Chapter 211: Summer Springs Third Clinic
Summer Springs Third Clinic was on the southernmost edge of City S. It was surrounded by wilderness as far as the eye could see. The closest town was an hour’s drive away.
No one would expect a mental asylum in this place.
The Baroque buildings stood grandly against the surrounding lavender gardens. Crawling vines adorned the arched doorways on the limestone paths. They looked very incongruous against the surrounding wilderness.
It looked like a castle out of a fairy tale.
The Summer Springs name suggested a public clinic, but the location and appearance indicated it definitely wasn’t.
……
“The medical industry needs people like you, Doctor Chu. The students of this generation are too impatient and fickle. When I was at University F a few years ago… Doctor Chu?”
“Sorry.”
Nan Qi pulled his gaze away from the freely blowing petals outside the window with difficulty to return to the conversation. “What were you saying?”
The hospital president didn’t mind Nan Qi’s lack of manners at all and nodded knowingly. “The environment here at the clinic is really quite good, isn’t it?”
“Mhmm, beautiful. It’s the most gorgeous of any hospital I’ve seen.” Nan Qi didn’t hold back his praise. He truly felt this way in his heart.
“An aesthetic environment is beneficial to the patients, particularly for those with more unique illnesses. We’ve spared no expense in this regard.
Nan Qi nodded, but it was somewhat stiff.
Modern hospitals largely relied on selling patients expensive drugs to sustain operations. For this kind of specialized mental inst.i.tution, they wouldn’t be able to sustain themselves with normal patients going in and out.
Clearly, Summer Springs Third Clinic had the financial resources no typical hospital had.
If they didn’t only cater to the wealthiest of patients, there was only one other possible source of money, one that Nan Qi was unwilling to accept.
Nan Qi felt a sense of foreboding.
Ever since entering the hospital, he had felt suffocated by an ill premonition.
“Doctor Chu, that’s pretty much everything about our clinic. Your investigation…”
“Sorry for the trouble, President. I’d like to take a walk around. If you’re worried, you can have a doctor escort me around.”
“I’m not worried. Little Du has vouched that you’re an outstanding doctor. But, with my age, I really can’t accompany you any longer. My hip…”
“Thank you so much, President. Don’t worry about me and get some rest.”
Nan Qi’s original objective had been to sneak around alone and search for his Aunty. However, his senior’s reputation as the top student at the College of Psychiatry at the University of Medicine was overly excessive. It hadn’t taken him long to become the head doctor at the number one private hospital. With his fame, a simple call from his senior had changed the hospital from “not accepting visitors no matter what” to the president personally scurrying out and attending to him.
After being followed around by the President the whole time, Nan Qi itched to start exploring on his own. If the President insisted one more time on “helping with his research”, Nan Qi wasn’t sure he could stop himself from committing a hit-and-run.
Finally, after losing the President, Nan Qi increased his speed and quickly arrived at a private ward.
Clearly, Summer Springs Third Clinic invested just as much on its inside as it did outside. Doctors and nurses scurried back and forth along the hallways. In his white scrubs, Nan Qi fit right in.
As he clasped the door handle, Nan Qi’s breath suddenly caught.
He feared a truth he couldn’t handle.
Once he slid open the door, there was no going back.
What would be the cost of diving in?
If the truth really was as he feared, could he still fool himself that his grudges were only inherited?
He’d known Yan Jin for twenty years. Twenty years!
His fingers trembled. For an instant, he had an urge to flee.
The heavens above refused him this opportunity. The door slid open from inside.
A young-looking nurse blinked blankly at him, then asked, “You must be a new doctor here, right?”
“Ahh, no, I’m… an intern here.” Nan Qi hesitated before giving himself an ident.i.ty that wouldn’t cause any trouble. “I’m just here to learn. You must be in the in-charge here, right? Nice to meet you. I’m Intern Doctor Chu.”
“Nice to meet you too, Doctor Chu. Come in.”
The young nurse shyly moved aside with a red face to let Nan Qi in.
When it came to interacting with young women, Nan Qi had always been the best of the best. Without any effort, he still naturally attracted hordes of young women.
The nurse stepped aside, and Nan Qi’s view opened up.
The first thing to enter his vision was a wheelchair.
Then…
On the wheelchair was an emaciated woman.
Nan Qi unconsciously began walking towards the woman.
He felt as though heavy manacles weighed down his every step, but at the same time, chains pulled him forward across a sea of daggers.
But, his feet didn’t hurt. His heart did.
When he finally arrived in front of the wheelchair, Nan Qi didn’t remember how he’d gotten there.
He only remembered squatting down because he didn’t have the courage to look down at the skin and bones sagging in the wheelchair.
“Aunty?”
……
Xiao Yu obediently stayed at the hospital overnight. The next morning, only after ensuring that he only had some superficial wounds in the physical checkup was he released by Nan Qi.
Xiao Yu felt he’d accomplished a great task. He merrily hopped and skipped his way home, only to have his heart drop to the other extreme.
Yan Jin was standing in front of the bed waiting for him.
His head was lowered; his expression unreadable.
“*Cough cough*, I’m back,” Xiao Yu said in an unnaturally high pitch. He carefully walked over to Yan Jin and began acting pitiful. “I’m so hungry; I haven’t eaten breakfast yet.”
“On the table,” Yan Jin said.
Xiao Yu glanced at the breakfast on the table that had long since grown cold. He grit his teeth and continued to act spoiled, “I’m hungry for hubby’s fresh egg pancakes.”
Xiao Yu tried to push his act as far as he could.
But, Yan Jin didn’t buy it. He’d waited for four entire hours and felt ready to explode.
“You said you’d be back in the morning. What time is it now?”
“Ahh, it’s not my fault.” Xiao Yu went to go kiss Yan Jin and pleaded his case. “Chu Ge said he’d booked the earliest checkup for me, so I thought it would be at 6AM. Who could’ve guessed that they start at 8AM on the weekends? So, I’m a little late.”
“That’s only a two hour difference, but it’s 2PM now.”
“This…” Xiao Yu hesitated, then decided to tell the truth. “I saw that I’d be late anyways, so I decided to chat with Chu Ge for a while longer.”
Yan Jin’s expression darkened. “What did you talk about that has made you so happy?”
“Well, maybe happy isn’t the right word here… We talked about…”
Xiao Yu laughed nervously. Then, his expression began to grow serious.
“We talked about the Summer Springs Third Clinic.”
Yan Jin paused.
His accusatory expression disappeared entirely, replaced only by confusion. “Chu Ge told you about that?”
“I found that hard to imagine too.” Xiao Yu laughed bitterly. “I thought that both of you were just treating me like a child since you only ever told me good news and hid any bad news. Speaking of which, I haven’t asked you why you hid Aunty Fang’s cancer from me.”
“It’s not…” Yan Jin was at a loss for words.
“Don’t worry, I’m not here to ask you about Aunty Fang. When I first found out, I felt pretty mad. Then, after thinking about it, I realized that this over-protectiveness didn’t apply only to me. The stuff with Nan Chan, the two of you put on an act to hide it from Nan Wei.”
Yan Jin closed his eyes. He slowly forced out the words, “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not blaming you. Actually, you look quite cute right now.”
Xiao Yu laughed and gave Yan Jin another kiss on the cheek. At that moment, he found Yan Jin’s vulnerable side amidst Yan Jin’s usual tyrannical self.
Mhmm, just like earlier that morning with Chu Ge.
That was precisely why he chose to leave Yan Jin hanging to keep Chu Ge company.
He himself wasn’t a strong person, so he was the best at discerning that type of cautious weakness. It was just like when Nan Wei had blankly watched the unconvincing act put on by Chu Ge and Yan Jin. Nan Wei had entrusted everything to a hamster. In this kind of situation, Xiao Yu couldn’t abandon Chu Ge to his own devices.
He’d received so much help from Yan Jin and Chu Ge in the past. He had to take this opportunity to repay them however much he could.
Yan Jin sighed deeply and finally came to a difficult decision. “This matter… I’ll speak about it directly with Chu Ge…”
Yan Jin’s heart pained to see Xiao Yu’s forehead plastered with bandages. Cupping Xiao Yu’s cheeks, Yan Jin said in a low voice, “I’m sorry. Does it hurt?”
Xiao Yu shook his head.
Their faces were extremely close. Any closer and Yan Jin’s lips would touch his.
But, Xiao Yu didn’t play along. Instead, he grasped Yan Jin’s hands and widened the distance between them.
Xiao Yu asked, “Are you hurt?”
“Mm, yeah, my heart hurts.”
“Then, I’m not hurt.” Xiao Yu revealed a brilliant smile. “To heal your hurting heart, let’s have a chat…”
“About the things back then?”