Chen Yuanxing, carrying a large bag, finally rushed into the inpatient department at exactly nine o'clock. He whistled leisurely as he went upstairs. Yu Yao, who was on duty, greeted him in the hallway. Seeing that he had changed his clothes and looked refreshed and clean, Yu Yao avoided his radiant gaze. "Back to be with your girlfriend?" she said.
Chen Yuanxing chuckled, "Little doctor on duty, huh?" He brushed past her but added firmly, "I told you she's not my girlfriend." Yu Yao stopped, put her hands in the pockets of her white coat, and turned her head, "Smooth talker, who would believe you?"
"If you don't believe me, ask my girlfriend when she wakes up!" Chen Yuanxing said confidently. Yu Yao laughed, "Still denying it?" Chen Yuanxing then realized his mistake and pinched his mouth, "I understand what 'public opinion can melt metal' means now. You guys keep saying 'your girlfriend' all day long, it's making me confused. I'm scared of you guys."
Yuyao had a good impression of Chen Yuanxing, thinking that he was just talkative and not really a scoundrel. Suddenly, she remembered and said, "By the way, a very handsome guy came looking for your girlfriend at noon. He seemed to be in a hurry."
Chen Yuanxing immediately became interested and grabbed Yu Yao, "What? Doctor? Someone came looking for Xiao Qiqi. What did he look like? What's his name? How old is he? Where did he go?" A barrage of questions left Yu Yao unsure which to answer. "I don't know. He seemed very anxious. When he saw Xiao Qiqi's medical record, his face looked frightening. I saw him stagger as he ran towards the inpatient department. I even thought to myself, 'You're not really Xiao Qiqi's boyfriend, are you? He seems to be.'"
"Yes, yes, young doctor, you're so smart! It must be that guy! Damn it, where is he?"
Yu Yao shook his head, "I don't know. There was a very beautiful girl behind him at the time, the kind of girl who was so beautiful that you couldn't take your eyes off her."
"Alright, young doctor, stop talking about the beautiful woman. Tell me quickly what that guy looked like and what happened to him afterwards." Chen Yuanxing was extremely excited at this moment and couldn't wait to find the culprit.
"That boy, he was about your age, I think. He looked very clean, gentle, and elegant, with perfectly proportioned features. He always seemed to smile, but his smile was a little distant and melancholic." Yu Yao tried hard to recall Xia Xuan, whom she had met today. "He was about your height, maybe even thinner and fairer. He had very dark eyes, like jewels, but he wore blue-rimmed glasses, which made him look more refined."
After listening to her description for a long time, Chen Yuanxing could only come to one conclusion: a handsome guy who was fairer than him. He interrupted her angrily, "Is he more handsome than me?"
Yu Yao chuckled, "A little." Seeing Chen Yuanxing's displeasure, she quickly added, "No, it's not that. You two are completely different types of people. He's the gentle, melancholic prince charming, and you are..."
"What am I?" Chen Yuanxing was actually having a comparative thought at this moment, a strange thing that he himself did not realize.
"I don't know." Yu Yao covered her mouth and chuckled. After all, she was still a third-year intern doctor with a girlish heart. "Your girlfriend woke up, why don't you ask her yourself?"
Chen Yuanxing then remembered that he hadn't asked the important question yet: "Where did he say he went? Did he leave any contact information?"
Yu Yao shook her head. "He was very strange. At first, he seemed very intimidating, like he was bringing a storm. Later, he seemed to come to the inpatient department for a while, but then left without saying a word. That beautiful woman also left. Neither of them said anything. I was curious at the time, so I followed him to the door for a look. It was a long, luxurious Mercedes-Benz, but I couldn't see the license plate, so I left."
Chen Yuanxing stomped his foot, "You're so stupid! Why didn't you stop him? It must be that guy who did something wrong and made me take the blame. Why didn't I catch him? I'd kick him to death if I did!"
Seeing his resentment, Yu Yao became even more convinced of her judgment that Chen Yuanxing was indeed not Xiao Qiqi's boyfriend. She hesitated and asked, "You're really not Xiao Qiqi's boyfriend? Then why are you so good to her? You paid her hospital bills and took care of her?"
Chen Yuanxing smiled wryly: "Wasn't this because you forced me to?" Yu Yao suddenly remembered that she had forced him to pay money that morning, and couldn't help but chuckle.
Women are born gossipy. Yu Yao suddenly lowered her voice and glanced at room 511 in the distance, "Hey, tell me, did your girlfriend's boyfriend get stolen by that beautiful woman, so she doesn't care about her anymore?"
Chen Yuanxing reflected on the whole incident and realized that this was probably the only explanation. He patted Yu Yao's curious head and said, "Go be your little doctor, stop gossiping." He then turned and carried his large bag towards room 511. Yu Yao made a face behind him before entering the doctor's office.
III. Awakening
Xiao Qiqi walked through the darkness and finally opened the door to light. The sound of water further strengthened her belief.
"Water..." This sentence was crystal clear. Chen Yuanxing, who was fiddling with a plastic bag and taking out daily necessities, turned around and slapped his forehead, "I forgot, you wanted to drink water at that time."
He poured out some water and let it cool. Seeing that the flush on Xiao Qiqi's face had faded, and touching her forehead, it wasn't so hot anymore; the fever had subsided. "Hey, why are your hands clenched again? Do you have a grudge against your hands?" Chen Yuanxing noticed Xiao Qiqi's fingers digging into her palm again. "You're still so troublesome even while unconscious!" Chen Yuanxing grabbed Xiao Qiqi's hand and gently massaged it. "Let go, sister. Looks like I need to find some medicine to apply, otherwise, an infection won't be a joke." But then he thought, didn't the doctor say her inflammation was serious? A little more wouldn't hurt. After massaging for a while, Xiao Qiqi's fingers finally slowly released. Chen Yuanxing pried them open and saw that the finger marks had deepened considerably.
"Nurse sister," Chen Yuanxing pushed open the door to the nurses' office next door and smiled brightly at Wang Yan, "Could you give me some disinfectant cotton balls and gauze?"
Wang Yan asked, "What do you need that for? I just checked number 4's temperature, and it's already 37.1 degrees Celsius. You don't need to worry too much."
"Oh, thank you, sister." Chen Yuanxing smiled politely. "Well, sister, she kept clenching her hands, and her fingernails had scratched her palms raw. I was wondering if I should wipe them with a sterile cotton swab and then wrap them with gauze, otherwise, would it get infected?"
"Oh my, I didn't realize you were such a thoughtful young man," Wang Yan said, taking out some disinfectant cotton and gauze. "Let's go, I'll do it."
Chen Yuanxing hurriedly said thank you, but inwardly he was even more angry with Xiao Qiqi. Why did she have to make things difficult for his own hand, making him smile and thank the nurse like a servant?
Wang Yan quickly disinfected Xiao Qiqi's hand, then wrapped it with gauze, saying, "Her nails are too long. Trim them for her so she won't pinch them when she squeezes them." Chen Yuanxing hurriedly agreed and went to find nail clippers. Wang Yan checked the IV drip and said, "She's had a fever for so long, and her body is dry. Now that the fever has subsided, with so many IV drips, she'll definitely need to pee soon. You have to keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't wet the bed."
"What?" Chen Yuanxing almost cut Xiao Qiqi's finger while trimming her nails. "Bedwetting? Nurse, you're not kidding, are you?"
"What are you talking about? I'm just giving you a heads-up based on my experience. Being unconscious doesn't mean there's no physiological secretion. You'd better go to the health department on the 8th floor and buy her a bedpan, and hold her like a child waking up to pee, or carry her to the toilet."
Chen Yuanxing was completely dizzy, leaning against the back of the chair by the bed, barely able to breathe. He felt like he'd had the worst luck imaginable! He didn't even know when Wang Yan had left. Chen Yuanxing sat down, breathless, looking at Xiao Qiqi on the bed. Looking at her pale face, he couldn't help but reach out and pinch her hard, muttering, "Take revenge before you wake up!" He leaned over, looking closely at the red mark he'd just left, gritting his teeth in hatred.
Xiao Qiqi gazed at the bright earth, her heart filled with joy, finally taking her first step. The golden sunlight, however, made her squint for a moment, unable to open her eyes. She closed them, then suddenly felt a sharp pain on her face, and forced them open. Chen Yuanxing was considering whether to pinch her again to vent his anger when a pair of dark, round eyes suddenly appeared in his own, so close, rolling around but lifeless, eerily pale. Startled, he jumped up, pointing at Xiao Qiqi: "You…you…"
Xiao Qiqi slowly turned her eyes. The long darkness made it impossible for her to adjust to the sudden light. White lights, white walls, white sheets, and the pungent smell of disinfectant filled her nostrils. "...Where is this? A hospital?"
Chen Yuanxing breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, he hadn't been burned into a fool, otherwise he really wouldn't know how to get rid of this burden. He slapped his forehead and said, "Thank goodness."
Xiao Qiqi looked at the boy in front of her with one hand on his hip, her mind working slowly. He seemed familiar, "...Young Master Chen?"
"Mmm." Chen Yuanxing nodded hurriedly, her face beaming. "It's good that you're awake, it's good that you're awake." Now that she's awake, can she finally get rid of this trouble? She eagerly offered her some water that had already gone cold. "Here, have some water."
Xiao Qiqi's mind was still hazy. When she saw the water in Chen Yuanxing's hand, she felt as if her internal organs had been drained and she was extremely thirsty. She hurriedly sat up, but cried out and fell back onto the bed. Her whole body ached and she felt weak, especially her lower abdomen, which was bloated and painful. Xiao Qiqi's face turned even paler. She finally remembered the blurry mass of flesh and blood in the toilet yesterday afternoon.
Seeing Xiao Qiqi staring blankly, Chen Yuanxing assumed she was just sick and weak, so he sat down on the edge of the bed, picked her up and pulled her into his arms: "Senior sister, I'm just going to feed you water, not take advantage of you, so please don't get angry."
Xiao Qiqi's mind was completely filled with the messy events of yesterday, and she had no mind to argue with Chen Yuanxing. She let Chen Yuanxing pour water into her mouth and drank a full glass of water. She still felt thirsty all over and licked her dry lips. "...I want to drink more."
Chen Yuanxing carefully put her down. "Okay, but wait a bit, let it cool down before you drink it." He poured a full glass of water, sat on the edge of the bed, and looked Xiao Qiqi over cautiously: "Senior sister, do you feel particularly uncomfortable?"
Xiao Qiqi struggled to move her eyes, shifting her gaze from the white ceiling to Chen Yuanxing's face. Her heart ached, but she remained silent: "You took me to the hospital?"
Chen Yuanxing nodded, "The aunt downstairs called me, thank goodness. Senior sister, you have no idea how dangerous it was. You were so careless! With your body like that, why did you go drinking? You didn't even come to the hospital when you had a fever. How could you ruin your health like that?" Chen Yuanxing remembered all the things Dr. Yu had said to him and couldn't help but repeat them to Xiao Qiqi.
Xiao Qiqi was physically weak and not very clear-headed. She was also in unbearable pain and could only manage to say with difficulty, "Thank you."
Seeing her pale face and sorrowful eyes, Chen Yuanxing didn't dare say anything more. "...Um, do you need to go to the toilet?" Xiao Qiqi shook her head, and Chen Yuanxing breathed a sigh of relief. "You scared me to death! I thought I was really going to help you pee." Xiao Qiqi was naturally puzzled, but she was too weak to ask further. So she closed her eyes, feeling a dull ache in her head, and drifted off to sleep again. She was shaken awake a little while later, and upon opening her eyes, she looked into Chen Yuanxing's beautiful phoenix eyes. Seeing her awake, his eyes sparkled like flower petals, revealing a hint of spring. "Here, have some water."
Xiao Qiqi was too weak to speak and didn't utter a sound. Chen Yuanxing held her and poured her another glass of water before she quickly fell asleep again. Seeing Xiao Qiqi asleep, Chen Yuanxing snapped his fingers in relief. She had finally made it through; if she hadn't woken up soon, he would have been in real trouble. He yawned widely; he had only slept a few hours that day and was exhausted. He flopped onto the empty bed opposite him and fell fast asleep without even turning over.
Awakened in the middle of the night by a slight clattering sound of a bottle, Chen Yuanxing initially ignored it, but a louder thud followed, forcing him to open his eyes. It took him a while to adjust to the light in the hospital room. By the light of the courtyard lamps outside, Chen Yuanxing saw Xiao Qiqi lying on the floor, her body trembling slightly. He quickly scrambled to his feet and picked her up: "Senior sister, what are you doing in the middle of the night? Trying to escape punishment? Did you fall off the bed?"
Xiao Qiqi was awakened by the urge to urinate. Stubborn and embarrassed, she refused to wake Chen Yuanxing. Feeling she could walk, she groped her way to her feet, but each step felt like a tearing pain throughout her body. She knew her body was in terrible shape, but she didn't have the energy to think about it; her only thought was to struggle to the toilet. She finally managed to climb off the bed, taking a few steps while gripping the edge, but the medicine bottle on her wrist caused her body to weaken, her legs giving way, and she collapsed to the floor. Chen Yuanxing carried her back to bed, and hearing his mockery, she remained silent, but the sadness in her heart was overwhelming. She turned her head away, and tears rolled down her cheeks.
Chen Yuanxing, seeing that Xiao Qiqi remained silent for a long time, leaned closer to look at her face in the dim light. Her eyes were already brimming with tears, and he couldn't help but feel anxious: "Senior sister, why are you crying again? I didn't bully you."
Xiao Qiqi knew it had nothing to do with Chen Yuanxing; on the contrary, she should thank him. She quickly suppressed her sadness and forced herself to say, "...I'm fine."
"No wonder nothing happened. What are you doing climbing out of bed in the middle of the night?"
"I...I need to go to the toilet." Xiao Qiqi was already bursting with urgency and didn't care about anything else, so she just told the truth.
"Huh?" Chen Yuanxing was speechless. Seeing that he was standing still, Xiao Qiqi gritted her teeth and said, "...I, you just need to help me to the toilet door." As soon as she finished speaking, she felt a lightness in her body and was picked up by Chen Yuanxing.
Chen Yuanxing held Xiao Qiqi in his arms. "Can you lift the medicine bottle?" He lifted Xiao Qiqi a little higher, and Xiao Qiqi reached out to pick up the IV drip. Only then did Chen Yuanxing carry her towards the toilet.
"Wait a minute," Xiao Qiqi called out again with difficulty. Chen Yuanxing stopped and said helplessly, "Sister, just go to the toilet, what's wrong with you now?"
Xiao Qiqi bit her lip, her blush invisible in the darkness. She knew her own body all too well; if she didn't clean up the mess below, there would be no way to deal with it. "I...I want some paper."
Chen Yuanxing muttered, "Just say you want toilet paper, why are you beating around the bush?" He then turned on the light with one finger, put Xiao Qiqi back on the bed, rummaged through the pile of daily necessities he had bought, took out a roll of toilet paper, and stuffed it into Xiao Qiqi's hand, "Here, take it."
Xiao Qiqi knew that having paper was already a good thing, so she didn't say anything more. Chen Yuanxing turned around and picked her up again, but his eyes caught sight of a familiar bag. "Wait."
Chen Yuanxing closed his eyes and opened them, trying to be as gentle as possible: "What is it now?"
Whose bag is that?
Chen Yuanxing didn't even bother to look at it. "Yours, your aunt threatened to throw it away as trash if I didn't help you carry the bag out. I had nowhere to put it, so I brought it to the hospital."
"Oh." Xiao Qiqi was delighted and threw away the tissue. "I, I have tissues in my bag."
"Big sister, aren't all toilet paper for wiping your butt? Why are you making such a distinction?" Chen Yuanxing glared impatiently.
Xiao Qiqi knew he didn't understand, so she just said, "Put me down, I'll find it myself."
Chen Yuanxing had no choice but to put Xiao Qiqi down again, and said irritably, "Where? I'll get it for you. I want to see if your own paper is engraved with gold. Why are you so stingy and insist on using your own?"
Xiao Qiqi was thrown onto the bed by Chen Yuanxing. She felt so weak that she couldn't even get up. Her abdomen was also swollen. With a surge of courage, she simply closed her eyes and said, "There are sanitary napkins in the left side bag. Can you take them out for me?"
Chen Yuanxing abruptly shut up, turning his head awkwardly to look at the pristine white wall. So that's what this woman was talking about after all this time. Women, they really are unreasonable. Why didn't she just say so earlier? Awkward as he was, he still opened the left side of his bag, relieved that he hadn't gone there, or it would have been "cleaned out" too.
"The blue one, for nighttime use." Xiao Qiqi quietly opened her eyes and saw Chen Yuanxing tearing open the red packaging of the daytime use without any method, so she had no choice but to give the order.
This was Chen Yuanxing's first time doing something like this, and he didn't dare turn his head. Following Xiao Qiqi's instructions, he opened another blue IV bag, took one, and shoved it into Xiao Qiqi's hand. He picked Xiao Qiqi up again, avoiding eye contact. "Oh dear, hurry to the toilet! The blood's flowing back!" It turned out that Xiao Qiqi had been holding the IV drip the whole time, and with these two movements, the blood had already flowed back into the bottle. "Should we ask the nurse to change it?" Chen Yuanxing asked Xiao Qiqi anxiously.
Xiao Qiqi shook her head: "It's okay, it's all my own blood anyway, let it flow back in." The two of them changed the subject and eased the awkwardness from before.
Chen Yuanxing carried Xiao Qiqi to the entrance of the women's restroom, hesitated for a moment, then went in, put Xiao Qiqi down, and hung the IV drip on the hook next to the toilet stall. "Are you okay?"
Although Xiao Qiqi felt weak in her limbs and could barely stand against the wooden plank, she refused to let Chen Yuanxing pull her to the toilet and nodded slowly. Chen Yuanxing also felt embarrassed and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Wait here, I'll find someone." After saying that, he ran towards the doctor's office.
Seeing Chen Yuanxing leave, Xiao Qiqi leaned against the toilet door, feeling dizzy and seeing black stars before her eyes. She felt weak all over, let alone squatting down. Almost as soon as Chen Yuanxing's footsteps disappeared, Xiao Qiqi collapsed onto the cold toilet floor.
When Chen Yuanxing pulled the sleepy Yu Yao over, Xiao Qiqi was already sobbing uncontrollably again. Yu Yao then became more awake and quickly helped Chen Yuanxing pull Xiao Qiqi up. Xiao Qiqi leaned against Chen Yuanxing's chest, and the helplessness, weakness, fear, and despair made her sob uncontrollably once again.
Yu Yao quickly grabbed a tissue to wipe her eyes: "Oh dear, don't cry. A miscarriage is like childbirth; it takes a lot of energy out of a woman. Crying will hurt your eyes. Please stop crying." When Xiao Qiqi heard her mention the word "miscarriage," the bitterness in her heart intensified a hundredfold, and she cried even harder.
Seeing that this wasn't working, Chen Yuanxing shook her and said, "Hey, are you crying or going to the toilet?"
Xiao Qiqi sobbed, "...the toilet."
"That's settled then. Don't cry when you go to the toilet. I even woke the doctor up from his sweet dream. You might as well take advantage of this. A doctor's gentleness is a once-in-a-century thing." Chen Yuanxing deliberately started talking nonsense again, which successfully diverted some of Xiao Qiqi's attention.
"...Then why aren't you leaving?" Xiao Qiqi managed to choke out a few words and glared at Chen Yuanxing.
Chen Yuanxing scratched his head and pushed Xiao Qiqi into Yu Yao's arms, "Little doctor, I'm entrusting this to you. You two better not fall flat on your faces."
Yu Yao chuckled: "You talk too much. Have you ever seen a doctor help a patient use the toilet?"
"I've never seen this before, so I wanted to give it a try. Your medical ethics are truly admirable, young doctor." Chen Yuanxing had already walked out, but the hateful laughter came from outside. Yu Yao smiled, helped Xiao Qiqi take off her pants, and then held her hands, saying softly, "A miscarriage is very harmful to a girl's body. You had a high fever and had a second surgery. It won't take a day or two for your body to recover."
Xiao Qiqi suddenly raised her head, "...Doctor, am I really that badly injured?"
Yu Yao nodded, "You're unconscious, so you probably don't know. When Dr. Yu comes tomorrow, he'll explain it to you in detail." Then she smiled, "Right now, we should focus on dealing with the immediate issues."
Although Xiao Qiqi had a lot of questions in her mind, the matter at hand was more important. So, she awkwardly finished the task with Yu Yao's half-helping and half-pulling. Both of them were already covered in sweat.
"Hey, all done." Yu Yao helped Xiao Qiqi up, ignoring the sweat on her forehead, and called out to the door. Chen Yuanxing then came in. Yu Yao stepped aside a little, and he picked up Xiao Qiqi. Yu Yao followed behind, carrying the IV drip for them, and the three of them walked towards the ward.
"Little doctor, my name is Chen Yuanxing, not 'Hey'." Still feeling awkward from the journey, Chen Yuanxing started making small talk again.
“Then call me Dr. Yu, not Little Doctor.” Yu Yao covered her mouth and laughed.
"Okay, thank you, Dr. Yu." After entering the ward, Chen Yuanxing gently laid Xiao Qiqi down and watched as Yu Yao finished her IV drip. "I wish you will become a top-notch doctor with excellent medical ethics, appearance, and skills in the future, okay?"
Yu Yao chuckled, but Chen Yuanxing put his finger to shush her; Xiao Qiqi had already fallen into a deep sleep. Chen Yuanxing shook his head and shrugged, while Yu Yao waved and walked out.
After turning off the lights, Chen Yuanxing wiped the sweat from his forehead, then used a tissue to wipe Xiao Qiqi's sweat before climbing into bed and going back to sleep.
Nothing was said that night.
IV. Escape
The next day, when Xiao Qiqi woke up, Chen Yuanxing was still fast asleep. Xiao Qiqi turned her head to look at the boy who had taken her to the hospital. He was carrying a large teddy bear in one arm, with one leg resting on it. His hair was slightly long, messily covering half his face. He had a straight nose and well-defined lips. The sunlight streaming through the window shone on his face, creating a soft curve. Xiao Qiqi stared at the teddy bear for a while before realizing it wasn't hers. A slight annoyance welled up inside her. Even though he had helped her, he shouldn't have been using her things so casually.
Chen Yuanxing was awakened by the doctor's voice. When he opened his eyes, he saw Dr. Yu leaning over to look at Xiao Qiqi's face.