The moment this was said, Su Chenghui could hardly stand still. Xiang Caiping… paralyzed? He focused on the doctor with an alarmed expression, deeply afraid that he would reveal an unfavorable outcome.
“She wouldn’t be paralyzed. However, there might be an extended period of time during which the patient might not have her full spinal strength. She might have to use a wheelchair.”
The doctor knew that the family was worried. “With proper post-surgery rehabilitation, there will not be any long-term effects regarding her mobility, but there’s still a need to be wary about it. After all, she is not young anymore. If the post-surgery rehabilitation isn’t properly done, this might develop into a chronic problem.”
“Alright. We’ll definitely look out for that.” Huo Jinyao planned to hire professional care services, along with a nutritionist and a physiotherapist.
“The patient hit her head too during the accident. We’ve already checked — besides a minor concussion, there was no internal bleeding, so, fortunately, there is no need to worry about that. The worst is the severe blood loss from the rupture of her spleen — the patient went into shock a few times during the surgery due to the overwhelming blood loss. We’ve already repaired her spleen during the surgery, but the severe blood loss had weakened her body a lot, so she needs some time to recover.”
“Good, doctor. So that means that she doesn’t have any other problems, right?”
“For now, no. The anesthetic hasn’t worn off yet. When she wakes up, let us know, so we can give her another detailed round of inspection.”
After all, head injuries might be minor or major ones. Despite the initial inspection, the final outcome could only be determined when the patient woke up.
“Thank you, doctor.”
Solely Huo Jinyao settled the things that came after that. He didn’t allow Su Chenghui to interfere at all.
By the time Su Qingsang reached the hospital, Xiang Caiping had already settled into a recovery room. Huo Jinyao was seated not too far away from the bed.
He had his laptop in front of him and a pile of reports and documents beside him. He looked pretty busy.
Yang Wenchang stood behind with a few documents in hand, clearly waiting for Huo Jinyao to sign them.
“Jinyao?”
“Wife.” Huo Jinyao stood up the moment he saw her. Su Qingsang did not return his gaze, but instead, rushed towards the bed.
“How’s my mom doing? How is she?”
Xiang Caiping’s face was sickly pale as she lay perfectly still on the bed. The rims of Su Qingsang’s eyes turned red. She really hated herself for not being with her mother during the first, hardest hours after the accident.
Huo Jinyao finished signing the documents in his hand, passed them to Yang Wenchang and signaled for him to leave.
After Yang Wenchang took the documents and left, he stepped forward and stood before Su Qingsang.
“Your mom is fine for now.”
Huo Jinyao knew what she was thinking about and repeated what the doctor had said. “That’s how the situation is for now. The anesthetic hasn’t worn off yet. Also, due to the fact that she had lost a lot of blood, she might only wake up tomorrow.”
“She lost a lot of blood? Has blood been transferred?”
“Yes. She has had a transfer of 600 milliliters of blood.”
“Six-hundred?” Su Qingsang looked at Xiang Caiping, the pain in her heart reflected through her eyes. “How about now? Is she okay now?”
“She should be. Post-surgery rehabilitation is very important.” Huo Jinyao didn’t think to hide the facts from her. He told her about Xiang Caiping’s spinal issues.
Su Qingsang seemed very hard on herself. “It’s all my fault. I should’ve paid more attention to it in Rong City back then. I shouldn’t have gone away when my mom gave me a chance to look after her. What if this develops into a chronic problem?”
“Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.” Huo Jinyao clutched her hand tightly. “You didn’t even know her identity back then, right? Furthermore, we’ll hire the best physiotherapist and the best doctors to treat her. I believe that everything is going to be fine.”
Su Qingsang didn’t say anything. She only nodded vigorously.
Huo Jinyao squeezed her hand and realized that it was extremely cold. His heart ached for her, yet he remained helpless. He held her hand tightly and brought it to his chest.
“Your hands are so cold. Didn’t Wenchang turn on the heater when he picked you up?”
“He did.” Su Qingsang gave her head a shake, her gaze still lingering on Xiang Caiping. “I just feel very unsettled.”
Huo Jinyao did not say anything further. Su Qingsang wasn’t in a great mood. She had opened the car windows for some air, and her hands and face were chilled by the wind in the process.
He stretched out an arm and pulled her body into an embrace. His hug was so tight, so forceful.
“Wife. You don’t have to worry. You’re not alone. You have me.”
Su Qingsang didn’t raise her head. Her face was still plastered against his chest as her gaze trailed towards Xiang Caiping.
“Tell me, why does my mom have such a hard life?”
In the first half of her life, her lover and her child were taken from her. Now, just as she was thinking that she could finally live in peace and contentment, something like that happened.
“Huo Jinyao, I really wish I had been there in the accident in her place, that way—”
“Wife.” Huo Jinyao suddenly grabbed her shoulders and had her look him in the eye. “Never say something like that.”
Su Qingsang stared blankly back at him. Huo Jinyao’s expression was pretty serious and stern. “Your mom is very important to you, but you’re very important to me.”
Biting her lip, Su Qingsang was unable to find her voice for a while. In the end, she nodded her head gently. “I know.”
“Wife, I hope you understand. You can say that I’m selfish or cold, but I feel lucky that you were not the one caught in this accident.”
Had it been otherwise, Huo Jinyao couldn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t do something absolutely crazy due to that.
Su Qingsang was surprised at his expression. Her unsettled heart found a little more peace.
Stretching out her arms to give Huo Jinyao a hug, she looked at Xiang Caiping, whose face was pale and bloodless. “Huo Jinyao, I won’t say that again. I just hope that my mom will be fine.”
“Don’t worry, everything will be fine.”
Exhausted, Su Qingsang closed her eyes. Being able to participate in an exchange program at Rong City was initially a very joyful event.
After all, she got to exchange insights and learn from so many seniors in the field. However, now, all that joy had turned into self-blame.
She was particularly remorseful and frustrated. If she knew this would happen, she wouldn’t have gone to Rong City.
If she did not go, Xiang Caiping might not even be caught in an accident like that. When Su Qingsang reached this conclusion, she suddenly broke out of the embrace, took a few steps back and stared at Huo Jinyao.
“Oh, right. Who was the one who hit my mom? Where is he?”
Huo Jinyao frowned, thinking of ways to phrase the answer.
“What’s wrong? Did they escape? Wasn’t the driver caught?”
When she was still in Rong City, Su Qingsang only heard that Xiang Caiping had been hit by a car, yet her husband didn’t mention what sort of car had hit her, or who was the driver.
“I made sure the driver was arrested.” Huo Jinyao’s voice was distant. Thinking about Su Peizhen, he finally decided to tell her about it.
“Actually, your mom’s accident might be partially attributed to the car’s speed, but in terms of who actually caused her accident, you can’t entirely put the blame on him.”
“What do you mean?” Su Qingsang started to panic again.
Huo Jinyao didn’t hide it from her. He told her about Su Peizhen’s involvement in the accident.
He spoke in a very impartial manner. Earlier, while he was waiting for Xiang Caiping’s surgery to end, he had sent somebody to check the surveillance tapes.
Before Su Qingsang was back, he had already seen it all. There was no way to hide anything from the surveillance tapes — they told him what exactly happened.
