Before Yan Xixi could answer, a sudden loud BANG came from outside. She rushed out and saw her mother had collapsed on the floor. The remote control lay broken nearby, its batteries scattered. Her mother's hand clutched her chest tightly, her forehead slick with large beads of sweat from the pain.
"Mum... Mum, what's wrong with you?"
"Xixi... don't you worry about me..."
Xu Xiaoya also rushed out. When she saw Yan's mother's ashen face, she too was terrified. Her skin had a sallow, morbid hue; even the most unobservant person could discern an aura of death.
"Call emergency services..."
"There's no time for that, Xixi! I drove. I'll take you to the hospital."
The two of them clumsily helped Yan's mother into the car. Xu Xiaoya started the engine. Yan Xixi sat in the back, cradling her mother. She saw that her mother's complexion had turned an ominous, dark, purplish-black. Yan Xixi's heart sank, and she clutched her mother tightly, babbling incoherently.
