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墨書 Inktalez
With a soft "ding," the red light went out.
Medical staff pushed the hospital bed out of the emergency room, and Lin Yue suddenly stood up, her legs trembling. An oxygen mask covered Jiang Rou's delicate face, and a thin IV line was inserted into her frail wrist. The heart monitor beside the bed emitted a steady, faint "beep," the only proof that she still had vital signs.
"Miss Jiang is out of danger," the director said, removing his mask with a heavy tone. "However, she has taken an overdose of sleeping pills, which has caused some damage to her nervous system. The extent of the damage cannot be assessed yet; we will have to wait until she wakes up to determine the specifics."
Lin Yue shook uncontrollably, tears silently streaming down her cheeks. She reached out a trembling hand to gently touch Jiang Rou's cold wrist.
"Xiao Rou..." she murmured, her voice choked to near inaudibility.
Tears from Lin Yue fell onto Jiang Rou's hand as she whispered, "It's all my fault, it's all my fault..." Her voice was filled with self-reproach.
In her mind, she replayed the question Jiang Rou had asked her before leaving—"Are you really ready to face all the consequences?" At that time, she had answered without hesitation: "Yes." Those two short words had left Jiang Rou feeling hopeless.
Shangguan Yun stood nearby, her face pale. Lin Zhihong stood next to his wife; he wanted to embrace his guilt-ridden daughter but was stopped by his wife's gaze.
Thus, the three of them formed a strange triangle, each silent. After Jiang Rou was pushed into the ward, Lin Yue remained at her bedside, staring at her motionlessly. Each second felt like a century.
Jiang Father patted Lin Yue's shoulder, his eyes red and voice hoarse. "Lin Yue, Uncle Jiang doesn't blame you; don't be too hard on yourself."
Lin Yue trembled as if scalded and couldn't utter a word.
Jiang Mother stroked Jiang Rou's hair; her tears had dried up, leaving her looking like a soulless shell as she stared blankly at Jiang Rou.
"Lin Yue, you should go rest for a bit," Shangguan Yun said gently as she approached Lin Yue, her expression softer than before.
"I don't want to go anywhere, Mom," Lin Yue replied, devoid of any anger in her voice.
"Then at least freshen up; you can't look like this," Shangguan Yun said softly as she brushed through Lin Yue's messy hair.
"Mom, I don't want to leave her right now," Lin Yue lifted her head, filled with fear and guilt.
"Lin Yue..." Shangguan Yun frowned, wanting to say something but swallowing it back.
Lu Chen's eyes were bloodshot as he stood up and softly addressed the elders. "Uncle and Auntie, you should go rest for now; I'll stay here with Lin Yue."
He reassured them, "Don't worry; we'll take good care of Rou Rou."
In the evening, staff from Jiang Family Hospital brought dinner.
Lu Chen nearly forced Lin Yue into the living area of the ward and unceremoniously handed her a bowl of chicken soup.
"Lin Yue, this isn't going to work," Lu Chen said with a furrowed brow and an almost pleading tone. "You can't fall apart; Xiao Rou needs you now more than ever. If you collapse, who will take care of her?"
Lin Yue mechanically scooped a spoonful of chicken soup and brought it to her lips. At that moment, even the most exquisite and delicious food tasted bland to her, as if she were chewing on wax.
She silently ate a few bites, then set down her bowl and chopsticks, raising her gaze to Lu Chen, her eyes filled with confusion and pain.
"Brother Chen, what should I do?" she asked in a breathy voice, sounding like a helpless child.
"Lin Yue..." Lu Chen hesitated, wanting to tell her to cut ties with Su Yao. But looking at the pained Lin Yue before him, he couldn't bring himself to say it. He sighed, "Don't think too much right now. Let's wait until Xiao Rou wakes up."
"I'm such a jerk."
"Lin Yue, don't say that," Lu Chen comforted her. "No one could have predicted that Xiao Rou would take this step."
"No, I should have seen it coming," Lin Yue shook her head. "I was too selfish."
In the midst of their conversation, Lin Yue's phone vibrated with a message. She glanced at her phone and then back at Lu Chen. "Sorry, Brother Chen, I..."
Lu Chen understood it was a message from Su Yao and tactfully said, "I'll go back to keep Xiao Rou company."
Lin Yue opened the chat window with Su Yao. Her finger hovered in the air, unsure of how to respond. After a long hesitation, she finally dialed Su Yao's number.
Su Yao answered the phone with delight in her voice. "Lin Yue! I was just thinking you should be calling me right about now."
"Su Yao," Lin Yue softly interrupted her, her voice hoarse.
The cheerful tone on the other end abruptly stopped.
"What’s wrong? Why does your voice sound like that? Did something happen?"
"Jiang Rou... she..." Lin Yue closed her eyes and forced out a few words, "she tried to take her own life last night."
There was silence on the other end for so long that Lin Yue thought the signal had dropped.
"Su Yao?" she called softly.
"I'm here," Su Yao finally spoke slowly, her voice low. "What’s her condition now?"
"She’s temporarily out of danger but hasn’t woken up yet," Lin Yue took a deep breath.
"Then—" Su Yao inhaled deeply, "how about you? Are you okay?"
"I... I might not be able to return home for a while," she whispered almost inaudibly.
"I understand," Su Yao said softly. "Jiang Rou needs you right now."
Lin Yue tightly closed her eyes as tears fell down her cheeks. "Su Yao, I want you to know that no matter what happens, I won’t give up on you because of this. Once Jiang Rou wakes up, I’ll make proper arrangements and come back to you."
"Lin Yue, do what you need to do and take care of Jiang Rou. I’m not going anywhere; I’ll wait for you no matter how long it takes."
After hanging up the phone, Lin Yue let out a long breath as if she had regained some courage.
Su Yao's words were like a bright lamp, illuminating the dark path ahead of her. Such love was worth a lifetime of protection and cherishment.
In the days that followed, Lin Yue stayed in the hospital, keeping a vigil by Jiang Rou's bedside, never leaving her side. She personally wiped Jiang Rou's body, combed her hair, and took care of her with utmost care. She would even whisper stories from their childhood into Jiang Rou's ear, hoping to awaken her consciousness.
"Xiao Rou, do you remember that year when we were nine? You insisted on climbing that big tree and ended up breaking your leg. You cried in pain but still tried to hide it from the adults..."
"Xiao Rou, on your first day learning to drive at sixteen, you secretly took Uncle Jiang's new car. We drove out to the countryside and almost got caught by the traffic police..."
Day after day, Lin Yue continued to chatter away beside Jiang Rou.
Lu Chen and Jiang Father, along with Jiang Mother, visited every day. Shangguan Yun and Lin Zhihong came occasionally, urging Lin Yue to go home and rest, but she refused each time.
One afternoon a week later, Shangguan Yun came to the hospital again to see Jiang Rou. Sitting across from Lin Yue, she looked at her increasingly thin daughter and said, "Lin Yue, look at how Rou Rou is now. Can you really bear to leave her?"
Lin Yue raised her head, her eyes bloodshot. "Mom, I will take responsibility for Xiao Rou. I won’t abandon her; I will stay with her until she wakes up."
"Then don’t have any more contact with Su Yao," Shangguan Yun demanded, glaring at her daughter.
Lin Yue shook her head. "Mom, I will care for Xiao Rou for a lifetime, but only as family. The person I love is Su Yao; that won’t change."
Shangguan Yun trembled with anger. "You..."
She stood up abruptly and coldly threw down a parting remark: "You can explain it to the Jiang family yourself!" Then she turned and left.
In the early hours of the thirteenth day, as rain fell steadily outside, Jiang Rou finally opened her eyes.
Lin Yue was jolted awake by a faint groan. She opened her eyes wide and sat up, seeing Jiang Rou's eyelashes fluttering slightly.
"Xiao Rou?" Lin Yue exclaimed excitedly as she rushed forward, her knee hitting the edge of the bed hard without her noticing.
She grasped Jiang Rou's hand tightly. "Can you hear me?"
Jiang Rou slowly turned her head; the pupils beneath her long eyelashes seemed veiled in mist before gradually focusing on Lin Yue’s face.
Her lips moved slightly as she emitted a weak sound: "Yue... Yue..."
Tears streamed down Lin Yue’s face as she wiped them away while holding Jiang Rou’s hand tightly. "Xiao Rou, you finally woke up!"
"I'll go call the doctor!" She stood up to run but was weakly pulled back by Jiang Rou.
"Don’t... don’t go..." Jiang Rou pleaded softly, tears filling her eyes.
"I won’t go; I won’t go." Lin Yue immediately sat back down beside the bed, pressed the call button in the room with one hand while holding Jiang Rou’s hand tightly with the other. "I’m right here; I’m not going anywhere."
The hospital director along with on-duty doctors and nurses rushed in upon hearing the news and conducted a series of examinations.
Once the checks were complete, Lin Yue let out a sigh of relief—the results were much better than expected. Although Jiang Rou was weak, there was no permanent damage to her nervous system.
"Miss Lin has taken good care of her; Miss Jiang has a strong constitution," the director said with an encouraging smile towards Lin Yue. "She should recover quickly."
Lin Yue felt a weight lift off her shoulders as she quickly sent messages to her parents and Jiang Rou's parents, informing them that Jiang Rou had woken up.
After the medical staff left, Jiang Rou weakly looked at the weary Lin Yue, her voice barely audible, "You... have been here all along..."
"Yes," Lin Yue gently stroked Jiang Rou's hair, her tone soft, "I've always been here."
Jiang Rou managed a faint smile before closing her eyes again, drifting back to sleep. Lin Yue tucked the blanket around Jiang Rou carefully and tiptoed to the living area of the hospital room. She sent a message to Lu Chen: Xiao Rou is awake and in better condition than expected.
Lu Chen replied quickly: That's great! I'll be there right away.
Leaning against the wall, Lin Yue let out a long breath and closed her eyes. Xiao Rou waking up was the best news, but she knew that more difficult choices awaited her ahead.
The next morning, Jiang Rou slowly opened her eyes. Taking advantage of Lin Yue's moment in the shower, she struggled to sit up, suppressing the dizziness as she reached for the phone on the bedside table.
To her surprise, there was a missed call from Zhang Zihao.
Jiang Rou scoffed and dialed his number.
"Miss Jiang?" Zhang Zihao's voice was filled with surprise, soon laced with sarcasm. "You really are something else; just to keep Lin Yue, you even attempted suicide."
"Shut up," Jiang Rou's voice was weak yet firm. "I wasn't that desperate."
"I just wanted to scare her a bit; I didn't expect it to go too far," she added nonchalantly.
Zhang Zihao let out a cold laugh. "Say what you want. But I guess you got what you wanted; Lin Yue has been glued to your bedside these days, hasn't she?"
"What about you and Su Yao?" Jiang Rou changed the subject.
"What else can I say?" Zhang Zihao's tone was low. "She's still as cold towards me as ever; it seems like Miss Lin is all that's on her mind."
Jiang Rou paused for a moment. "Then I'll help you one more time."
"Oh? What can you do?" Zhang Zihao scoffed. "Just so you know, I can't pull off your kind of self-sacrifice."
"Just wait and see," Jiang Rou said mysteriously. "You'll know what to do then."
On the set of Dark River, machines roared and voices buzzed all around.
Su Yao was touching up her makeup in the dressing room while Xiao Lin chattered about the shooting schedule for the day.
"Sister Yao, they brought in a newcomer to play your scene partner today."
Su Yao asked curiously, "Isn't Li Ting supposed to be playing that role? Why the sudden change?"
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