Still Frame Chapter 90
byChapter 90: Endless Serendipity
The red emergency lights of the operating room flashed wildly, and the sound of gurney wheels grinding against the floor tiles was sharp and piercing.
Medical staff ran alongside the gurney, shouting, “Male patient, 31 years old, blast injury!”
The attending physician walking toward them scanned the erratic waveforms on the monitor. “Establish dual-lumen IV access. Blood pressure 80/50, heart rate 130. Suspected intra-abdominal hemorrhage. Prepare blood immediately!”
He pressed his fingers against the injured man’s carotid artery, his brow furrowing instantly. “Obtunded consciousness, bilateral pupils equal and round, sluggish light reflex. Notify radiology for a CT scan.”
Amidst the buzzing of the suction machine and the crisp clatter of instrument trays, the clock in the emergency room ticked. He felt his soul rise, crossing time and space, returning to the moonlit room where he had packed his things and looked at the man sleeping soundly on the bed.
The man was sleeping peacefully, his brows relaxed, looking less cold and severe than when he was awake. He looked at the ring on his left hand, then back at the man’s tranquil sleeping face.
After a long moment, the hand wearing the ring cupped the man’s face, and he lowered his head to press a kiss on the other’s forehead. Just as he was about to get up and leave, the man suddenly opened his eyes. Dark, icy pupils locked onto him. One hand fiercely gripped his left hand, pressing the ring into the base of his finger until it hurt.
“Zhang Liuxin, what gives you the right to leave?”
Zhang Liuxin opened his eyes, gasping for air. A nurse soon arrived, monitored him, and told him to remain still while waiting for the attending physician.
“Okay,” a muffled syllable rolled out of his throat. His vision gradually cleared, revealing a stark white ceiling.
His last memory was still of the dilapidated temporary hospital. He was holding a young child, using his back to brace against a wall that was loosening and collapsing due to the explosion. Fortunately, in the nick of time, a wooden plank had wedged across them, forming a makeshift triangular structure that saved their lives. After struggling out of the rubble, they encountered another wave of bombs. Zhang Liuxin’s consciousness was fading, only remembering that he hugged the child and ran desperately forward. Then, the violent blast wave nearly pierced his eardrums, and after that, he lost consciousness.
He was actually still alive.
Zhang Liuxin moved his eyes. The attending physician then came over, examined him, briefly explained his physical condition, and concluded that he needed at least a month of recovery.
“Wait…” Zhang Liuxin’s throat was terribly dry. “Which hospital is this?”
“Oba Temporary Special Zone Hospital.”
Oba bordered Seglant. Due to frequent warfare, the United Peace Council had specially established a special zone hospital near Seglant. The temporary headquarters for the press conference was also nearby.
“How did I get here?” Zhang Liuxin took two quick breaths, struggling to continue. “Wasn’t I at the Seglant War Zone Hospital? I had a child, a child in my arms…”
“Take your time, no rush. The child has a mild concussion and malnutrition, but is not in life-threatening danger. He has also been settled in this hospital. You can visit him once your condition stabilizes.”
The attending physician said, “Chen Liu, right? I saw your name tag. You were brought in by the peacekeeping forces. We have also contacted the United Press Conference, and your colleagues should be arriving soon.”
“The peacekeeping forces went into Seglant?”
“Yes. You’ve been unconscious for three days.”
Zhang Liuxin wanted to ask about the situation in Seglant and whether the other patients in the hospital had been properly relocated, but someone outside called for the doctor, so he had to stop.
His physical condition was indeed not optimistic. For the next two days, he mostly slept. When he woke up again, he saw his colleague, Beifu, sitting by his bed.
“Chen, you’re finally awake!”
Beifu adjusted the head of the bed slightly. “How are you feeling?”
“Not bad. When did you arrive?”
“Two hours ago. Things have been crazy these past two days, everyone is running around, so no one had time to visit you.”
Beifu held a thermos in her left hand and stiffly used her other hand to pour half a cup of water into a glass. “Have some water.”
After drinking, Zhang Liuxin immediately asked, “The peacekeeping forces entered Seglant. What’s the situation there now? There were many medical staff and patients at the war zone hospital. Are they okay? Where are they?”
Beifu smiled, raised her right prosthetic limb, and patted his shoulder. “Seglant has a ceasefire.”
Zhang Liuxin’s eyes widened, and his breathing hitched. “…What?”
“A temporary ceasefire. Their bombing of the war zone hospital this time greatly displeased the United States. After the news broke, multiple states, including Yinzhou, publicly called for the two armed forces to negotiate peace and stop actions that threaten human peace and disregard life.”
“Seglant faced immense pressure this time, so they announced a temporary ceasefire the day before yesterday. Whether the peace talks will succeed, we don’t know, but at least we’ll have peace for the next two months.”
Hearing these words, Zhang Liuxin’s eyes welled up with warmth. After a moment, he spoke with a slight choke, “Finally.”
However, Beifu continued in a heavy tone, “But after the bombing of the war zone hospital, the number of survivors was very small, only 26 people.”
Zhang Liuxin closed his eyes. After a while, he met Beifu’s gaze, slowly raised his hand, and made the gesture of prayer common in Beifu’s hometown.
May all lives find peace.
“Once we wrap up our current work, we can take a long vacation, Chen. Are you going home?”
This question stumped Zhang Liuxin.
“Home…”
“Yes,” Beifu pointed to the name tag lying on the bedside table. It bore Zhang Liuxin’s name and date of birth, with the United Press Conference logo on the back—something every war correspondent carried when entering a war zone. But Beifu was pointing at the ring next to the name tag. “Aren’t you going back to see the owner of this ring?”
Zhang Liuxin’s gaze sharpened as he looked over. A simple, unadorned ring lay quietly on his name tag. At first glance, it looked ordinary, but from certain angles, the ring showed a faint blue glow under the light.
This ring had been worn around his neck with his name tag, accompanying him through life and death for two years.
Seeing Zhang Liuxin silent, Beifu wondered if she had said the wrong thing and awkwardly changed the subject. “You need to recover quickly. There will be a very important press conference in the capital of Oba at the end of next month.”
“What kind of press conference?”
“A joint medical technology organization will be releasing new technological prosthetics.”
Beifu looked at her right arm. “This time the prosthetics are a huge upgrade. After adaptation training, you can even write and draw.”
Beifu was the reporter Daping had mentioned. Before meeting her, Zhang Liuxin hadn’t realized humans could be so strong and resilient.
“That’s wonderful.”
“Yes, and they secured a huge sponsorship this time. They will be assisting post-war reconstruction organizations to help people who suffered severe injuries and limb loss during the war.”
Zhang Liuxin was both happy and surprised. “That… requires a very strong financial chain, right?”
“Indeed, prosthetics are expensive to manufacture. But I heard it’s someone from Yinzhou. There are many wealthy people in Yinzhou, aren’t there? Oh, Chen, you’re also from Yinzhou, maybe you know something.”
Zhang Liuxin suddenly froze on the bed, his heart rate spiking. He asked anxiously, “Who is it?”
Beifu shrugged. “I don’t know. They are very low-key, but they will definitely attend the press conference. That’s why I wanted you to go with me. What do you say, want to go?”
“Yes.” Zhang Liuxin’s highly strung heart gently settled, and he nodded.
During the month and a half he spent in the hospital, colleagues from the press conference visited him frequently. Once Zhang Liuxin could walk, he would also visit the other floors to see the surviving children and talk to them. Although his Seglant language wasn’t perfectly fluent, the children always liked him because of his warmth.
The day he was discharged was the day they left for the capital of Oba. It was autumn again, and it was unseasonably cold here after the season changed. A gust of cold wind swept past, and Zhang Liuxin was still slightly breathless, coughing softly twice.
Beifu looked at him worriedly. “Still feeling unwell?”
“I’m fine, I’m much better.”
Their trip was also a work assignment. As soon as they landed, they connected with staff, and immediately began reviewing interview scripts and checking equipment in the hotel.
“Our boss is too stingy. We’re one disabled and one sick, and he wouldn’t send one more person.”
“This place is the busiest. Haven’t you seen Leo complaining endlessly in the group chat? It would be even more troublesome if he made us run to a remote location.”
Beifu nodded, realizing that was true.
“Has the guest list been released?”
“Here, it was sent over, but the investor side is still keeping things mysterious. We only heard it’s a remarkable figure from Yinzhou. Security in Oba has been upgraded these past two days.”
“Then we’ll just have to improvise.”
Zhang Liuxin pulled a wrinkled suit out of his luggage bag, sighed, and pressed the service bell to have someone iron it.
For some reason, lying on the comfortable, soft bed in the hotel, Zhang Liuxin suffered from insomnia. Whenever he was about to fall asleep, his ears would be filled with the sound of bombing, or gunshots, and endless cries and painful groans.
He knew this was PTSD. His psychologist had taught him the Grounding technique, so under the dim light, he began to think about “things I can see,” “things I can touch”…
But in the quiet night, the therapy was not very effective. He drifted for a while, then suddenly thought of the face he hadn’t seen in a long time. He could see the delicate, lowered long eyelashes, the mole next to the Adam’s apple, and he could touch the firm back, the forearm with bulging veins. Finally, Zhang Liuxin slowly fell asleep in his memories.
He woke up early the next day. After having breakfast with Beifu, they prepared to go to the venue. At the entrance, they saw heavily guarded security. Beifu whispered, “Could an executive from one of the states be coming?”
They handed over their press passes, equipment bags, and personal backpacks for inspection one by one. After successfully passing three security checks, they finally entered the hall.
As soon as Zhang Liuxin walked in, he noticed many black-haired, black-eyed Yinzhou faces. Passing by, he heard familiar Yinzhou dialect, which made him feel slightly flustered. His left leg unexpectedly started to ache. In the past two years, he hadn’t been careful with his body, or rather, he hadn’t had time to focus on his health. He asked someone for a cup of water, then found a painkiller tablet in the safety passage and popped two into his mouth.
“Chen, what are you doing here?” Beifu saw his complexion. “Is your wound hurting again? Maybe you should find a place to rest for a bit.”
“It’s fine,” Zhang Liuxin smiled dismissively. A commotion erupted outside. “Let’s go. Judging by the sound, the organizers must be arriving.”
“Okay, but tell me if you feel unwell again.”
“Mhm.”
Zhang Liuxin lowered his eyes to straighten the hem of his suit. It was actually a uniform issued by the press conference. Due to tight budgets, the quality of the clothing naturally couldn’t compare to the custom-made suits he wore in Yinzhou. However, Zhang Liuxin wasn’t overly concerned with appearance; for him, being neat and presentable was enough.
A crowd gathered. Zhang Liuxin quickly scanned them and noticed a few familiar high-ranking officials, even the mayor’s secretary from their capital city. He figured the person surrounded must be the biggest sponsor from Yinzhou that Beifu had mentioned.
The closer he walked, the more nervous Zhang Liuxin became. The painkiller seemed not to have fully gone down, leaving a bitter, sticky taste in his throat. He frowned, suppressing the bitterness and the palpitations. Yet, when the people in front of him parted and he saw the person’s face clearly, he forgot how to breathe.
The mayor’s secretary bowed slightly and said respectfully in Yinzhou dialect, “Oba welcomes your arrival, Mr. Wen.”
The little couple finally meets!