The locked basement room hummed softly with the echo of Meilin's quick breaths. Her heart felt like a trapped bird frantic and desperate. She tried the door handle again. Locked tight.
"Great," she muttered, pulling out her phone. No signal.
Her fingers tapped out a quick message to Yichen:
Locked in basement archives. Need help. Urgent.
Seconds felt like hours.
A shadow appeared at the stairs.
"Dr. Lin? You okay?"
Yichen's voice was calm but sharp.
She rushed toward him, relief washing over her.
He pulled out a pocket knife and after a few careful tries, the door clicked open.
"See? Nothing you can't fix," Yichen said with that crooked smile she was slowly falling for.
Meilin stepped out, brushing dust off her coat.
"Thanks," she said, voice low.
He looked at her, eyes softening.
"You're tougher than you think."
Back upstairs, Li Jun was awake, staring at the ceiling.
He whispered to himself, "They don't know… but soon, they will."
Later, Meilin and Yichen sat outside in the quiet garden, sharing fish balls and hot tea.
She dared a glance his way.
He caught it and grinned.
"You know, I think this hospital's biggest secret might just be us."
She laughed, the tension easing.
"Maybe… but some secrets don't want to stay buried."
Yichen nodded, eyes darkening.
"And some truths can break you."
The basement archives were cold, but Meilin's skin prickled from the weight of what she'd found. Locked in and alone, the quiet pressed against her like a storm waiting to break. The stale scent of old paper and forgotten secrets filled the air, and every creak echoed in the silence.
When Yichen finally freed her, it was like the sun piercing through the darkest clouds.
"Thanks," she whispered, rubbing her arms against the chill.
Yichen's eyes softened. "You okay?"
She nodded, but the shadows behind her eyes told a different story.
Outside, in the hospital garden, they sat together on the worn wooden bench, the night humming around them.
"Why didn't you call for help sooner?" Yichen asked, breaking the silence.
"I didn't want to bother you," she admitted, cheeks flushing.
"You're impossible."
She laughed softly, leaning her head against his shoulder.
For a moment, the weight of hospital walls, mysteries, and silent fears lifted. It was just them two people clinging to some warmth in the cold.
Back in Room 14, Li Jun lay awake, his gaze fixed on the ceiling tiles as if they held answers.
"They'll come for me," he whispered to the empty room. "They'll come for all of us if they find out what I know."
The fire from years ago wasn't just a memory. It was a secret tangled deep in the hospital's roots, and now it was clawing its way back to the surface.
The next morning, the hospital buzzed with its usual chaos. But something felt different. The air was thick with unspoken tension.
Meilin moved through the corridors with a new urgency. The red file haunted her thoughts, and her father's cold warning echoed in her mind.
"Don't let your emotions write your diagnosis."
How could she not when every heartbeat around her seemed tied to a secret waiting to unravel?
Yichen caught up with her in the hallway.
"Coffee?" he offered, holding two steaming cups.
She took one, grateful. "Thanks."
They walked side by side, silent but connected.
"About last night," Yichen began. "If anyone asks, you weren't locked in the archives. Got it?"
Meilin smirked. "Your secret's safe with me."
He grinned, but his eyes held a flicker of something unreadable.
Later, in the break room, Nurse Mei spilled her tea again this time laughing at her own clumsiness.
"Maybe you need a new cup," Yufei teased.
"Or maybe I just need to stop thinking about Dr. Zhao all day," Mei confessed with a sigh.
Gao Rui nudged her. "You're hopeless."
"Maybe," Mei smiled. "But at least I'm entertained."
That evening, Meilin stood outside her father's office. The door was closed, but voices leaked through.
She strained to hear.
"Li Jun's case is more complicated than we thought," her father said. "We need to control the information."
A shadow shifted behind the frosted glass.
"Don't let Meilin get involved," another voice said sharply.
Her heart pounded.
They were hiding something. And it was bigger than she'd imagined.
The next days blurred with long shifts, whispered warnings, and stolen moments.
Yichen's teasing smiles became softer, his jokes a little more personal.
One afternoon, he caught Meilin studying a patient's chart with furrowed brows.
"You're overworking."
She glanced up, startled.
"Let me take you out for dinner. You deserve a break."
Meilin hesitated. "I can't. Too much going on."
"Exactly why you need to."
She looked into his eyes, the hospital noise fading.
"Okay," she said quietly.
Dinner was at a small, tucked-away noodle shop near the hospital.
The scent of broth and fresh herbs filled the air.
They talked — not about work or secrets, but silly stories and dreams.
Yichen laughed at her exaggerated impressions of their quirky colleagues.
Meilin smiled, feeling a warmth she hadn't known she needed.
For once, the world outside the white coats felt real.
But as they walked back, Meilin's phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number:
Stop digging or you'll regret it.
Her hand trembled.
Yichen noticed.
"Trouble?"
She swallowed hard. "Just someone who wants me to back off."
He pulled her close, protective.
"Not on my watch."
That night, Meilin lay awake, Yichen's words echoing.
The hospital was a maze of secrets — but she wasn't alone anymore.
No matter what shadows came, they'd face them together.
To be continued…