Three days later..
After performing back to back surgery, Luo Jingyi left the hospital and sprinted to the hotel adjacent to the hospital. Knowing that she was constraint of time, Eunice arranged everything so she could get her hair and makeup done. She was supposed to join the family last night, however, she missed it because there was a multiple vehicle collision which kept their hospital busy for the whole night.
Thirty minutes later, she took a taxi to the venue. As soon as she sat, the lingering odors of coffee and food eaten in the car mixing with cheap perfume wafted to her nose. Feeling stifled with the smell, Luo Jingyi rolled the windows down. A gust of wind touched her cheeks, making her wish of autumn. The rain which had been pouring for the past days stopped but it left that dewy scent hanging in the air.
After a while, remembering she had last-minute instructions for a patient, she reached her phone and sent messages to the senior residents who were at duty this time.
Suddenly, the car braked followed by a weird clanking sound. She lifted her attention from the phone and looked ahead.
She asked, "What happened?"
"The car shut down. Wait here. I can fix it." The man hastily got off and opened the hood.
Giving her wristwatch a furtive glance told her that the wedding was about to start. At this moment, Luo Jingyi made a decision to walk since the venue was already closeby rather than waiting for the carriage to be repaired. And deducing from the man's expression outside, the car won't be fixed any minute now.
Luo Jingyi got off and walked closer to the man. She opened her purse, scoured for bills and handed them to the man. Feeling happy for the extra, he smiled, showing his crooked teeth.
"Thank you." she heard the man murmured.
Alighting from the taxi in the middle of the road, she was sandwiched in between moving cars. A honk made her jump and step back.
"You've got to be kidding me!" she yelled before crossing slowly with pursed lips.
The moment she got to the pavement, relief surged in. She puttered on the busy avenue, clad in a pastel blue tea organza dress. The tea-length dress was sleeveless, exposing her milky white skin which is usually covered with a doctor's coat. The sash knotted in front emphasized her thin waist and slender frame. With her hair braided and coiled on top like a crown, she looked like an immortal goddess who has descended on Earth to seduce men.
Luo Jingyi ignored the whistle that flew as she walked past people at a hurried pace. Walking in stilettos was a bad idea. If there's something she hates in this new world, it's wearing a pair of heels. Plus, she stood for more than 15 hours in surgery, to begin with. She's tired, edgy and cranky at the same time.
Suddenly, a woman's scream prompted her to turn. Right at the entrance of a hotel, she sighted a very pregnant woman who was hitting a man with her handbag. There was a scantily dressed woman behind the man, cowering in fear.
"You told me you are working overtime. Is staying in a hotel overnight overtime? F*** you!" She heard the woman bellowed.
Another man approached the pregnant lady in an attempt to stop her but she never yielded. He was thrown off the ground. The woman was akin to a gorilla on a rampage.
"Is this what you have been doing? After you make me pregnant, you are looking – for another to dip into. How dare—you. Your family is a—" the pregnant woman suddenly stopped as her steps faltered. She held her stomach in pain when the violent contraction came in.
"Oh damn!" Luo Jingyi murmured as the woman slumped on the ground. Blood was running down her legs.
Then, someone shouted to call a doctor. In a swift motion, Luo Jingyi turned back and went to the woman's direction, forgetting there is a wedding she had to attend to.
….
Yun Jinghan was coming out of the hotel when he heard the commotion. When he turned, he saw a pregnant lady falling, instead of moving aside, he dropped his bag and caught her. He stabled the woman.
"Easy there."
Seeing that the husband didn't pay heed to the pregnant wife and moved away to protect the other woman, Luo Jingyi couldn't help muttering, "Jerk"
The woman yelled when another violent contraction happened, burying her nails into Yun Jinghan's wrist.
"I'm Dr. Luo. I'm going to check on you. What's your name?" she spoke gently while she was searching for a pair of gloves inside her clutch.
"Lin Qing. I'm due at the—end of this week." In between the pain, she muttered.
Luo Jingyi lifted the woman's maternity dress and assessed. Based on the stains on her legs, the woman's bag of water must have broken down earlier. The contractions were less than a minute and her dilation was almost 8 cm.
"She won't make it to the hospital," she said to no one in particular.
When Luo Jingyi glanced up, her eyes caught a pair of obsidian eyes staring at her intently. They were sharp that it seemed to pierce through people's hearts. His dark hair frames his exquisite facial features, charming eyebrows, and red lips. She blinked to make sure she wasn't looking at a mirage. However, it was real. Another image overlap in her head.
Huh?! What are you doing? She shook her head when she realized she was in a daze.
Returning her attention to the pregnant woman, Luo Jingyi contemplated the best option without risking the mother and child. Looking around, the sign of a veterinary clinic caught her attention.
Without delaying further, she ordered the three men, "Could you carry her to the clinic?"
Although it was a polite request there was a domineering tone in it, which won't make you refuse her. Yun Jinghan told the other men what they are going to do and in seconds, she was lifted carefully.
Following them, she ran.
"God! Whoever made stilettos, I'm going to kill him." Luo Jingyi complained as she removed the pair of silver Louboutins and barefoot, followed the three inside the clinic.
"Do you have a sterile room?" she directed the question to the receptionist who was about to yell for the sudden intrusion. She halted upon seeing the woman with a big bulge being carried in.
"We have one. Follow me."
Inside the room, the woman was placed on a bed.
"Get me clean towels," she ordered immediately.
"You can all go."
The man looked at each other and but, Yun Jinghan stayed.
….
"Stop staring." Luo Jingyi snapped at the man whose eyes were glued on her.
"Sorry." He apologized and looked elsewhere.
Luo Jingyi shrugged her shoulders and opened the drawers, rummaging for the things she needed. As she was cleaning her hands, a woman in a white coat appeared by the doorway.
"What are you doing?"
"She's 40 weeks pregnant with 8 cm dilation. I need to deliver the baby."
The other woman nodded, took the clean towels from the receptionist and instructed her, "Go get my kit."
Luo Jingyi turned to two people behind her and assigned roles to each. The handsome man who kept staring at her was assigned to support the pregnant woman in the back while the vet will take care of the newborn baby.
…..
"Take a deep breath. Okay, that's good.."
The room was filled again with the woman's screams. The contraction was intensely strong and she will give birth in any second.
"Let's try to push it. Bend your head like this and push. Can you do that?" Luo Jingyi instructed with calmness.
The woman nodded in tears. She just wanted to be over with it.
"Support her head and make sure she won't overstrain her neck upwards." Luo Jingyi ordered the vet's assistant. Unlike this one, there was no softness in it.
"Ready, let's go..one—two—three—push!"
For a moment, Yun Jinghan felt the room went in slow motion as he studied Luo Jingyi. She calmed the woman and helped her give birth. She has a serious countenance he found so attractive at this moment. She was like shrouded with halo, shining brightly, drawing him to her. At the same time, there were images popping in and out of his head.
Woah! Where did that come from? He asked himself.
A crying baby brought him out of his trance, followed by, her commanding voice, "Hand me the clip."
Yun Jinghan didn't know that he had been gawking for too long that the baby was already wrapped in a towel and was on the woman's chest. There was elation on the new mom's face.
While the woman was distracted, Luo Jingyi clipped the umbilical cord and cleaned up the woman.
Both the vet and Jingyi were smiling. Unknowingly they murmured at the same time, "The miracle of birth."