The hospital's emergency room was brightly lit.
The suturing procedure was not complicated, but the wound was deep enough to require local anesthesia.
"The wound is very deep, and the muscle layer is damaged. She needs to go into surgery immediately for debridement and suturing." The doctor's words were brief and clear.
The light outside the operating room came on.
Yuan Su was stopped at the door.
The corridor was empty. He was the only one waiting.
"Um... would you like to clean yourself up first?"
A young nurse could not bear to watch any longer. She handed him a packet of wet wipes. "She's all right. The doctor is stitching her up now. No major blood vessels were damaged."
Yuan Su took the wipes stiffly and murmured his thanks.
He went to the restroom at the end of the corridor.
The person in the mirror looked a wreck.
There were flecks of Yuan Hongzheng's blood on his cheeks and broad patches of dark red on his clothes-the blood from Pu Yu's shoulder.
He turned on the faucet, letting the icy water wash over his hands.
He scrubbed hard, over and over, until his skin turned red and not a trace of blood remained between his fingers.
The water went from pale red to clear, swirling down the drain.
Yuan Su panted, staring at his dripping reflection.
He closed his eyes for a moment, letting the cold water wash over his feverish pulse, trying to calm his wildly pounding heart.
So close.
He had come so close to never being able to hold her with these hands again.
The surgery took an hour.
At last, the emergency room doors opened.
When Pu Yu was wheeled out, her left shoulder had already been bandaged.
Layer upon layer of thick gauze