The handlebar of the tricycle tilted to one side, and Grandpa Shen fell forward from his seat. Fortunately, when his head was about to hit the ground, Shen Duoyi ran over and caught him.

Maomao was scared to tears, jumping down from the tricycle basket, dropping his half-eaten milk popsicle on the ground.

"Grandpa!" Shen Duoyi pushed the tricycle away forcefully, ensuring enough space for Grandpa Shen to lie flat. The elderly man in his arms had already lost consciousness, and it was impossible to tell if he was even breathing.

Shen Duoyi's hands trembled as he called for an ambulance, his voice shaking along with them. He cradled Grandpa Shen's shoulders and head, using his own body to block out the last rays of light in the dusk.

Maomao sobbed intermittently, thinking it was his urging that had caused Grandpa Shen to end up like this. Shen Duoyi reached up to wipe the tears from Maomao's cheeks, coaxing him: "Don't cry, sweetheart. Go home now, Grandpa Shen will be fine. He'll take you to ride the carousel in the park another day."

It was rush hour, and there were more residents coming and going. Soon, a crowd of neighbors gathered around. Everyone anxiously asked if they could help, but with the uncertain condition, no one dared to move him.

Shen Duoyi looked at the half-eaten popsicle on the ground, its cream slowly melting - something no one could stop or change. He lowered his head, not knowing if Grandpa Shen could hear him: "Grandpa, don't go."

"Even if you must go, please don't leave so hastily, I beg you."

The ambulance arrived ten minutes later, but those ten minutes felt unbearably long and agonizing. Grandpa Shen was lifted onto a stretcher by medical staff and loaded into the ambulance. Shen Duoyi sat on one side of the compartment, watching intently as the paramedics administered emergency treatment.

At the hospital, Grandpa Shen was rushed directly into the emergency room. The white lights in the corridor and entrance made the red signal light above the door appear particularly harsh.

Shen Duoyi sat pale-faced on a long bench, his fingers still trembling after signing the consent forms. Grandpa Shen had suffered a sudden myocardial infarction and was almost in shock when he fell from the tricycle.

They had been vigilant and worried about high blood pressure for so long, but never expected heart attack would be the culprit.

Shen Duoyi leaned against the chair back, his body under his shirt growing cold in waves. Twenty years ago, when his parents had their accident, Grandpa Shen had suffered a heart attack from the shock. It happened right here in the hospital, but the rescue was quick, and he hadn't had another episode since recovering.

A nurse brought over a cup of hot water, saying kindly: "Mr. Shen, please have some water. We'll need to wait a while longer."

"Thank you." Shen Duoyi accepted it, feeling the water's warmth through the disposable paper cup, his fingertips warming first. As the hot water flowed down his throat into his stomach, his body gradually became less rigid.

After finishing the water, he exhaled, forcing himself to stay calm. He was the family's only pillar; he couldn't lose his composure no matter what happened. When he was young, Grandpa Shen took care of him, then they relied on each other to survive, and as he grew up, he became Grandpa Shen's shelter from wind and rain.

Shen Duoyi took out his phone to call administration, requesting a day off and arranging his work duties. Then he called each client he had appointments with, postponing all his affairs.

He had just been promoted to supervisor, and now he had to take leave on the second day. A sense of helplessness spread throughout his body, finding no outlet for release. The phone rang - it was Maomao's grandfather calling to inquire. He didn't tell him which hospital they were at; they were all elderly, and there was no point in having them running back and forth.

Shen Duoyi stared blankly at his phone screen until it automatically locked, then lifted his head to stare at the red light above the emergency room. His eyes focused but remained vacant. When his phone rang again, it took him a long while to react and answer.

"Hello?"

"It's me. What are you doing?" Qi Shi'an's gentle voice came through the phone, carrying the leisure of someone who had just finished a busy day. Shen Duoyi felt soothed by this voice, his tense nerves relaxing slightly.

He lowered his gaze, feeling dizzy: "I'm at the hospital."

The red light above the emergency room finally went out, and Shen Duoyi immediately rushed to wait outside the door, his mind blank with anxiety. The door opened a crack, then gradually widened, and several medical staff wheeled Grandpa Shen out.

Shen Duoyi bent down to grab the edge of the bed, calling out urgently but softly: "Grandpa, Grandpa? Can you hear me speaking, Grandpa..."

He was desperate for Grandpa Shen to sense his presence, yet afraid of disturbing his stable condition. The doctor removed his mask and said: "He's temporarily out of danger now. Let's get the patient to a ward first."

Shen Duoyi nodded hurriedly in thanks, only relaxing after Grandpa Shen was wheeled into the ward. When Qi Shi'an arrived, he found Shen Duoyi sitting beside the hospital bed, the partition curtain drawn, the old and young pair confined in this narrow space.

"Duoyi." He called softly, reaching Shen Duoyi's side just as he turned his head. Bending down to look at Grandpa Shen's face, he asked: "What happened? What did the doctor say?"

Shen Duoyi answered: "Sudden heart attack. He fell straight off the tricycle. They've stabilized him for now after emergency treatment. I've taken leave, I won't be going to the office tomorrow."

Qi Shi'an rubbed Shen Duoyi's back: "Don't worry about work, focus on taking care of Grandpa. Why are you in this kind of multi-bed ward? No private rooms available?"

"Yeah, no reservation, couldn't get a single room." Shen Duoyi tucked in Grandpa Shen's blanket, "We'll see if we can transfer hospitals later. Don't know when Grandpa will wake up."

Night deepened, and the ward grew quieter, with only snoring and occasional coughing sounds. Grandpa Shen lay peacefully on the bed, his closed eyes looking no different from when he usually slept.

Qi Shi'an was making phone calls in the corridor. After finishing, he walked to the corner. He bought two bottles of water from the vending machine and heard Shen Duoyi talking with the doctor around the corner.

"When was the patient's last episode?"

"The last time... was twenty years ago." Shen Duoyi answered, "Doctor, what caused this heart attack? Now that he's been rescued, will he be alright?"

The doctor said: "Heart attack cases increase every year, and we're seeing younger patients too. Many survive with rescue, but for those who arrive too late or have severe conditions, we can't work miracles. The old man is already eighty, and his physical condition isn't great. I suggest the family prepare for all possibilities."

Shen Duoyi asked in self-denial: "...Prepare for what?"

Qi Shi'an came around from the other side, placed his hand on Shen Duoyi's shoulder, and advised: "Don't do this, let's not put the doctor in a difficult position." He then turned to the doctor and said, "Can we transfer hospitals after the patient wakes up? The environment here isn't ideal."

The doctor replied: "If his condition is stable, there shouldn't be any problem. The elderly do need a good rest environment."

"Thank you, doctor." After the doctor left, Qi Shi'an turned and pulled Shen Duoyi into his arms. He stroked Shen Duoyi's back repeatedly, his other hand gently squeezing the nape of his neck. "I've contacted an uncle at the Military General Hospital. Once Grandpa wakes up, we'll arrange the transfer."

Shen Duoyi's voice had changed: "What the doctor just said... what did he mean?"

Qi Shi'an answered truthfully: "Duoyi, with this kind of illness, no one can predict when it might happen again, and no one can guarantee we'll be able to rescue him in time next time. That's why the doctor answered you that way. Grandpa is very old now, and the pain he's experiencing is what many elderly people go through. Don't overthink it, try to see it more openly."

Shen Duoyi struggled to form words: "I'm not overthinking. We just took him out for dinner recently, and that night you came to my house, he was showing you the birth chart. This morning when I left, he was arguing with me as usual. Before he got sick, he had just taken Maomao to ride the carousel in the park."

"But now he, but now he's lying in there." Shen Duoyi pushed Qi Shi'an away, backing up two steps to lean against the wall. "He's lying there motionless, and the doctor says to prepare myself. I really don't know what to prepare for, I don't know..."

Qi Shi'an stepped closer: "Duoyi, during the big explosion back then, where were you?"

Shen Duoyi's eyes went blank: "I was playing with Fei Yuan on the street."

Qi Shi'an asked again: "Were you happy then?"

Shen Duoyi's eyes had already reddened: "Happy."

His shoulders were gripped, preventing his exhausted body from sliding down the wall. Shen Duoyi stared into Qi Shi'an's eyes, and as his brows furrowed, two streams of tears fell.

Qi Shi'an said to him: "You were happy before the accident happened. You had no way of knowing that accident would occur. A person lives normally right up until they're diagnosed with a terminal illness; they don't start crying years in advance."

"When misfortune strikes in a happy life, there is no 'why.' There's only the people involved not wanting to face it and being unable to accept it."

Shen Duoyi wiped his face with his hand, knowing that even if he didn't want to face it, he had to, and even if he couldn't accept it, he must.

Qi Shi'an held out his palm: "This time, I'll face it with you, accept it with you. You need to be strong, at least to put Grandpa at ease."

Shen Duoyi placed his hand in Qi Shi'an's palm and was pulled into his embrace again. People say many elderly don't make it through an entire winter, but now it wasn't even deep autumn. Shen Duoyi closed his eyes wearily; if not for the warmth of the chest before him, he would have wanted to end it all.

For him, the accident twenty years ago was a nightmare. If Grandpa Shen were to leave, it would be like reliving that nightmare, and when he woke up, he would be completely and utterly an orphan.

Neither of them slept all night, with Shen Duoyi keeping watch by the bed the entire time. Near dawn, Grandpa Shen finally regained consciousness, his clouded eyes slowly opening, his mouth only able to make a low whimper-like sound.

Shen Duoyi used a cotton swab and straw to give Grandpa Shen water. Qi Shi'an immediately pressed the call button, and after the doctor came to examine Grandpa Shen, he gave some precautionary instructions.

After more than two hours of recovery, Grandpa Shen could finally speak.

Shen Duoyi leaned over the bed: "Grandpa, what do you want?"

Grandpa Shen said with half-closed eyes: "Want you to be at ease, that's all."

Shen Duoyi pressed his lips together and nodded, then reached out to stroke Grandpa Shen's dry, grey hair: "I am at ease, and you should be too. The doctor says everything's fine. We'll transfer to the Military General Hospital soon, they have private rooms there."

Qi Shi'an also bent down: "Grandpa, get some more sleep, it's still early."

Grandpa Shen looked at him: "Xiao Qi came too, sorry to trouble you."

After full daylight, the ambulance from the Military General Hospital came to transfer Grandpa Shen. Shen Duoyi sat in the compartment accompanying him, while Qi Shi'an followed in his car.

The high-grade hospital room was quiet and spacious. Grandpa Shen lay down after finishing a bowl of porridge, and with the IV drip in place, he closed his eyes and fell asleep. Qi Shi'an and Shen Duoyi moved to the outer lounge to have breakfast, both bearing the weight of dark circles under their eyes.

“Eat more. You didn’t eat anything last night.” Qi Shi'an broke a sugar cake into small pieces and soaked them in soy milk, oil smudging his hands. “Be good. When I’m back from washing my hands, you’d better finish it.”

Shen Duoyi gave in. “I can’t eat that fast.”

Qi Shi'an stood up and walked out. “I’ll go to the washroom outside, and while I’m at it, I’ll fetch a pot of hot water. That should give you enough time.”

He stepped out to wash his hands, and on his way back down the corridor, he glanced out at the garden below and unexpectedly saw You Zhe. Carrying a file folder, You Zhe walked briskly, likely picking up results from a routine health check.

Grandpa Shen was recovering little by little, but no one could predict when another episode might occur. This left Shen Duoyi constantly on edge. During this time, he moved his work files to the hospital room. Though the caregiver helped alleviate some of the burden, it was never enough to fully put his mind at ease.