Seventh Year Of Separation chapter 58

I’ll Drive

After a while, a voice came from the end of the corridor, “Are the family members of Li Guoyi here?”

Li Zhao immediately stood up, “Here.”

The doctor called Li Zhao into the office, and after some thought, Gu Jiahe followed.

The doctor took out Li Zhao’s father’s examination report and spread it out on the table, “Here’s the situation. I must make it clear to you. The patient’s condition is very grim. He has a severe lung infection, and his blood oxygen level has been consistently low. Ordinary ventilators are no longer effective.”

“We suggest ECMO, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, also known as artificial heart-lung machine. However, this procedure is not cheap. Based on our experience, it costs about fifty to sixty thousand just to start, and then consumes over ten thousand every day.”

Li Zhao nodded without hesitation, “Start.”

After a moment of contemplation, the doctor added, “We are still continuing with the treatment, but considering the patient’s age, putting him on ECMO is only to buy time for treatment. It doesn’t guarantee a full recovery. Do you understand?”

Li Zhao, with a dry throat and sore eyes after hearing this, took a couple of seconds before replying, “…Understood.”

The doctor pushed a form over, “Please sign to confirm.”

Li Zhao took the black pen on the table and signed his name.

However, Gu Jiahe noticed that the last stroke of his pen trembled and was not straight, leaving a crooked mark.

At noon, it was the single visitation time for the ICU, but only one person was allowed in at a time, and they had to wear isolation clothing to ensure a sterile environment inside.

The nurse asked Li Zhao if he wanted to go in for a visit today.

Li Zhao unexpectedly paused for half a minute, not moving until Gu Jiahe patted his arm.

He then nodded quickly, “Yes.”

Gu Jiahe gently held his hand, “Go in and talk to him. He may not be able to speak, but perhaps he can hear you.”

“Be sure to talk to him, you don’t have to talk about his condition, just talk about your life. Maybe he wants to hear.”

Li Zhao took a deep breath, nodded, and followed the nurse inside.

Soon, Li Zhao changed into isolation clothing, put on a transparent mask, and fully armed, entered the ICU ward.

Gu Jiahe stood outside the door, looking at him through the glass.

Li Zhao walked to a bed, and Gu Jiahe could only see his half silhouette.

Gu Jiahe saw that his mask had a layer of white mist, and he lowered his head, saying something, seemingly trying to control the trembling of his shoulders.

Gu Jiahe leaned against the wall of the corridor. He understood what the doctor’s words meant, that even with ECMO, it could only maintain basic vital signs. Most patients would eventually be taken off the machine, and life would come to a halt along with it.

Half an hour later, the visitation time was over.

When Li Zhao came out, he stood blankly in front of Gu Jiahe, expressionless, his eyes empty.

Gu Jiahe seemed to know what was going on in his mind, so he gently held his hand and walked slowly to the stairwell.

Click—the wooden door of the stairwell was closed.

“There’s no one here.” Gu Jiahe gently embraced his shoulders, “If you feel uncomfortable, just cry.”

Then he heard Li Zhao’s low and hoarse sobbing.

“I don’t understand how he got sick like this…”

“He called me just a few days ago…”

“I don’t understand…”

Gu Jiahe comforted him, patting his back like comforting a child.

At that moment, Li Zhao, who was always mature and composed in front of everyone, was tightly holding onto Gu Jiahe’s back, like grasping the only floating wood in the center of a lake.

People came and went at the door of the ICU, nurses, doctors, and caregivers, everyone was in a hurry.

There were patients coming out of here every day, some recovering and going to regular wards, some couldn’t make it through the night, and completely leaving behind the passage of time.

Li Zhao didn’t know which ending he was waiting for.

He went to the hospital restroom and washed his face vigorously. Then the two of them returned to sit on the bench again, silent for a long time.

There was a coin in Li Zhao’s pocket. When he stood up, it accidentally fell out of his pocket.

Clang clang—the coin spun on the hospital floor for a dozen or so rounds before finally lying down.

Li Zhao bent down to pick it up but when he looked up, he felt dizzy. He didn’t see which side the coin ended up on.

Every day, Gu Jiahe went to the doctor’s office to inquire about the latest situation.

Sometimes he would receive some good news, like Li Guoyi’s blood oxygen level going up a bit.

But in the afternoon, a nurse would come and say that his vital signs weren’t ideal.

Good news, bad news, went back and forth in this narrow corridor. No one knew what awaited them in the next moment.

Li Zhao stayed by the door day and night, sometimes not even wanting to eat.

He endured this for three days and nights. Li Zhao unexpectedly lost a lot of weight, and he seemed to be enveloped by his clothes.

In order to coax him to eat, Gu Jiahe ran two blocks away to buy his favorite red bean cake. However, Li Zhao only took a few bites.

Gu Jiahe didn’t force him to eat more. He knew it was difficult to have any appetite when under extreme tension.

Song Ling hadn’t been eating or sleeping well these past few days, and she looked much haggard. She and Gu Jiahe met a few times. She initially thought Gu Jiahe was just accompanying Li Zhao back, but she didn’t expect him to stay at the hospital for three days.

Song Ling’s footsteps went back and forth twice, and finally stopped in front of Gu Jiahe.

For the first time, she took the initiative to speak to Gu Jiahe, “Xiao Gu, you should go back and rest first.”

However, Gu Jiahe stubbornly shook his head, “I don’t need to.”

After some contemplation, she suggested, “You should take Li Zhao back. I’ll go back and get some rest. You two… he can’t keep staying here like this.”

Gu Jiahe looked up at her and nodded.

Song Ling had driven to the hospital in one of their family cars. She handed the car keys to Gu Jiahe, “You drive my car.”

Li Zhao followed behind Gu Jiahe like a lost soul as they walked to the parking lot.

When Gu Jiahe tried to get into the driver’s seat, Li Zhao stopped him.

“You haven’t driven this car before, let me do it,” Li Zhao said, taking the keys from him and sitting in the driver’s seat.

Gu Jiahe looked at him with some concern, but Li Zhao seemed no different from usual.

Soon, he started the car and drove out of the hospital gate onto the street. The morning sky was a bit foggy, with low visibility.

There was a traffic light ahead. As soon as it turned green, Li Zhao stepped on the gas pedal, accelerating forward.

But just as the car was about to cross the yellow line, a taxi suddenly darted out from the side of the road at high speed.

Gu Jiahe saw it first and shouted, “Watch out! Brake!”

Li Zhao didn’t react immediately. It took him two seconds to slam on the brakes and jerk the steering wheel.

The tires screeched against the ground, making an extremely loud noise.

The sound lasted for several seconds, and Gu Jiahe’s heart was pounding in his throat.

Finally, the car spun out and came to a stop by the roadside.

The other driver was also startled and got out of his car to check the condition.

Gu Jiahe, still shaken, turned to look at Li Zhao in the driver’s seat. Li Zhao seemed as if he had lost his soul, frozen in place without moving.

“Get out,” Gu Jiahe said to him, “Let me drive.”

“No need,” Li Zhao shook his head.

“Get out, I’ll drive,” Gu Jiahe repeated.

But Li Zhao still held onto the steering wheel without letting go.

Gu Jiahe reached out and touched his face gently, “Come on. Let me do it.”