Fortunately, I Met You

“s.h.i.+y-”

Qin s.h.i.+ya was clearly in excruciating pain, and when she saw that her mother didn"t intend on leaving, she immediately turned violent. She thrashed about recklessly, even smas.h.i.+ng her head against the armrest of her wheelchair. As she did so, she also started screaming out, her shrill voice thick with grief.

Thankfully, perhaps because Qin s.h.i.+ya often had such fits, someone had wrapped a layer of soft padding around the armrests of her wheelchair. Even though Qin s.h.i.+ya"s movements were intense, she didn"t really hurt herself.

Even so, her mother was so worried that she immediately started comforting her. “Alright, alright, stop hitting yourself. I"ll leave immediately.”

And true to her word, she did leave. But before she did so, she glanced at Cheng Xi, a clear warning evident in her gaze.

Cheng Xi waited for her to leave before walking over to Qin s.h.i.+ya. She didn"t say anything, simply stretching out her hands and ma.s.saging Qin s.h.i.+ya"s temples.

Qin s.h.i.+ya initially wanted to push her away, but when she felt a soft warmth bathe her forehead, the pulsating pain in her head seemed to instantly diminish. The pair of gentle and warm hands continued to lightly glide across her scalp and temples, easing the pain away.

She unconsciously closed her eyes and relaxed her body under Cheng Xi"s deft movements. Only when Cheng Xi removed her hands did Qin s.h.i.+ya regain her senses. She turned around and looked at her seriously. “I didn"t know that you knew how to ma.s.sage people.”

“I learned a few tricks while I was studying.”

“Give them to me.” Qin s.h.i.+ya stretched out her hand, her jaw jutting out towards the sleeping pills scattered on the table.

Cheng Xi poured her a gla.s.s of water, counted out a number of pills, and then placed them in front of her. “This is the most I can give to you right now. See if it helps.”

Qin s.h.i.+ya took the medicine. Without a trace of hesitation, she mechanically stuffed all of them into her mouth, chewed them roughly, and then swallowed them.

She didn"t drink any water during the entire process, and her actions were so careless that it felt like she wouldn"t have minded choking to death on those pills.

Just watching her made Cheng Xi feel uncomfortable. She quietly waited for Qin s.h.i.+ya to finish swallowing, and then wheeled her over to a room in the back. The room was adorned very simply, with one bed, one table, and a single chair. Pale blue bedsheets were spread over the bed, and the tablecloth was made of the same material. The bed and table were clean and unoccupied, and a small vase had been placed by the windowsill, the few flowers imbuing the quiet room with a faint floral scent.

“It"s very quiet here, so it"ll be a good place for you to sleep.”

Qin s.h.i.+ya coldly replied, “But I"m not sleepy at all.”

“You can still try.” Cheng Xi smiled a little. “Lie down, and try for a bit. If you still can"t fall asleep after that, we"ll talk then, alright?”

Cheng Xi"s voice was gentle and mellow, and very comforting to listen to.

Qin s.h.i.+ya unconsciously did as she was told, allowing herself to be lifted into bed. As she was laid down, Cheng Xi asked, “Does your head still hurt?”

“Yes.”

Cheng Xi then sat down by her side, rested her palm on her head, and once again started ma.s.saging her lightly. “How about this?”

Qin s.h.i.+ya didn"t respond, but she didn"t reject Cheng Xi either.

Cheng Xi continued ma.s.saging Qin s.h.i.+ya until she felt her breathing stabilize at a slower rate. When she tried to get up and leave, she realized that her legs had long since gone numb due to her immobilization.

So Cheng Xi had no other choice but to sit there, unable to cry out or move too much. She could only silently wait for the p.r.i.c.kling pain to dissipate.

As she waited, she suddenly thought back to when she had seen Chen Jiaman at Lin Fan"s place. Her legs had gone numb just like this, and then Lu Chenzhou had carried her downstairs. Honestly, given his personality, that was quite the grandiose gesture.

Just thinking about that made her start missing him a little.

The most uncomfortable part about moving to Gansu was probably the fact that she couldn"t see him anymore.

Cheng Xi sighed lightly and looked back at the sleeping form of Qin s.h.i.+ya. She wasn"t sleeping very well; her forehead was slightly scrunched up, and her hands and feet spasmed haphazardly from time to time.

A gentle vibration came from her bag. Cheng Xi took out her phone and saw that the director had sent her a message: I"ve handled her mother. Don"t worry.

Cheng Xi couldn"t help herself from smiling. She texted back: The patient"s asleep. Please ask her mother not to worry.

The director didn"t send any more messages over. Qin s.h.i.+ya slept for quite a long time, only waking up at 10 PM. When she woke up, she was the only one in the room. The small lamp on the table had been lit, and the room was basked in a soft glow against the silent night.

Qin s.h.i.+ya simply lay there, lost in her thoughts.

She felt like she had slept for a very long time, without any nightmares, and without the ever present war drum-like booming. She felt well-rested and unbelievably clear-headed. Everything felt crisp, like the wind outside the window. It sounded gentle as it softly caressed the windowsill.

Qin s.h.i.+ya sat up in a daze. Someone had just parted the curtain between this room and her ward. A slender figure entered her room, but the light was too dim for Qin s.h.i.+ya to see the newcomer"s features properly. All she could make out was a particularly bright pair of eyes that were clean and pure.

Cheng Xi smiled as she walked in. As she walked past the lamp, Qin s.h.i.+ya was finally able to make out a young and pretty face. There was a small dimple by one side of her cheek, giving her a gentle and soft mien.

“Are you awake? Did you have a good sleep?”

Qin s.h.i.+ya looked at her. “Who are you?”

“I"m a psychiatrist. My name is Cheng Xi.”

“I"ve never seen you before.”

“I"m new here.”

Qin s.h.i.+ya made a soft “Oh” sound. “I remember you now. You prescribed me the sleeping pills.” But even as she talked, her head started hurting so much that she could no longer look at Cheng Xi—she was just too pretty. She still managed to earnestly say, “I have to thank you. You"re the first doctor who agreed to give me so many pills, and it"s all thanks to you that I finally got a good night"s sleep.”

Cheng Xi smiled. “Do you mind if I turn on the lights?”

Qin s.h.i.+ya shook her head.

When the bright lights were turned on, Qin s.h.i.+ya saw that Cheng Xi was even more beautiful than she had imagined. She possessed a kind and gentle beauty that made others instinctively warm up to her.

“You"ve slept for quite a while. Are you hungry?”

Cheng Xi"s tone was infinitely friendly towards Qin s.h.i.+ya, as if she"d only gone to sleep here because she was tired. Unlike the other doctors, Cheng Xi didn"t spout off a stream of endless questions or offer vacuous consolations.

Qin s.h.i.+ya looked at her seriously. “I"m not hungry.” And then, a moment later, she added on, “You"re different from all the other doctors I"ve seen to date.”

Cheng Xi smiled. “That"s why your mother filed a complaint against me. Our director told me that I"ve set a new record as the fastest to get a complaint after starting.”

Qin s.h.i.+ya"s face had a shadow of a smile. “It"s not related to you at all. She"s just very worried that I might die.”

“There"s nothing wrong with being concerned about you.”

“No, she"s not concerned about me. She"s simply concerned about the benefits that she would lose if I died.”

Qin s.h.i.+ya"s tone was very harsh, and if this was a misunderstanding, then it was a very serious one.

Cheng Xi was still thinking about the meaning behind her words when Qin s.h.i.+ya continued, asking, “Can you give me some more of those pills? Don"t worry. I won"t exceed the amount that you gave me today.”

Cheng Xi took a bottle of pills out of her bag. “These?”

Qin s.h.i.+ya looked at it, her eyes gleaming. “Yes. The only thing that I"m suffering from is insomnia.”

“In that case, I can give them to you,” Cheng Xi said as she shook the bottle, “however, can I ask you a few questions first?”

Qin s.h.i.+ya fell silent for a moment before she replied, “Go on.”

“When did you start exhibiting symptoms of insomnia?”

“After the earthquake.”

“Why can"t you fall asleep?”

Qin s.h.i.+ya"s voice mechanically replied, “Because I"m scared of another earthquake, because I"m suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder. Isn"t that what you all told me?”

“Yes,” Cheng Xi said with a nod, “That"s indeed what we said. But, if you don"t mind me being honest, if you keep refusing to tell us the truth and continue repressing yourself like this, then soon enough, even these twelve sleeping pills will be useless to you. What"s more, you don"t really need these pills at all.” As Cheng Xi said this, she twisted the bottle open, let a large number of tablets fall into her hand, and then swallowed them all.

Qin s.h.i.+ya"s eyes opened up wide. Cheng Xi had just eaten far more pills than she herself had taken. In fact, it was almost half the bottle.

But the pretty doctor in front of her was still smiling. “Don"t worry. These actually aren"t sleeping pills, just sugar pills.”

“……”