Take My Breath Away

Gillian pointed her fingers at the skin-care products and raised her head to gaze at the saleswoman. "How much is one set?"

"Oh, this series has liquid essence, facial cream, eye cream, and facial mask. The general price is eight hundred and eighty thousand. If you buy it today, we can also give you a ten-thousand-worth certificate of Shining International Plaza with no strings."

'Eight hundred and eighty thousand?' Gillian's eyes widened at that. Her heart trembled after hearing the price. The most expensive set of skin-care products she had ever used was only about 200, 000 dollars, but this set was worth more than 800 thousand. Was it gold?

Gillian closed her eyes, and Evelyn's face popped up in her mind. Her fair skin was probably the result of this particular product. She eyed the material for a long time and hardened her heart. She must get this one if she wanted to walk in front of Evelyn with confidence. "Pack one for me."

"Okay, ma'am, please give me an address." The saleswoman took out her pen and notepad. "Our staff will deliver it to your home tomorrow."

At first, Gillian intended to leave her home address, but an idea flashed through her mind. If she happened to get the costly skin-care products in front of her colleagues, they would be jealous of her for sure. Her eyes brightened at the thought. "Gillian Chi, the manager of the finance department of ZL Group." How could she not brag about such an expensive set of skin-care products? She took a picture and shared it on WeChat Moments.

ZL Group was well-known in Y City, and its office building had become a landmark for everyone.

The saleswoman glanced at Gillian with sparkling eyes. "Wow, so, you're a manager of ZL Group. But you look so young. You're awesome!"

Gillian flipped her long hair near her ear and smiled in feigned modesty. "I'm flattered. I'm ready to pay."

"Okay, please wait for a moment, Miss Chi."

After paying the bill and leaving the address, Gillian went back to the cinema alone.

She looked at her watch. Sheffield and Evelyn must be inside the cinema already. That was when her eyes swept on her friend, who had been waiting for her. She walked over and began telling her friend how expensive those beauty products were.

Sheffield had originally wanted to take Evelyn to the theater but eventually failed. Just when the ticket taker was about to take their tickets, he got a phone call from the hospical. "Dr. Tang, we've got a new patient, male, 45 years old, in a very critical state. Third-stage hypertension, fifth-stage chronic kidney disease, chronic Hepatitis B, hepatic cirrhosis. Now his creatinine level is more than 700, and he has whole-body edema, shortness of breath, and he is gasping heavily. Also, he has acute heart failure, heart function level four. His condition is very serious. Dr. Li and Dr. Gu are in their hometowns. Can you come over and see him?"

Sheffield cast an apologetic glance at Evelyn and paused for a moment. "I'm on my way." He had promised Dr. Li and Dr. Gu two days ago that he would fill in during the Spring Festival so they could celebrate the festival with their families. Sheffield had thought since he was alone, he wouldn't mind putting in a few more hours at work. It was not like he had anything better to do.

Debbie hadn't invited him to Huo family's house to celebrate the New Year back then. He hadn't even expected to take Evelyn to a movie on New Year's Eve.

Evelyn knew something was wrong. "Was that from the hospital?"

"Yes." Sheffield sighed and looked at her. "A patient of acute heart failure has been sent there. The situation is serious. I have to go. Evelyn, I'm so sorry. Do you want to watch the movie alone or go home?" This was the first time that they had been on a date to watch a movie, and he had to deal with an emergency. His face was flushed with guilt.

Evelyn's heart warmed at his reaction, and she instantly grabbed his hand. "I'll go with you."

"What?" 'Take Evelyn to the hospital during the Spring Festival?' That was the craziest thing one could ever think of. How could he let his beloved spend such an important day in the stinky hospital? "No, I can't let you spend the New Year's Eve at a hospital. I'll ask Tayson to drive you home. We can watch the movie another time." He thought he had made a wise decision.

But Evelyn disagreed. "I want to be with you. And I have nothing to do at home anyway. If you need to perform a surgery, I'll head back."

Time was pressing, so Sheffield compromised and pulled her out. On the way, he explained the patient's situation to her. "The patient has renal failure. Due to renal atrophy, his kidneys can't function, and there are a lot of complications. Thankfully, he doesn't have uremia yet, but his body has risen up to that stage already. At present, the only treatment for him is continuous renal replacement therapy and kidney transplant surgery. But he has to wait for a kidney donor, which can take time. Right now, he can only have intubation. The good thing is that he has had an arteriovenous fistula surgery before. If we can stabilize his condition tonight, he will survive as long as he sticks to having dialysis." Now the hospital was short of kidneys, so the patient had to wait. No one knew how long it would take.

Intubation was a small surgery. Any doctor in the nephrology department could do it. Sheffield didn't need to do it himself. He just needed to check the patient's condition and offer his opinion.

Evelyn had listened to whatever he said, but she was still confused. "Does he have to do the dialysis every day?" When she and Debbie went to the hospital to visit the head of the Mo family before, he was also on dialysis, but she didn't know how long he had been on it.

"It's not necessary to have continuous renal replacement therapy daily. At the very least, two or three times a week should be fine. If he can get the kidney transplant surgery, he won't need to be on dialysis. But if he doesn't get a match from the donors, he will need the continuous renal replacement therapy to sustain his life." Evelyn's face darkened at that. Getting sick really sucked. It can take everything from a person.

By now, Evelyn understood. Although the patient was a stranger to her, she felt bad for him.

How miserable it would be for a man to rely on a machine to sustain his life! When she visited the head of the Mo family, she had learned patients on continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) couldn't have too much salt or water. They were only allowed to take water while having medicines.

The body of such a patient would be so weak that they wouldn't be able to excrete extra water. It would cause swelling and might lead to heart failure.

Apart from the pain, the patients had to have CRRT at the nearest hospital every two days. In the end, they wouldn't be able to take part in any activities that would take more than a day. It was so sad.

Sheffield took Evelyn to his office after reaching the hospital, and changed his clothes.

It was New Year's Eve, but when they arrived at the inpatient department, Sheffield found that the hospital was full. Hospital beds had been arranged in the corridor too. The patients were watching the Spring Festival Gala on TV.

A few patients were lying on the bed alone, without anyone to accompany them.

Evelyn glanced around and found an empty bench. She turned toward Sheffield. "I'll wait for you here."

Sheffield looked at the bench behind Evelyn and nodded. "Okay."

Evelyn was about to sit on the bench in the corridor, when another doctor called Sheffield. "Dr. Tang, good! You're here! The family of the patient is right at the door. Please come and have a look."

Sheffield had just taken a few steps when a sharp female voice echoed in the corridor. "You are Dr. Tang? What the hell is wrong with your hospital? You doctors told us hypertension is deadly and prescribed medicine and infusion. Do you think we are made of money? You blood-sucking assholes!"

Evelyn frowned at the voice, and her face turned gloomy.

Sheffield explained to the woman patiently, "Your husband's high blood pressure has surpassed 190, which means he is at risk. If he doesn't get the treatment, the consequences will be exactly as Dr. Wang said."