Couple of Mirrors – Chapter 24: Drowning
Yan Wei makes it to the lake in time to see the car disappearing under the water. ‘Xu Youyi!’ she shouts.
As the car sinks completely beneath the surface, she dives in with a huge splash.
Inside the car, Xu Youyi wakes up with a start, and begins banging hard on the window.
Then she sees a familiar figure swimming determinedly towards her. Yan Wei…
Yan Wei tugs at the door handle as hard as she can, but it doesn’t budge. This isn’t working, the water pressure is too great…
She swims towards the bottom of the lake and picks up a large rock. Gripping it with both hands, she brings it down with a ‘bang!’ on the windscreen — which remains completely undamaged.
She smashes the windscreen with the rock again and again, but still to no avail.
By this time, she’s flushed both with exertion and from holding her breath, and her hands are bleeding.
Inside the car, Xu Youyi is reaching the end of her endurance. Yan Wei… she thinks again, and then passes out.
Yan Wei redoubles her efforts. Xu Youyi, remember, you’re very strong! She lifts the rock up over her head and smashes it against the windscreen. This time, a crack appears. She brings the rock down again, and the glass shatters.
She’s able to pull Xu Youyi’s unconscious form out of the car…
…and swim towards the surface.
They break through the surface. Yan Wei, panting and gasping for breath, casts a worried look at Xu Youyi.
She swims for the shore, and lays Xu Youyi down on the grass. ‘Xu Youyi, wake up!’ she urges, slapping Xu Youyi lightly.
I need to do CPR, she realises, and begins compressing Xu Youyi’s chest.
Then she tilts Xu Youyi’s head back, lifts her chin up, bends down and blows into Xu Youyi’s mouth.
She compresses Xu Youyi’s chest again, and this time Xu Youyi begins coughing, though she then falls unconscious again.
Yan Wei picks Xu Youyi up. I need to get her to a hospital, quickly, she thinks, and runs back towards the city with Xu Youyi in her arms.
Some time later, Yan Wei bursts into Zhongshan Hospital. ‘Doctor! You need to help her! She nearly drowned!’
‘Quickly!’ she shouts, rushing towards two nurses who are bringing a medical gurney over.
She lays Xu Youyi down very carefully. ‘Xu Youyi, you have to—’
She breaks off mid-sentence, collapsing onto the floor.
‘Quick! She needs emergency treatment too!’ shouts one of the nurses.
‘This patient has a lot of water in her lungs, and she’s not responding to stimuli,’ one of the nurses says urgently, as they wheel Xu Youyi past a man in a suit.
The man in the suit happens to be Feng Hong, a close friend of Zhou Heng’s. ‘Hm? Isn’t that Zhou Heng’s wife?’ he wonders, turning to look.
The nurses have managed to get Xu Youyi into a hospital bed. ‘The patient is experiencing serious hypoxia and mild acidosis,’ one nurse tells the other. ‘As well as a serious electrolyte imbalance. Let’s start by giving her oxygen.’
And then she adds, ‘The patient is also pregnant. Does she have family with her?’
‘The family member who came with her is also unconscious,’ the other nurse replies.
Feng Hong, who’s been lurking just outside the door, overhears all this. She’s pregnant? Does Zhou Heng even know about this? I’ll do him a good turn, and he’ll owe me a favour!
He rushes into Xu Youyi’s hospital room. ‘Doctor, I’m her brother! What does she need? How much will it cost? I’ll pay for everything!’
Meanwhile, Yan Wei is waking up in another hospital room. ‘You’re awake,’ says the nurse who’s watching over her.
Yan Wei sits up. ‘What happened to me…?’ she asks. There’s an IV drip attached to her arm.
‘You lost consciousness due to exertion…’ the nurse begins, but Yan Wei cuts her off immediately. ‘Where’s Xu Youyi?’ she demands.
‘Do you mean the woman you brought here?’ asks the nurse. ‘She’s in the next room. She’s only just out of danger…’
That’s all Yan Wei needs to hear. ‘I’m going to see her!’ she declares, yanking the IV drip out of her arm.
The nurse stares helplessly after her. ‘The doctor said you were dehydrated and your heartbeat was accelerated. You need fluids!’
Yan Wei rushes over to Xu Youyi’s room and flings the door open, only to see Zhou Heng (and Feng Hong) at Xu Youyi’s bedside.
She and Zhou Heng stare at each other for a moment; Xu Youyi is still unconscious.
Zhou Heng goes over to Yan Wei. ‘You’re awake?’ he asks. ‘They told me what happened. Thank you for bringing Youyi here to the hospital.’
‘What are you doing here?’ Yan Wei demands. ‘She’s already announced that she’s divorcing you.’
‘The announcement has been made, yes,’ says Zhou Heng. ‘But the formalities haven’t been completed. Besides, Youyi is now one month pregnant. As the baby’s father, I should take responsibility for looking after both mother and child.’
Yan Wei is completely dumbfounded. She’s pregnant?
***
Please view the original manhua here.
douqi 随笔 