Alex took a bottle of Nutri-Express from the refrigerator and paid the owner. He wasn't in a rush to leave; he unscrewed the cap, took a sip, then took out his amateurish sketch and asked the owner.
"Boss, I'm a student from the art department. I'm looking for someone nearby. Could I ask you something?"
The owner looked at him and nodded with a smile.
"It's like this, I usually like to sketch people and scenery on the street. Once, I came over here and saw a girl, so I drew her. But I feel like I didn't capture her true essence, and I want to see her again. Do you know where this girl lives? She's quite pretty."
Alex said, feigning annoyance, and took the opportunity to show the paper in his hand.
The owner didn't rush to look at it, but instead gave him a thumbs up: "Not bad, young man. You're trying to chase that girl, aren't you? You've got a good eye coming to ask me. There's no one coming in and out of this neighborhood that I don't recognize."
Alex felt a bit awkward: "Then do you recognize her?"
The owner's gaze fell on the sketch in his hand. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly showed a look of surprise.
The owner then looked him over and, as if unable to bear hurting him, said: "Young man, you're too late. I heard that last night, a young woman had a heart attack in her sleep and was rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night. That girl looks a bit like the one you drew. I only heard about this this morning."
Alex froze, not even realizing when the sketch fell to the ground. He couldn't help but ask, "Is it really her? Could you have mistaken her for someone else?"
"I was resting at the time; my wife was watching the shop. She told me the ambulance had come. That girl passed by this road every day and often bought things here, so my wife had a deep impression of her. Sigh, what a young girl."
The owner sighed with regret.
"Is her surname Chen? Is she very beautiful and looks reticent?"
The owner nodded.
Alex felt his hands trembling. He wanted to grab onto something, but there was nothing around to hold. He could only clench his fists subconsciously, with an agonizing pain in his palms.
He asked with a hoarse voice: "What happened to that girl afterwards?"
"This morning, her family member returned from the hospital. They passed by here looking sorrowful and even revealed to someone they knew that the doctor had issued a critical condition notice." The owner sighed.
A glimmer of hope rose in Alex's heart. Chen Luoqiu should have only been living with her mother, with few other family members. But it wasn't certain; perhaps other relatives had heard about the incident and rushed over.
In any case, Alex was now feeling both terrified and in disbelief. He couldn't accept that the girl who had been physically close to him in his dreams just a while ago was now separated from him by life and death.
He didn't want anything to happen to Chen Luoqiu. He hoped the person sent to the hospital wasn't her, but according to the owner, that girl was very likely her.
But regardless, Alex had to go to that hospital to see.
After asking the owner for the exact address of the hospital, Alex rushed over in a panic.
Upon entering the hospital, he asked a passing nurse where the girl brought in last night was. The nurse didn't answer immediately and instead asked what his relationship with the girl was. Alex had to answer that he was her classmate and had come to check on her after hearing about the accident.
The nurse seemed to think he was a boy who liked the girl. She looked at him sympathetically for a moment and softly told him that a girl had just been moved into the ICU, her condition was very bad, and she advised him to prepare himself mentally.
Alex's heart sank halfway. He didn't care what the nurse was saying and hurried to the ICU ward.
Outside the ICU ward, Chen Luoqiu's family members were waiting. Everyone looked grave, worried, and dejected. There was also the sound of a gray-haired woman crying bitterly.
Alex watched them without walking closer. He stood by the wall at a distance from the patient's family, which kept him from collapsing.
With trembling hands, he took out the Third-Party Wish Crystal Ball. Alex held it in his hands. He looked at the mysterious crystal ball and prayed silently in his heart, hoping that heaven would favor him just this once, hoping to receive Chen Luoqiu's will to survive.
He stood motionless, as if frozen. The patient's family members nearby noticed this strange boy waiting on the side. They glanced at him in surprise, realized something, and all fell silent.
Time passed slowly, but the crystal ball showed no reaction. Alex suddenly felt very terrified in his heart. What if Chen Luoqiu truly wanted to die? The crystal ball would be unable to sense any desire to survive, and thus could not perform a miracle like it did when saving An Suling last time.
He was suddenly very afraid of this fact. He regretted being so slow in his dreams. If he had realized sooner that she was a living, breathing person, would everything have changed?
What else could be of use?
Alex began to think rapidly. The item in his possession with the most mysterious power was the Wish Crystal Ball, but it would only work if it detected a strong will to survive from Chen Luoqiu. Other items were completely useless in this critical moment.
Alex almost wanted to find a treasure girl immediately and dig out a treasure from her to save someone, but unfortunately, it was too late.
Just when he felt that waiting was a torture, the door to the ICU ward suddenly opened. A weary-looking doctor walked out. Facing the eager gazes of the family members, he revealed a relaxed smile and nodded: "The patient's condition is stable for now."
Like celestial music coming from afar, the patient's family began to rejoice wildly. Alex also let out a huge sigh of relief. He remained dazed for a long time, only then realizing that his back was soaked with cold sweat. His body had no strength left, and he slid down against the wall, sitting on the floor.
Alex didn't care about that. He was almost as ecstatic as the patient's family nearby. Chen Luoqiu was not dead. Although her condition wasn't great yet, at least there was hope, wasn't there? As long as he had enough time, he could go search for more treasure girls, and one day he would unlock an item that could save a life.
While he was lost in thought with his head lowered, he didn't notice a girl in a food delivery uniform walking past him. She was carrying a stack of takeout orders and didn't notice him sitting on the ground either.
She walked up to the patient's family members, who were hugging each other and weeping, and said, "Mr. Chen, the food you ordered is here."
Hearing the voice, Alex, who had been hanging his head, looked up.
The starving family members had long since reached their limit. Knowing that their loved one had passed the crisis, everyone's mood brightened and their appetites returned, and they all went to receive the food.
"Dear, you should eat something too. You haven't eaten anything since last night. Don't starve yourself."
"Mm-hmm, everyone eat. The child is fine now, and I'm happy."
"Please remember to give a good review."
The delivery girl forced a stiff smile and made her friendly request, but the patient's family members were still busy comforting each other and had no time for her.
She didn't say anything more and silently turned around. Inadvertently glancing forward, her eyes slowly widened, and a flash of complex emotion crossed her clear, indifferent eyes.
Alex also looked at her with a complex expression and a bit of awkwardness. Pointing at the ICU ward, he said, "I thought you were in there; I didn't expect you to be delivering food."
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