Chapter 129
Chapter 129
“Since when did Fairy Tale Hospital have a rule about middle-of-the-night rounds?” Lepei’s tone was sharp. “Don’t you know that staying up late ruins my hair?”
This was the first time Tu Nan had heard Lepei speak so many words at once.
“I’m sorry,” Tu Nan said, quickly stepping forward. “We didn’t mean to. It’s just that Sister Wendy insisted on coming in to take a look. I don’t really understand why either…”
She lowered her eyes, looking as if she were completely helpless in the matter.
When Wendy heard this, she immediately shot her a vicious glare.
“Princess Lepei, it’s not like that…” She gave a fawning smile. “I just saw Little Red Riding Hood hiding under the covers and was afraid she might suffocate herself, so I wanted to come in and check.”
Lepei looked at her coldly. “So you were the one who insisted on coming in? Tomorrow, I’ll be sure to ask if this is how your hospital treats its patients.”
Wendy froze, momentarily at a loss for words.
“Aren’t you going to get out?” Lepei said with annoyance. “Do I have to get out of bed and throw you out myself?”
Wendy nodded frantically, picked up the Oil Lamp from the floor, and glared at Tu Nan. “Let’s go.”
Tu Nan glanced at Lepei and happened to meet her eyes. Startled, she gave a slight nod to the other girl before following Wendy out.
Little Red Riding Hood had remained sitting on the bed the entire time, watching them quietly without saying a word.
Tu Nan turned to close the door. In the moment before it shut, she looked through the crack at Little Red Riding Hood and gave her a subtle wink.
Understanding the signal, Little Red Riding Hood winked back.
Tu Nan closed the door.
“What was that supposed to mean?” Wendy lowered her voice, afraid those inside would hear, though she couldn’t hide the fury in her tone. “You actually pushed everything onto me?”
“Sister Wendy.” Tu Nan looked up at her, her voice cold. “I told you before not to go in, in case we woke them up. But you insisted on doing things your way. Now that there’s trouble, how can you blame me for telling the truth?”
“You-” Wendy was momentarily speechless. She could only glare at her hatefully and let out a cold snort, surprisingly swallowing her anger as she carried the Oil Lamp forward.
The two of them quickly finished checking the remaining rooms. On their way back, Wendy stopped to look into Ward 403 one last time.
The blanket on Little Red Riding Hood’s bed was still slightly bunched up, but her head wasn’t visible.
This time, however, Wendy didn’t suspect anything.
Lepei’s words had shaken her. After all, she was a princess; if she truly got angry, the position of Head Nurse that Daisy had promised her might vanish into thin air.
She began walking toward the Nurse’s Station.
Tu Nan also glanced into the room. Keeping her eyes straight ahead, she placed her hand on the handle, gave it a gentle twist, and then quickly caught up with Wendy.
“Sister Wendy, wait for me.”
Wendy wordlessly quickened her pace.
In the darkness, the door to Dormitory 403 suddenly opened silently. A few seconds later, as if moved by an invisible person, the door gently closed again.
The corridor was silent, as if nothing had ever happened.
*
When Tu Nan and Wendy returned to the Nurse’s Station, they found two men in hospital uniforms standing there.
Wendy hurried to meet them. “Are you here to take Little Red Riding Hood for her surgery?”
The man in the lead handed her a document, frowning with displeasure. “Where have you two been?”
“Sorry, we were just out on our night rounds.” Tu Nan stepped forward, offering a gentle smile. “Please show me your ID Badge.”
The man furrowed his brows in displeasure. “We already have the paperwork. Why do you need an ID Badge?”
“It’s the rules,” Tu Nan said politely.
Wendy didn’t suspect a thing. “Today is a scheduled surgery day. I’ve checked the documents; they’re in order.”
“But it’s the rules,” Tu Nan insisted, refusing to back down. “Please show me your ID Badge.”
The two men exchanged a quick glance and suddenly bolted toward the stairwell.
“They aren’t hospital staff!” Tu Nan shouted as she watched them flee. “Wait here, I’m going to call security!”
Wendy was stunned by the sudden turn of events. In all her time working at the hospital, this was the first time she had ever seen someone actually dare to impersonate staff.
She stood frozen in place. By the time she snapped out of it, Tu Nan had already rushed into the breakroom at the end of the corridor.
A while later, Tu Nan ran back, panting slightly. “I’ve called security,” she gasped. “They’re on their way.”
Five minutes later, the guards arrived.
The two security guards didn’t come alone. Each was dragging a conscious-less man whose outer uniform had been stripped away, leaving them in only their thin undershirts.
“What happened?” Wendy asked, her face full of disbelief. “What’s wrong with them?”
“Who made the call?” a guard asked sternly.
“I did.” Tu Nan stepped forward. Her face was a bit pale, but she did her best to remain calm. “Two men were impersonating hospital staff just now. After I exposed them, they ran off. We couldn’t catch them, so we had to call you.”
Wendy nodded vigorously in agreement.
“We found these two on our way here,” the guard said, pointing to the unconscious men. “They were knocked out in the stairwell, and their uniforms were stolen.”
“The imposters must have caught them off guard, knocked them out, and stolen their documents before stripping them of their clothes to use as a disguise.”
“However, they didn’t know the hospital rules-that every staff member must carry their ID Badge at all times to prove their identity. That’s how they were exposed,” Tu Nan analyzed.
The guard nodded in approval.
“Wake them up. Maybe they have some clues.”
Tu Nan went back to the Nurse’s Station, picked up a water cup from the desk, and splashed it onto one of the unconscious men.
The man shivered and opened his eyes, looking dazed.
He saw several stern faces staring down at him in silence.
“W-what happened?” he asked tremulously.
“You were knocked out in the stairwell,” the guard said in a low voice. “Do you remember what happened?”
A look of confusion flashed across the man’s face. The pain at the back of his head made it difficult to think. He reached up to touch the back of his skull and felt a massive lump.
“The other guy and I were preparing to take a patient to surgery,” he said slowly. “When we reached the stairwell, someone suddenly hit me from behind. After that, I don’t know anything.”
“Hit you?” The guard frowned. “With what?”
“I don’t know,” the man said with a miserable expression. “It felt like something cylindrical… and very powerful…”
With a single *thwack*, he had been out cold.