pjbooks How's Chapter 364 going?
How's Chapter 364 going?
"What?!"
Ma Junjie was struck dumb, frozen in the driver's seat, his eyes widening in disbelief.
"Auntie, what did you say?"
"Why did Grandpa suddenly...?... Don't worry, I'm coming right away! I'll drive there now!"
"Emergency room, third floor! Hurry!"
After saying this, Carina Lau hung up the phone in a hurry, leaving only the busy tone of the receiver.
Ma Junjie held the phone that had already been hung up, his fingertips pressed against the cold screen, still immersed in immense shock.
He could clearly feel his hands trembling slightly, and his arms were shaking as well; a sense of powerlessness instantly swept over his entire body.
Carina Lau's father, Lau Hung, was such a healthy and robust man!
Although Liu Xiong is over sixty years old, he practices boxing regularly and never misses his morning runs and fitness routines, so he is very healthy.
He has a straight back and a rosy complexion, and looks to be only in his forties. He has more energy and spirit than many young people.
Every time Ma Junjie met him before, he was always cheerful and had a loud voice. How could something have suddenly happened to him?
And...and my aunt said I "can't do it anymore"?
These three words struck Ma Junjie's heart like a heavy hammer, leaving him stunned for a long time.
"Oh no! How could this happen!"
Ma Junjie snapped out of his daze, shook his head in disbelief, and felt a tightness in his chest.
He raised his hand and slammed it hard on the steering wheel.
With a sharp, loud "beep," the car horn suddenly blared, carrying far into the quiet night.
Several night birds perched on the treetops by the roadside were startled and flapped their wings, losing several feathers in the process.
After a while, Ma Junjie gradually calmed down.
He suppressed the turmoil in his heart, frantically started the car, shifted gears, and stepped on the gas, wanting only to get to the People's Hospital as quickly as possible.
But just as the car was about to start moving, my phone rang again in my pocket.
The urgent ringing of the phone was like a death knell, making Ma Junjie's heart race and clench into a knot.
He picked up his phone with trembling hands. The three words "Liu Bingbing" flashing on the screen made his heart sink to the bottom, and he panicked.
He knew without even thinking that it must have been Liu Bingbing who called to tell him about Liu Xiong. At that moment, even Ma Junjie's fingertips felt cold.
He pressed the answer button almost immediately, and Liu Bingbing's heart-wrenching sobs came through the phone instantly.
The despair and helplessness in those cries could be clearly felt even through the receiver.
"Brother Jie, sob sob sob... Brother Jie..."
Ma Junjie's nose suddenly stung, and his eyes instantly welled up with tears.
Even through the cold screen of a phone, he could almost see Liu Bingbing's tear-streaked face and her teary eyes.
Ma Junjie felt as if his heart was being torn apart.
"Ice...ice..." He opened his mouth, but his throat felt tight and dry, as if something was blocking it, and even his voice became hoarse.
He didn't know what to say.
All I could do was offer clumsy comfort.
"Bingbing, don't worry, don't cry..."
"Your aunt has already called and told me I'm coming right away, I'll be at the hospital soon, please wait a little longer, okay?"
"Waaaaah..." Liu Bingbing on the other end of the phone could no longer control the sadness and fear in her heart, and her emotions poured out completely.
She burst into tears with a loud "waaaah," her cries heart-wrenching.
"Brother Jie, my... my grandfather... he's dying..."
"Brother Jie, I don't want him to die, he can't die... Brother Jie, please come and save him, sob sob... please come quickly..."
When Ma Junjie heard Liu Jialing's phone call, his heart was already filled with sadness and anxiety.
Moved by Liu Bingbing's heart-wrenching cries, my suppressed emotions instantly broke down, and my eyes welled up with tears.
Hot tears slid down her cheeks without warning, dripping onto her clothes and leaving a small wet patch.
Ma Junjie raised his hand and fiercely wiped away the tears that had overflowed.
He swallowed hard, trying to suppress his voice so that Liu Bingbing wouldn't hear it, afraid of making her even more upset.
He spoke into the receiver again, each word delivered with a firm and reassuring tone.
"Bingbing, don't be too anxious or too sad. Wait for me to come over."
"I'll be there soon! I'm hanging up now, sweetie, wait for me!"
But Liu Bingbing was already overwhelmed with emotion and was still crying on the other end of the phone, her sobs filled with despair.
Ma Junjie could still hear Carina Lau anxiously trying to persuade him on the other end of the phone.
"Bingbing, stop crying, hang up the phone quickly and tell your brother Jie to come over soon..."
"Crying won't help. The doctor is still inside examining him, and the results aren't out yet... Maybe your grandpa will be alright. Don't be too sad, listen to me!"
Ma Junjie knew that Liu Bingbing was now out of control emotionally, and no amount of comforting would help. The most urgent thing was to get to the hospital as soon as possible.
He bit his cheek, clenched his teeth, and with a determined heart, slammed the phone down.
Putting down his phone, Ma Junjie leaned back in his chair, tilted his head back, closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, the sadness in his eyes had been replaced by intense urgency.
His eyes turned bloodshot and became bloodshot.
Immediately afterwards, Ma Junjie gripped the steering wheel tightly and slammed his foot on the accelerator, the car roaring loudly.
Like a raging beast, it broke through the night and sped towards the People's Hospital.
The night was as dark as ink. The car sped along the road, its wheels leaving a trail of afterimages as they rolled over the pavement.
It was late at night, and there were almost no other vehicles on the road, only the traffic lights flashing alternately at the intersection.
What would normally be a half-hour journey, Ma Junjie pushed his speed to the limit, and in just over ten minutes, he saw the brightly lit building of the People's Hospital.
"Screech—" Another ear-piercing screech of brakes rang out, and the car came to a sudden stop at the hospital entrance, its front end even slightly scraping against the stone bollard on the side of the road.
Ma Junjie ignored all of that, pushed open the car door, and slammed it shut with a loud bang.
He didn't even have time to lock his car before he started running wildly towards the hospital lobby...
The hospital at night is less noisy than during the day, with only the lights on at the nurses' station.
Several nurses on duty looked surprised when Ma Junjie rushed in in such a hurry.
Ma Junjie glanced at the sign, ignoring the stares of others, and without even waiting for the elevator, grabbed the handrail and rushed to the third floor.
As his palm rubbed against the cold metal, his sweaty fingertips slid several times. Ma Junjie had only one thought in his mind: Faster, faster.
In just a few dozen seconds, Ma Junjie ran to the third floor.
At the entrance of the emergency room, a glaring red light was on, the red glow like a red-hot branding iron, burning Ma Junjie's eyes.
Carina Lau slumped on a plastic chair in the corridor, her hair disheveled, her face streaked with tears, looking completely lost.
Liu Bingbing was leaning against the wall, sobbing uncontrollably, her eyes swollen like walnuts.
Upon seeing Ma Junjie, Liu Bingbing seemed to have suddenly found her pillar of support. Calling out "Brother Jie," she stumbled and rushed towards him.
"Brother Jie, you're finally here! Grandpa's still inside. The doctor's been in there for ages, and we haven't heard anything..."
Ma Junjie's heart ached at her cries. He raised his hand and patted Liu Bingbing's back, comforting her in a hoarse voice.
"Don't be afraid, Bingbing. Grandpa is a lucky man, everything will be alright."
Even as he said this, Ma Junjie's voice was trembling, and he himself lacked confidence.
When Carina Lau saw Ma Junjie arrive, she slowly stood up, her eyes red-rimmed.
"Ah Jie, you're here..."
"The doctor came out once when my dad was brought in and said his condition was extremely critical; he was unconscious and they were still doing everything they could to save him..."
As she spoke, tears streamed down her face again.
"He was perfectly fine this afternoon, calling me to say he was going to the boxing gym for practice tonight. How could he suddenly be like this..."
Ma Junjie helped Carina Lau back to her chair, and as his fingertips touched her icy hands, his heart sank.
He looked up at the closed door of the emergency room, a door that seemed like a boundary between life and death, separating the rescue efforts inside from the hopes of everyone outside.
The corridor was eerily quiet, save for the occasional beeping of medical equipment from the emergency room and Liu Bingbing's suppressed sobs.
Each tick felt like a knock on everyone's heart, slow and agonizing.
Time ticked by, the red light remained on, no one spoke, and the air in the corridor seemed to freeze, making it hard to breathe.
Ma Junjie raised his hand to feel his pocket, wanting to smoke a cigarette to calm down, but then remembered that smoking was not allowed in the hospital, and dejectedly withdrew his hand.
After what seemed like an eternity, the emergency room door finally creaked open, the red light went out, and the doctor came out.
Everyone who saw this immediately jumped up.
Carina Lau staggered forward, her voice trembling, and asked anxiously,
"Doctor, my dad... how is he?"