“Nurse,” Jiang Nanshu’s voice was somewhat hoarse.
Xu Yun cocked her head, “Hmm? What’s the matter, Nannan?”
Jiang Nanshu looked at the ceiling, a smile playing upon his lips, “I had a very long dream…”
“You tell, I’m listening.”
Seeing her stern face, Jiang Nanshu couldn’t help but laugh, “Don’t be nervous, it’s not a nightmare, it’s a… relatively happy dream.”
“I dreamt I went to another world. I met your sister who was being bullied; I chased away the bullies, and she wasn’t pushed to drop out and commit suicide.”
Tears welled up in Xu Yun’s eyes; she echoed Jiang Nanshu, “Really? Nannan, you’re amazing. With you around, nothing bad would happen. You are so powerful, a savior to Xixi. Protected by you, she must have been very happy. Knowing she’s doing well in another world eases my mind as a sister. Thank you, Nannan.”
Jiang Nanshu’s face turned pale, and he chuckled lightly, “I did listen to you, took life seriously. In that world, I also met a family who loved me dearly even though we weren’t related by blood. They treated me as a little treasure. I’ve never had so much love before. Oh, and from now on, don’t show me those melodramatic novels anymore. I even experienced a romance there; I got married.”
In Xu Yun’s view, this was just Jiang Nanshu’s delusional reality, but she still responded gently, “Wow, really? You’re already wonderful, certainly deserving of love. You’re beautiful, intelligent, kind-hearted, lively, and cheerful. After getting married in that world, you must have been very happy.”
Not happy.
She died.
The beginning was good, the ending was not.
Jiang Nanshu lightly coughed and sat up, looking at the hospital room’s doorplate, 0111.
The key psychiatric patient.
“I’m back again?”
Xu Yun couldn’t help but roll her eyes, “Of all the methods you could use to leave, why opt for an escape akin to breaking out of prison? Fortunately, nothing bad happened to you. Once you are mentally stable and pass the test, you’ll be able to leave openly and properly. Nannan, you must actively participate in therapy.”
Jiang Nanshu smiled gently and nodded at her, “Okay.”
Xu Yun touched Jiang Nanshu’s cheek, which wasn’t swollen, “That damn man really hit hard. I’m going to cook an egg for you to use as a compress. Stay put in the hospital room, don’t wander off.”
“Okay.”
Xu Yun kept looking back as she walked away, marveling at how compliant Jiang Nanshu was.
She usually agreed to things on the surface but would immediately look for opportunities to scope out the terrain and plan an escape; Xu Yun was actually scared of her now.
Even if Jiang Nanshu wanted to run, she temporarily couldn’t. Escaped patients would be put in solitary confinement.
She wouldn’t be able to leave this hospital room for at least a week.
The door to the room was locked from the outside, something Jiang Nanshu was used to.
[Host, two hundred billion has been transferred into your account. I’m leaving now; we’ll never meet again!]Da Shachun’s jubilant voice sounded.
Then, it was followed by the sound [Disgust Value System Unbinding Successful].
Jiang Nanshu sneered, it was just a system selling something under a false guise.
Her final task wasn’t about the Disgust Value; it was everybody’s goodwill value!
She deserved that money.
She had no phone, couldn’t contact the outside world, and could only wait until she got out.
Jiang Nanshu looked at the needle marks on her arm, her lips curling into a smile, eager to make Zhou Yanbai experience the pain of being pricked by needles.
After spending a week in the hospital room, she was finally released.
The matters of the Book World slowly faded from her memory.
Her current priority was to seize the massive inheritance.
It was only August; the sunlight was just right.
Jiang Nanshu went downstairs and saw the hospital director leading a Tai Chi session with a group of psychiatric patients.
Jiang Nanshu still felt a sense of team belonging.
Standing next to the director, she started to exercise.
The old director, wearing reading glasses, gave her a glance, “Humph, got a taste of bitterness, didn’t you? Unstable yet wanted to go out and suffer.”
“Are you okay? The guy was worse off than me, so it’s enough.”
Bearded security hasn’t been discharged yet.
The old director: “…”
“You really have a knack for infuriating people.”
Lunch break.
Jiang Nanshu asked Xu Yun for a phone.
She sent a message and quickly deleted it.
The message was roughly about her discharge in a month, asking someone to pick her up.
In that month, Jiang Nanshu ate her fill and then slept, then ate again after waking.
She was gentle, polite, and even became a just adjudicator when she saw mentally ill patients fighting, managing a group of troublemakers meticulously.
The old director and Xu Yun looked at each other.
“What’s gotten into her?” the old director asked.
“I dunno.” Xu Yun was also baffled, “Ever since she ran back here, she’s become a good citizen. Even if the hospital’s watchdogs fight, she steps in to mediate. She’s changed, no longer initiating fights herself, and even when others provoke her, she takes it well, saying she won’t stoop to the level of the mentally ill.”
Xu Yun looked pleased.
Ah, the child has grown up, come to understand the world, knowing what to embrace and what to avoid.
The old director, serious-faced, saw Jiang Nanshu strolling over and held his breath: “Whatever you are, please get off her quickly!”
Jiang Nanshu: “?”
Baring her teeth in a smile, she said, “Director, when can I be tested? I’m too healthy. I want to go out and embrace the blue skies, kiss the earth, hug the kind and friendly crowds, live positively, and create a beautiful tomorrow!”
The old director, Xu Yun: “…”
The old director said, “Let me ask you this, if you go out and someone deliberately splashes water on you, soaking your clothes, what should you do?”
Jiang Nanshu smiled generously, “What else can I do? I’d definitely forgive him. He must have some inadequacy, and I can’t discriminate against the disabled.”
The old director: “???”
He stared, dumbfounded, at Jiang Nanshu who was more gentle and even transformed compared to before.
That answer… seemed correct.
He cleared his throat, “This person is healthy, but he did it on purpose. What should you do?”
“Get him medical help right away; he’s got to have some mental issues. Why else would a normal person intentionally splash water on someone?” Jiang Nanshu responded calmly.
Xu Yun’s eyes sparkled, excitedly shaking the old director’s arm, “Director, Nannan is so normal! She can even differentiate between the mentally ill!”
Jiang Nanshu: “…”
She was just defending herself from past traumas, reacting aggressively to being hurt, which got her labeled as having mental issues; she wasn’t foolish.
Jiang Nanshu felt quite healthy.
She was even starting to feel empathy.
She smiled sweetly at Xu Yun, “Thanks for your recognition, Sister Xu Yun. After I get out, I’ll obey the law, be a model citizen, not cause trouble for the nation or tarnish our hospital’s reputation. I’ll be the first mentally healthy person to walk out of this hospital!”
The old director: “…”
“Well, let’s try it out then…”
This trial ended with Jiang Nanshu leaving the hospital with big and small bags.
The old director still couldn’t believe it.
Jiang Nanshu had truly recovered!
With a radiant smile, she waved at them, “I’m off, until we meet again.”
After turning around, her smile dropped, and a chill filled her almond eyes.