The nurse said that the open - heart surgery was very difficult and would probably take four to six hours.
But from afternoon till evening, the surgery still wasn't over.
Tan Linyuan had been with her all the time.
"Do you want to go for a meal?" Tan Linyuan glanced at the time and asked her calmly.
They had gotten married in a muddle at noon, and there hadn't been time to eat. Now they had been waiting outside the operating room for an afternoon. Physically, she must be exhausted.
If they continued waiting like this, Nan Yu might faint from hunger before Qu Jiaran even came out.
But Nan Yu still shook her head. "I'll wait until Qu Jiaran's surgery is over."
She wanted to wait for Qu Jiaran to come out and get an explanation for today's farce.
Tan Linyuan stood in front of her, bending down towards her.
Meeting his dark and deep pupils, Nan Yu was stunned. "Uncle, what's up?"
Tan Linyuan's gaze swept across her face. He looked like a divine Buddha overlooking all sentient beings, peering into every expression and movement of hers.
"I'll have someone bring the food over," he finally said.
Nan Yu was taken aback.
In such an urgent moment, Tan Linyuan only cared about whether she ate or not.
Taking a closer look, it seemed that he didn't really care about Qu Jiaran's life or death. After making the phone call at the hotel just now, it was only because Nan Yu said they should go to the hospital immediately that he decided to drive her here.
Even when Qu Jiaran decided to have the surgery on her own, there wasn't much surprise on his face.
So Nan Yu asked, "Uncle, did you know that Qu Jiaran was going to have surgery today?"
Tan Linyuan replied flatly, "No."
He wasn't lying. Qu Jiaran really hadn't told him in advance.
Qu Jiaran was excellent at hiding things. No matter how sharp he was, he could be negligent sometimes.
Moreover, during this period, Qu Jiaran had always shown great anticipation for the wedding, so no one noticed any other signs.
No one guessed that she would plan to go to the operating table on the wedding day.
Suddenly, Nan Yu remembered what Tan Linyuan had said before.
She blurted out involuntarily and asked softly, "Uncle, will Qu Jiaran die?"
Her words seemed to be asking him and also seeking confirmation from him.
Qu Jiaran's death would bring far more benefits than drawbacks to Tan Linyuan.
Firstly, his marriage with Qu Jiaran could end. He didn't have to force himself into a marital relationship with her. Secondly, his fate as the lone star of doom would be confirmed, and it would be even more impossible for anyone to arrange a marriage alliance for him in the future.
Most importantly, as Qu Jiaran's widower, he could handle her funeral in a grand and proper manner, leaving a good impression on Qu Gaolin and thus getting his support in the future.
But if Qu Jiaran didn't die...
If Qu Jiaran didn't die, then everything would become uncertain and out of control.
Thinking this way, Tan Linyuan should hope that Qu Jiaran would die.
Seeing Tan Linyuan silent, Nan Yu asked again, "Let me rephrase. Do you hope Qu Jiaran dies, Uncle?"
Qi Zhu was worried about his young mistress and had been guarding outside the operating room, keeping a distance from them.
Otherwise, if he heard this, he might turn against Nan Yu on the spot.
Tan Linyuan's expression remained unchanged. His calm eyes lifted slightly, meeting her probing and speculative gaze.
He knew what she was thinking.
But he didn't intend to expose it, nor was he offended by her words. He just said indifferently, "Life and death are determined by fate and cannot be changed or shifted by anyone's will."
What he meant was that whether he hoped or not didn't matter. The key was whether Qu Jiaran herself could defeat death.
Hearing this, Nan Yu just wanted to laugh.
Wasn't he like a living god who saved all sentient beings? How many people took him as their faith and hoped their wishes would come true?
But now she heard such an indifferent remark from his mouth.
Saying that it couldn't be shifted by human will?
The scale in his heart had already tilted.
The sky outside gradually darkened. The lights in the corridor outside the operating room came on, casting a cold and eerie glow.
Tan Linyuan stood in front of her, looking like a Buddha with a cold and detached appearance, untouched by worldly desires.
Or rather, he was such a person.
Nan Yu was in a daze for a moment.
Yes, Tan Linyuan was such a person.
Heartless and without attachments.
A few seconds later, Nan Yu smiled and imitated his tone just now. "Life and death cannot be shifted or changed by anyone's will."
"But Uncle, didn't you say before that I'm a lucky girl?"
Tan Linyuan looked up at her.
"If so, then I want her to live," Nan Yu said firmly, word by word. "I want Qu Jiaran to survive."
...
Another hour passed painfully.
The time had exceeded the doctor's estimated four to six hours by nearly two hours.
Tan Linyuan had someone bring bread and water. Nan Yu took a couple of bites in a hurry.
She wasn't in the mood to eat. She just wanted to wait for Qu Jiaran to get off the operating table.
As time passed, her heart sank little by little.
The longer the surgery took, it was not only a huge challenge for the doctors but also a major test for Qu Jiaran's physical functions.
The longer it dragged on, the lower the success rate would be.
Just as she couldn't sit still and was about to get up and go to the nurse's station to ask about the situation, a nurse rushed out of the operating room.
The three of them immediately got up and rushed over.
Especially Qi Zhu. He wished he could stand in front of Tan Linyuan, but due to his status, he had to stand aside, looking extremely worried.
The nurse first asked, "Are you all Qu Jiaran's family members?"
Tan Linyuan nodded slightly, and the nurse continued, "The patient's condition is not good now. There's a shadowy lesion in the lower right part of the heart, suspected to be another type of cardiovascular malformation. There's massive bleeding at present. The doctors are trying to stop the bleeding urgently. The family members need to sign a critical illness notice."
The nurse held the critical illness notice and looked at the three of them. "Who of you will sign?"
Only then did Nan Yu react. "Haven't you informed Mr. Qu?"
Qi Zhu hesitated and stammered, "... We've contacted him, but Mr. Qu drank too much at the banquet and has fallen asleep. He probably won't know the news until he wakes up. Mr. Qu doesn't like to be disturbed when he's resting."
How sad.
Qu Jiaran was lying in the cold operating room, while her father was dead drunk and didn't know when he would wake up.
Nan Yu remembered the scene in the Qu family before, when Qu Jiaran and Qu Gaolin seemed to have a deep father - daughter relationship.
In fact, it was as insipid as water.
If he woke up and learned of his daughter's death, would he react strongly?
Presumably not.
At this point, it was up to Tan Linyuan to sign.
He didn't hesitate much. He took the pen and signed his name on it, then gave it back to the nurse.
Nan Yu watched this scene silently.
Signing the critical illness notice meant taking responsibility.
If anything happened to Qu Jiaran during the surgery, Tan Linyuan's signature on this paper would also be evidence that he was the lone star of doom.
People always jumped to conclusions about such things and spread unfounded rumors.
It seemed that every step was moving towards the original plan of Tan Linyuan and Qu Jiaran.
Nan Yu thought sadly: If Qu Jiaran really died, would Tan Linyuan have to bear one more sin on his back in the future?
And similarly, between her and Tan Linyuan...
There would always be a Qu Jiaran standing in between.