The corridor was quiet. Occasionally, a nurse passed by pushing a cart of equipment, its wheels making a faint sound against the floor tiles. The red light above the emergency room door stayed on, showing no sign of going out.
Hiro sat on the bench, his face buried in his hands, his shoulders shaking.
Cass sat beside him, one hand resting on his back and the other clutching the edge of her apron. Her eyes stayed fixed on the emergency room door, her lips pressed into a thin line.
Lu Wen leaned against the back of his chair and briefly closed his eyes. He really wasn't very good at handling situations like this, so he simply said nothing.
Still, Aunt Cass was much prettier than she looked on-screen!
She had fair skin, short, fluffy brown curls, and those signature large emerald-green eyes. Her manner was gentle yet capable, with a natural, approachable warmth.
Compared with the freaks he'd met over in The Boys' world, she was an absolute dream woman! A mature version, too!
And then there was Hiro, the main character, sniffling away!
This was a boy genius who had graduated from high school at thirteen, a brilliant mechanic who had even declared that he didn't want to go to college! His reason was that "going to college to learn things I already know is pointless."
Although the limitations of the original work meant he didn't know how this kid's genius stacked up against Tony's, he was definitely someone with potential!
Maybe once I get my hands on some interesting things, I can bring them over for him to take a look! This kid loves a thrill, too. He'll definitely be interested.
Just as Lu Wen was considering whether to turn him into his own dedicated outside technical support someday, the emergency room light went out.
A doctor in a white coat came out, and Hiro's brother was wheeled out as well.
Hiro practically sprang to his feet when the emergency room door opened.
"Doctor! My brother..."
The doctor raised a hand, signaling for him to stay calm.
He took off his cap and smoothed down his flattened hair, speaking evenly. "Tadashi Hamada is out of immediate danger for now."
Hiro looked as though a taut string inside him had suddenly snapped. His legs went weak, and he nearly sank back down.
Aunt Cass reached out to steady his shoulder, but her own expression hadn't relaxed either.
The doctor continued, "But his condition is serious! He has extensive burns across his body, concentrated mainly on his right side, with two areas suffering deep burns. His left leg is broken, and several of his ribs are cracked. The blast also damaged his internal organs, including a minor rupture of the spleen. We've performed emergency treatment and stabilized him for now.
"Most importantly, the patient suffered severe trauma to his brain. Until that damage heals, he most likely won't wake up. You need to prepare yourselves for that."
"Can he make a full recovery?" Cass asked.
"It's hard to say. We've given him a highly concentrated regenerative repair solution, which should theoretically accelerate cell regeneration, but how much he actually recovers will depend on his condition over the next week."
"A week?" Hiro's voice was a little hoarse.
"If he stabilizes within a week without infection or organ failure, the outlook for further treatment will be much better. Once his internal injuries improve, we'll just need to wait for the damage to his brain to gradually heal and for him to wake up."
"Don't worry. With today's medical technology, a full recovery isn't a problem. It will just take some time, and... substantial medical expenses to support it. You can give that some thought first."
The doctor glanced at the chart in his hand. "He's still breathing with mechanical assistance. We'll send him to intensive care for observation first. You can go in to see him, but don't stay too long. He needs rest."
Hiro nodded. Something seemed lodged in his throat, and he made no sound.
Aunt Cass gently patted his shoulder, then turned to the doctor. "Thank you, Doctor."
The doctor nodded and turned back into the emergency room.
Soon, several nurses wheeled a bed out of the emergency room. Tadashi lay on it, an oxygen mask covering most of his face. The right side of his body was swathed in white bandages, and the exposed part of his arm was coated in a transparent ointment.
Numbers and waveforms flickered across the monitor beside him, its beeping especially clear in the quiet corridor.
Hiro hurried a couple of steps after them and walked alongside the bed, looking as though he wanted to reach out and touch his brother but didn't dare. Aunt Cass walked beside him, one hand supporting his back.
Outside the intensive care unit, Hiro stood before the closed doors, staring at the gap between them for a long time. Then he slowly turned around and slid down the wall to sit on the floor.
Cass crouched beside him without saying anything, simply resting her hand on his shoulder.
Lu Wen walked over and crouched in front of Hiro, keeping their eyes level.
"Hiro, is it okay if I call you that?"
Hiro Hamada raised his head to look at Lu Wen, his gaze weary and lost, but still nodded.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Lu Wen, and I'm a Supe! According to the order your brother placed while he was in the fire, he hired me to look after you for a while.
"So until I'm sure you're all right, I'll be here. If you need help, just let me know. I think I can handle most of your problems."
At that, Hiro stared blankly at Lu Wen for a few seconds, with no obvious change in his expression. Perhaps the day's drastic ups and downs had left him too mentally exhausted, so he didn't look into it further and merely nodded to show he understood.
Aunt Cass looked at Lu Wen, then at Hiro, before standing up and saying softly, "Hiro, stay here for now. I'm going home to change and close up the café."
"Okay," Hiro answered dully.
Cass turned to Lu Wen again. "Would you like to come along? Get somewhere to stay first."
Lu Wen considered it and nodded. "Sure."
He glanced at Hiro, still sitting on the floor, then at the tightly closed intensive care doors...
"Will he be all right here on his own like this?"
"He'll be fine," Cass said. "With Tadashi in his current condition, he won't leave this building."
Lu Wen said no more and followed Cass outside.
As they walked out of the inpatient building, the night breeze blew toward them, cool and damp.
Cass paused on the steps and took a deep breath before starting down.
Lu Wen followed beside her as they walked one slightly ahead of the other along the hospital path. A small gray sedan was parked by the curb. Cass took out her key and pressed the unlock button.
"Get in."
Lu Wen opened the passenger door and sat down. The car held a faint scent of coffee beans.
Cass started the car and sat gripping the steering wheel in silence for a few seconds before speaking. "You said you came because Tadashi called for help... He was in the fire then. How did he contact you?"
Lu Wen thought for a moment but didn't answer directly. "I have my ways. Anyway, I received his signal when he sent it, and I got there just in time."
Cass tapped her fingers lightly against the steering wheel twice, seemingly weighing the truth of his answer.
But she didn't press him. She didn't want to ask, perhaps feeling that enough had happened today already, and another question wouldn't solve the problem at hand.
She turned the steering wheel to round a corner, her tone a little calmer as she changed the subject. "Then you said Tadashi paid you... How much money did he give you?"
"It wasn't money. It was something very interesting that Tadashi made with that clever brain of his." Lu Wen's answer remained vague.
"Then when you said you'd stay here to look after Hiro... was that Tadashi's request, or your own decision?"
"It was a requirement of the order. I have to carry it out."
"His exact words at the time were, 'Save me, or take care of my little brother.'"
This time, Lu Wen answered quite straightforwardly.
Cass gave Lu Wen an odd look, then murmured an acknowledgment without asking any more questions.
After about twenty minutes, the car stopped outside a two-story building. Downstairs was an unlit café with a Lucky Cat sign hanging outside.
Cass turned off the engine and got out, then took out her key to unlock the side door next to the café. Lu Wen followed her upstairs to the guest room on the second floor.
The guest room was small and simply furnished, but very clean.
"I'll get you some clean pajamas first. Tadashi left an unworn set here. They might be a little small, but you'll have to make do for now." Cass went into the next room and soon returned with a folded set of cotton pajamas.
Lu Wen accepted them with a word of thanks. Cass nodded, then paused in the doorway and added, "There's food in the fridge downstairs. If you get hungry, help yourself anytime. Don't stand on ceremony."
"Got it. Get some rest. You still have to go to the hospital tomorrow."
Cass looked at him as though she wanted to say something else, but in the end, she only said, "Good night," before turning and going back to her room.
Lu Wen put the pajamas by the head of the bed, sat on its edge, and stared at the floor for a few seconds.
Forget it. I'll deal with it tomorrow. Time to get some rest.
Before you continue