She dared not think further.
At her urgent request, Rong Yi helped her to the top floor of the villa.
Zhou Yi stood in the hallway near the operating room, leaning against the wall, his expression troubled.
Uncle Long blocked their path, his tone polite but his demeanor cold: "Please stop here, honored guests. Our young master is currently in surgery. Kindly wait downstairs!"
Qiqi asked anxiously, "Can I wait by the operating room?"
Uncle Long refused.
Zhou Yi noticed them and said to Uncle Long, "Uncle Long, let them come over! Miss Gu is Brother Lu's junior and also a medical student—she might be able to help!"
Uncle Long hesitated for a moment, then agreed.
With the master suffering a sudden heart attack, he had many matters to arrange, so he hurried off.
Qiqi walked over to Zhou Yi, her face full of gratitude: "Thank you."
Zhou Yi gave her a complicated look but said nothing.
Qiqi asked again, "Does my senior brother have a heart condition?"
Zhou Yi glanced at her once more—Qiqi's expression was extremely anxious now, not something that seemed feigned.
He finally nodded: "It's a congenital heart defect. He's had it since childhood."
Qiqi asked, "Does it flare up often?"
Zhou Yi nodded again: "It was more frequent when he was young, but three years ago he had a major surgery—a heart transplant. It should have been fine by now... The rejection period passed long ago, and he's been recovering well. We all thought he was out of danger..."
Qiqi fell silent.
A heart transplant is one of the most difficult surgeries in modern medicine, and the greatest fear is rejection—if it's chronic rejection, medication might still control it, but if it's acute rejection, there's little hope of recovery!
After a moment, a nurse hurried out of the operating room and was stopped by Zhou Yi: "How is the patient?"
The nurse removed her mask, her expression worried: "Dr. Lu is experiencing rejection. The doctors are administering medication now, and his condition has stabilized, but it's still not very optimistic..."
Zhou Yi's voice trembled slightly: "Why did this happen all of a sudden? Wasn't he recovering well before?"
The nurse replied, "According to the doctors, it seems to have been triggered by excessive stimulation..."
Zhou Yi was startled, then furious. Right in front of Qiqi, he slammed his fist hard against the wall!
A glint of green flashed in Rong Yi's eyes, and he quickly helped Qiqi to a nearby chair to sit down.
The nurse said a few more words in haste before returning to the operating room. Zhou Yi turned around, his eyes blazing with anger, and grabbed Rong Yi by the collar: "Excessive stimulation? What exactly did you two do to Wei?!"
Rong Yi coldly brushed him off: "You'll have to ask Lu Wei that—ask him what he did to our Qiqi!"
The effects of the anesthetic Qiqi had consumed hadn't worn off yet, and she was slumped against the back of the chair.
Zhou Yi looked at Rong Yi's torn shirt, then at the flustered Qiqi, pressed his thin lips together, and said nothing more.
The three of them waited in silence in the hallway. To Qiqi, time felt agonizingly stretched—every minute seemed to last an eternity.
After what felt like an age, the doctor finally emerged and announced the result: "Dr. Lu is temporarily out of danger. He's awake!"
Everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Qiqi pleaded with the doctor, "Can I see Senior Brother Lu?"
The doctor went back to consult the patient, then came out and called to Qiqi: "This student, come over here. Dr. Lu wants to see you."