Geisterbestattung

Kapitel 3

Li Hui's life was disrupted from that point on. She felt surrounded by danger and lived in constant fear.

Walking down the street, she found everyone suspicious. From a distance, they all seemed furtive, and up close, they all had shifty eyes and enigmatic expressions on their faces that she couldn't decipher.

She stayed up all night last night.

She didn't have a dream until dawn. In the dream, she was walking alone in the shady back garden of a hospital, her head down, lost in thought.

As she walked, a pair of large feet wearing black leather shoes suddenly came into view.

Her gaze slowly moved upwards along the feet, and she discovered that the owner of the feet was none other than Ning Kun, who had a half-smile on his face! Without thinking, she took off running, but unexpectedly, Ning Kun calmly said behind her, "Don't run, it's no use."

She felt her head explode with a "buzz!" and her legs immediately lost their function, as if they weren't even part of her own body.

Li Hui woke up with a start, her heart pounding. It was already seven in the morning.

Why is it so late again? She hurriedly got up. "Don't run, it's no use." Ning Kun's calm whisper echoed repeatedly in her ears. She felt a mysterious force controlling her thoughts, keeping her stuck in the events of last night, like being in a maze, unable to break free.

But looking at the sunlight filtering through the curtains, she gradually felt a sense of confidence. A new day had begun, and she preferred to believe that, so far, she had only stumbled into a vicious cycle, and that once she stepped out of this room, everything would be alright again, and life would continue as normal.

Li Hui tried to jump out of bed as usual, barefoot, and run to the bathroom to wash up while humming music, but she couldn't. She felt dizzy and lightheaded, and all her muscles ached and felt tense.

While washing her face, she discovered that her complexion was deathly pale, her eyes were dark-circled, and two horrible bags had appeared under her eyes overnight! How could she possibly face anyone like this?

She was extremely depressed and thought about calling in sick and taking a day off. But then she remembered the two surgeries she had scheduled for today and realized that asking for leave now would be too much trouble.

Li Hui was originally an obstetrician, but the hospital was short-staffed. Sometimes, if a patient specifically requested that Li Hui perform gynecological surgery, the hospital wouldn't object. Today's surgery was like that; it was an appointment made in advance. Although the patient had been referred by doctors and nurses from other departments, patients usually gave a bribe beforehand for these kinds of surgeries, and Li Hui was no exception.

She felt it was a bit unreasonable to cancel the surgery at the last minute after already receiving the red envelope.

So she suppressed the urge to indulge herself, mustered her spirits, hastily dressed herself, and went out without even having breakfast.

As soon as she stepped out of her house, she felt a sense of relief, as if she had unloaded some burden.

She remembered the "death timetable".

So, the most important reason why she subconsciously longed to leave home and go to work was to escape this blank slate! Yes, if she were left alone at home facing that terrifying thing, it would be strange if she didn't slowly go crazy!

All the "self-reflection" Li Hui had done that night had now become meaningless. She realized how much she cared about that damned blank sheet of paper, as if it had already seeped into her life. Yes, what has already happened in a person's life can never be erased.

She kept looking back along the way, like a thief who had just escaped a crime scene, always feeling that someone was watching her, and that everyone was plotting against her, her face showing cunning.

As soon as she entered the hospital courtyard, her eyes involuntarily darted around, as if searching for something or afraid of seeing something, but she didn't see Ning Kun.

As Li Hui passed the mailroom, she noticed the undisguised surprise in Grandpa Zhou's eyes. However, she greeted him politely as usual and hurried inside.

Grandpa Zhou suddenly remembered something, caught up with her from behind, and handed her a letter.

Li Hui's heart suddenly started pounding for no apparent reason. She opened the envelope as she went upstairs, and as soon as she reached the corner of the stairs, she eagerly tore open the letter. But she didn't dare to read it now; she was afraid of seeing the result she least wanted to see.

Li Hui jogged into the office. Hiding behind the changing room door, she frantically pulled out a piece of paper—a thin sheet of manuscript paper with a handwritten address to her: "Dear Dr. Li..."

She let out a sigh of relief, patted her chest, and then carefully put away the letter from the patient's family. Unless it was printed on a cheap paper, there was no need to read it now.

Li Hui paced restlessly in the corridor for a long time, still lacking the courage to go to Ning Kun's pharmacy to investigate the truth.

It was soon nine o'clock in the morning, and the first surgery was ready.

Li Hui got a few biscuits from the head nurse to fill her stomach, and then changed clothes and washed her hands with the nurse's help before going into action.

The patient was a woman in her fifties. The surgery was to remove a tumor, about 10 centimeters in diameter, from her uterus. Although Li Hui couldn't yet determine the nature of the tumor, it was generally benign. However, this tumor was quite large, and she had prepared a detailed surgical plan beforehand.

Normally, for this type of surgery performed on women who have given birth before, the instruments can be inserted directly through the vagina. Li Hui's plan was also based on this principle.

Everything was normal after the surgery began.

The tumor was located near the bottom of the uterus, and the surgical instruments had to reach all the way down to touch it.

Li Hui didn't sleep well last night and felt very tired. Her arms would ache after just a few movements, so she had to stop briefly before continuing.

The nurse noticed that something was wrong with Li Hui; her right hand seemed to be trembling slightly.

"Dr. Li, are you alright?" The nurse meant well, but her next question unfortunately struck a nerve: "Your hand..."

The moment she finished speaking, Li Hui realized she was in trouble. Due to excessive force, the thinnest and most vulnerable part of the postmenopausal patient's uterus had suddenly perforated! Blood gushed out of her vagina like a burst dam, flowing all the way to her right hand holding the instruments. Only then did Li Hui snap to reality: "Quick! Prepare for an laparotomy and remove the uterus!"

At that moment, her mind was unusually clear. Not only did she handle the emergency with lightning speed, but she also managed to steal a moment to hear the anxious voices of the family members outside the door. All her work was aimed at reassuring and satisfying the patients and their families, but now... she felt as if her heart was being stabbed with a knife.

Good heavens, her hand is acting up again! That white "death timetable" is a damn curse!

Li Hui felt as if her perfectly good right hand was now a murder weapon possessed by an evil spirit… For a moment, she was truly unsure whether to continue the surgery. But she couldn't let anyone else take over; any doctor with a modicum of common sense would immediately see the flaws: this was a medical malpractice that should never have happened. How could such a basic mistake have occurred to Li Hui? How could she possibly stay in the hospital from now on?

The bleeding hadn't stopped, and the perforated uterus had to be removed as quickly as possible! A surgery that was nearing its end had suddenly become a major operation that had just begun.

Li Hui rallied her spirits, stood up straight again, and the surgery began soon afterward.

The patient's blood pressure dropped to the limit several times, and the operating room was in a flurry of activity. Doctors who heard the news kept rushing in to help. Given Li Hui's popularity, who could stand idly by in such a situation?

The patient's uterus was removed.

Since it wasn't a healthy organ to begin with, removing the tumor along with it might be good; the root of the problem is gone, and so is the emotional burden. This is the most basic thought of ordinary family members. So, when they see their loved ones being wheeled out of the operating room still alive, the family members just rush around, following them into the ward, without anyone bothering to think about what went wrong with the surgery or who should be held responsible.

Li Hui forced herself to wash her hands; she didn't even have the strength to move to the rest room.

Her hands were still trembling unconsciously; her burned left hand, which had been covered by a rubber glove for so long, was now throbbing with pain. She sat dejectedly in the operating room, listlessly lost in thought.

Li Hui meticulously reviewed every detail of the surgical procedure. What puzzled her was that even if the middle-aged woman's uterine wall was extremely fragile and thin, with her years of surgical experience, such an accident should not have occurred. Performing this kind of surgery was child's play for her! She shouldn't have made a mistake even with her eyes closed.

But at that moment, she only heard the nurse remind her "your hand," and then, the terrible thing happened.

"Your hands will bring new disaster!" she thought absentmindedly, wondering whether the almost mischievous warning had an effect on her mind, or whether she had indeed caused the accident because she hadn't slept well the night before and had momentarily lost focus.

According to professional ethics, someone who didn't sleep well last night shouldn't have gone to the operating table today! But she inexplicably committed such a serious taboo. What drove her to lose her mind like this?

Li Hui struggled to walk out of the operating room; she wanted to cancel the afternoon's surgery.

Regardless of whether the "death timetable" is real or fake, her mental state has already been severely affected by it, and who knows what kind of trouble she might cause next! For a patient, even the slightest movement by a doctor can be a matter of life and death!

This day was Li Hui's "Black Friday," and she was in a terrible mood and physically exhausted. She unusually took leave and went home early, hoping to get a good night's sleep, and perhaps when she woke up, everything would be completely different.

Li Hui rushed home in a panic. She had just taken a shower and was about to go to bed when the phone suddenly rang.

On the phone, Zhang Lili immediately asked her, "Why are you home so early today?" Zhang Lili liked to speak Shanghainese with Li Hui, and she didn't seem to care that Li Hui wasn't from Shanghai. This made Li Hui feel that Zhang Lili treated her like a sister and wasn't disrespectful to her because of her being from another region.

Because Shanghainese often have this problem, they have an innate prejudice against people from other places, and even people from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the places where their ancestors lived and thrived, are not immune to this prejudice.

Li Hui felt a surge of warmth in her heart, and tears almost welled up in her eyes.

Although she was exhausted, she really wanted to confide in someone at a time like this! Especially Zhang Lili, who was usually as close to her as a sister. Seeing her always made Li Hui feel like she was seeing a relative.

Not hearing a reply from Li Hui, Zhang Lili continued, "I've found out about your new house renovation for you. Do you want to hear it now?"

It seemed that Zhang Lili was unaware of her accident, but Li Hui really wasn't in the mood to listen to Zhang Lili talk about the house today. She just wanted to get a good night's sleep and talk to her again when she felt better.

Before Li Hui could answer, the understanding Zhang Lili seemed to have figured out what she was thinking: "How about I tell you at work tomorrow?"

"Hmm...hmm. Tomorrow then." Li Hui hesitated, but after hearing Zhang Lili's suggestion, she went along with it. Right now, she didn't want to tell Zhang Lili about what happened today. She didn't want others to know that she had committed such a "medical malpractice" incident—although this kind of thing falls within the scope of "possible accidents," and the family members were mentally prepared when they signed the consent form before the surgery, so no one would hold her responsible.

She especially didn't want Zhang Lili to know about the "death timetable," fearing that it would make her overreact and interfere with her correct judgment and normal thinking.

After receiving Zhang Lili's call, Li Hui, who was exhausted, suddenly lost her sleepiness. She felt like there was something important she hadn't done, but she couldn't remember it no matter how hard she tried.

She instinctively opened the dressing table drawer, where the "death schedule" lay. Then she remembered: it was the note on the schedule: "You'll see a notification every morning when you open your email."

Li Hui rarely goes online and never has the habit of turning on her computer in the morning. She usually goes online late at night when it's quiet, firstly because the internet isn't as congested as during the day, and secondly because it saves on internet fees. So she forgot about it when she woke up this morning.

Li Hui hurriedly turned on her computer, went online, and clicked on "Outlook." Sure enough, there was an email signed "SW." Opening it, she saw several large, bold, crooked, and poorly written characters in stylized lettering: "Today is day two! Your hands are about to put on a spectacular show!"

Her heart clenched painfully! The scene at the hospital flashed before her eyes again.

What if that patient had died today due to delayed treatment or excessive blood loss? What if she hadn't undergone tumor removal surgery, but instead a more important, life-threatening major operation? The consequences would have been unimaginable!

This hand, cursed with a "death schedule," nearly ruined her future!

Li Hui still feels a lingering fear when she thinks about it. She can hear her own heartbeat, pounding like drums, making her feel disoriented and confused. She begins to regret not checking her email sooner, not following the instructions in the "death schedule." If she had seen the notification this morning, perhaps she would have canceled the surgery and avoided this outcome!

Li Hui pondered the meaning of the English signature "SW" in the email, but after a long time, she still couldn't figure it out. She then tried to interpret it using Chinese pinyin, and immediately found the answer: "SW" is the first letter of the word "death"!

She felt as if she was walking on a frozen river when she suddenly fell into a huge ice hole!

The trouble with the left foot

That morning, as soon as she arrived at work, Zhang Lili was waiting for Li Hui in her office.

Compared to Li Hui's tall, fair-skinned, and voluptuous figure, Zhang Lili appeared shorter, more sallow, and more delicate. Li Hui's features were very refined, while Zhang Lili's eyes and brows had a somewhat alluring quality.

Zhang Lili is a classic beauty, with slender shoulders, a narrow waist, and wide hips, giving her a vase-like figure that is exceptionally graceful. Although it was late autumn and the weather in Shanghai was getting colder and colder, no matter how many layers you wore, you still didn't feel warm. Yet, Zhang Lili wore a thin ivory wool sweater dress with a black leather belt around her waist, looking elegant and poised, not at all like someone in their late twenties.

When Li Hui entered the room and saw Zhang Lili, a smile finally appeared on her face.

The first thing she did after getting up this morning was to turn on her computer and go online.

The message in the mailbox read: "Today is the third day! Your left foot is going to cause trouble again!" What's most unbearable is that there was also a cartoon drawing next to it, which was a bloody woman's left foot, with five delicate toes, each of which was dripping blood.

Li Hui's mind was in turmoil, and she didn't know what to do. She was now beginning to believe that none of this was a joke; it seemed that the other party was serious and had planned and arranged things quite meticulously beforehand.

However, judging from the situation in the past two days, this person will not personally come forward to harm her. He is only playing psychological tactics, putting pressure on her mentally, disturbing her thoughts, damaging her mental health, and thus achieving his goal.

After analyzing all of this, Li Hui gradually felt more at ease.

She thought that as long as she was careful in everything she did, and did not lose her composure, avoiding any unforeseen accidents that would make it difficult for him to fulfill his plans, she would eventually win this psychological battle.

But this was something she had never encountered before, and she couldn't shake off the depression in her heart.

This morning, as soon as she left the house, she walked on the right side of the road, afraid that a car would run over her left foot. She boarded the bus with trepidation, still worried that someone might accidentally step on her left foot.

The bloodied foot in the cartoon in the email kept flashing before her eyes. In reality, everyone faces countless risks the moment they step out of their home; they just don't know when disaster will strike. But when no one warns them, no one realizes this. Now, someone has taken on the responsibility of "warning" her, and she finds it unbearable!

"Let's just take this as someone caring about you," she thought. Wang Yang always told her he was worried about leaving her alone in the country with no one to take care of her, no one to remind her to be careful and eat properly. Now, if Wang Yang knew, he'd definitely say, "Great! Finally, someone's looking after you for me!"

Li Hui tried to comfort herself: I'll be at work soon, almost there!

She seemed dazed, but she was perfectly aware of who stopped in front of her and who passed by, like a vigilant detective.

All morning, her mind was filled with thoughts of her left foot, her left foot, her left foot! She was so nervous she was practically dazed, and her clothes were soaked with sweat the whole way. Now that she saw Zhang Lili, it seemed she suddenly realized: she was finally out of danger and had arrived safely at work! If she got home safely after get off work, she could escape the misfortune that the "death schedule" had arranged for her today.

Li Hui put down her handbag with a sigh of relief and greeted her with a smile: "Lili, you're here?"

Zhang Lili seemed to notice that Li Hui's complexion was a little off. She walked over, looked at Li Hui's face with concern, and then took her hand: "Oh dear, what's wrong? You look so pale?"

Li Hui almost threw herself into her arms and cried, but she didn't. She could still handle things on her own now, and she didn't want to show her vulnerable side in front of Zhang Lili.

Whenever Li Hui was with Zhang Lili, she would unconsciously describe to her what Wang Yang was like at home because she missed him.

Back then, the first thing she did every morning was to drink milk with his help, then choose her favorite clothes, and after getting dressed, he would accompany her to the bus stop for work. When Wang Yang was home, she was as happy as a proud princess.