Short, Light, Free

"Right, how long will you be here for?" the president asked, wheeling himself back to the table and flipping through some files .

"I"ll be here for a month," I answered .

He smiled . "What are you studying in school? Are you going to be a doctor?"

"No, no . I"m studying marketing and I don"t have any experience in dealing with patients . Will it be difficult?"

"Whenever an intern comes along, we will train him for three months and put him through a test . He can only start officially if he pa.s.ses the test . Since you"ll only be here for a month, the training program isn"t going to work," he said, pulling out a form from a file .

It was my application form .  

"Is it going to be that difficult? Can"t I just help out in other ways like sweeping and cleaning? I"ll a.s.sist with the basics . I"m not afraid of hard work and I won"t slack off . "

"The process here is . . . unique . You do understand that we"re taking care of special patients and there will be times when they require emergency care, don"t you? What if a patient under your care gets injured and there are no other employees around? It"s going to be difficult for us to accept you if you don"t know basic first aid," he explained before throwing the form into the rubbish bin .

I nodded . "So there"s no chance for me?"

"Not exactly . You learned some math, didn"t you?"

I nodded again . "Yes, when I was young . But you threw my form away, doesn"t that mean that I"m out?"

"I have another job for you . You"ll take care of and play with that girl Xiaoyu for a month . It should be simple, right?" he said before pulling out a new form, filling a few blanks and handing it to me .

"Yes, that shouldn"t be a problem," I agreed and received the form .

It was a contract .

3,000 dollars for a month .

I was overjoyed, but I was also a bit uneasy .

"I"m here to volunteer, sir . I shouldn"t take this money . " 

"Yes, you"re a volunteer to those outside, but in here, it is our obligation to pay you . You"ll still be paid even if you"re a doctor volunteering with us, so don"t worry about it . You"re not receiving any special treatment," he rea.s.sured me .

I nodded and filled up the form . "But to take money for taking care of a child…"

"I"m not asking you to just play with her . You"ll need to educate her as well," he clarified .

"What can I teach her? She seems to know more than I do," I protested .

"Do you know the head of the millennium problems?" he asked .

"The seven unsolved problems? Solve any and get 1,000,000? Post the solution on the magazine and succeed if there are no challengers within two years? One has already been solved, right?" 

"Yes, Henri Poincaré"s conjecture has been solved . There are six more and I hope to train Xiaoyu for her to be able to solve them someday . I was convinced that no one would ever be able to before I met her . She has a special kind of magic . What she understands as math isn"t just math . It"s purer and more instinctive . "

"Speaking of which, President, is it true? The bus driver mentioned that she can predict lottery numbers . "

"That is true . It"s her power . "

"He even said that Xiaoyu"s never been to school . She"s 12, right? Why won"t you send her to school?"

Since the moment we met, this was the only time that he looked at me properly .

He sighed . "We brought her to school when she was eight, but because she"s an orphan and in an unusual situation, she got bullied by the other kids . I had no choice but to withdraw her application . She"s not exactly in a normal mental state as well . "

"Not in a normal mental state?" I repeated .

"It"s better if I explain it to you now, although you"ll only be taking care of her for a month . She was born here from a pair of mentally ill parents . "

I nodded . "They"re both mentally unstable?"

He shook his head . "Not really . It"s my fault . "

A tear rolled down his cheek and his voice started to tremble .

"Don"t rush, take your time," I encouraged .

"Have a seat . It"s a little long," he said, pointing at the sofa not far away .

"Have you heard of Pang Dahai? A murderer from 14 years ago?"

"Isn"t that the serial killer that shook the nation? Five victims . I was still in elementary school then, and our school princ.i.p.al had parents pick their kids up personally after cla.s.s . No one dared to go out alone at night that month . Everyone was living in fear . Wait, he"s Xiaoyu"s father?" I asked, wide-eyed .

"You"re right, but the whole process might be a little different from what people had imagined," he answered .

I was in shock .

I was also extremely curious .

"Pang Dahai"s family looked for me 14 years ago . They offered 150,000 for me to forge a report, claiming that Pang Dahai is mentally ill and should receive treatment in the inst.i.tution . "

"And… you agreed?"

"The eastern face of the mountain we are located on collapsed that year and we had no funds to fortify the groundwork so I had to agree . I diagnosed him and placed him under the most severe patient category . He was under sedation and nurses" care 24/7 . He didn"t serve his sentence, but his ward was like a prison . "

"Then something happened…" I guessed .

He pulled the blanket on his lap, revealing only a left leg .

"He did that?" I asked, pointing at his missing right leg .

"Yes . Someone named Xiaowen was involved, too, but I deserved it . It"s not her fault," he responded .

"Pang Dahai? Xiaowen?"

"Xiaowen is a female patient . Extremely beautiful . His ward was beside Xiaowen"s . Stockholm Syndrome… heard of it?"

"When a victim develops feelings for his or her captor? It"s a legitimate condition?" I was in disbelief .

"Xiaowen was brought in as a severe patient . Throughout that two years, she would enter Dahai"s ward through the window . She prepared a knife for him as he plotted his attack . I was the main doctor in charge of Dahai since I brought him in . "

"What happened next?"

"Luckily, the other staff arrived to save my life . I wrote another evaluation report and he was sentenced to death . I was supposed to be fired, but the committee decided to let me stay on as the president since they knew the reason behind it all . Plus, I"ve paid the price . No one had expected, however, that Xiaowen would get pregnant . "

"Xiaoyu?" I asked .

"Yes . Xiaowen tried killing herself six times during the pregnancy, but luckily, she was stopped . We thought about abortion but she was against it . The child is innocent and we did not have the right to take its life . "

"I don"t know much about mental health, but was Xiaowen still suffering from Stockholm Syndrome at that point?"

After a short pause, he nodded . "We thought that was it, but after giving birth to Xiaoyu, she tried to end both their lives . "

"Why didn"t she try that when Xiaoyu was still in her tummy?"

"She wanted to but she decided to wait for the gender reveal . Perhaps she felt the need to let Dahai know so they can reunite in the netherworld . "

"And then?" I asked again .

"She jumped off the building, but she kept Xiaoyu tight within her embrace . Perhaps she changed her mind at the last second, but whatever the case, that allowed Xiaoyu to survive the fall . Xiaoyu got her name from her mom . Word spread that Xiaowen was an undergraduate from a prestigious university before she entered our inst.i.tution . Xiaoyu"s name is very artistic and she"s an obedient child . We discovered her gift soon after, which is why I"m planning to tap into it . "

"What a story…" I sighed .

"I don"t feel that I owe anyone anything, but I am worried about Xiaoyu . I hope you"ll help me since you"re better in math as compared to the other employees . Is that fine with you?" he asked .

I nodded . "She"s only 12 . I can handle her . "

"Thank you . You can start today . Teach her in a fun way or she won"t listen . Get her to write down the whole of Euler"s equation and she"ll be done for the day . She should be in the staff canteen now . Take my meal card and go ahead . Yours will come tomorrow and I"ll keep that for myself then . You"ll start at 8 AM and knock off at 8 PM daily . Two-hour lunch break . You only need to take care of Xiaoyu, you don"t have to get involved in other things . I thank you again," he finished with a smile .

I accepted his meal card and nodded .

Right, how long will you be here for the president asked, wheeling himself back to the table and flipping through some files . I 39 ll be here for a month, I answered . He smiled . What are you studying in school Are you going to be a doctor No, no . I 39 m studying marketing and I don 39 t have any experience in dealing with patients . Will it be difficult Whenever an intern comes along, we will train him for three months and put him through a test . He can only start officially if he pa.s.ses the test . Since you 39 ll only be here for a month, the training program isn 39 t going to work, he said, pulling out a form from a file . It was my application form . Is it going to be that difficult Can 39 t I just help out in other ways like sweeping and cleaning I 39 ll a.s.sist with the basics . I 39 m not afraid of hard work and I won 39 t slack off . The process here is . . . unique . You do understand that we 39 re taking care of special patients and there will be times when they require emergency care, don 39 t you What if a patient under your care gets injured and there are no other employees around It 39 s going to be difficult for us to accept you if you don 39 t know basic first aid, he explained before throwing the form into the rubbish bin . I nodded . So there 39 s no chance for me Not exactly . You learned some math, didn 39 t you I nodded again . Yes, when I was young . But you threw my form away, doesn 39 t that mean that I 39 m out I have another job for you . You 39 ll take care of and play with that girl Xiaoyu for a month . It should be simple, right he said before pulling out a new form, filling a few blanks and handing it to me . Yes, that shouldn 39 t be a problem, I agreed and received the form . It was a contract . 3,000 dollars for a month . I was overjoyed, but I was also a bit uneasy . I 39 m here to volunteer, sir . I shouldn 39 t take this money . Yes, you 39 re a volunteer to those outside, but in here, it is our obligation to pay you . You 39 ll still be paid even if you 39 re a doctor volunteering with us, so don 39 t worry about it . You 39 re not receiving any special treatment, he rea.s.sured me . I nodded and filled up the form . But to take money for taking care of a child I 39 m not asking you to just play with her . You 39 ll need to educate her as well, he clarified . What can I teach her She seems to know more than I do, I protested . Do you know the head of the millennium problems he asked . The seven unsolved problems Solve any and get 1,000,000 Post the solution on the magazine and succeed if there are no challengers within two years One has already been solved, right Yes, Henri Poincar 39 s conjecture has been solved . There are six more and I hope to train Xiaoyu for her to be able to solve them someday . I was convinced that no one would ever be able to before I met her . She has a special kind of magic . What she understands as math isn 39 t just math . It 39 s purer and more instinctive . Speaking of which, President, is it true The bus driver mentioned that she can predict lottery numbers . That is true . It 39 s her power . He even said that Xiaoyu 39 s never been to school . She 39 s 12, right Why won 39 t you send her to school Since the moment we met, this was the only time that he looked at me properly . He sighed . We brought her to school when she was eight, but because she 39 s an orphan and in an unusual situation, she got bullied by the other kids . I had no choice but to withdraw her application . She 39 s not exactly in a normal mental state as well . Not in a normal mental state I repeated . It 39 s better if I explain it to you now, although you 39 ll only be taking care of her for a month . She was born here from a pair of mentally ill parents . I nodded . They 39 re both mentally unstable He shook his head . Not really . It 39 s my fault . A tear rolled down his cheek and his voice started to tremble . Don 39 t rush, take your time, I encouraged . Have a seat . It 39 s a little long, he said, pointing at the sofa not far away . Have you heard of Pang Dahai A murderer from 14 years ago Isn 39 t that the serial killer that shook the nation Five victims . I was still in elementary school then, and our school princ.i.p.al had parents pick their kids up personally after cla.s.s . No one dared to go out alone at night that month . Everyone was living in fear . Wait, he 39 s Xiaoyu 39 s father I asked, wide eyed . You 39 re right, but the whole process might be a little different from what people had imagined, he answered . I was in shock . I was also extremely curious . Pang Dahai 39 s family looked for me 14 years ago . They offered 150,000 for me to forge a report, claiming that Pang Dahai is mentally ill and should receive treatment in the inst.i.tution . And you agreed The eastern face of the mountain we are located on collapsed that year and we had no funds to fortify the groundwork so I had to agree . I diagnosed him and placed him under the most severe patient category . He was under sedation and nurses 39 care 24 7 . He didn 39 t serve his sentence, but his ward was like a prison . Then something happened I guessed . He pulled the blanket on his lap, revealing only a left leg . He did that I asked, pointing at his missing right leg . Yes . Someone named Xiaowen was involved, too, but I deserved it . It 39 s not her fault, he responded . Pang Dahai Xiaowen Xiaowen is a female patient . Extremely beautiful . His ward was beside Xiaowen 39 s . Stockholm Syndrome heard of it When a victim develops feelings for his or her captor It 39 s a legitimate condition I was in disbelief . Xiaowen was brought in as a severe patient . Throughout that two years, she would enter Dahai 39 s ward through the window . She prepared a knife for him as he plotted his attack . I was the main doctor in charge of Dahai since I brought him in . What happened next Luckily, the other staff arrived to save my life . I wrote another evaluation report and he was sentenced to death . I was supposed to be fired, but the committee decided to let me stay on as the president since they knew the reason behind it all . Plus, I 39 ve paid the price . No one had expected, however, that Xiaowen would get pregnant . Xiaoyu I asked . Yes . Xiaowen tried killing herself six times during the pregnancy, but luckily, she was stopped . We thought about abortion but she was against it . The child is innocent and we did not have the right to take its life . I don 39 t know much about mental health, but was Xiaowen still suffering from Stockholm Syndrome at that point After a short pause, he nodded . We thought that was it, but after giving birth to Xiaoyu, she tried to end both their lives . Why didn 39 t she try that when Xiaoyu was still in her tummy She wanted to but she decided to wait for the gender reveal . Perhaps she felt the need to let Dahai know so they can reunite in the netherworld . And then I asked again . She jumped off the building, but she kept Xiaoyu tight within her embrace . Perhaps she changed her mind at the last second, but whatever the case, that allowed Xiaoyu to survive the fall . Xiaoyu got her name from her mom . Word spread that Xiaowen was an undergraduate from a prestigious university before she entered our inst.i.tution . Xiaoyu 39 s name is very artistic and she 39 s an obedient child . We discovered her gift soon after, which is why I 39 m planning to tap into it . What a story I sighed . I don 39 t feel that I owe anyone anything, but I am worried about Xiaoyu . I hope you 39 ll help me since you 39 re better in math as compared to the other employees . Is that fine with you he asked . I nodded . She 39 s only 12 . I can handle her . Thank you . You can start today . Teach her in a fun way or she won 39 t listen . Get her to write down the whole of Euler 39 s equation and she 39 ll be done for the day . She should be in the staff canteen now . Take my meal card and go ahead . Yours will come tomorrow and I 39 ll keep that for myself then . You 39 ll start at 8 AM and knock off at 8 PM daily . Two hour lunch break . You only need to take care of Xiaoyu, you don 39 t have to get involved in other things . I thank you again, he finished with a smile . I accepted his meal card and nodded .