doctor.
The next day, Grandpa came to Beijing and asked Qi Yi'an to accompany him to the Forbidden City to find a friendly younger person who was in charge of the preservation of cultural relics.
Qi Yi'an saw a seahorse left over from the Qing Dynasty in the water tank of the Forbidden City. The seahorse floated in the water tank above the glass dome of the palace, swelling up like a pufferfish, with red spines protruding. The white body and red spines were very bright and beautiful in the blue water.
There's something strange about it, strangely reasonable.
Accompanying his grandfather along Chang'an Avenue and sharing dishes like Peking duck, Qi Yi'an always enjoyed chatting with him, discussing modern and contemporary literature and social science scholars. The old man, who had retired a few years prior, was rehired and is now a university professor of social sciences, erudite, energetic, and possessing a certain status, spirit, and temperament.
"An'an, you must remember that no matter what, living a healthy life is the most important thing. Grandpa will be going now."
Before his grandfather left, he gave Qi Yi'an a special instruction that made Qi Yi'an feel a little strange, but he still didn't know what was strange about it.
Perhaps life is a process of constant farewells. After returning to her dormitory and moving the last piece of her luggage, she looked at the half-empty room and felt a hollow emptiness in her heart, as if she could hear no echo.
-----
It seems that she was then pushed to attend the funeral.
She glanced around at the black and white decorations. She wanted to smile politely at her aunt, but found her facial muscles too stiff and weak to move. Seeing her aunt's worried face, she gave up trying to force a smile.
She looked towards the center of the mourning hall, where a black and white photo of her grandfather was prominently displayed in a frame.
…impossible…
While they were still in shock, they were suddenly pushed to the side of the crystal coffin placed in front of the mourning hall.
Grandpa lay inside, dressed neatly, as if asleep.
impossible…
No way… She wanted to ask the people around her what was going on, and she wanted to rush over and wake her grandfather, but she found that except for her eyes, she couldn't move her entire body. She couldn't make a sound, not even cry. How could this be!
"ah!"
…
Qi Yi'an woke up with a start.
"Phew..." The phone displayed: 13:04 PM, October 24, 2020
Phew... So it was all just a dream... I had a nightmare... Grandpa just went back yesterday, how could he have died... She hurriedly called to confirm, and only felt relieved after hearing from Grandma that Grandpa had arrived home safely.
-----
Not long after being discharged from the hospital, Qi Yi'an had to go to the hospital regularly for follow-up examinations.
While waiting for her medical examination results, she wandered around aimlessly. Now that the domestic epidemic had been eradicated, the hospital was no longer so overly cautious. As she passed a ward, she couldn't help but linger for a while, stopping to look inside.
A doctor wearing a mask was giving an injection to a middle-aged man who was unconscious in a hospital room. Although the mask covered most of his face, the gentleness of his eyes and brows was still visible. The patient's remaining consciousness seemed to be resisting, but the female doctor deftly pushed the syringe forward, injecting the liquid into his skin. Soon after, the patient began to struggle violently, appearing to be in great pain, and uttered cries for help.
The doctor remained calm and methodically withdrew the syringe, wiped the needle clean, and set it aside. Then, he leaned over to comfort the middle-aged man who was half-reclining on the hospital bed, saying in a gentle and calm voice, "Just bear with it, it will be over soon."
The patient was ungrateful, opening his mouth wide and shouting hoarsely. Before he could utter more than a few sounds, the doctor's lips gently soothed him, silencing all his cries. The female doctor kissed him tenderly and passionately, swallowing all his shouts and gasps. The patient slowly quieted down, closed his eyes, and stopped moving… Was he asleep?
Qi Yi'an stood at the doorway, stunned. He was so surprised that he forgot to move.
The female doctor calmed the patient down, then turned around and saw Qi Yi'an staring in disbelief outside the door. She smiled calmly and put her mask back on. "Young lady, could you come here for a moment and do me a favor?" she beckoned to her.
"Here, could you please take this syringe and throw it away for me?" The doctor smiled kindly and gently.
This was a bit strange. But Qi Yi'an simply nodded in agreement.
After throwing away the syringe, the doctor casually leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, waiting for her. "Thank you, come here and wash your hands with hand sanitizer."
"Um...you're welcome."
"Is the young lady here at the hospital because she is feeling unwell?"
"I'm here for a follow-up check-up... I had a serious illness before, and my health isn't very good."
"Children your age recover very quickly," the doctor kindly gave Qi Yi'an some health advice before walking away to attend to other matters.
…
As she walked out of the hospital with her medical report, she suddenly heard someone call out to her, "Little girl~"
She turned her head and stared blankly at a tall woman walking towards her. The woman was dressed casually, but her curvaceous figure was still evident. Her black hair was styled in a bun, and she looked very capable. She smiled gently and charmingly... She seemed somewhat familiar... The doctor from earlier... She had changed out of her white coat, and she couldn't recognize her at first glance.
"Hello, are you going back?" It was that same warm smile on his face, and Qi Yi'an was a little stunned.
"Um.."
"I'm about to get off work too. You look so weak. I've got my car; can I give you a ride?"
"Where do you live?" "That's on my way."
Along the way, the two chatted about their health, professions, and recent life. Without her white coat, the doctor seemed more like a friendly and cheerful older sister; she loved to laugh, and her laughter was always sweet yet spirited.
"Just call me Dr. Li," the doctor added Qi Yi'an's contact information, comforted her about her health, and explained some recovery matters. "You can contact me if you need anything in the future."
Dr. Li made Qi Yi'an feel quite warm-hearted.
If she did not receive a call from the police a week later, asking her to go to the police station to give a statement.
-----
“A patient at Hospital B3 died last week from a drug overdose. Our surveillance footage shows that you were near the hospital ward at the time and even entered the ward. Your fingerprints were also found on syringes found in the hospital's medical waste. How do you explain this?”
When questioned at the police station, Qi Yi'an was startled.
Recalling Dr. Li's injection, the patient's struggle, that tender and affectionate kiss, that serene smile... everything seemed so natural at the time.
"I saw a doctor giving an injection to a patient inside, and he asked me to help him throw away the trash."
"What did the doctor say his/her name was?" "His/her surname is Li."
"And her gender?" "It seems she's a female doctor."
"Physical features?" "..."
"As far as we know, there is no Dr. Li in charge of this patient at Hospital B3, and it seems that Dr. Li does not exist at this hospital. Are you sure what you are saying is true?"
"Did you see the facial features of this person who claims to be a doctor again?" "No."
"Did this person say anything to you?" "No."
"Did you have any further contact with them?" "No."
"No." "I don't know." "No."
…
Qi Yi'an, as if possessed by a ghost, did not reveal Dr. Li's identity.
Or perhaps, the criminal suspect who claims to be Dr. Li.
She spent several hours at the police station and was released in the evening. She took out her phone and called "Dr. Li".
"Who exactly are you?"
"Hmm? Xiao Qi? Why are you asking this out of the blue?" The voice on the other end of the phone was still as gentle and cheerful as ever.
“I went to the police station today. There is no Dr. Li at B3 Hospital.”
There was silence on the other end.
"You killed that person."
"Oh?" Her tone was as relaxed as when she turned around after killing that person. "You told the police officer that?"
No. I didn't say anything.
After a brief silence on the other end, Qi Yi'an heard a soft laugh.
"Little friend...you need to know..."
Some people not only don't exist in that hospital, but they may not even exist in this world.
Qi Yi'an remained silent. A thin layer of sweat appeared on his forehead.
The woman's voice on the other end of the line remained natural and composed, showing no sign of panic.
"You'll be an interesting person, and I think we'll meet again."
Author's Note:
I've had a lot of reflections on life lately.
Chapter 18 Tsunami.
In Qi Yi'an's view, 2020 was unusually long. Some once-in-a-century events don't happen once in a century, but rather at least once every century.
At the end of 2020, during my lunch break, I saw a news report on my phone about a 9.3 magnitude earthquake that struck the southern waters of Beihai. The southern tectonic plate of E-country Island fractured and subsided, triggering a tsunami with waves reaching 32 meters high. Waves as high as 36.1 meters engulfed half of the southern part of the country. In L-city, seawater overflowed its rivers flowing into the sea, and streets in the eastern part of the city were flooded to a depth of 15.5 meters. This was the largest tsunami to date in the region.
A midnight tsunami caused power and water outages and disrupted transportation in the capital region of Country E for several hours, triggering social chaos. Several unidentified social and terrorist organizations took advantage of the chaos to carry out activities and riots. Along the T River, which had previously flowed through the city, the parliament building was submerged, leaving only the top floor and clock tower standing. An unexplained explosion occurred, destroying half of the building. Several cabinet members went missing, and the prime minister, who was visiting the Southern Hemisphere, is currently out of contact, suspected of being assassinated by a terrorist organization.
Two-thirds of the nearby administrative districts were submerged by seawater. An explosion of unknown cause occurred in the C-section of the eastern part of the administrative district, suspected to be a terrorist attack... The number of casualties and missing persons and the amount of property damage in Country E are currently being tallied, and the water level is still rising... "Our reporter stationed in L City is currently in the embassy's helicopter, over L City, preparing to temporarily fly away from Country E for refuge. We will continue to bring you reports shortly."
…
Water surged rapidly, flooding the elevator shaft with sewage, undoubtedly carrying numerous germs. In the nearby fishing village, water gradually rose, waves churning outside the latticed windows, shattering the glass. A helicopter's aerial view revealed a whirlpool suddenly churning, exposing some terrifying, unseen deep-sea creature.
Qin Ruoshui's family lived in a relatively safe area in the western part of L City. Amidst the chaos, she fled with Pupu. The group that followed them managed to escape by boarding a plane on the water. After takeoff, the plane wobbled and circled halfway up the sky before suddenly exploding in two.
Outside the plane window, a grayish-blue tsunami could be seen sweeping in, turning houses, vehicles, and people into ruins. The loudspeaker was broadcasting news about a nuclear power plant in a dangerous area along the northern coast…
What kind of world is this?
-----
How are you…
-----
News: "A 9.3-magnitude earthquake struck the southern waters of the North Sea, causing the southern plate of E-country Island to subside and triggering a tsunami..."
"Dr. Li...look, she's been unconscious for so long...is there any hope left? We really don't know whether we should keep going..."
Behind her gold-rimmed glasses, her eyes were calm yet gentle. Li Feiyan was a young neurosurgeon at the hospital. She had recently successfully awakened a middle-aged male patient using a new treatment method and had been assigned to take over as his attending physician. She had just begun to understand the patient's condition.
In this situation, no one can say for sure.
“We will do our best. I believe Xiao Qi's brain still retains some degree of consciousness…”