Calculer

Chapitre 30

Seeing that Qin Li was still asleep, Zhong Fang initially planned to come back later, but fearing that Sun Xiaojing would get there first, she decided to wait by the ward window. At this moment, Zhong Fang thought again: Qin Li was truly a patient; the nurses wouldn't allow her to hide anything. Could it have already been taken by the other nurses? Or, as she said, had it lost on the grass? Zhong Fang thought for a long time, and after a while, it was already one o'clock in the morning. Although logically speaking, no one would believe the words of a mentally ill patient, Zhong Fang's inner hope made her more inclined to believe that Qin Li was indeed telling the truth.

After a long while, Zhong Fang got a little tired and had to return to the duty room in the hospital area, where only Chen Ai was there.

Zhong Fang sat down and greeted Chen Ai, "Dr. Chen, how are you? You have to work during the day and be on duty at night. Don't you feel tired?"

"A little," Chen Ai said with a smile. "Compared to you nurses, it's nothing. You always have to deal with those patients; you should be more tired than me."

Zhong Fang smiled at her and started massaging her back. At that moment, Chen Ai asked her, "How is Qin Li really?"

"She's much better than last month. She's not making a fuss anymore and her emotions are more stable. However, the hospital director has already instructed me not to let her go outside because she ran away three weeks ago. Today she ran out of the ward again, and I heard she even stole your medical gown."

Chen Ai smiled and nodded: "My doctor's coat has my name tag on it. Sun Xiaojing said that Qin Lizhen met with other patients' families today."

"Actually, it's all Sun Xiaojing's fault. If she hadn't been so irresponsible in her work, Qin Lizhen wouldn't have run away. She also often beats patients, which is outrageous."

At this point, Chen Ai did not reply, but simply sat on the sofa in the room, leaning back wearily.

After seeing this, Zhong Fang stopped talking to her, because she wanted to wait until the other people on duty were asleep before she could talk to Qin Lizhen. After a while, Chen Ai indeed fell asleep, and Zhong Fang was secretly pleased, thinking that the others must also be asleep. It was already two o'clock, and the people on duty usually took a nap at this time. Zhong Fang walked all the way to Qin Lizhen's ward and saw that the patient and the people on duty were indeed asleep.

Qin Lizhen, however, woke up.

She sat on the floor, muttering to herself: The money is gone...

Zhong Fang called softly from outside the window, "Qin Lizhen..."

Qin Lizhen didn't even look up, still muttering, "I put it away... the money is gone..."

Zhong Fang called out a few more times before Qin Lizhen slowly raised her head to look at her, her eyes glazed over, muttering, "I put it away... I put it away..."

"Where was it sent?" Zhong Fang asked her.

"I've put it away..."

Where was it received?

"I've put it away..."

Zhong Fang was getting a little anxious and raised her voice, asking, "Tell me, where did you put it?"

Qin Lizhen turned away and refused to look at her, saying nothing. Zhong Fang called her several more times, but she didn't respond. Zhong Fang stamped her foot and cursed, "Trash."

Unable to think of a solution, Zhong Fang unlocked the door with her key, tiptoed behind her, and asked, "Qin Lizhen, where did you put the money?"

Qin Lizhen glanced back at her, then took off her cloth shoes, took out half a crumpled RMB note, and handed it to Zhong Fang. Zhong Fang immediately took it, and seeing that there was only one note, asked, "Where are the others?"

"Outside."

"Where outside?"

"Outside"

"where?"

"Outside"

Zhong Fang was both amused and exasperated. Having no other choice, she pulled Qin Lizhen up and led her out of the ward. All the staff on duty in the hospital area were asleep, and the hospital security guards weren't necessarily keeping to their duties. Zhong Fang planned to take her to the lawn outside where no one would see them. Since Qin Lizhen's last theft, the hospital had increased security personnel and even raised the walls, making it unlikely for patients to escape. Besides, although the staff on duty were all asleep now, if anything happened, she could easily find help by shouting. So, there was no need to worry about that aspect.

Moreover, Qin Lizhen was very obedient. She didn't say a word even when Zhong Fang pulled her out of the lawn. She remained calm, which made Zhong Fang very happy. She was thinking that she would soon have the money.

But how did Qin Lizhen get all this money? And who came to see her today?

Although Zhong Fang had these questions in her mind, they were not too important to her. She just wanted Qin Lizhen to find the money for her as soon as possible and then take her back to the ward.

After the two reached the lawn, Qin Lizhen slowly walked to the wall. Outside the wall was actually the hospital's treatment area. Zhong Fang wasn't worried that she would escape, so she followed behind her and watched her.

Qin Lizhen lay on the ground searching for a while, then murmured again, "It's gone...it's gone..."

Zhong Fang leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Is this the place? Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

Qin Lizhen pointed to the bushes under the wall behind her and said, "It's right here."

Upon hearing this, Zhong Fang immediately squatted down and started searching. She found only stones under the grass, but no sign of a single RMB note. Nevertheless, Zhong Fang continued to search the stones with unwavering determination.

Could the money be under the rock?

Zhong Fang thought to herself.

Qin Lizhen stood behind Zhong Fang, holding a palm-sized rock that she had just dug out from the ground.

With a single, heavy blow, Zhong Fang collapsed to the ground with a thud. Qin Lizhen continued to raise the stone in her hand...

Under the moonlight, Qin Lizhen's figure could be seen swaying up and down, her raised hand striking downwards repeatedly. Apart from the very faint sounds of hard objects hitting each other and Qin Lizhen's soft laughter, the surroundings were quiet.

Chapter Eighteen: Escape

Sun Xiaojing walked around the hospital area and, finding nothing amiss, hurriedly went to Qin Lizhen's ward. Looking through the window, she was surprised to find no one inside. Puzzled, she thought for a moment, wondering if Zhong Fang had taken her out.

It's generally not possible to take patients out of the ward at night; if you want to, you need to go through the proper procedures, especially for patients like Qin Lizhen who have a history of escaping.

Sun Xiaojing then remembered: Could it be that Zhong Fang also believed the money Qin Lizhen mentioned?

"Damn it, too late."

Sun Xiaojing secretly went to the grassy area where Qin Lizhen had been during the day. It was pitch black there, and with the faint moonlight, she couldn't see anyone. Sun Xiaojing wondered: Could she have hidden somewhere else?

She knew this in her heart, but even if she found her, she couldn't gain anything from Zhong Fang. She stood there resentfully for a while, then returned to the duty room to see if Zhong Fang had come back.

In the duty room, only Chen Ai was sleeping on a chair; Zhong Fang was nowhere to be seen. Seeing Chen Ai dozing off, Sun Xiaojing rudely woke her up and asked where Zhong Fang had gone.

Chen Ai had a good temper, and she wasn't angry when Sun Xiaojing woke her up. She just answered her sleepily, "I saw her just now, but now..." Chen Ai looked around and said, "I don't know where she is now."

Now that Sun Xiaojing felt hopeless about the money, she could only sit down and chat with Chen Ai. Chen Ai was still a little sleepy, so she just casually brushed her off. As Sun Xiaojing chatted, she got bored and had no choice but to stop talking to Chen Ai. She sat down in the chair, lowered her head, and fell asleep as well.

The cold wind blowing in from outside the duty room was eerie, as if something of extremely low temperature had entered the room. Sun Xiaojing was dressed more lightly than Chen Ai, and could only hug her arms to her chest to conserve some of her lost body heat. As she tried to adjust to a more comfortable position, she saw a dark shadow moving in front of her, which then stopped in front of her. She could have easily seen what it was by simply looking up, but she didn't bother to look, telling herself: it was just the shadow of a tree branch shining through the window.

Sun Xiaojing closed her eyes and dozed off again when a strange sound suddenly rang out in front of her: "Crack... thud... thud."

The sound rang out right in front of her, and Sun Xiaojing finally felt fear. She looked up sharply and saw a woman in a white hospital gown standing in front of her, holding a red object and putting it into her mouth. She made the same sounds as before.

Sun Xiaojing was immediately startled and screamed, waking Chen Ai up as well.

Sun Xiaojing finally came to her senses and saw that the woman was Qin Lizhen, who was holding half a carrot and eating it with gusto, staring blankly at Sun Xiaojing.

After seeing clearly, Sun Xiaojing and Chen Ai froze for half a second, then Sun Xiaojing, enraged, suddenly stood up and slapped Qin Lizhen hard across the face. A loud "smack" echoed as a bright red handprint landed on Qin Lizhen's pale face. Qin Lizhen didn't react at all, not even blinking. She stared blankly at the blackened-faced Sun Xiaojing, a trickle of blood flowing from the corner of her mouth.

Just as Sun Xiaojing was about to raise her hand to strike again, Chen Ai rushed up to stop her and shouted, "What are you doing?"

"Damn it, sneaking out in the middle of the night scared me to death."

"We can't hit her either," Chen Ai said, turning around to help Qin Lizhen sit down in a chair. She wondered why Qin Lizhen had radishes to eat, and why she looked so disheveled.

"How could she come out of the ward?" Chen Ai asked Sun Xiaojing.

"Who knew that only Head Nurse Zhong and some attending physicians on duty had the keys?"

Chen Ai knew what she had learned from Sun Xiaojing, and she knew it herself, so she could only ask Qin Lizhen, who was sitting blankly in the chair: "Qin Lizhen, how did you get out?"

Qin Lizhen just grinned foolishly at her without answering. Chen Ai wasn't in a hurry and asked her again, "Did someone let you out?"

"Yes, did someone let you out?" Sun Xiaojing asked as well, wanting to embarrass Zhong Fang, because she knew that Qin Lizhen was very likely released by Zhong Fang, and this time she was getting revenge for both the old and new grudges.

Qin Lizhen just kept smiling foolishly, without saying a word. After a while, she stood up, touched her waistband, and found a piece of raw pork inside. She took it out and was about to eat it, which made Sun Xiaojing laugh. Chen Ai quickly snatched the pork away, glared at Sun Xiaojing, and then smiled at Qin Lizhen, saying, "It's raw, you can't eat it. Are you hungry? I'll go to the kitchen and get you something to eat."

At this moment, Chen Ai put the pork on the table in the duty room and noticed that the meat was still cold. She turned to Sun Xiaojing and said, "She may have been in the kitchen just now, and the meat may have been taken from the freezer there."

Sun Xiaojing said impatiently, "Dr. Chen, it doesn't matter where she got it. I'll take her back to the ward now to prevent her from causing trouble. Do you have a key?"

Chen Ai took out the key and said, "I'll go to the kitchen to make something to eat. You take her back to the ward first, and then bring the food over later."

Sun Xiaojing, annoyed by the trouble, said unhappily, "The hospital has a rule that we can't feed patients at this time."

Chen Ai saw what she was thinking and replied dismissively, "Never mind, I'll deliver it myself in a bit."

Sun Xiaojing muttered a few words under her breath, expressing her displeasure, then grabbed Qin Lizhen and dragged her away. Chen Ai watched them walk away, a little angry, before heading towards the kitchen.

Sun Xiaojing dragged Qin Lizhen to her hospital room, unlocked the door, and seeing that no one was around, grabbed Qin Lizhen's hair and threw her inside as if she were a garbage bag being tossed into a trash heap. Just as she was about to leave, she saw Qin Lizhen frantically rush to the bed, seemingly trying to hide something. Sun Xiaojing, with her sharp eyes, noticed what appeared to be banknotes on the bed. Qin Lizhen, while still protecting the items, stared at Sun Xiaojing with wide, terrified eyes, shouting, "What are you doing? These are mine!"

Seeing how nervous she was, Sun Xiaojing knew it was about the money. She immediately walked over to her, pulled her aside, and grabbed the banknotes.

"It really is money." Sun Xiaojing held the money in her hand, her eyes gleaming. After examining it for a while, she realized that all the money was in hundred-yuan bills, but all of them were torn in half and covered in mud. Sun Xiaojing murmured, "It's okay, I can glue them back together, it's okay..."

Suddenly, a sound came from behind. Sun Xiaojing turned around and saw that Qin Lizhen had already closed the ward door. Once the ward door was closed, it had to be opened with a key from both the inside and outside. Sun Xiaojing was in a good mood and didn't blame Qin Lizhen for her actions. She just said, "What are you doing? Just stay there." After saying that, she thought for a moment and then waved the banknotes in her hand and said, "Do you have any of these things?"

Qin Li nodded seriously, then pulled a carrot from her waistband. Sun Xiaojing got a little angry and said, "Not these rotten carrots you found in the kitchen, but these..." Sun Xiaojing then held up the banknotes in her hand and said, "These."

Upon hearing this, Qin Lizhen reached for her waist again, and Sun Xiaojing chuckled and said, "How many more things are you hiding in your pants, you slut?"

Qin Lizhen had no expression on her face, but she pulled a gleaming stainless steel kitchen knife from her waistband.

Sun Xiaojing's smiling face froze instantly, and her whole body went numb. Her mind, which had been blinded by self-interest for so long, finally sounded the alarm: she was now in a locked room with a mental patient.

Sun Xiaojing, her right hand trembling, fumbled for her keys in her pocket, and said to Qin Lizhen with a smile, "Qin Lizhen, you... put down the knife, this thing... isn't fun."

Qin Lizhen didn't move, seemingly having no intention of harming Sun Xiaojing; she simply stood by the door, holding the knife. Sun Xiaojing struggled to find her key, then cautiously walked along the wall to the door, only a meter or so away from Qin Lizhen. She nervously looked at Qin Lizhen, stammering, "Be good...don't...don't move."

Qin Lizhen remained motionless, staring straight ahead, completely ignoring Sun Xiaojing beside her. Seeing that Qin Lizhen wasn't looking at her, Sun Xiaojing felt a little more at ease and took out her key to open the door.

Sun Xiaojing's trembling hands couldn't get the key into the lock. Frustrated, she broke out in a cold sweat. She glanced at Qin Lizhen, who remained motionless, then took a deep breath to calm herself. Finally, she carefully inserted the key, twisted it, and with a click, the door opened. Sun Xiaojing immediately exhaled all the air she had just inhaled, then opened the door to leave. Suddenly, her right hand, which was resting on the doorknob, was struck violently. Her arm lurched, and her wrist slipped off the handle.

Sun Xiaojing fell backward to the ground. She saw that Qin Lizhen, who had been motionless just moments before, had closed the door again and was standing in front of it holding a kitchen knife. Sun Xiaojing immediately tried to struggle to get up, but she could only feel that her right hand was powerless. Looking down, she saw that her right hand was deformed. Her arm was broken at a right angle to the ground, and blood was slowly seeping from her sleeve.

At that moment, excruciating pain shot through her arm, and Sun Xiaojing screamed, "You slut, you broke my arm..."

Qin Lizhen lunged forward and kicked Sun Xiaojing squarely in the throat. Sun Xiaojing's scream abruptly stopped, and she rolled several meters away. Then, Sun Xiaojing struggled to her feet, leaning against the wall for support. She tried to call for help again, but her throat was burning with pain, and she couldn't make a sound. But the will to survive drove her recklessly. She rushed to the window and screamed. The fear of death enveloped her like a blanket. Although she couldn't scream, she still struggled to move her injured vocal cords, producing hoarse sounds. Her eyes scanned the window, searching for hope.

There was no one in the hallway outside the window.

After calling for a while, Sun Xiaojing got tired and turned around in despair. She saw Qin Lizhen standing not far away, looking at her with a kind smile on her face.

Sun Xiaojing trembled all over and turned back to shout out the window. Although she couldn't make a sound, her lips seemed to be calling for "help."

Suddenly, her hair was grabbed and she was violently pulled back into the ward from the window. The extreme fear and force knocked her to the ground again.

Sun Xiaojing cried as she looked at Qin Lizhen on the ground. Qin Lizhen was holding a kitchen knife and slowly walked over. Sun Xiaojing knew she was doomed, so she thought she might as well fight Qin Lizhen to the death for a chance of survival.

Instinct compelled Sun Xiaojing to stand up and raise her right hand to strike Qin Lizhen. She then felt her right hand was shorter and covered in a large piece of tape, realizing the extent of her injury. Desperate, Sun Xiaojing continued to wave her hands, whether from excessive bleeding or shock, her movements soon weakening, making her appear to be dancing.

Qin Lizhen approached step by step, her face and body covered in blood splattered from Sun Xiaojing's right hand as she swung it. Qin Lizhen was still smiling. When she got very close, she was suddenly slapped in the cheek. It turned out that Sun Xiaojing's right hand was not completely broken. There was still some muscle and skin connecting it. When she swung her hands, she hit Qin Lizhen who was walking towards her.

Sun Xiaojing immediately backed away, crying and wailing, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, please let me go!" But her voice was hoarse, and she couldn't even hear herself speak. Sun Xiaojing was desperate, sustained only by a sliver of will to survive as she fled around the room, avoiding Qin Lizhen. The ward was stained with her blood. She even tried kneeling before Qin Lizhen, but Qin Lizhen's kind smile remained unchanged as she slowly approached her.

The two stayed in the ward for more than half an hour before it ended. Qin Lizhen didn't leave the ward until she had tortured Sun Xiaojing to death, her steps still stained with blood.

At this time, Chen Ai had already cooked some dishes in the kitchen. She usually doesn't cook and always chooses to eat fast food since she lives alone, but she made an exception today, even though she only knows how to cook some ordinary dishes.

The hospital kitchen was large, with a big freezer inside. When Chen Ai first came in, she wanted to put the pork that Qin Lizhen had taken out back and find some eggs to cook, but the freezer door couldn't be opened, so she had to give up. Instead, she found some green vegetables, chopped some pork, and stir-fried them together.

After a flurry of activity, she finally finished preparing the food and was about to take it to the ward when she suddenly saw someone standing by the kitchen door. Chen Ai shuddered and almost dropped the vegetables in her hands. She managed to steady herself and realized that the person was Qin Lizhen.