Chapter 10

The emergency room’s lights were glaringly bright.

Ni Kailun had woken up, but her face was pale, and there was some light bleeding. The night shift obstetrician came to check on her and mentioned signs of a miscarriage. Due to her advanced age, there were higher risks in the pregnancy, so the doctor prescribed some medication to protect the pregnancy and advised her to stay in bed and rest.

Xi Tang wanted her to be hospitalized, but there were no available beds.

The young nurse at the triage station, unable to hide her curiosity, secretly whispered to Xi Tang that a bed was unlikely to be available, and it would be better for Ni Kailun to rest at home.

But since they were all working in Beijing and staying in hotels, everything was inconvenient.

Ni Kailun was lying on the emergency bed, watching as Xi Tang followed the doctor, asking question after question. When she saw Xi Tang turn around, Ni Kailun said, “What’s there to be afraid of? Whether it happens or not, it’s up to fate.”

Xi Tang suspected that Ni Kailun didn’t want the child.

Ni Kailun noticed her expression and said, “If I didn’t want it, I wouldn’t have kept it. Besides, your mom said she’d help me take care of it.”

Despite being just an ordinary human, Xi Tang really admired how Ni Kailun was able to stay so composed during such a moment.

The doctor suggested that Ni Kailun receive an IV in the emergency room and that she be monitored for another half hour after finishing the drip. The nurse gave her a bed, and Xi Tang asked Ah Kuan to go out and buy some chicken soup. Xi Tang sat down by the bed, took a deep breath, and checked her phone. It was almost two in the morning.

A series of missed calls from the company appeared on her phone.

Ni Kailun saw her replying to messages. “What did they say?”

Xi Tang checked her emails and messages and whispered, “The PR team sent over the edited photos and drafts for you to look at. I’ll check it myself; you can get some sleep.”

With her sharp intuition honed over the years, Ni Kailun replied angrily, “Something’s off about this.”

Xi Tang felt gloomy. She was okay, but she felt guilty for her colleagues who had traveled all the way to Beijing, especially since the company had prepared a press release for her supposed win. However, she wasn’t the one who won the award.

She squeezed Ni Kailun’s hand. “Mom, let’s not let these things bother us too much.”

Ni Kailun finally calmed down and said, “Let’s try harder next time.”

Xi Tang responded, “Mhm.”

After a while, Ni Kailun fell asleep on the emergency bed while the IV was still dripping.

After some time, a couple of busy nurses came in, walking around the room. Some of the livelier ones approached, pretending to check on the IV speed, while secretly eyeing her.

Soon after, Ah Kuan returned. Xi Tang gave her a glance, and Ah Kuan immediately stood up and walked over to the head nurse at the counter. She was polite in her demeanor, but her voice was just loud enough for all the nurses in the station to hear. “Excuse me, head nurse, our patient needs some quiet rest...”

Finally getting a moment to herself, Xi Tang stood up to find a restroom and change clothes. She was still in her gown, drenched in sweat from the rush over, with her makeup ruined under the mask she hadn’t dared to remove. She looked a mess.

Ah Kuan followed her inside and carefully unzipped the back of her dress. The expensive silk evening gown slid smoothly down, and Xi Tang stuffed it into her bag before changing into a sweater and pants. As she reached into her bag, her fingers brushed against a lighter.

Xi Tang handed the bag to Ah Kuan. “You stay with Kailun.”

She pulled on her down jacket and went downstairs to buy cigarettes.

In the late-night cold of November in Beijing, the temperature dropped to a few degrees below freezing. The moment Xi Tang stepped outside, she felt the chill creeping up from her feet. Even with a thick sweater on, she was still shivering. She bought cigarettes and a bottle of mineral water and ran back to the hospital. Passing by the parking lot near the outpatient building, she suddenly froze when she saw someone walking toward her.

It was Shen Min, who was equally surprised to see her. “Xi Tang, what are you doing here?”

Xi Tang spoke through her mask, the breath fogging up. “I’m here for work. My manager’s sick.”

Shen Min immediately led her into the hospital building. The two stopped in the hallway on the first floor of the emergency room. Shen Min asked with concern, “Is it serious? Do you need any help?”

Xi Tang took off her mask and replied, “It’s fine. Everything’s been arranged.”

Shen Min nodded. “Good.”

“If you need anything, just call me,” he said, pointing down the hallway. “I’ll go now.”

Xi Tang watched as Shen Min walked further down the corridor, leading into the inpatient department. She stood there for a moment, watching his figure disappear around the corner. Suddenly, her heart skipped a beat. She rushed after him. “Shen Min!”

Shen Min turned around and stopped.

Xi Tang hurried up to him, her expression slightly anxious. “Is he in the hospital?”

Shen Min was stunned for a moment, hesitating for two seconds before nodding.

Xi Tang was suddenly stunned, her heart tightening with a jolt. She opened her mouth but couldn’t find the words to speak.

Shen Min looked at her expression and said gently, “He just came over for an IV. The outpatient clinic isn’t open, there’s nothing serious, don’t worry.”

Xi Tang didn’t respond. She turned and walked away.

In the high-rise ward, all the lights were off.

The hallway smelled of disinfectant, with only a few dim night lights flickering overhead. Shen Min pushed open the door to the lounge outside the hospital room.

Zhao Pingjin was lying on the bed in the inner room. Hearing the sound, he opened his eyes briefly. When he saw it was Shen Min, he closed his eyes again to rest.

Shen Min took off his coat outside and whispered as he entered, “You’re not resting?”

Zhao Pingjin nodded, his voice hoarse and unwilling to speak.

Shen Min dragged a chair to the side of his bed. “I just dropped the boss off at the hotel. I’m a bit late.”

Zhao Pingjin had just come back from a business dinner with a partner, arranged for someone to accompany the leader, and then came to the hospital for an IV.

He nodded to acknowledge he understood.

Shen Min turned off the light by his bed and said, “The entertainment news is out, it’s the result.”

Zhao Pingjin heard this, pressed his forehead with his hand, and muttered vaguely, “Once this is over, arrange it. Have dinner with Lao Gao in the next couple of days.”

Shen Min responded, “Got it.”

Zhao Pingjin said, “You should head back early.”

Shen Min nodded and stood up to leave.

“Zhouzi.” As Shen Min reached the door, he suddenly turned back and called his name.

Zhao Pingjin pressed his hand against his stomach, furrowing his brows, then glanced at him when he heard the call.

Shen Min opened his mouth, looked at the person lying in bed, and though he had intended to say something, he hesitated. Zhao Pingjin had been suffering from gastritis lately, and the attending physician had recommended hospitalization three days ago, but he had only come in today. Shen Min held back the words that almost slipped out and instead softly said, “You should get some rest.”

Shen Min closed the door and quickly walked out.

It wasn’t until he reached the end of the corridor that he finally took a breath and rubbed his face.

He had just managed to hold back the urge to mention what he had seen earlier at the hospital—Huang Xi Tang.

Shen Min still couldn’t figure out Zhao Pingjin’s thoughts. He just felt that this was a topic best avoided. As far as Huang Xi Tang was concerned, Zhao Pingjin showed little outward emotion, but Shen Min knew that his thoughts were deeply suppressed.

In Shen Min’s view, Zhao Pingjin had been spoiled for so many years, arrogant and extravagant without question. For over thirty years, life had gone smoothly for him; there was nothing he couldn’t accomplish, no one he couldn’t control. Even when he and Huang Xi Tang broke up dramatically in their youth, it was swiftly resolved with a clean break. He left the country, came back, and the past was forgotten. Shen Min knew that Xi Tang’s humiliation of him back then made him determined to never have anything to do with her again.

Shen Min never imagined they would end up together again.

When Huang Xi Tang came back to Beijing and lived with him, Shen Min finally understood. If Xi Tang had broken up with Zhao Pingjin, she would have become a lifelong memory for him. He had never seen him care about any woman the way he cared about her.

After they got married, Zhao Pingjin worked late into the night more often. Sometimes Shen Min would go into his office at night, and on several occasions, she would find the room dark except for a single light on his desk, the computer still on. The curtains were slightly open, and he sat alone in an armchair several meters away from the floor-to-ceiling windows, smoking, staring out into the distance. The bright city lights outside painted the night sky with dazzling colors, but from up high, all he could see below was a black spot—an empty, pitch-black area where the Forbidden City stood without a single light. He would just stare at that blackness, his eyes filled with the pain and struggle of a trapped animal, a red glow flickering in his pupils. Over time, however, even that spark slowly faded. On rare occasions when Shen Min saw him sitting alone, his eyes were filled with a deep, grey despair, and the remnants were nothing but hopelessness.

When Zhao Pingjin saw him enter, he quickly extinguished his cigarette and returned to his usual calm expression.

There were things he didn’t want to talk about, and Shen Min never asked.

His secretary followed Shen Min’s instructions, reminding him to eat three meals a day. But Secretary He often reported that Zhao Pingjin was very picky about his food.

The last time, Secretary He wasn’t sure, so he called Shen Min and told him that Zhao Pingjin had lost his appetite recently and had taken painkillers several times after meals.

Shen Min, feeling helpless, eventually thought of Xi Tang.

But to his surprise, Zhao Pingjin immediately saw through it.

Shen Min remembered the time when Zhao Pingjin was lying on the sofa, his hand pressed to his forehead, eyes closed. He vaguely asked, “How is she?”

Shen Min was stunned for a few seconds before realizing he was asking about Xi Tang. After a moment of hesitation, he cautiously answered, “She seems fine. I heard she just came back from working in Europe.”

Zhao Pingjin nodded and didn’t ask more. Instead, he pointed at the coffee table. “Help me clean up, and tell Xiao He to heat it up later.”

That evening, when Secretary He came by, he asked Shen Min, “Mr. Shen, where did you buy the porridge? Zhao Zong finished it all.”

Shen Min sighed as he looked at Secretary He, shook his head, and turned to walk away.

Xi Tang returned to the emergency room’s infusion area.

Soon after, a nurse came to the door and called out, “Is there a family member of Ni Kailun here? The inpatient department just found out that a patient is being discharged this afternoon. The family should come fill out the admission form.”

Assistant Ah Kuan was too young and inexperienced, so Xi Tang asked her to go back with the driver. Xi Tang waited until Ni Kailun finished her infusion. It was too late to hire a caregiver, so Xi Tang stayed with her in the ward.

In the international single room, Xi Tang entered quietly but found Ni Kailun awake, staring at her with wide eyes.

Xi Tang felt guilty and, with a playful smile, leaned closer. “Mom, are you hungry? Want some soup?”

Ni Kailun looked at Xi Tang’s face, which was red from the cold. “Were you smoking outside again?”

Xi Tang quickly said, “There was no one outside, just now.”

Although Ni Kailun was in the hospital, her presence was still strong: “Do you still want your skin?”

Xi Tang immediately pretended to be obedient: “I won’t smoke anymore.”

Ni Kailun asked again, “Where did the bed come from?”

Xi Tang truthfully answered, “I don’t know.”

Ni Kailun stared at her face, trying to detect any signs of deception.

Xi Tang blinked her innocent eyes; she truly didn’t know.

They chatted for a while, and Ni Kailun fell asleep again. Xi Tang lay on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket. She spent the night in a half-dream, half-wake state, hearing the continuous crying of newborns from the neighboring ward, as if it was a never-ending cycle of past and present lives. Around six in the morning, she woke up. The sounds of footsteps in the hospital corridor indicated that people were beginning to move about. Xi Tang got up and went to buy breakfast for Ni Kailun.

As soon as Xi Tang stepped out of the ward, the corridor was lively, with a group of older women excitedly gathering at the window, looking outside.

Xi Tang had already noticed last night when she went out to smoke: it had snowed for the first time this year around 3 a.m. in Beijing.

The maternity ward was arguably the best floor in the entire hospital. There were no sorrowful relatives, and the older women who had woken up early were huddled together at the window, looking at the scene outside. The entire city of Beijing had been covered in a blanket of snow overnight, with a thin layer of white snow covering the windowsills and car roofs.

Xi Tang ordered breakfast and, on her way back, stood by the window on the fourth floor, glancing outside.

On this November morning, the sky was still dimly lit. The hospital seemed to have an air of post-apocalyptic stillness. The snow had stopped, and beneath the inpatient building was a small yard with a layer of snow on the grass, revealing the yellow-green tips of the grass. Frost was scattered sparsely on the tree branches.

Xi Tang wrapped her arms around herself, idly staring out the window. The dim, grayish light slowly brightened, and suddenly, she saw a large black vehicle driving up the driveway in the yard.