Jin Yuanyuan's Top-Tier Life

Chapter 99 Life and Death on the Brink

Ten hours into the surgery, Jin Yuanyuan had another 400 milliliters of blood drawn. Afterward, she lay completely on the bench outside the operating room. Jin Feiyan had also rushed back and was holding Jin Yuanyuan's hand, constantly taking care of and monitoring her condition.

Although Cao Xiaoyu was still trembling, she began to do logistical work for everyone, at least to ensure that the people outside the operating room did not faint.

Zhao Zhuoran had the people from Wanghu Pavilion deliver a simple and delicious meal, since in addition to the ancient building team members and their workers, many of Jin Yuanbao's friends had heard the news and rushed over.

Speaking of Jin Yuanbao, an expert in ancient architecture, he has many students and fans, all of whom rushed over. Many media outlets and social media personalities also came to see what was happening… In no time, a large crowd had gathered outside the hospital and the operating room.

Zhao Zhuoran thought for a moment, then asked a few young men from his restaurant to come and maintain order, since Bi was still in surgery and needed quiet.

Zhu Hongying remained quite calm and called some veteran employees from the hosiery factory to help, managing to stabilize the situation outside. She also discussed with Zhao Zhuoran and decided that he would be the sole source of information, and that no one else should speak out.

Aunt Hong told Xiao Juan to go home first, as she had a one-year-old child to take care of. Xiao Juan stayed behind, sitting quietly next to her master, staring blankly at the operating room door.

It was only then that Jin Yuanyuan learned that her master's grandfather's real name was Liu Yaozu. He was not only a senior expert of the Hangzhou Ancient Architecture Team, but also a professor at the Institute of Architectural History and Cultural Heritage Conservation of the School of Architecture at Tsinghua University. Although he had long since retired, he still had many students and assistants, who also came over to inquire about the situation.

With more people arriving, the nurses came to ask about blood types again. Everyone rushed to get their blood tested and drawn, and Zhao Zhuoran quickly asked the chef at Wanghu Pavilion to make chicken soup and send it over... He was running around in a flurry of activity.

Jin Yuanyuan lay quietly half-reclined beside Jin Feiyan. Although she was feeling dizzy, she was quite lucid. She watched as Aunt Hong and Zhu Hongying had a brief conversation, after which they ignored each other again. Cao Xiaoyu, worried that her master's grandfather's health might not be up to par, even went to find a blanket to cover his legs.

Zhao Zhuoran took off his coat and gave it to Jin Yuanyuan, worried that she might feel cold after the blood draw. It was the black coat the manager of Wanghu Pavilion wore; it was thick and had a faint scent of perfume. Jin Yuanyuan wrapped it around herself, feeling slightly more at ease.

Everyone was very busy, and the operating room doors remained tightly closed.

Sixteen hours have passed, and the number of people outside the operating room has decreased.

The surgeon briefly explained the situation, concluding that Jin Yuanbao's injuries constituted an open chest wound, lung laceration, and intrapulmonary hemorrhage, a very critical condition. However, the location of the injury was remarkably "coincidental": the shovel had slipped just one centimeter below the collarbone, avoiding a major blood vessel. Had it penetrated even a centimeter deeper, it would have damaged a major blood vessel in the heart, causing massive hemorrhage and pulmonary suffocation. Fortunately, no one pulled the shovel out at the time, buying valuable time for the rescue.

Now, the surgeons are facing the challenge of performing an open-chest surgery to remove the foreign object and repair the damaged right lung lobe... Fortunately, a thoracic surgery expert from Beijing is currently holding an academic seminar in Hangzhou, and they have urgently invited him to come and guide this major surgery.

All the people outside the operating room can do now is wait.

The initial anxiety gradually subsided, and Zhao Zhuoran and Cao Xiaoyu discussed the situation and decided to have some people leave. There was no point in lingering there; besides, the hospital wouldn't allow so many people to be stuck there, disrupting their work.

Time passed slowly, yet it seemed to pass very quickly.

Jin Yuanyuan looked at the large screen outside the operating room, which read:

Patient Name: Jin Yuanbao

Surgical procedure: Thoracic surgery

Attending Physician: Jiang Hongsheng

Surgery began at 16:23

It's very simple, yet it shows the time a person spends struggling between life and death.

Could that gate be the dividing line between life and death?

Countless thoughts raced through her mind, and all her senses were activated. Apart from the noisy voices, she could even hear the sound of surgical instruments falling into the tray and feel the slight tremors of the floor as the nurses pushed the trolley back and forth... It turns out that true stillness is not about the silence of the environment, but about the quietness deep within one's heart.

Not long ago, the three of them sat down together and ate a bowl of noodles after twenty years. Could it be that their fate has come to an end?

No way! There's so much time we haven't spent together, so many things we haven't said, so many things we haven't done!

She wanted to cry, but couldn't.

Cao Xiaoyu brought over a bowl of hot soup, but she only wanted to drink a cup of hot water.

Zhu Hongying walked over, squatted down next to Jin Yuanyuan, and said softly, "Yuanyuan, don't be afraid, Mommy is here."

Suddenly, tears streamed down her face.

She was scared!

She was always afraid—afraid of losing Jin Yuanbao, afraid of losing Zhu Hongying, even afraid of losing Cao Xiaoyu and Jin Feiyan. She was afraid that the people who had always been by her side in her life would disappear. She would rather leave herself than watch them go far away.

"Yuanyuan, don't be afraid. Your father is so strong, he'll definitely pull through." Zhu Hongying hugged her, just like when she was little and sick, Zhu Hongying would hug her and gently pat her back, whispering words of comfort. "He'll be alright, he still has to earn money for you."

"Mom, can you please not say that?" Jin Yuanyuan choked up. "Every time you mention my dad, all you ever talk about is money."

"Then what do you want me to say? That your dad should come back, that he should cook for you, accompany you abroad, and help you find a job? You don't need him to do any of those things."

"Then you can say..." Jin Yuanyuan suddenly didn't know what to say. What could she really say? Many people say that the meaning of family lies in companionship. But her family didn't have that kind of clingy companionship every day; what they had were people who appeared at crucial moments.

"He's your dad, he always will be. He's also an incredibly strong man, he'll definitely pull through, remember that!" Zhu Hongying hugged her tightly, her body trembling slightly.

"Yes, Yuanyuan, don't be afraid." Grandpa Master sat down beside her and took Jin Yuanyuan's hand. "Your dad is very capable, he'll be alright. You don't know your dad's nickname is Nine-Jin Cat, do you? Because he weighed a full nine jin (2.5 catties) when he was born. He learned to build houses with his father and Hongying's father, and he fell off many times when he was young... Cats have nine lives, so everyone calls your dad Nine-Jin Cat..."

Such a thing actually happened?

Jin Yuanyuan, ignoring her dizziness, snot, and tears, stared wide-eyed at her master, "What has he been doing?"

(End of this chapter)