Chapter 9:The Silence Between Heartbeat
503 Words
Two weeks passed.
Li Wei hadn’t heard a word from her.
Each day felt longer than the last. He buried himself in hospital work, surgeries, board meetings — but everything felt meaningless. He’d pass by her old room, stop at the doorway, and stare at the empty bed. The nurses tried not to look. Everyone knew.
One night, he returned to the magnolia tree. It had rained again. The petals had begun to fall, leaving pale footprints across the earth. He sat beneath its branches, holding a torn page from Mei Lin’s sketchbook — the one she’d drawn right before she left.
It was unfinished.
He ran his thumb along the pencil lines and whispered, “You promised you’d stay this time.”
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Miles away, Mei Lin sat on a train bound for her mother’s village, curled up by the window, her breath fogging the glass. The countryside blurred past, but her thoughts were frozen.
She hated herself for walking away — again.
But she’d seen this story play out before. Rich boy, sick girl. A fragile love crushed by the weight of expectation. Her father had tried to protect her once, and now… maybe he’d been right.
She was tired of being left behind.
Of feeling like the weak one.
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That night, the fever returned.
Mei Lin collapsed in the station restroom. A stranger found her, called an ambulance, and her ID revealed her last hospital affiliation: Li Wei’s.
When the emergency call reached the front desk of Li Wei’s hospital, the nurse barely had time to finish before he was already running.
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She was unconscious when they wheeled her in. Pale. Burning up. Her lungs struggling.
Li Wei's hands shook as he checked her vitals, barking orders to the team. No one had seen him like this — frantic, desperate, breaking protocol just to hold her hand between treatments.
She slipped in and out of consciousness, murmuring his name. Over and over.
And then… silence.
No heartbeat.
No breath.
The room froze.
Li Wei’s voice roared above the chaos. “Get the paddles! Now!”
They shocked her once. Twice.
Nothing.
And then — a gasp.
Her body jolted.
She was back.
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Hours later, in the ICU, Mei Lin slowly opened her eyes.
Li Wei was beside her, face buried in her hand, breathing like he’d just run for miles.
“You came,” she whispered.
He looked up, his eyes red. “You scared me. Don’t ever do that again.”
She smiled weakly. “Thought you were engaged.”
He exhaled, voice cracking. “I only belong to you. Always have.”
She blinked at him. “Even if I get worse?”
“Even if you lose your memory, your strength, your voice… I’ll stay. I’d rather have one day with you than a lifetime without you.”
Silence stretched — not empty, but full of unspoken forgiveness.
She reached up, brushing his cheek. “Then take me home. To the tree.”
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- Writer
