Li Yunmo watched her push open the fire door and walk step by step toward the hospital ward. Thinking that this girl was about to exchange with Zhang Jingchan and would very likely become a vegetable, not knowing when she might wake up—perhaps years and years from now—he thought, she actually has no certainty whether she can wake up in 2022, does she? Li Yunmo’s heart felt like it was being gouged and twisted by a knife. He wiped away his tears, revealing a rarely seen resolute expression, and turned to run down the stairs.

He decided to go to the Zhang family villa right now to wait for Zhang Moyun. The first moment possible, he would hand the voice recorder to him.

No person, no matter, could stop the teenager’s courage and determination to fulfill the trust those two people had placed in him.

Zhang Jingchan’s ICU was on the top floor of the inpatient department. Li Yunmo had to go down five flights of stairs. Soon—for a long-armed, long-legged teenager, it was just a few minutes.

When he reached the third floor, Li Yunmo heard a door sound somewhere. He paid it no mind and continued rushing downward.

Second floor.

There was only one dim light in the corridor. When Li Yunmo grabbed the railing with one hand and leaped down from the stairway corner, the fire door burst open with a “bang.” Li Yunmo whirled around abruptly—two men wearing masks rushed in.

Li Yunmo froze, then darted downward even faster. Over twenty steps—he actually bounded down them in two leaps. His toes had just touched the ground when a third man charged up from below the stairs.

Now Li Yunmo’s path was blocked. He had no choice but to retreat a step, pressing against the narrow stairway corner, shouting: “Who are you? Let me through!” He instinctively put one hand in his pocket, gripping the voice recorder tightly.

But the three men had no intention of answering. They surged forward and easily pinned the slender teenager against the wall. Li Yunmo struggled desperately, but how could he be a match for three strong adult men? He was like a trapped dog—his head and body pressed firmly against the wall, his mouth full of dust. Only his hands scratched bloody mark after bloody mark on the wall.

Two people restrained him while one began searching him.

Li Yunmo began gasping urgently. When that person’s hand reached into his pocket and pulled out the voice recorder, Li Yunmo desperately turned his head from under the other’s palm and screamed hysterically: “Don’t take this! You can’t have this—help! Someone help me!”

Someone grabbed his head and slammed it hard against the wall with a “bang.” Li Yunmo was left dizzy and seeing stars. Several more punches landed heavily on the teenager’s soft abdomen. Li Yunmo struggled and resisted but was no match for them at all. After being severely beaten again, he was thrown to the ground. Now he couldn’t even crawl up.

Someone also searched out his phone, threw it down the stairs with a “crack,” and it smashed against the wall, shattering into pieces.

They were about to leave after throwing him down. Li Yunmo grabbed one person’s foot, saying with barely a breath: “Voice recorder… leave it… however much money, Zhang Moyun can… give you. That’s what Brother Chan… exchanged half his life for. He wants to save his father. Please, I promised… sister-in-law…”

Someone kicked him on the top of his head. The three men rapidly disappeared into the darkness.

Li Yunmo recovered in place for a little while. He looked down at his watch: 11:58 PM. Tears flowed down again. Overwhelming self-blame and guilt almost swallowed his heart. But he still supported himself on the railing, enduring the severe pain throughout his body, and very slowly, very slowly stood up. His whole body trembling, he slowly, bit by bit, pulled open that fire door that was usually effortless for him.

The blood-covered teenager with a bruised and swollen face appeared in the corridor, leaving nurses and patients dumbstruck. Immediately a nurse rushed over to help him. Li Yunmo’s eyes were already so swollen they were just slits. Through his blood-and-tear-blurred vision, he grabbed the nurse’s arm and said: “Help me to the elevator… 5th floor!”

No matter how the nurse tried to persuade him, he wouldn’t listen. The severely injured teenager moved toward the elevator entrance almost one step at a time.

Fortunately, the elevator was stopped right there.

The teenager stepped in but fell to the ground because he was too hasty.

Everyone in the elevator fell silent, watching the frail and wretched teenager lying on the floor.

Li Yunmo said softly: “5th floor… thank you.”

Someone quickly pressed the 5th floor button for him.

Li Yunmo closed his eyes, counting silently in his heart: 23, 22, 21… hurry up, hurry up.

—

After Li Weiyi parted with Li Yunmo, she looked at the time—four minutes left.

She had originally wanted to see Zhang Jingchan one more time, even thinking self-mockingly that if she unfortunately really did become a vegetable, this might be the last time in the next eight years that she could see him.

Or perhaps an even longer period of time.

She also wondered whether she should say a few words to her parents and sister, but then realized she had no way to begin. Besides, her family’s problems were all resolved—there seemed to be no regrets.

Passing by the nurses’ station, she paused, borrowed paper and pen from a nurse, leaned there, stared blankly for a while, wrote two notes, folded them neatly, and clutched them in her palm.

Li Weiyi walked to the area outside the ICU. The Li family and Zhong Yi were all there.

“Brother Zhong Yi, Sister.”

The two looked up.

“Could you come with me for a moment?”

The three walked to an empty section of corridor. Li Xiaoyi’s face was still pale. She glanced at Li Weiyi, then looked away—an expression of wanting to resent but unable to truly resent from the heart. Zhong Yi kept his arm around her shoulder, his eyes looking deeply at Li Weiyi.

Li Weiyi sniffed and said: “I want to ask you for a favor.” She took out a note and handed it over: “If the person in the ICU cannot wake up tonight, from now on, I must trouble you to take care of her. Whenever she wakes up, please give this note to her. Please be sure to give it to her.”

Li Xiaoyi said irritably: “What else do you want to say to my sister?”

Li Weiyi’s tears welled up as she said: “Please, these are very, very important words.”

Li Xiaoyi couldn’t say another word of blame. She turned to look away and also cried. Zhong Yi reached out to take the note and said: “I promise you.”

Li Weiyi smiled and bowed deeply: “Thank you so much.”

Then she turned and walked quickly toward the ICU. She needed to see him one last time. At the same time, she clutched tightly the other note in her pocket—that one was left for this body, for the nineteen-year-old Zhang Jingchan.

Only four words:

“Achan, wait for me.”

Holding this note, Li Weiyi seemed to feel much more at peace. She didn’t know how much time she had left—perhaps a few seconds, perhaps a few dozen seconds? She reached the ward area, but the nurse wouldn’t let her in. She said: “I’ll just look once, I’ll just look at him once…” The nurse still wouldn’t allow it. However, seeing the tears in the handsome teenager’s eyes, the nurse froze. Li Weiyi took advantage of her lack of vigilance and darted inside in one swift motion.

“Ding—” The elevator arrived.

Li Yunmo almost half-crawled, half-dragged himself out of the elevator. He looked groggily at the path ahead, still counting down in his heart: 10, 9, 8, 7… He could walk no further. There was no time left. He had no time to get reinforcements.