By the time they got home, it was almost five o’clock. Yang uncle felt the child’s forehead and sensed that the fever had gone down a bit. He breathed a sigh of relief and quickly called Wang Zhao to report that they were safe. Following the doctor’s instructions, he used a soft cotton cloth dampened with some alcohol to wipe the child’s body, then covered him with a blanket and placed him in the crib.

After doing all this, he prepared to lie down on the bed and close his eyes for a bit. He hadn’t had a moment’s peace all night, and now that he could finally relax, drowsiness overtook him.

Meanwhile, as Wang Zhao waited, two police officers were also waiting nearby, taking the opportunity to inquire about the situation. During this time, one of the officers went out for a while and bought back three bottles of water, handing one to Wang Zhao.

However, they received a call from the station and had to leave together, but not before asking Wang Zhao for her phone number. They would definitely need to come back and inquire about the situation once the person inside came out of the emergency room.

It was about four hours later when the doors of the emergency room finally opened and the doctor came out. Wang Zhao had been sitting on a chair outside waiting until daybreak. At this point, her temples felt like they were being pricked with needles. She was now disheveled, having left in such a hurry that she hadn’t even put on socks. One could say she looked quite haggard.

The doctor said, “The patient is now out of life-threatening danger, but will be transferred to the ICU for observation for a day. We’ll reassess the situation once the patient wakes up.”

The main concern was prolonged unconsciousness causing respiratory depression, necessitating intubation. The next steps would depend on the situation. If he woke up, all would be well, and he could be transferred to a regular ward.

Wang Zhao breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the person was saved, it was fine. However, the next day would be the most critical time.

The ICU doesn’t allow companions. After the person was brought out, Wang Zhao looked at the man lying on the hospital bed. With his eyes closed, he no longer had that pitiable expression. He looked much quieter, lying on the bed like an exquisite doll.

With such an incident, it was impossible not to inform the mother-in-law and father-in-law. Wang Xuechun and Zhang Ke also needed to be informed.

To be honest, Wang Zhao was at fault this time. Knowing Li Zhenguan’s temperament, she should have paid more attention to his emotions. But thinking of his personality, Wang Zhao couldn’t help but smile wryly. With Li Zhenguan’s nature, he wouldn’t turn back even if he hit a wall. It seemed impossible to expect him to sincerely reflect on his actions.

She called Yang Jin first. After a night of emergency treatment, it was now past eight o’clock. Yang Jin had already gotten up and was eating breakfast downstairs. When he received Wang Zhao’s call, he was a bit surprised. He glanced at Li’s mother, who was watching the news nearby, before answering the call.

“Dad, Zhenguan had an incident last night and is now in the hospital,” Wang Zhao said directly, without preamble. “He’s out of emergency care and in the ICU now. The doctors say they need to observe him for a day.”

Yang Jin’s knife and fork fell onto the plate, startling Li’s mother who was watching the news nearby. He almost dropped his phone onto the bread.

“What happened?” Li’s mother was somewhat surprised. It had been a long time since she had seen Yang Jin so impolite.

Yang Jin’s face didn’t look good, and he no longer had an appetite for breakfast. “Wang Zhao called. Zhenguan was taken to the hospital by ambulance last night. He just came out of emergency care.”

At this, Li’s mother also lost interest in watching the news and eating. She stood up immediately. The elderly couple didn’t say anything more, each going upstairs to change clothes while instructing the driver to wait outside. At the same time, they also called Li Zhenwei to inform her of the situation.

Sitting in the car, Yang Jin couldn’t help but worry, starting to regret: “We shouldn’t have let these two get married in the first place. It hasn’t been long, and now there’s a life at stake. Our family can afford to raise a child.”

Although Wang Zhao hadn’t said much, Yang Jin still sensed something, and now he couldn’t help but feel some resentment.

Li’s mother beside him patted Yang Jin’s hand, soothing his emotions: “Don’t you know your son’s personality? Is he the type who wants children or just a wife? I think he would even give up the child for Wang Zhao. Since Wang Zhao has already called, it means Zhenguan’s situation isn’t too bad.”

Yang Jin pursed his lips, glanced at the driver in the front seat, but didn’t say anything more. The car fell silent.

At the hospital, Wang Zhao had already called her parents. Zhenguan’s hospitalization was not a small matter. Zhang Ke, recalling that these two had just come to their house for dinner yesterday and seemed to have had an argument, inevitably asked a few more questions. This inquiry revealed a big issue.

Wang Zhao wasn’t talkative by nature, and there were many things she couldn’t bring herself to say. So she was scolded by Zhang Ke for not being able to say a word, mistaking her silence for guilt over bullying Zhenguan. He became even more furious, berating her over the phone, though in the background, the sounds of the two elders preparing to go out could be heard.

Wang Zhao also began to regret a bit, making Zhang Ke and Wang Xuechun worry about her at their age.

Ever since encountering Li Zhenguan, her peaceful life seemed to have become turbulent, and even her emotions were thrown into chaos by this person. Sometimes she would make wrong decisions. Now Wang Zhao wondered if she shouldn’t have argued with Li Zhenguan, and shouldn’t have moved out, after all, that was already in the past.

But in the next moment, her heart hardened again. Because Li Zhenguan’s personality was originally extreme, since he had done such things before, it was not impossible for him to do things she couldn’t accept in the future. Once a person’s bottom line is lowered, they will retreat step by step.

Li Zhenguan was transferred to the ICU, still in a coma. Wang Zhao watched from outside for a while before going downstairs, waiting at the entrance for the elders from both families.

Yang Jin’s side arrived at the hospital first. As soon as they got out of the car, they hurried towards the entrance. The two entered and immediately saw Wang Zhao in the lobby.

Although her clothes were disheveled and her face showed obvious weariness, she was still eye-catching in the crowd. Yang Jin could spot her almost at a glance. No wonder, with her outstanding figure and straight back that was hard to ignore, she could be said to stand out like a crane among chickens.

“Mom, Dad.” Wang Zhao walked forward, her evident exhaustion making Yang Jin swallow the reproach in his mouth. “How is Zhenguan?”

“Still under observation.” Wang Zhao tugged at the corner of her mouth.

Yang Jin had more to ask, but was held back by Li’s mother: “Let’s go up and see Zhenguan’s condition first.”

In the elevator, Li’s mother noticed that Wang Zhao seemed to be wearing a nightgown under her coat. Her gaze moved downward, and she saw that the child was wearing shoes without socks, clearly having left in a hurry.

Withdrawing her gaze, her tone was still relatively calm, showing no negative emotions towards Wang Zhao: “Have you eaten yet?”

“I’m planning to eat later,” Wang Zhao said. “I’m not very hungry now.”

They went upstairs, but it wasn’t the designated visiting time now. They couldn’t go in and could only look at the patient’s condition through the window.

As soon as they saw Zhenguan lying on the hospital bed, Yang Jin and Li’s mother couldn’t hold back. Li’s mother’s emotions began to fluctuate, after all, it was her youngest son.

As the saying goes, old people love their youngest child. Although they didn’t spend much time with their youngest son, in reality, the attention they gave to Zhenguan was more than to Li Zhenwei. Seeing their son, who was fine just a while ago, suddenly in the intensive care unit, no one could accept it.

Yang Jin was even more emotional, his body starting to tremble. He was embraced by Li’s mother, who was comforting him in a low voice. At the same time, she gave Wang Zhao a look and said softly, “Your father and I will stay here and watch Zhenguan for a while. You go down and have some breakfast first.”

Wang Zhao was silent for a moment, then nodded and went downstairs alone. However, she didn’t go to a breakfast shop to eat, but went to a convenience store to buy a pack of cigarettes, then sat in the car and slowly started smoking.

Smoking on an empty stomach made her feel nauseous. She coughed almost after the first puff. She didn’t smoke much, hardly at all in the past year, and her body wasn’t quite used to it.