+++++
Li Mei's face was streaked with tears, her lashes clumped. Her bloodshot eyes stared wide and unblinking, pupils trembling as if trying to focus on a world that kept slipping away. Her lips opened and closed in shallow bursts, pulling air in like a fish fighting for life above the surface of a muddy pond.
Wang Haoran held her against him, murmuring something he himself barely heard, his voice raw with strain. Aunt Hi, on the other side, was stroking Li Mei's hand with trembling fingers, whispering her name as if saying it enough times could anchor her in place.
Then Li Mei's lashes fluttered. Once. Twice. Three times.
Blink. Blink. Blink.
Her gaze emptied, as though a flame had just been snuffed out. The weight of her body fell into Wang Haoran's arms, startling him despite the dread already curling in his chest.
"Aunt Hi, call the doctor!" Wang Haoran shouted, his voice snapping through the tense air.
But Aunt Hi stood frozen, her hand still clutching Li Mei's.
