“Teacher Lin, Teacher Lin, look quickly!”
Chen Bugu hastily pointed to the date of inscription at the bottom right of the list.
Lin Ye was a bit bewildered by Chen Bugu’s sudden, startled reaction.
“What’s wrong with the date of inscription?”
“Didn’t you say this hospital disappeared many years ago, but the date of inscription you’re looking at is yesterday.”
Upon hearing this, Lin Ye repeatedly looked at the inscription at the bottom right of the list, a perplexed expression on his face.
“The inscription date is February 2002, which matches the time on the newspaper we saw in the guardroom.”
“Teacher Lin, what are you saying? Look closely again…”
Chen Bugu’s words caught in his throat halfway through.
Because, at this moment, in his eyes, the inscription date at the bottom right of the list had already changed to February 2002.
Impossible!
Chen Bugu rushed forward and wiped away the dust from the inscription with his sleeve.
Under Lin Ye’s puzzled gaze, Chen Bugu froze.
It really was February 2002!
Was he seeing things?
Seeing that it was just Chen Bugu’s illusion, Lin Ye didn’t pay too much attention and walked towards the Director’s office, leaving Chen Bugu still standing in front of that display board.
After Lin Ye left, Chen Bugu looked at the top left corner of the display board that Lin Ye had been staring at.
That spot, which had previously been blank, now had a female nurse’s portrait.
“Jiang Yutang”
“Presumably, this is Teacher Lin’s deceased wife…”
Chen Bugu continued to stare at the display board in front of him, lost in thought.
…
“Creak~”
Lin Ye pushed open the door to the Director’s office.
The windows of the Director’s office seemed to have been left open, and the vine-like plant had crept in through the window, clinging to the wall of the Director’s office and climbing all the way to the ceiling.
Other than that, all the furnishings inside the Director’s office were exactly as Lin Ye remembered them.
After his wife’s death, Lin Ye had countless conversations with the hospital’s leadership in this very place, regarding his wife’s death and the subsequent compensation…
Lin Ye remembered that the Director of this hospital was named Huang Yuanzhang, a refined man with a gentle smile who always gave people a feeling of warmth.
Huang Yuanzhang had always felt deeply pained by Jiang Yutang’s death.
He had shed tears in front of Lin Ye more than once, expressing the hospital’s regret.
However, Lin Ye had also heard some other rumors.
Some nurses at the hospital had said that Jiang Yutang was pushed out by the hospital to bear the anger of the family as a scapegoat.
Lin Ye had also suspected that his wife was merely a nurse in the pediatrics department. If blame were to be assigned for the incident back then, it should have been directed at the on-duty doctors and nurses in the obstetrics and gynecology department.
Yet, his wife inexplicably got caught up in that dispute and ultimately lost her life.
Unfortunately, before Lin Ye could uncover the truth, Tiancheng City First Hospital disappeared, and the hospital’s high-level executives from that year, such as Huang Yuanzhang, also vanished without a trace.
If the entire hospital was swept into this world because of the “Great Disaster” back then, then are Huang Yuanzhang and the others still alive?
Lin Ye stood in the Director’s office, looking around. Whether it was the certificates of honor in the bookshelf or the group photos hanging on the wall, everything was almost exactly as it had been back then.
Even the placement of the carbon pen on Huang Yuanzhang’s desk was just as it had been.
On the desk, there was also a notebook, which was clearly Huang Yuanzhang’s diary from back then.
Lin Ye gently picked it up, brushed off the dust, and casually flipped to a page.
“September 10, 2001, that damned idiot Su Xun, he actually ran off to pick up girls while on duty. Why did he have to mess with the on-duty nurse that day of all people! Now look, that crazy woman broke into the nursery, and everything is ruined!”
Lin Ye was stunned, his hand not stopping as he continued to flip through the pages.
“September 15, 2001, thankfully I found a friend at the newspaper to help stir up public opinion. Now everyone’s anger is focused on that crazy woman.”
“November 15, 2001, the court’s judgment is out. A mentally ill person, completely lacking the ability to recognize or control her actions, as expected, cannot be convicted. But that crazy woman is truly a persistent ghost. It was just a minor surgical accident back then. Even if I hadn’t been drinking, her son might not have survived. So many years have passed, and even though she’s insane, she still won’t let us go.”
“December 1, 2001, have that group of parents gone mad too? The court has already ruled, and we’ve already compensated them. Although it wasn’t much, we’ve already done our utmost. What more do they want? Why is that damned idiot Su Xun my brother-in-law? Otherwise, I would have handed him over to appease public anger long ago.”
“December 3, 2001, the weather is clearly getting colder, but that group of parents still blocks the hospital entrance all day long, what a nuisance. Public opinion is already starting to turn against us. Those insatiable reporters put another article on my desk, asking for 300,000 yuan right off the bat. What a joke!”
“December 7, 2001, they don’t care about the truth! They just want to vent their emotions! Fine, let them vent. Isn’t Jiang Yutang from the pediatrics department the most upright? She reacts so strongly to just a touch, so let her handle this matter! Then arrange for two people to go to the scene and incite some emotions, hit a few parents, and make them retreat in the face of difficulty.”
As Lin Ye read this, veins bulged on his forehead. He gritted his teeth, his body trembling, and bloodshot lines began to creep into his eyes.
“December 8, 2001, damn it, these idiots! Wouldn’t it have been better to just take the money and go home earlier? They had to cause such a scene. Now look, so many people died, how could so many people die!.”
“December 15, 2001, people from the province came down. I heard a special task force was established. I’m already overwhelmed! At a time like this, Jiang Yutang’s husband still has to come asking questions. I’ve already compensated him 100,000 yuan, and he’s still not satisfied, saying he wants to know the details of that conflict. Doesn’t he just want more compensation? That bitch Jiang Yutang died, so what? She’s not worth that much money.”
“February 1, 2002, the hospital has suspended operations. If things continue like this, it might even be shut down later. Those hypocrites, they took the money but didn’t do anything, constantly saying they tried their best, but in reality, they’re all waiting to see me fail!”
“April 3, 2002, the hospital has been confirmed to close in July this year. It’s over, my life’s work has all gone to waste, everything is over.”
…
When Lin Ye finally turned the page, his fingernails dug deep into the paper, but there was no next page.
His eyes were bloodshot, his breathing was rapid, and his whole body trembled uncontrollably.
“Creak~”
The door to the Director’s office was pushed open again.
Lin Ye instinctively turned his head to look.
The moment he recognized the person, his eyes were bloodshot with rage.
Huang Yuanzhang stood at the door, silently looking at Lin Ye.
After more than twenty years, his smile and expression were exactly as they had been back then.
Gentle and refined, like a spring breeze…