"So first you go back for some preparation, because the trial will last continuously for two weeks. Then the hospital will provide you with a ward for you to live in, so that it"ll be more convenient for us to keep observation, if this doesn"t cause you inconvenience." Looking at the girl, Bai Zhehan suddenly had a feeling of unexplained tenderness.
Jiang Youyou"s face turned red. "Thank you, Doctor! You are the first kind-hearted man I"ve got to know in Shenzhen.
The senior nursing officer sitting aside laughed and said, "Doctor Bai is really the well-known hunk in our hospital. It"s for him that many female patients even refused to leave hospital."
Bai Zhehan shook his head and said, "Don"t talk gossip about me any longer. I still have something else to do. Miss Jiang, if you get any uncomfortable reactions or there is any demand for something during the trial, just ask Sister Ren for help.
Gazing at his distant receding figure, Jiang Youyou swallowed hard. Fine. She had money now, and she could go to the street and shop for some food.
The separate ward was decorated warmly, with the walls painted pale blue, a colour that was practically transparent. The infusion began at 10 a.m. every day, sometimes conducted by Ren Fei and sometimes by Bai Zhehan. The payment was delivered every day to Jiang Youyou at 5 o"clock in the afternoon on time. After signing her name she got the money. Jiang Youyou bought a fake ID card from a street vendor, which could actually be used to open an account in the bank. Counting out the everyday living expenses, she deposited the rest of the income in the bank.
On the first day, Jiang Youyou bought two sets of underwear, a new dress with a dot pattern and a few T-s.h.i.+rts. And in the ward the toiletries were all ready. She could also watch TV to kill time.
On the fourth day, when Bai Zhehan came in to record the data, Jiang Youyou was watching a program on TVB in her nightgown, in the meanwhile she couldn"t help repeating what was said in the telecast. Perhaps she had made some mistake, which made Bai laugh.
Jiang Youyou felt a little embarra.s.sed and hurriedly lay back in the bed. There was still a half bottle of liquor. Bai Zhehan came over to look at the bottle and asked, "Is there anything wrong with you?"
Jiang Youyou shook her head. "I"m all right. Just get up and go to the bathroom at midnight for many times, a lot more often than I had before being on a drip."
He stuck the stethoscope on her plump and firm breast but tried hard not to touch it with his fingers. He kept calm, as if he were a man socializing among beauties without s.e.xual entanglements.
Then Jiang Youyou watched him holding a pen in his graceful hand to fill in the form of the recorded trial data. She could not help but ask, "I"ve asked Sister Ren what kind of drug this is, but she won"t say a single word about it. Can you tell me? And, why am I the only one left for the trial, where are the other girls coming with me?"
"Well, this is a new type of cold drug, and it won"t do any harm to your health. They don"t join in the trial perhaps because of the long period of time." Bai Zhehan reached out to raise the pillow higher for Jiang Youyou. "When this bottle is finished, I"ll take you out for a walk, you"ve been watching TV for a whole day."
"Oh, that"s fine." Jiang Youyou stuck out her tongue.
They chose a porridge bar near the hospital for supper and they had eel ca.s.serole porridge with some shrimps in it. They waited for half an hour before they were served. Jiang Youyou had four bowls of porridge at one go. The fresh porridge tasted a bit sweet that provided her taste buds with full enjoyment. Meanwhile, she recounted what happened to her when she first came to Shenzhen.
"I don"t know whether the man is still alive. In fact I didn"t mean to kill him. But if I weren"t resolute, I was most likely to stay in that renting room making phone calls to cheat other people." Jiang Youyou held her chin, with a grain of rice at the corner of her mouth, and said, "Fortunately I ran away from there, then I met the kind-hearted man like you, Doctor Bai."
"Am I kind-hearted?" Bai Zhehan picked up a tissue to wipe the rice grain off for Jiang Youyou. "You came out alone to make a living, should your parents worry about you?"
Jiang Youyou said disapprovingly, "I have never seen my parents. They abandoned me to the welfare home. So it"s natural they won"t worry about me. Don"t take pity on me. I don"t want to see them at all."
Bai Zhehan finally got to know why there was something in her eyes that made one painful. She was an orphan. Although she was only a guinea pig in this hospital and he had never made her acquaintance before, he suddenly had a feeling that he was willing to protect her, thinking that she was ten years younger than himself when he suddenly caught her innocent eyes.
Jiang Youyou sighed. "Let"s stop talking about such things. I feel very happy today. I hope such days will last forever. As long as I can see you, I"m willing to be put on a drip." She finished by raising her swollen hand.
"Let me show you around. You are staying around the ward for as long as three days." Saying this, Bai Zhenhan opened the door of his car.