddenly interrupted the television hanging on the wall.
The television volume was so loud that Jiang Nan Fang couldn't help but hear it.
"We interrupt this program with a breaking news report. Half an hour ago, a major traffic accident occurred at the intersection of Binjiang Road and Jianshe Road in our city."
"A car broke through the intersection guardrail while traveling at high speed, scraped along the way, overturned the Nanjian Jianshe Road Bridge, and plunged into the water. The scene was extremely tragic."
"Reporters have just arrived at the scene. It is understood that the vehicle involved in the accident was the car of Mr. Zhan Bei Jue, a famous young entrepreneur in our city."
"There were three people in the car at the time of the accident. According to sources, one was Mr. Zhan Bei Jue himself. The other two were his children, both only five years old..."
The security captain quickly sent two more people. The three of them worked together to lift Jiang Nan Fang onto a nursing bed, intending to send her to the psychiatric department for examination.
Jiang Nan Fang, who hadn't finished listening to the news, struggled desperately.
"Let go of me! Don't touch me! I want to watch TV! Zhan Bei Jue had a car accident! He actually took my children in a car accident? Let go of me!"
The three of them ignored her. "Hurry! Dr. Tang has already been called, and he'll be down soon. Don't let her get away!"
Fortunately, at this moment, Ke Teng, wearing sunglasses and a mask, arrived with his assistant.
Seeing several security guards trying to lift Jiang Nan Fang onto a psychiatric ward bed, he quickly rescued her.
Jiang Nan Fang was almost at death's door. Seeing Ke Teng, tears of despair flowed uncontrollably.
"Take me to find Zhan Bei Jue. Ke Teng, my Tian Tian can't be gone, and neither can Jing Yu. I'm begging you, take me to him..."
Ke Teng gently placed her head in his arms.
"Nan Fang, wake up. The child is gone, she's gone. Destorying yourself like this is useless."
"Stop crying, get up with me. I'll take you home, okay?"