For a moment, Gu Junru felt as if she had returned to more than ten years ago, to the time when she first met Xu Qingzhu.
Xu Qingzhu was in a very bad state back then, much like she is now.
At that time, she had to be exposed to light and could not have any dark environment. At night, the incandescent light in her room would be exceptionally bright, hurting her eyes, but she had to do it that way.
The light was so bright that she couldn't sleep.
She couldn't hear a sound, not even footsteps, otherwise she would cower in bed like a frightened bird, trembling all night long, even if the sound disappeared and never reappeared.
Gu Junru spent a long time helping her get through it.
The treatment process lasted seven years before she became almost like a normal child, helping her rebuild her worldview.
The treatment of mental illness is an exceptionally long process.
Almost no one claims a 100% cure rate.
Xu Qingzhu has simply avoided being stimulated and avoiding those enclosed spaces that frighten her over the years, so she has never committed the crime.
But unexpectedly...
Gu Junru squatted down and patted her shoulder, gently asking, "Qingzhu, what's wrong?"
Unexpectedly, Xu Qingzhu didn't speak to her. Instead, she turned around again and started fiddling with the doorknob. Her hands were rubbed red from turning the doorknob, but she still refused to give up.
Gu Junru originally wanted to see her overcome the difficulties on her own, but in the end, she still helped her open it out of concern.
After Xu Qingzhu finished using the bathroom, she lay back down on the bed and kept her eyes open until dawn.
Throughout the day, she only uttered two words: "Sister..."
Both the Xu and Su families knew about what happened that day. Su Zhe visited her at the hospital once, but didn't linger. Instead, he went to help deal with Chen Liuying's situation, finding a lawyer and collecting evidence in an attempt to sentence Chen Liuying to life imprisonment.
During the days following Xu Qingzhu's incident, Xu Guangyao returned to the company and left all the important documents for Xu Qingzhu to review, while he dealt with some trivial matters.
This was the first time Su Yao and Sheng Linlang had met since Su Yao returned to China, but they never expected it to be in such a scene, with the unconscious Xu Qingzhu still lying in the hospital bed, and the two of them looking at each other in silence.
Then Sheng Linlang asked first, "Yaoyao, how have you been these past few years?"
A warm "Yao Yao," though tinged with a hint of caution, instantly transported the scene back to those days.
Su Yao's eyes immediately welled up with tears. "Sister, I'm fine."
Su Yao didn't blame Sheng Linlang. She held Xu Qingzhu's cold hand and tried to warm it up.
Sheng Linlang tucked the blanket around Xu Qingzhu.
Xu Qingzhu, however, was unconscious while lying in bed and was unaware of the situation.
Visitors came and went in Xu Qingzhu's hospital room.
In contrast, Liang Shi's place was quite deserted. Apart from Zhao Xuning, her attending physician, who stayed by her side, no one else had visited her.
Oh, Su Yao and Sheng Linlang visited Liang Shi several times out of "love for the house and its crows".
After the visit, he asked Zhao Xuning, "Is her condition serious?"
Upon learning that Xu Qingzhu was the cause of the injury, both mothers showed signs of distress.
Su Yao then asked Sheng Linlang, "Sister, what things produce blood?"
Sheng Linlang didn't understand either, and tentatively asked, "Pig's blood? You are what you eat."
Standing to the side, Zhao Xuning's lips twitched as he listened. Fearing that they had done their work in vain, he could only remind them, "I will give you a list of dietary supplements and meal times after the patient wakes up. You can't use anything now, and we don't know when she will wake up."
Su Yao and Sheng Linlang then gave up.
However, Su Yao was not like Sheng Linlang. She knew nothing about the Liang family. Having lived abroad for a long time, she was no longer familiar with these families in the circle. Even after seeing Zhao Xuning, she thought for a long time before tentatively asking, "Are you Wang Ye's daughter?"
Wang Ye is Zhao Xuning's mother.
Zhao Xuning nodded in agreement.
Su Yao then said, "Your mother and I used to have a pretty good relationship; we were superior and subordinate in high school."
Zhao Xuning responded politely for a few moments, after which Su Yao quietly asked her, "Where are Liang Shi's family members? Why haven't we seen them? Doesn't she have any other relatives?"
Zhao Xuning paused, unsure how to explain, so he told a white lie: "Liang Shi's family doesn't know she's injured yet. Her injuries weren't particularly serious that day, so they didn't issue a critical condition notice. And since I'm here, she won't have any major problems."
After saying that, she added, "She has relatives, but they are quite busy, and she doesn't really want to trouble them, so I didn't notify them."
Su Yao stammered an "okay".
Sheng Yu would come after school and stay in the ward until evening.
Su Yao saw that she was sleepy and offered to take her away, but she yawned and said, "I'm not sleepy, I want to stay with my sister."
In the end, he managed to fall asleep right next to Xu Qingzhu's hospital bed.
After Xu Qingzhu woke up, people came and went in the ward again, one group of people came and another group left. There were always people in the ward, but Xu Qingzhu did not talk to anyone.
She treated Su Yao a little differently.
He seemed to remember that Su Yao's mental state was not good, and he would reluctantly say to Su Yao, "Go back."
He spoke cautiously, as if afraid of hurting her.
Su Yao stared at her with tears in her eyes, and Xu Qingzhu sat there frowning, looking somewhat impatient.
This relapse was much more severe than before, so Dr. Gu readjusted the medication for Xu Qingzhu and also used some scientific treatment methods.
Zhao Xuning came to find Gu Junru because he wanted to take Xu Qingzhu to see Liang Shi.
It was Zhao Xuning who suggested this method because Gu Junru said that Xu Qingzhu didn't talk much, and when she did, the two words she said most often were "sister".
They all knew that the word "elder sister" referred to Liang Shi.
In that kidnapping case, Liang Shi and Xu Qingzhu depended on each other for survival.
Liang Shih's personality changed drastically afterward, and Xu Qingzhu was left with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Only they themselves know what they went through during that time.
When Xu Qingzhu grew up, she voluntarily married Liang Shi, even though she knew he had a bad reputation, she still went ahead and married him without hesitation.
I never expected that things would change so drastically.
The only way Zhao Xuning could think of to provoke Xu Qingzhu was to take her to see Liang Shi.
But this method is risky, so we need to bring Dr. Gu with us.
When Zhao Xuning and Gu Junru arrived at the ward, Xu Qingzhu was lying on the bed staring blankly at the ceiling, her hands resting on her abdomen. No one knew what she was thinking.
Zhao Xuning stepped forward and said coldly, "Xu Qingzhu."
Xu Qingzhu remained silent.
Zhao Xuning paused and then said, "Do you want to see Liang Shi?"
Upon hearing the name "Liang Shi," Xu Qingzhu reacted slightly, turning her head to look at Zhao Xuning. Her clear eyes appeared listless and bewildered, lacking any of their usual liveliness.
Seeing that it was effective, Zhao Xuning continued, "It is your wife, who is also the sister who was kidnapped with you when you were a child, the sister you have always missed—Liang Shi."
The ward was completely silent. Gu Junru and Zhao Xuning were both sweating bullets, unsure whether this method would work for Xu Qingzhu.
Gu Junru initially tried traditional therapies to help Xu Qingzhu, attempting countless methods and spending nearly two months before Xu Qingzhu finally spoke to her.
It took the two of them nearly a year to build a bridge of communication.
But at this moment, after a long silence, Xu Qingzhu's eyes gleamed, and she gently pursed her lips.
If she makes small physical movements, it means she's thinking.
A few seconds later, Xu Qingzhu sat up, supporting herself on the hospital bed with both hands. A blush appeared on her pale, almost transparent face, and her clear, cold voice rang out in the ward.
Xu Qingzhu asked, "Where is she?"
After a while, Xu Qingzhu said, "I want to see her."
//
The whole body is falling at high speed, and the soul loses its weight.
After an unknown period of falling, they landed in a thick fog.
Thick fog enveloped him, obscuring everything.
Sounds kept coming.
"Sister, let's go out."
"Waaaaah, sister, I'm scared."
"Sister, stop laughing, they'll beat you up."
"Sister, what is your wish?"
"Sister, look! Fireflies!"
"I've heard that if you make a wish upon a firefly, it will come true. Sister, what did you wish for?"
"I wish I had lots and lots of love."
"..."
The innocent voice of a child rang in her ears, and all those memories carried on the wind returned to her mind.
Inside that abandoned factory, a group of children were trapped. The kidnappers called their parents demanding a ransom, saying they would kill them if the ransom wasn't paid.
They sat together in twos and threes, smoking, drinking, and dreaming about the future.
They knocked out their front teeth because they laughed so much.
They were a bunch of inhuman bastards.
Even more inhumane was Qiu Zimin's icy voice when she called her parents after being kidnapped and they demanded ransom.
Qiu Zimin said, "Tear up the ticket."
Those three words left an indelible shadow on the young child's heart.
Many memories came flooding back, the scenes still vivid, only the scenes of being kidnapped were covered with a layer of dust, as if memories that one would never want to recall in this life had been stirred up again.
My memories include green grass and flowers, laughter and joy, but mostly darkness and fear.
Soon, the thick fog enveloped the area again.
Two little girls huddled together for warmth in an abandoned factory. She learned from Qi Jiao to carry a White Rabbit candy with her and secretly slip it to her little sister in the factory.