My sister, whom I raised, has turned evil after faking her death for three years.

A week is neither a long nor a short time.

The ginkgo leaves outside the window have turned another layer yellow. Every morning, a gardener sweeps up the fallen leaves in the small garden behind the hospital, creating piles of golden hills.

Jiang Ran would sit on the windowsill and watch for a long time every day.

Her life became very regular this week.

Every morning I am woken up by the sound of nurses pushing trolleys in the corridor, and when I wake up there is always a glass of strawberry milk at just the right temperature on my bedside table.

My sister goes to buy breakfast every morning. Sometimes it's porridge, sometimes noodles, sometimes wontons. Everything is piping hot, and everything is the most delicious thing she has ever eaten.

The lunch and dinner portions are even more lavish.

My sister would bring back three or four dishes from the cafeteria, and sometimes she would also order pork rib soup and steamed sea bass from outside, saying that these were good for your health and you had to finish them.

Jiang Ran ate her meals very carefully, even mixing the vegetable soup with rice until it was completely clean.

Her face visibly regained its color, and a thin layer of blood appeared under her originally pale, almost transparent skin. Her lips were no longer the purplish color they once were.

Most importantly, her face has started to have a little bit of flesh on it. Although she is still thin, she is no longer the kind of skin and bones that makes people feel sorry for her.

Evening is Jiang Ran's favorite time of day.

After the lights were turned off, only the small nightlight by the bedside remained in the ward, its warm yellow glow illuminating half of the pillow.

My sister would lean back in her chair, sometimes playing on her phone, sometimes just resting with her eyes closed.

When she tossed and turned in bed unable to sleep, her older sister would start humming that song... She could already hum it, even though she didn't know what the lyrics meant, the tune was already etched into her mind.

The dark sky hung low, accompanied by bright stars.

My sister's voice was low and gentle, like a slowly flowing warm river, immersing her completely in it.

Jiang Ran started speaking as well.

Not many, and not very loud, but at least she started to speak up.

When her older sister brings breakfast in the morning, she will quietly say, "Good morning, sister."

When her older sister hands her something, she will say "Thank you, sister."

Although she still habitually lowers her eyes and speaks in a voice as soft as a mosquito's hum each time she speaks, she is a world apart from the little mushroom who huddled in the corner and didn't utter a sound on the first day.

  

Su Qing's comment was: "Not bad, he can greet people now."

She spoke casually, but that noon she gave Jiang Ran an extra serving of strawberries.

A week later, the attending physician walked into the ward with the latest test results.

She was a middle-aged female doctor in her forties, surnamed Chen, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, and speaking slowly and deliberately.

She flipped through the report in her hand, scanning all the indicators from beginning to end. She looked up at Su Qing with a hint of relief in her expression.

"Your blood test results are normal, your anemia levels have returned to the lower limit of the normal range, and you've gained two kilograms since admission. All your external wounds have scabbed over and healed without infection."

"The psychiatric department also conducted a follow-up evaluation, and the symptoms of social withdrawal have significantly improved. Although there is still a tendency to selectively remain silent, the severity has decreased from severe to moderate."

Dr. Chen closed the report and nodded to Su Qing: "You can be discharged now."

Su Qing hummed in agreement: "When will we complete the formalities?"

"This afternoon will do."

After Dr. Chen finished speaking, he glanced at Jiang Ran sitting by the bed and said, "The young lady is recovering well. Take good care of yourself when you get home, eat on time, and don't catch a cold."

Jiang Ran sat on the edge of the bed, clutching the corner of the blanket in her hand, listening intently to every word Dr. Chen said.

Discharged from the hospital.

Those two words were like a bucket of cold water poured over her head, extinguishing all the warmth she had accumulated over the past few days.

A jumble of images flooded her mind... her adoptive father's face cursing at the balcony door, her adoptive mother pushing her into the yard saying "Don't get in the way here," that cramped corner of the balcony piled with clutter, and that door that was always closed.

Now that she's been discharged from the hospital, her sister probably won't want her anymore...

She knew this would happen; she should have understood.

These seven days were just special days in the hospital. Her sister stayed with her every day because she was sick and staying in the hospital.

Now that I'm better, there's no reason for us to stay together anymore.

My sister will send her back to her adoptive parents or to an orphanage; in short, she won't want her anymore.

Her breathing quickened, and her eyes began to sting, but she tried her best to hold it in.

Can't cry.

If she cries, her older sister will dislike her even more and find her troublesome. Her adoptive mother once said that crying children are the most annoying.

After the doctor left, Su Qing took the discharge papers to complete the formalities, saying before leaving, "I'll be back in a bit."

Jiang Ran nodded, watching Su Qing's figure disappear through the door. Then she shrank into the blankets, hugged her knees, buried her face in the pillow, and her shoulders trembled slightly.

When Su Qing returned, she saw a familiar spherical object bulging on the bed.

She placed the discharge papers and medication on the bedside table, walked to the bedside, and gently tugged at the corner of the blanket: "Why are you curled up like a ball again?"

Jiang Ran did not move.

Su Qing bent down and pulled the blanket down a little, revealing half of the little guy's face.

Her eyes were red, her nose was red, her lips were pressed into a line, and there was a little bit of water glistening on her eyelashes.

Su Qing was stunned for a moment, then understood.

She didn't say anything to comfort her, but simply extended her index finger and gently flicked Jiang Ran's forehead.

The force was light, like flicking a small watermelon, producing a crisp sound.

Jiang Ran blinked from the flick, tears rolling down her eyelashes, but she didn't bother to wipe them away, staring blankly at Su Qing.

"What are you thinking about?"

Su Qing bent down, her face close to Su Qing's, her expression a mix of exasperation and amusement. "Of course you went home with your sister."

Jiang Ran was stunned.

She opened her mouth, her lips trembled a few times, and the tears that had been welling up in her eyes finally burst forth, streaming down her cheeks.

It wasn't quiet, silent tears, but a loud cry... the kind of crying that had been suppressed for a long, long time and was suddenly released, sobbing and breaking up, as if trying to pour out all the grievances of the past in one go.

She buried her face in Su Qing's arms, clutching the hem of her clothes with both hands, crying so hard that her whole body was trembling.

I went home with my sister.

Come back home.

She had never known before that the word "home" could sound so beautiful.

Su Qing was knocked off balance by the little guy. She steadied herself, bracing herself on the edge of the bed with one hand, while the other hand hesitated in mid-air for a moment before landing on Jiang Ran's back, patting her awkwardly.

The system spoke in her mind: [The target is experiencing emotional release, a positive psychological catharsis process. Cortisol levels are decreasing.]

[It is advised not to interrupt, not to change the subject, and not to use food to coax her.]

"Got it," Su Qing replied in her mind, while continuing to pat the table with her hands.

The young nurse pushed the door open to change the sheets for the day, but upon seeing this scene, she silently closed the door again.