The Secret Realm of Time, His and Her Life Through the Changes

Yesterday afternoon, Xue Jiang was first taken from the accident scene to the town's hospital. Although she regained a weak breath, she remained unconscious and in critical condition. Due to the limited resources of the local hospital, Xue Jiang was urgently transferred to Xichuan's best tertiary hospital—Xida Hospital—and directly admitted to the ICU.

When Wang Jie and several classmates first arrived at Xida Hospital, they met Dafang, Yaya, Xue Jiang's family, and Teacher Zhang, the on-site manager of the training course organizer, in the outpatient hall.

Wang Jie noticed that there were more than a dozen people in the group, so he walked up to Teacher Zhang and said, "Teacher Zhang, there are a lot of people. If everyone goes upstairs to the ICU, it may disrupt the normal order of the hospital."

Teacher Zhang agreed, saying, "Indeed, there are too many people."

Wang Jie suggested, "Why don't we let the students go back to school first?"

“We’re not going back,” Zhang Ying said, having overheard their conversation. “We’re going to wait here for Xue Jiang to wake up.”

Other classmates gathered around and said, "We're not going back; we're waiting for Xue Jiang."

At this moment, Xue Jiang's younger brother came over and said to everyone, "I thank you all for your concern on behalf of my sister, but no matter how many people there are, we can't help much right now. Please listen to the teacher and go back to school first."

Xue Jiang's mother stood silently by, tears streaming down her face. She and Xue Jiang's younger brother had traveled overnight by train from the northernmost city in China, and were extremely anxious.

Wang Jie comforted them, saying, "We understand how you all feel. Everyone is worried about Xue Jiang's safety, but Xue Jiang's family is even more anxious, isn't they? Let's not waste any more time here."

The students stopped insisting and silently turned to leave. They had already lost Cheng Zhi and didn't want to see anything else happen.

Teacher Zhang then arranged for Dafang and Yaya to book two rooms at a hotel across from the hospital so that Xue Jiang's family could have a place to rest, and staying closer to the hospital would also make it easier for them to handle the follow-up matters.

After everything was arranged, Wang Jie, Teacher Zhang, Xue Jiang's mother and younger brother took the elevator to the ICU on the second floor.

After they got off the elevator, they turned left and arrived at the entrance of the intensive care unit. In order to maintain order and ensure a quiet environment in the intensive care unit, the hospital did not provide seats for family members to rest at the entrance.

A girl was sitting on the floor outside the ICU, hugging her knees and burying her head in them. Wang Jie quickly walked over, squatted down, and gently patted the girl: "Yanruo, what are you doing here? Get up, the floor is too cold."

Zhou Yanruo looked up and saw Wang Jie. She pouted and said, "Xue Jiang hasn't woken up yet." Her voice was full of worry and sadness.

"Get up quickly." Wang Jie pulled Zhou Yanruo up. "Xue Jiang's family is here, and they will need your support."

Zhou Yanruo called out softly, "Auntie." Xue Jiang's mother nodded in response, and then went with Teacher Zhang to find the doctor to discuss Xue Jiang's condition.

Only Wang Jie and Zhou Yanruo remained outside the ICU. Wang Jie asked with concern, "When did you arrive? Why didn't you call me?"

“I took the early bus here this morning.” Zhou Yanruo’s voice trembled slightly. “I’ve been waiting here, hoping to hear good news that Xue Jiang has woken up.”

Looking at Zhou Yanruo's haggard face and swollen eyes, Wang Jie felt a pang of heartache. He knew that Zhou Yanruo and Xue Jiang were very close, and Xue Jiang's accident was a huge blow to her. He gently put his arm around Zhou Yanruo's shoulder and comforted her, "She will definitely wake up."

Zhou Yanruo nodded, but tears still streamed down her face. Wang Jie knew that any words would be futile at this moment, so he could only silently stay by Zhou Yanruo's side.

"Cheng Zhi's funeral arrangements... Shouldn't we go and visit Uncle Cheng?" Zhou Yanruo suddenly said softly.

"After we understand Xue Jiang's situation, we'll go." Wang Jie pondered for a moment, then said, "Let's not go today. They're probably dealing with the aftermath, so let's not disturb them at this time."

Wang Jie's pager beeped. It was a message from Jian Zheng: "Where are you? I'm waiting for you at your house."

"Jian Zheng is at my house. Do you want to go back to school?"

“I don’t want to go back to school. I’m afraid to walk on the tree-lined path in front of the school anymore, and I’m afraid to go into the classroom,” Zhou Yanruo said slowly. “They’re all gone, so why would I go back?”

"It's okay if you don't go back to school yet. There won't be any classes scheduled for the next few days. You can rest for a few days and you'll get better gradually."

At this moment, Teacher Zhang, Xue Jiang's mother, and her younger brother came out together.

Xue Jiang's mother had red and swollen eyes and kept sighing.

Wang Jie and Zhou Yanruo went up to him: "Teacher Zhang, what did the doctor say?"

Teacher Zhang shook his head and sighed, saying softly, "It's not optimistic."

“Could you please take the two of them to the hotel across the street? Dafang should have already booked rooms.” Teacher Zhang pulled Wang Jie aside and said, “I need to rush back to school. President Fang is here, and I’m going to report the situation to him.”

"Teacher Zhang, we'll take them to get something to eat first, and then we'll go to the hotel. Don't worry, we'll take good care of them," Wang Jie said.

"Sigh," Teacher Zhang sighed heavily, frowning, "We still need to raise some medical expenses; the cost of an ICU stay is not low."

After Teacher Zhang said that, Wang Jie realized that this was indeed a real problem that needed to be faced.

After settling Xue Jiang's family in, Wang Jie and Zhou Yanruo did not go back to the school and returned directly to Yangxi Road.

"Shall I take you home? You must not have slept well last night. Don't think about anything when you get home, just catch up on your sleep," Wang Jie said.

"Did you go back too? I..." Zhou Yanruo asked, then hesitated.

"How about we go sit in the octagonal pavilion for a while?"

"Well, actually I have something I'd like to discuss with you."

The two walked towards the octagonal pavilion opposite the alley entrance, with Wang Jie in front and Zhou Yanruo following closely behind.

Wang Jie walked into the octagonal pavilion, bent down and brushed the fallen leaves off the bench onto the ground. He was about to say to Zhou Yanruo, "Sit down."

Standing on the steps at the entrance of the octagonal pavilion, Zhou Yanruo parted her thin lips and said to Wang Jie, "I want to withdraw from the training program."