Chapter 35: Again and Again

You’re not a medic. Do you even have a certification? You’re nothing — what gives you the right to try and save someone?

He Meijiao shouted at Chu Yue, then immediately rushed toward the little boy.

She quickly called out to the people around her,
“I’m a medic from the military — give the child to me, I’ll handle it.”

The boy’s anxious mother immediately handed him over, putting her full trust in He Meijiao to treat him.

The other customers in the state-run restaurant looked at He Meijiao differently now.
“A medic from the army — someone who treats wounded soldiers. This little issue will be no problem for her,” they all thought to themselves.

He Meijiao thought the same.

She could treat gunshot wounds — how serious could a simple case of choking be? This was nothing!

Back when Wang Chunling had a sudden and dangerous childbirth, it was Chu Yue who happened to be there and performed an emergency surgery to save her. The other wives in the compound had praised her endlessly for it, and even Sister Song had publicly commended her. Chu Yue had really made a name for herself.

During Wang Chunling’s post-op checkup, even Army Medic Hao praised Chu Yue’s surgical skills — steady and efficient — and said her suturing technique was excellent, like a seasoned doctor with decades of experience. For several days, he couldn’t stop talking about her.

He Meijiao had long grown sick of hearing such praise.

This time, she absolutely wouldn’t let Chu Yue steal the spotlight again.

He Meijiao focused on the little boy and began patting his back rhythmically, again and again, using the correct technique.

Unfortunately…

He didn’t cough it up? Why hadn’t he coughed it up yet?!

Choking can easily become fatal — the golden window for resuscitation was only about three minutes. He Meijiao grew frantic, but no matter what she did, the object stuck in the boy’s throat wouldn’t come out.

“Is it stuck too deep…? Why hasn’t he coughed it out yet… The kid’s barely breathing… Could he already be gone…?”
The murmuring and questioning of the onlookers grew louder and more anxious.

He Meijiao grew more and more panicked. Cold sweat broke out on her forehead.

At that moment, Chu Yue stood in the crowd, her brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

She didn’t care about stealing the spotlight or what He Meijiao had said to mock her earlier. In medicine, a person’s value isn’t proven by a certificate — what matters is whether you can actually save someone.

He Meijiao had rushed over with the right intent, and her initial rescue technique was correct.

That’s why Chu Yue had stayed back and let her try.

But He Meijiao only knew one method. And once that failed, she panicked and fell apart.

Meanwhile, the boy’s face had gone from flushed red… to pale… to bluish… his head lolling, breath faint.

There was no more time!

Chu Yue’s thoughts sharpened. She shoved through the crowd and strode forward, firm and resolute:
“Give me the child.”

Before He Meijiao could respond, Chu Yue had already taken the boy from her arms.

He Meijiao’s hands hung awkwardly mid-air, suddenly empty. She wanted to question Chu Yue — If I couldn’t save him, what makes you think you can?

But she was gasping for breath, her heart pounding uncontrollably, cold air flooding her throat and eyes — she couldn’t get a word out.

She was a trained medic. She understood human anatomy. She had felt the faint, fading pulse on the boy’s chest…

A human life — slipping away right in her hands.

How could she not panic?

Chu Yue’s calm and composure stood in sharp contrast to He Meijiao’s helplessness.

She turned the child around and held him in front of her body. Her hands moved like scissors to secure the little boy. One hand clenched into a hollow fist, the other covered it, and she positioned them just above the boy’s navel.

This was the Heimlich maneuver, known by its simple mnemonic: “rock, scissors, paper” — specifically used for cases of airway obstruction by foreign objects.

Then she applied force —

Once, twice.

Chu Yue used her arms to drive the motion, applying firm, upward pressure on the boy’s abdomen. With each compression, the child’s small body jerked slightly.

After four or five abdominal thrusts —

“Cough—”

With a loud cough from the boy, the obstruction flew out of his throat and landed on the floor — a round, uncooked grain of rice.

“He coughed it out! He coughed it out… He can breathe now… It was just a raw grain of rice — must’ve gone straight into his windpipe… Young lady, I’ve never seen that technique before. You’re better than a medic!”

The diners looked at Chu Yue with eyes full of admiration and relief, as if witnessing a miracle after a close call.

Only He Meijiao stood awkwardly to the side, hands and feet cold, completely forgotten by the crowd.

She stared at Chu Yue in disbelief — Her again?!

“Thank you! Comrade, thank you so much! Thank you for saving my son, Tiansi! Our Pei family has had only one son per generation for nine generations — he’s the only one we’ve got! I just brought him out to eat today. If anything had happened… I wouldn’t have been able to face the family when we got home.”

Pei Hanchuan held the boy tightly in his arms, his face full of the joy and relief of having regained something precious. The gratitude in his eyes as he looked at Chu Yue was overwhelming.

At the same time, he felt a spark of interest.

He’d been too focused on his son earlier to notice, but now he realized the person who had calmly, skillfully, and decisively saved his child… was not only capable, but strikingly beautiful.

Amid the drab clothes of everyone else, Chu Yue’s fair skin and slightly flushed cheeks — still pink from the effort — made her look like a peach blossom blooming in the cold, bleak wind of early spring.

The little boy, having just brushed past death’s door, was still frightened. He breathed in small, shallow gasps and clung tightly to Pei Hanchuan’s collar, his voice trembling: “Uncle…”

“It’s okay, it’s okay! Our little Tiansi is brave, it’s all over now.”

Pei Hanchuan gently patted the boy’s back, comforting him, and didn’t forget to continue speaking with Chu Yue.

He reached for his right wrist — click — and removed a shiny, gleaming gold watch, handing it to Chu Yue.

“Comrade, I left in a hurry today and didn’t bring much cash. This watch is the only valuable thing I have on me. Please don’t take offense — it’s my way of saying thank you.”

A gold watch — offered as a token of gratitude.

The surrounding diners instantly widened their eyes. Wang Xiulan even shoved her way through the crowd, eager to get closer. “Let me see! Let me see!”

That shimmering gold watch gleamed like real gold!

And it was actually being given to Chu Yue!

Wang Xiulan’s eyes nearly popped out of her head.

Chu Yue looked at the watch, then at Pei Hanchuan — only now noticing his refined, upper-class appearance. A khaki cashmere overcoat, a rare suit underneath — very unusual for the 1970s.

He had a tall, straight figure and handsome features. His whole outfit exuded an elegant air, perfectly matched by the gold watch on his wrist — clearly a wealthy young gentleman.

But Chu Yue’s gaze didn’t linger on the dashing Pei Hanchuan. Instead, she looked again at the little boy, Pei Tiansi, who had managed to cough up the grain of rice — yet his face remained pale, his brows scrunched up in a pitiful frown.

Sensing something wasn’t quite right, Chu Yue furrowed her brows. “Give me the child. Let me take another look at him.”