After drawing cards, the evil god became my source of吐槽 (tu cao, a form of humorous commentary/criti

Chapter 31 Bloodstained Hospital (10)

The door to the ward was slowly pushed open by An Jing, making a soft creaking sound.

Behind the door was an unusually quiet space.

Unlike the corroded corridor outside, this place showed almost no signs of anything amiss. The incandescent lights on the ceiling provided a clean, soft glow. The walls were covered in softly colored, shock-resistant wallpaper, and a faded plastic ornament hung above the bed—one of those old-fashioned cartoon animal decorations.

It was just like... a normal hospital ward. Even though you could faintly hear the wind and the soft hum of the sensors outside the window, there was nothing strange about it.

In the very center of the hospital bed lay a small figure.

She was a girl who looked only twelve or thirteen years old, with a small frame, and her figure was almost invisible when she lay in bed.

Her cheeks were sunken, her nose was high but thin, her lips were dry and white, and she was connected to thin tubes. The instruments next to her emitted a very faint beeping sound, reminding her that she was still alive.

The girl seemed to have been awake the whole time; she opened her eyes the moment they stepped into the room, her gaze drifting towards the door before shifting to An Jing.

She didn't speak, but looked at her for a few seconds before suddenly closing her eyes.

It was like a rejection, but also like—an unease born of some premonition.

"Ruan Ruan..." Dr. Du called softly, quickly walked to the bedside, bent down, and gently stroked the girl's hair.

“You’re awake, right? See, Dad was right, we have people willing to help us… You’re saved.”

He tried hard to keep his voice steady, but you could hear the barely suppressed tremor in his voice.

But the girl on the bed suddenly opened her eyes.

Her eyes were incredibly bright, yet they also held a stubbornness; with reddened eyes, she resisted with all her might:
"I do not want!"

She suddenly raised her voice, which sounded as if it were squeezed out from the deepest part of her throat, hoarse, weak, and with a certain stubbornness.

After shouting, she gasped for breath as if all her strength had been drained, her face was so pale it was almost transparent, her lips trembled slightly, she wanted to continue speaking, but she couldn't utter anything.

Dr. Du was taken aback, glanced at An Jing with an embarrassed expression, and then quickly leaned down to comfort her in a low voice.

"It's okay, it's okay, she's not upset with you... don't mind her." He turned his head with a hint of anxiety and apology. "She's worried that something might happen to me, and she's always concerned that I didn't leave because of her, so we have some disagreements, and she's throwing a tantrum now."

An Jing didn't rush to answer, but her brows furrowed slightly.

She glanced at the girl.

The girl's eyes were faintly red, and her pupils were unfocused, as if she was trying her best to express something, but was tightly bound by her illness.

"She said no... does that mean she doesn't want my help?" Her tone was light, but her eyes darkened.

Dr. Du paused for a moment, then shook his head with a wry smile.

“She was afraid something would happen to you, and she was also afraid of me… She always felt like she was a burden, so she never wanted me to take any risks for her.”

He looked down at that small, almost transparent face, his eyes filled with undisguised sorrow and struggle, as if he was suppressing some kind of emotion that was about to burst forth every second.

“She’s always been like this since she was little.” He said softly, “You might not believe it… She’s clearly just a child, but she’s very sensible. She always feels like she’s a burden to others, a burden to me.”

"She is very smart and sensitive. But she is also very stubborn."

The girl on the hospital bed had closed her eyes, with only her chest rising and falling gently, and even the waveforms on the monitors were almost stable.

It was a quietness, but not tranquility; rather, it was extreme weakness due to an illness.

Dr. Du is right, she is indeed very ill.

An Jing remained silent.

She took a few steps closer, stood by the hospital bed, and quietly looked at the girl.

Those hands were so thin they were skin and bones, the veins in the fingertips clearly visible. There were soft bandages on her wrists to prevent convulsions, and several marks where she had been pricked and bled. Dr. Du turned around, seemingly somewhat embarrassed, and said:

"She wasn't like this before; she was very lively when she was little. But... later her health deteriorated, her friends drifted away one by one, and she couldn't go to school anymore, so slowly..."

“She has no other relatives besides me. My wife was in a car accident when she was five years old,” he said slowly. “Ever since then, she’s been terrified of me leaving. But this time, I really don’t know what to do…”

In the end, the voice seemed to be gently cut off, and the last syllable was almost inaudible.

An Jing stood there, silent for a long time.

She didn't immediately look at the so-called "life support equipment," nor did she rush to agree to anything. She simply stood there, looking down at the girl.

The girl's eyelashes fluttered, and she opened her eyes again.

This time, she didn't shout out like before, but spoke softly in an almost inaudible voice: "...I don't need your help."

Her voice was terribly hoarse, and she spoke slowly, each word distinct, but her tone was even more resolute than before.

“You can go,” she said. “Just leave me behind…don’t do anything more for me.”

Her eyes weren't on them, but fixed on the ceiling, as if she were gritting her teeth and suppressing some emotion. "I...I don't want to be a burden to anyone, really..."

An Jing looked down at her, but didn't speak immediately.

Those eyes were so thin, the eyelids looked like they were weighing down on the bones. She had seen similar patients before, but encountering such a child in this place, amidst the unknown and danger, still weighed heavily on her heart.

Dr. Du seemed to be used to hearing her say such things, and did not respond. She simply bent down quietly and gently picked up her daughter from the bed.

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore." His tone was soft but firm. "Dad will take you away."

The girl struggled, but her strength was pitifully weak, and it was all in vain.

An Jing watched from the side and nodded silently: "I'll go move the equipment."

She turned and walked to the device beside the hospital bed, squatted down, first checked the location of the connecting tubing, then grabbed both sides of the device and tried to move it.

Then, she stopped.

Not moving.

She tried to move it again, but it still wouldn't budge.

The instrument is not large, but its structure is obviously extremely tight. The wheels at the bottom seem to be locked, and the pipelines are difficult to disassemble one by one.

More importantly, it's too heavy to move.

……

An Jing stood up and turned to look at Dr. Du with some embarrassment.

The latter held her daughter, glanced at her gently, and seemed to have anticipated this scene, then chuckled softly.

“Its wheels are locked, and you have to be at a special angle to open them. But I can’t push it with one hand…” He paused, then tentatively said, “Why don’t you carry Ruan Ruan? I’ll move this.”

An Jing: "..."

She glanced down at the little girl lying in her father's arms with her head buried in her hands, a flicker of hesitation crossing her eyes.

“…Okay,” she said, stepping forward. “Then I’ll do it.”

Dr. Du nodded, squatted down, and carefully turned Ruan Ruan towards her.

“I’m sorry to trouble you,” he said.

(End of this chapter)