Chapter 120

Chapter 120

Little Red Riding Hood sat obediently on the table playing with building blocks. When she saw Tu Nan enter, she jumped down from her chair happily and gave her a hug.

Tu Nan held her and stroked her head, then glanced over at Lepei, who was currently brushing her hair.

“Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

Lepei ignored her.

“Sister Lepei slept very soundly,” Little Red Riding Hood said softly.

“Is that so?” Tu Nan had grown accustomed to being ignored by Lepei and didn’t mind.

She needed to ask Little Red Riding Hood a few questions.

“Do you remember how you first came to the hospital?” she asked gently.

Little Red Riding Hood thought back for a moment.

“Mom and Dad brought me here for a check-up. After it was over, a sister said I needed further tests and had to stay in the hospital for a while, so I stayed here…”

As it turned out, that stay had lasted until now.

“Sister, will I ever be able to leave?” Little Red Riding Hood suddenly asked timidly.

Though she was only a child, she could vaguely sense something was wrong. Despite her limited understanding of what had happened the previous night, she understood that she might be in danger.

“Of course you will,” Tu Nan said with a smile. “Once you’re better, you’ll naturally be able to leave.”

“Then when will I be better?” Little Red Riding Hood lowered her head. “I have to take medicine every day… I hate taking medicine. Even though I can see Sister Xia Xia after I take it, still…”

“When did Sister Xia Xia leave, and when did you realize you could see her when others couldn’t?” Tu Nan asked.

Little Red Riding Hood paused, then spoke slowly.

“Sister Xia Xia left a few months ago. She wasn’t doing very well during that time. I guess she was just too tired… The night before she left, she said she would tell me a story the next day. But the next day, she was gone.”

Little Red Riding Hood fell silent for a moment.

“Sister Xia Xia and I got along very well. I liked her a lot. After she disappeared, I was very sad. It seems… I can’t quite remember what happened. When I woke up, I saw the Head Nurse.”

“The Head Nurse?” Tu Nan was slightly taken aback. “And then?”

“The Head Nurse said I was emotionally unstable and had a tendency to hurt people, so I needed to take medicine.” Little Red Riding Hood said dejectedly, “I didn’t mean to. I don’t remember anything. I only remember that when I woke up, the dormitory was a mess, and Sister Maria was keeping her distance from me.”

It seemed Little Red Riding Hood really did have a history of violent tendencies.

Tu Nan felt as though a thick fog was shrouded before her eyes, making it impossible to see the truth.

What exactly was the Head Nurse’s stance in all of this?

“After that, have you been taking the medicine the Head Nurse gave you? And was it also from then on that you started seeing Sister Xia Xia again?”

Little Red Riding Hood nodded. “After I take the medicine, Sister Xia Xia comes to play with me. Even though others can’t see her, I can. The Head Nurse said it’s because Sister Xia Xia doesn’t want anyone else to see her.”

Tu Nan was essentially certain that the white tablets Little Red Riding Hood was taking had the same effect as the ones she had obtained from York.

They caused hallucinations.

What was the Head Nurse’s goal in giving Little Red Riding Hood those pills?

Tu Nan couldn’t help but wonder.

That cup of coffee the Head Nurse had brought her last night was equally significant.

She had gone nearly twenty-four hours without rest, and her brain was becoming overloaded. Tu Nan planned to rest for a while before considering this problem further.

She stood up, patted Little Red Riding Hood’s head, and said her goodbyes. Then, as was her custom, she also said goodbye to Lepei.

Ever since she had started working as a nurse in Ward 403, Lepei had never spoken a single word to her. But this time, Lepei actually responded.
“Goodbye.”

Those two short words left Tu Nan feeling overwhelmed by the unexpected favor.

She looked at Lepei in surprise, but the other woman didn’t look back. She continued to comb her thick, smooth, long hair as if those words had been nothing more than Tu Nan’s hallucination.

“Did Sister Lepei just say ‘goodbye’?” Little Red Riding Hood blinked.

It seemed it wasn’t a hallucination after all.

*

Tu Nan returned to the nurse station and happened to run into Eva, who had also just finished her rounds.

Eva’s face was clouded with worry, and she let out a heavy sigh.

Tu Nan paused for a moment before greeting her with a smile, asking with concern, “Why do you look so miserable?”

“I must have offended the Head Nurse today,” Eva said dejectedly. “She and Daisy have never gotten along.”

“But when I reported for duty, Daisy was the one who took me to see the Head Nurse…”

Before Tu Nan could finish, Eva looked her up and down with a gaze full of pity.

“Now I see why the Head Nurse assigned Wards 403 and 404 to you even though you’re just an Intern Nurse. The patients in those two rooms are notoriously difficult to handle.”

Tu Nan: “…”

So that was it.

She forced a smile. “Maybe it was just an accident.”

Eva felt a bit better seeing Tu Nan’s bad luck. “Well, it’s not the end of the world. The Head Nurse and Daisy maintain a surface-level peace, at least. As long as you don’t make any mistakes, the Head Nurse can’t really do anything to you.”

“Why is their relationship so bad?” Tu Nan asked, feigning curiosity. “Daisy seems to be very popular with everyone.”

“Of course she’s popular; she’s the Vice Dean’s daughter,” a nurse nearby who had been eavesdropping chimed in casually.

Tu Nan was slightly stunned.

No wonder the other nurses in the hospital looked like they had been drained of their life force while Daisy was so full of energy every day. No one blamed her for running around during work hours, and everyone treated her with polite deference.

It wasn’t hard to understand why the Head Nurse disliked her.

It was the classic workplace scenario: someone who relied on their own strength working alongside someone with connections, only to see the latter get easier work and higher pay.

Anyone would reach a breaking point.

She suddenly remembered something else-Priestley and Daisy seemed to be on quite good terms.

*

“Daisy?” Priestley arched an eyebrow. “Why are you suddenly asking about her?”

“I heard she’s the Vice Dean’s daughter?”

“She is,” Priestley nodded. “Though Daisy doesn’t much like it when people bring that up.”

“Why?” Tu Nan asked in surprise. “The fact that she can move so freely through this hospital must be inseparable from her connection to the Vice Dean.”

Priestley gave a meaningful smile. “Well, perhaps she feels that her own hard work is being overshadowed.”

“…”

“Why are you asking all this?” Priestley sat back in his chair, looking composed. “Surely you didn’t come here just to gossip.”

“I want to know… what exactly does this hospital do?”

Priestley froze for a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked at her.

“I think the fact that you’re asking this question means you already have an answer in your heart,” he said calmly. “It is exactly what you imagine.”

“So, those without power or influence in this hospital… are they just a backup blood bank for the Nobility?”

“You could put it that way.” Priestley’s expression turned grave. “I know this is hard to accept, but I must warn you: this is something that neither you nor I can change. Do not try to fight against it.”