Killer Nights

Inside the hospital, Jiang Zhengkai waited for the doctor to call A-Jiao’s name, but A-Jiao ran straight to Dr. w.a.n.g’s office.  She barged in, not caring who else was in the office, as she shouted, “Hi, Grandma w.a.n.g!”

“You impudent little hussy!” Dr. w.a.n.g retorted.  She had been discussing something with a young resident, but as soon as she saw A-Jiao nonchalantly rus.h.i.+ng in, she knew this little girl was going to make fun of her age again.

“I see you’re busy with a patient, Dr. w.a.n.g.  I’ll be off to prepare the test results then,” said the young resident doctor.  She glanced at A-Jiao, smiled at Dr. w.a.n.g, and then left the office.

“What are you doing here today?” Dr. w.a.n.g said, sitting with a purposely serious expression.

“I’m here for my check-up.  You didn’t think I came here because I missed you, did you?” teased A-Jiao.  She straddled a chair, crossed her arms, and rocked back and forth as she spoke to Dr. w.a.n.g.  She looked almost like a middle school student.

“You’re getting less and less mature, aren’t you?” Dr. w.a.n.g grumpily asked her as she saw how A-Jiao acted.  “You’ll be ready to go back to preschool in a few years at this rate.”

“My goodness, ma’am!  How ever did you know?”  A-Jiao sat on the chair and repeatedly nodded her head.  Even though she came back every month for a check-up, A-Jiao had never brought up her new job.  Dr. w.a.n.g had asked her, but A-Jiao steadfastly refused to answer.  At the end of the day, Dr. w.a.n.g didn’t force the issue.  After all, patients had a right to privacy.  Well, A-Jiao could do whatever she wanted as long as she didn’t end up turning tricks on the street again.

“Behave yourself!” grimaced Dr. w.a.n.g as she stood up and pointed at the hospital bed.  “Get up there!”

“Fine!  It’s not like I did anything wrong,” said A-Jiao as she helplessly stood up from her chair and crawled onto the bed.

Right at that moment, Jiang Zhengkai walked into Dr. w.a.n.g’s office and called out, “Dr. w.a.n.g, here’s Zi– A-Jiao’s number!”

“Oh, I see the two of you came together.”  Dr. w.a.n.g glanced at Jiang Zhengkai and then turned her attention back to A-Jiao.  She seemed to have understood what was going on.  At her age, how could she not see what was going on here?

“Hehe, yeah,” Jiang Zhengkai replied with an embarra.s.sed laugh.  “How is she?”

Dr. w.a.n.g’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Jiang Zhengkai.  “What?  You didn’t examine her yourself?”

“I… no… umm… I didn’t!” Jiang Zhengkai vigorously shook his head in response.  He couldn’t act out of line in front of Dr. w.a.n.g.  After her, she was Yao Tianyu’s sister-in-law.

“Then you should wait here,” ordered Dr. w.a.n.g.  She looked suspiciously at Jiang Zhengkai before pulling the curtain around the hospital bed.  Since Jiang Zhengkai wasn’t romantically involved with A-Jiao, hospital rules dictated that she had to protect the patient’s privacy.  Did I misjudge them?  she thought to herself.

About ten minutes later, both Dr. w.a.n.g and A-Jiao appeared from behind the curtain.  “Your recovery is going well,” said Dr. w.a.n.g as she returned to her chair.  “Jiang, could you give us the room for a minute?”  Obviously, Dr. w.a.n.g didn’t think it was appropriate for Jiang Zhengkai to hear what she had to say next.

“It’s okay!” exclaimed A-Jiao as she looked at Dr. w.a.n.g with pursed lips.  “I’m going to work in his home after this.”

“Oh?” Dr. w.a.n.g looked at A-Jiao in surprise.  “You’re going to work in his home?”

“Yup, that’s right!”  A-Jiao stuck out her tongue.  “His home needs a maid, and I’m perfect for the job!”

“Dr. w.a.n.g, don’t listen to her nonsense!” interjected Jiang Zhengkai as he walked behind A-Jiao and covered her mouth with his hand.  He was afraid A-Jiao would let slip something that she shouldn’t say.

“Hehe, this old lady has neither the time nor the inclination to care about you two’s business,” Dr. w.a.n.g chuckled as she saw the expression on their faces.  “A-Jiao, remember to get plenty of rest.  You are recovering quite well, but you can’t have intercourse too often, ok?”  After she finished speaking to A-Jiao, Dr. w.a.n.g s.h.i.+fted her gaze to Jiang Zhengkai.  “And you!  Remember to mind your personal hygiene!”

“Personal hygiene?”  Jiang Zhengkai looked at Dr. w.a.n.g in confusion.

“Yes, personal hygiene!” said Dr. w.a.n.g.  She looked down and wrote in A-Jiao’s medical record,  completely ignoring Jiang Zhengkai’s expression.  “A-Jiao only just recovered down there, so you need to mind your personal hygiene to prevent her from getting any infections.”

“Don’t you worry, ma’am!  Our Uncle Policeman there loves being clean,” said A-Jiao as she got up and shuffled to the office entrance.  “I always scrub his junk down with a brush before we do it!”  As soon as she finished speaking, she slid right out the office door.

“Ha!” Dr. w.a.n.g couldn’t help but laugh out loud as she momentarily stopped writing in A-Jiao’s medical record.  She looked at Jiang Zhengkai from behind her gla.s.ses.  “Hehe, here’s her medical record, so get going!  Take good care of her!  I can tell that little wench is very happy today.”

“Thank you, Dr. w.a.n.g!”  Fully red in the face, Jiang Zhengkai s.n.a.t.c.hed A-Jiao’s medical record and ran off without so much as a second look.

“Remember to come back for your next checkup!” Dr. w.a.n.g called out after them.  The old lady sighed as she saw those two young people walk away.  In all the years that she’d known Jiang Zhengkai, she had never seen him as relaxed as he was today.  Perhaps A-Jiao really could fill the void that Su Jing had left in Jiang Zhengkai’s heart and allow him to find happiness again.

In the hospital’s courtyard, Jiang Zhengkai caught up to A-Jiao and grabbed her.  “What did you say back there, you crazy woman?” he asked, displeased.

“What’s wrong, Honey?  I wasn’t really going to scrub it with a brush,” A-Jiao replied with a pitiful expression on her face.

“Can you not act all crazy in front of Dr. w.a.n.g?” chastised Jiang Zhengkai as he forcefully tugged on her nose.  “She is Commissioner Yao’s sister-in-law!”

“What?  Really?”  She immediately pouted her mouth, looking like she was about to cry.  “You didn’t tell me that!  How was I supposed to know?”

“Hehe!  Well, you didn’t ask,” replied Jiang Zhengkai.  But when he saw the expression on A-Jiao’s face, he felt a sudden rush of sadness.  He immediately grabbed A-Jiao and held her tightly in his embrace.  “Don’t worry!  She won’t tell Commissioner Yao anything.”

“But… but, what if she does say something?” said A-Jiao as she bit her lips.  “In case… in case Commissioner Yao won’t let me be with you… what would we do then?”  Tears fell onto A-Jiao’s cheeks like a string of translucent pearls.  She knew the real reason why Jiang Zhengkai stopped coming to see her when she was hospitalized.  Although Wei Xin was a few years older than A-Jiao, she was not nearly as cunning.  A-Jiao had gleaned all of this information when Wei Xin had been a.s.signed to take care of her.  That was why A-Jiao eventually decided to leave the city.

“Don’t worry!  If he won’t let us be together, then I’ll resign and help Uncle Cai sell noodles,” said Jiang Zhengkai as he tightly hugged A-Jiao.  Right now, he wasn’t going to let anything stand in the way of the two of them being together.

“Okay… Honey, can you not be mad at me?  I promise I won’t act all crazy anymore, alright?” said A-Jiao as she continued sobbing in his arms.  She loved Jiang Zhengkai, so naturally she didn’t want him to give up his cherished career.  Even though she was young, even though she had been a prost.i.tute, she nevertheless knew that she would rather make sacrifices for the person she loved than for that person to make sacrifices for her.

Jiang Zhengkai saw how distraught A-Jiao was and knew that nothing he could say would make her feel better.  In fact, he knew that the more he said, the more pain he was going to cause her, because that pain was caused by her own self-blame.  The more he said he didn’t care, the more she would think he was purposely lying to her to make her happy.

In the hospital’s courtyard, Jiang Zhengkai held A-Jiao for a long while.  When he heard her sobs becoming more intermittent, he suddenly grabbed her by the waist and lifted her onto his shoulder, before running straight out of the courtyard.

“Hehe… umm… what are you doing?” shouted A-Jiao in between laughs and sobs.  “Put me down!  Stop playing!”

“Haha!  What are you afraid of?  You’re my girl now!”  When Jiang Zhengkai said these words, he didn’t feel the slightest shred of discomfort.  Apparently, A-Jiao really had replaced Su Jing in his heart.

“You’re so annoying!”  A-Jiao had fully stopped crying at this point.  “Ow!  You’re hurting me!”

“Really?”  He immediately put her down on the ground.  “Where does it hurt?  Is it bad?”

“No, it’s okay.  It’s just that my belly feels a bit stretched out,” said A-Jiao.  She looked at him with a bright red face.  “Honey, I want you to carry me.”

“Can do!”  Jiang Zhengkai squatted in front of A-Jiao and let her climb onto his back.  He then got up and walked in the direction of the police sub-bureau.  In Jiang Zhengkai’s heart, the memories of Su Jing were quickly fading.  From now on, A-Jiao would replace Su Jing as the most important person in Jiang Zhengkai’s life.