thin line; daoming si

Chapter 19

"I just hope you're right about this." He mumbles under his breath, shaking his head.

"I hope so too."

______

After what feels like an eternity later, you see a gurney coming down the hallway. It's being brought by a doctor and the nurse you saw earlier. As they get closer, you can see that it is Shancai in the hospital bed.

The two of you move out of their way as they begin to move her into the room. You hold your breath as you hear the doctors and nurses conversing inside the hospital room. Si seems to sense your anxiety, grabbing your hand and gently stroking the back of it with his thumb. "Everything will be fine." He says softly.

A few minutes later, the doctor comes back out. "We overlapped their arms. Since they are both unconscious, they can't tell us how they are feeling. But if we see some changed in their vitals within the next hour, we will know the bond is working. Now all we can do is wait."

"Thank you so much."

"Now you two go rest for a bit. You look like you need it."

The two of you nod, bowing to the doctor as he renters the room. "C'mon, let's get something to eat." With your hand in his, Si drags you off to the cafeteria.

After getting a few snacks and drinks, the two of you sit at a small table.

"If they really are soulmates..." Si says thoughtfully. "..why did she run away from him?"

"I don't know." You shake your head. "Maybe she was just scared or maybe.." You trail off, not sure if you should voice what you're thinking.

"Maybe what?" Si raises a brow.

"Well, maybe she likes you. You did say that she was flirting with you the other night, right?"

He gives you a doubtful look. "But she knows that I already have a soulmate. So why put herself, and Lei, through all of that?"

"I guess we'll just have to ask her." You shrug.

The two of you can no longer resist your curiosity and worry after an hour has passed, so you head back to Room 135.

The same nurse you saw earlier is standing outside the room with a clipboard. She spots the two of you approaching and smiles.

"I have some good news! Huaze Lei is beginning to stabilize and Dong Shancai woke up a few minutes ago. Their bond is helping them heal."

You grin, your chest heaving with relief. "When can we see them?"

"Right now, if you would like. But I'm afraid only one person is allowed at a time."

You and Si look at one another. "Go." He encourages you.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, you can talk to her and figure out what happened. Lei isn't awake yet anyway."

You squeeze his hand tightly, as if to say thank you. Then you let go of him, walking through the doors on your own.

When you walk in, it takes a few seconds for your eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. Then you take in the sight of Huaze Lei and Shancai laying on hospital beds that are pushed together, their arms overlapped. They are each hooked up to several machines to keep track of their vitals.

Your eyes are trailing over Huaze Lei's unconcious figure when you hear a faint voice. "Y/n?" Shancai says groggily.

You immediately approach her bedside, taking her hand into yours. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

"My head still hurts but I feel better than before." Her voice is raspy from being unconscious for so long.

"Shancai.." You pause, not sure if you should bring up the conversation so soon. But you need to know. "..why didn't you tell me about finding your soulmate?"

She sighs deeply, glancing at an unconscious Lei next to her before looking down. "I was scared."

"Si told me about what happened at the restaurant. Is that true? Do you have a crush on him?"

"Please don't hate me." She looks at you, her voice quiet. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to go this far."

You offer her a small smile, squeezing her hand tightly. "I could never hate you." You reassure her. "And there was no way you could've known that all of this would happen. I just want you to promise me one thing."

"What is it?"

"Give Lei a chance. He's a sweet man with the biggest heart and he'll treat you the way you deserve to be treated."

She smiles warmly. "I'll do my best."

"I'm going to leave and let Si come visit Lei. Would you like me to call your parents for you?"

She nods. "I would appreciate that."

You leave the room, signaling to Si that he can go in. As he enters the room, you call Shancai's mother to tell her know what has happened. She panics at first, which is understandable, but you assure her that Shancai is fine. Still, she insists that she makes her way to the hospital immediately. You don't mind though, it just means you can go home and the two of them won't be left alone.

A few minutes later, Si emerges from the room. He talks to the nurse for a bit before approaching you.

"Ready to go?" You ask him.

"Yeah, the nurse said it should take him awhile to wake up because his body was under a lot of stress. I'll come visit him in the morning."

"Alright, I'll come with you before class."

He nods, grabbing your hand as the two of you begin to leave the hospital. "Also, can you stay over tonight? We didn't really get to heal today."

You're about to agree when you remember something fairly important. "Ugh, I forgot that I have to finish my assignment that's due in..." You check your phone to see the time. "..two hours?!"

Your eyes widen and you begin to panic. This assignment is worth a good portion of your grade.

"Hey, hey, listen to me." He says softly. interrupting your moment of alarm. "We'll swing by your house to grab your laptop and then head to my house. You'll have more than enough time, you'll be fine."

"Okay but we have to leave like right now." You begin to drag him towards the exit and he stumbles along with a roll of his eyes.