"Are you planning to stare at that coffee until it files a harassment complaint?" Yufei snapped, sliding a tray of syringes onto the counter beside Meilin.
Meilin didn't flinch. Her eyes stayed fixed on the untouched paper cup in front of her, the steam long gone, the bitterness still rising from inside her chest instead.
"I didn't sleep," she muttered. "Not that anyone asked."
"I didn't ask because I could see it from your panda face," Yufei replied, pulling off her gloves and tossing them into the bin with one sharp flick. "Don't take it out on the caffeine. What happened?"
Meilin finally looked up. Her eyes weren't just tired—they were distant. Like she was still standing outside her father's office, hand hovering near the doorknob, unable to decide whether to knock or run.
"I think my father was part of something. Something dark. Something that killed people. And I don't know how to face him anymore," she said, barely above a whisper.
Yufei's sarcasm softened. "Well, that's new. Usually, it's the patients who dump trauma before breakfast."
Meilin gave her a weak smirk. "Guess I'm multitasking."
Across the corridor, Yichen leaned on the wall, arms crossed, watching them. His eyes weren't nosy they were protective. Like he already knew she hadn't slept, and if she let him, he'd carry the whole weight for her. But she hadn't said a word since last night. She hadn't even said goodbye.
Meilin stood abruptly, brushing past Yufei. "I'm going to ask him."
Yufei blinked. "Now?"
"If I wait any longer, I'll start making excuses."
She didn't look back. Yichen fell into step behind her without asking anything. That was the strange thing about him he didn't push, didn't demand answers. He just showed up.
The elevator doors slid shut, and the ride up to the top floor was silent. Until he said, softly, "Whatever he says, you won't face it alone."
She nodded, but her fists were clenched so tight her knuckles had gone white.
Dr. Lin's office smelled like old books and newer guilt. Meilin stood in the doorway, her eyes locked on her father as he sat behind the desk, reviewing patient files like the world outside hadn't cracked.
He looked up, surprised to see her. "Meilin?"
She stepped inside, Yichen quietly closing the door behind them. She didn't sit.
"I need to ask you something. And I don't want the 'doctor to intern' version of the answer. I want the truth. From my father."
Dr. Lin froze, file still open. His eyes flickered to Yichen, then back to her. "Go on."
"Were you involved in Project Phoenix? Did you know Zhao Weihao? Was the fire in 1998 an accident or a cover-up?"
He didn't answer.
Meilin's voice cracked. "Please."
Dr. Lin stood slowly. He walked to the window, hands behind his back. "I knew Weihao. We were residents together. He was brilliant. Idealistic. And stubborn. The kind of man who believed the system was broken and thought he could fix it alone."
She swallowed. "What happened?"
"There was a research project," he said. "Experimental treatments. Off the record. Dangerous, but potentially revolutionary. They were using unapproved techniques on terminal patients. Some were improving. Others weren't."
Her voice shook. "So they were human test subjects?"
"It started as volunteer trials. Then someone someone high up decided results mattered more than rules."
Meilin felt cold. "And the fire?"
"He tried to leak it. Files, tapes, everything. They said he died in an accident. But he didn't. He was silenced."
The room fell silent.
Meilin barely breathed. "And you?"
"I helped him gather the files. I believed in the research, but not the way they twisted it. After he died… I buried everything. Including the truth. I thought I was protecting you."
Yichen's jaw clenched beside her. Meilin stared at her father, tears brimming.
"You protected yourself."
She turned and walked out.
She didn't cry until she got to the rooftop.
Yichen stood behind her, watching as she gripped the railing like it was the only thing keeping her from falling apart.
"I thought he was the one person who'd never lie to me."
Yichen leaned against the rail beside her. "He didn't lie. He just didn't tell you the whole story. There's a difference. A painful one, but a difference."
Meilin wiped her eyes angrily. "You don't have to defend him."
"I'm not. I just know what it's like to want your parents to be superheroes and realizing they're human."
She looked at him. "I'm so tired, Yichen. Of secrets. Of pretending I'm okay."
He didn't speak. He just pulled her into his arms. And for once, she didn't resist.
Back in the ER, the chaos returned. A construction site collapse brought in eight trauma patients within half an hour. Gao Rui shouted orders, Yufei ran between beds, and the smell of blood, antiseptic, and urgency filled the air.
Meilin changed into her scrubs without a word and dove into work. Sutures, IVs, blood bags anything to keep her hands busy and her mind distracted.
She was stitching up a worker's forehead when a voice behind her said, "You forgot to tie off the end."
It was Dr. Lin.
She didn't look at him. "I haven't forgotten. I just don't want you here."
"I'm still your supervisor."
"And I'm still your daughter. But apparently, that didn't matter until today."
She finished the stitch, stood, and walked out without another word.
Later that night, the hospital quieted again. Meilin sat alone in the dim cafeteria, staring at her untouched food.
Yichen appeared, holding two plates of dumplings.
"Don't try to bribe me with carbs," she muttered.
"Too late. I already got you chili sauce."
She blinked at him, then sighed. "You really are dangerous."
He sat across from her, digging in. "You saved three people today. Including a kid with half his face gone. That counts for something."
"I feel like nothing counts anymore."
"It does," he said, chewing thoughtfully. "It counts to the people who walked out alive. It counts to the families who got to take someone home."
She looked at him. "Why are you always so calm?"
"I'm not. I just hide it better."
She studied him. "What are you hiding right now?"
He met her gaze. "I'm terrified that you're going to push me away again. That I'll let you in, and you'll disappear."
She was silent.
"I know we joke. Flirt. Fight. But I mean it when I say this I care about you. More than I probably should."
Meilin felt something warm rise in her chest.
"Don't say that unless you're sure," she said softly.
"I've never been more sure of anything."
She smiled, the first real one that day. "Then don't back out."
He leaned forward. "Try me."
The peace didn't last long.
A code blue alarm echoed through the corridors, cutting through the fragile bubble around Meilin and Yichen like glass shattering. Both of them shot up, plates abandoned, and sprinted toward the ER.
It was a boy maybe ten years old gasping on the stretcher as nurses wheeled him in. His skin was ghostly pale, and he clutched his chest like it was tearing open from the inside.
"Severe cardiac arrhythmia," Yufei barked, her voice louder than the monitors. "Possible congenital defect no records, no guardian."
Gao Rui appeared out of nowhere, his eyes sweeping the vitals like they were printed in bold.
"Push 1mg epinephrine! Meilin, with me we need a crash team!"
There wasn't time to think, only to act. Meilin grabbed the paddles, sweat already beading at her temples.
"Clear!"
The boy's body jerked on the table, but the flatline continued. Again.
"Clear!"
Beep. Beep. Beep.
A pulse.
Everyone exhaled.
The relief lasted only seconds before the heart rate spiked, erratic again.
Meilin's hands trembled as she grabbed a syringe from Yichen. "He's not stabilizing. Something's wrong."
"It's not just cardiac," Gao Rui muttered. "Something's blocking the oxygen. Lungs?"
A quick scan revealed the worst the boy had been exposed to toxic fumes. Possibly from the collapsed construction site. His lungs were flooding internally.
"We need a bronchoscope, now!" Yichen barked.
The nurses scrambled. Time moved like molasses, and Meilin felt her own breath catching as she watched the boy's chest fight for every second.
Gao Rui turned to her. "You're going in. You've got the smallest hands."
Meilin didn't hesitate. With Yufei and Yichen guiding her through every millimeter, she threaded the scope into the boy's airway and cleared the obstruction.
His vitals steadied.
The room let out another breath deeper, this time.
When they stepped out twenty minutes later, Meilin collapsed against the wall, exhausted. Gao Rui handed her a bottle of water without saying a word.
"You were brilliant," Yichen said quietly.
"No. We were."
Later that Night Hospital Garden
The hospital garden wasn't much just a small stretch of plants that always looked tired but it was quiet. Meilin sat on the bench under the dim light of a flickering lamp, finally letting her body relax.
Yufei plopped beside her with a dramatic groan. "If I ever say I want to be a trauma surgeon, remind me of today and slap me with a chart."
Meilin chuckled. "Promise."
They sat in silence for a moment, the exhaustion settling over them like a shared blanket.
Then Yufei asked, "Do you think we're going to turn into our parents?"
Meilin tilted her head. "Why?"
"Because today, I saw Gao Rui lose it when that boy flatlined. He tried to hide it, but I saw his hands shake."
"That's because he cares," Meilin said.
"Exactly. And we pretend we don't. But we do. All of us."
She paused, then smirked. "Even you, Miss I-don't-need-feelings."
Meilin rolled her eyes. "I never said I don't need feelings. I just don't like when they interrupt my sleep."
They laughed. For a moment, the garden didn't feel tired anymore.
Meanwhile Gao Rui's Office
Gao Rui stood at the window, arms crossed, watching the night swallow the city. He didn't notice Yufei standing in the doorway until she knocked softly.
"You were right," she said. "That kid he reminded me of my brother."
He turned. "You have a brother?"
"Had," she corrected. "He died when we were kids. Asthma attack. My parents never forgave themselves. Neither did I."
Gao Rui nodded slowly. "We all have our ghosts."
She stepped inside. "What's yours?"
He gave a bitter smile. "A girl I couldn't save. And the woman I pushed away because I couldn't forgive myself."
There was a beat of silence between them, heavy but strangely comforting.
Yufei said, "Maybe we're all just a little broken."
"Maybe," Gao Rui agreed. "But broken people make good doctors. They know where it hurts."
She smiled. "That's poetic. I didn't know you had it in you."
"I don't. I stole it from a fortune cookie."
They both laughed. For once, it didn't feel like a defense mechanism.
Final Scene Meilin & Yichen
Meilin walked down the hallway, rubbing her temples, when she saw Yichen waiting outside the locker room. He looked tired, but when he saw her, his eyes softened.
"You okay?" he asked.
"I should be asking you that."
"I'm okay if you are."
She stepped closer. "Today was… a lot."
"I know."
"But I meant what I said earlier. Don't back out."
He took her hand. "I'm not going anywhere."
They stood like that for a while, fingers intertwined. No big confessions, no fireworks just the quiet truth that maybe, despite everything, they were starting to find their way.
Together.