He came up with a few excuses for not being able to go back, all of which he deleted. In the end, he only sent one sentence: "Wait for me at home."
It took her a long time before she replied, "Don't come over."
Qiao Nanchu read the message twice, tapping the screen rhythmically with his fingers.
More than half a minute later, she sent another message, as if explaining the previous one, "If it's late, you don't need to make the trip, we can meet tomorrow."
Qiao Nanchu touched the pack of cigarettes in his pocket but put it back, picking up his phone to make a call instead.
She answered quickly.
She couldn't hear and she couldn't speak. On the phone, he could only hear her very faint breathing. Just as he was about to hang up, voices came through from the other end.
"What's the situation?"
"The car window glass pierced the pulmonary artery."
"Notify the anesthesiology department to prepare for surgery immediately."
