Night fell.
District Second Hospital had grown quiet. Most of the visitors had already left.
In his hospital gown, Dong Xuebin checked the time. It was half past midnight. Narrowing his eyes, he quietly pushed open the door and looked toward the nurses' station. A nurse on night duty was typing intently at her computer with her head lowered. Dong Xuebin sidestepped toward the stairs, and the young nurse did not notice him. Unable to wait any longer, he hurried upstairs and found Geng Yuehua's ward.
The door was closed, and no one was around.
Only Geng Xinke was leaning against a bench at the far end of the corridor, asleep. He had not left; evidently, he was worried about his sister and had stayed to keep watch through the night.
Inside the ward.
Dong Xuebin quietly pushed the door open and slipped inside.
Geng Yuehua, also dressed in a hospital gown, was lying on the bed and staring at the ceiling. Her eyes were open; she had not fallen asleep yet. A few traces of gauze could vaguely be seen around her abdomen. It would be a long while before the stitches came out. Many parts of her body were hooked up to lines feeding real-time readings of her heartbeat and blood pressure to the machines. Her heart rate was currently 71, and her blood pressure was 60 over 90—slightly low, but still within the normal range.
After closing the door, Dong Xuebin asked softly, "Why aren't you asleep?"
Geng Yuehua looked at him with her indifferent face. "I slept all day. I'm not tired."
"Even if you're not tired, you need to rest. You just had surgery; you have to recuperate." Worried, Dong Xuebin walked to her bedside and sat down. He reached out and held Yuehua's hand,