Nie Yijun parked the car in the hospital’s underground garage. Unbuckling her seatbelt, she turned toward the back seat. “Don’t rush to get out yet. I’ll go grab a wheelchair.”
She stepped out and headed toward a familiar area with practiced ease. A few minutes later, Chi Xi saw her returning, pushing a wheelchair.
“Mom,” Chi Xi said, her voice laced with suspicion, “since when did she become so familiar with this hospital?”
Shi Ya was equally baffled. She shook her head. “Who knows what she spends her days doing out there? For all we know, she’s probably here all the time escorting some Omega.”
“True,” Chi Xi let out a mocking laugh. “That’s about all she’s good for.”
Shi Ya sighed softly, a hint of helplessness in her eyes.
When Nie Yijun arrived with the wheelchair, Shi Ya opened the car door to help Chi Xi out. However, Nie Yijun leaned in first. “I’ll carry you down.”
Chi Xi’s hands froze on the car door. Shi Ya stepped back to give them space. Nie Yijun opened her arms and said simply, “Don’t worry.”
Chi Xi reached out and wrapped her arms around Nie Yijun’s neck. With one hand supporting her back and the other tucked under the stumps of her legs, Nie Yijun lifted her with a firm hoist.
She was incredibly light. Perhaps it was the lack of legs, but the weightlessness made Nie Yijun daze for a split second.
She carefully placed Chi Xi into the wheelchair. Shi Ya grabbed a blanket from the car to cover Chi Xi’s lap, and Nie Yijun began pushing the chair toward the Orthopedics department.
Before arriving, Nie Yijun had already coordinated with Chi Mu. She had instructed Chi Mu to use Nie Yijun’s identity to book an appointment with Director Qian. By the time they arrived, Chi Mu was already waiting in the department.
Chi Mu immediately hurried over. “Mom.”
As Shi Ya and Chi Xi stared at her in surprise, Chi Mu quickly corrected herself: “Director Qian will be ready for you in just a moment.”
Shi Ya scrutinized her. “You’re the classmate who got into a fight with Mu’er last time, right?”
“Yes, Auntie,” Chi Mu stammered. “We’ve, we’ve made up since then.”
Shi Ya nodded and smiled. “Thank you for your help today.”
“It’s no trouble at all. We’re classmates,” Chi Mu said with a strained smile. “Please, go on in.”
Nie Yijun pushed the wheelchair into Director Qian’s office. Director Qian was one of the top orthopedic specialists at the Central Affiliated Hospital.
Chi Mu introduced her “family” to the director. “This is my classmate and her younger sister. Thank you, Director Qian.”
Director Qian, a kindly woman in her fifties, put on her glasses and without ceremony lifted the hem of Chi Xi’s skirt to examine her.
Chi Mu couldn’t bear to look. She spun around instantly, squeezing her eyes shut. Even though Chi Xi’s injuries were years old, Chi Mu felt as though she could smell the phantom scent of blood. Her stomach churned with a wave of nausea.
She wondered if she still hadn’t fully recovered from yesterday’s faint at the sight of blood.
Meanwhile, Nie Yijun knelt in front of Chi Xi, examining the surgical sites. The right leg looked fine, but the surface of the left stump was visibly red and swollen.
Chi Xi felt deeply uncomfortable being stared at by “Chi Mu.” She moved her hand to block the view. “What are you looking at? As if you’d understand any of it.”
Chi Mu, still reeling from vertigo, snapped back to reality at the comment. She turned her head. “Nie—Chi Mu!”
Nie Yijun looked up. Chi Mu beckoned to her. “Come out here. I need to talk to you. Now.”
Unable to look back at the room, Chi Mu fled into the hallway. Nie Yijun had no choice but to follow.
She stepped out and found Chi Mu standing by the window at the far end of the corridor. Nie Yijun walked over. “What is it?”
Chi Mu opened the window and leaned her weight against the sill, her voice low. “Don’t go back in there.”
The two stood side-by-side at the window. Outside was the side of the adjacent building; a man was smoking by a third-floor window opposite them.
“I can stay out,” Nie Yijun said, “but you should go in. She is your biological sister, after all.”
Chi Mu shook her head. “I’m not going.”
Nie Yijun fell silent for a moment. Just as she turned to head back, Chi Mu barked, “Stop!”
Nie Yijun didn’t stop. Chi Mu chased after her, grabbing her wrist. “Don’t go in! You’re supposed to be me right now. The ‘normal’ me would never go in to watch that!”
Nie Yijun paused. She genuinely wanted to check on the injury, but she had to yield. Respecting the reality of the other person’s life was the fundamental rule of their arrangement.
“Chi Mu,” Nie Yijun said, looking back at her. “You aren’t just useless, you’re cold-blooded.”
She pulled her hand away and sat down on the bench outside the office.
Seeing that Nie Yijun wasn’t going back in, Chi Mu seemed to deflate with relief. She walked over slowly and sat down, leaving an empty seat between them.
Useless, cold-blooded—Chi Mu didn’t care what labels were thrown at her.
“There are many complications that follow a double amputation,” Nie Yijun said quietly. “The internal organs can’t compare to a healthy person’s. It takes immense effort just to keep things functioning. The hardships Chi Xi has endured are beyond what normal people can imagine.”
Chi Mu leaned against the wall and actually let out a short laugh. “What are you trying to tell me? That Chi Xi is a pillar of strength while I have all my limbs and no ambition? Is that it?”
Nie Yijun said nothing. That was what she meant, but hearing it come out of Chi Mu’s own mouth made it taste bitter.
“Well, there’s nothing for it then,” Chi Mu said. “I’m lazy. I hate hard work and I hate trouble. I’m perfectly happy being a good-for-nothing.”
Unable to listen any longer, Nie Yijun turned her back to her. Chi Mu fell silent as well. Her smile faded, and she closed her eyes.
The nausea in her chest refused to subside.
After an unknown amount of time, the office door opened. Nie Yijun stood up immediately; Chi Mu slowly opened her eyes.
Shi Ya pushed Chi Xi out. She shoved the prescription slips Director Qian had written into Nie Yijun’s arms, her tone sharp. “Go get the medicine!”
“Right away!” Nie Yijun glanced at the slips. They were standard prescriptions, nothing unusual. It seemed Chi Xi’s issue wasn’t severe.
Chi Mu stood up as well. Her first instinct upon seeing Chi Xi was to flee, but remembering she was currently in Nie Yijun’s skin, she steadied herself.
She forced a smile for her mother. “Everything okay?”
“The usual issues,” Shi Ya replied, her face instantly brightening into a smile for the person she thought was a helpful doctor. “Thank you so much for today.”
The sudden politeness from her mother gave Chi Mu goosebumps. “It’s nothing. I’m just glad she’s okay. By the way, Director Qian is an excellent doctor. If you need anything in the future, just let me know. I can help you book appointments with her again.”
“That would be wonderful!” Shi Ya didn’t decline. “Mu’er was so rude to fight with you last time—I apologize on her behalf. That girl is utterly hopeless! She can’t do a single thing right except cause trouble.”
Chi Mu managed a sickly grin. She realized she was much more comfortable being scolded by her mother than being treated with this terrifying level of courtesy.
“You’re in the AO General Department?” Shi Ya noted, looking at the ID badge pinned to the white lab coat. “How impressive. To be at the Central Affiliated Hospital at such a young age, you’re doing well. You’re so much better than that girl of mine. Actually, comparing her to you is an insult to you.”
“Ah.” Chi Mu twitched her lips. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Chi Xi stifling a laugh.
“You should come over for dinner sometime,” Shi Ya said, pulling out her phone. “Mu’er needs to spend more time with decent friends like you. How about giving me your contact information?”
“Fine.” Chi Mu pulled Nie Yiyun’s phone from her pocket and exchanged contact information with her mother.
When Nie Yijun returned with the medicine, she saw Shi Ya and Chi Xi back to their car and handed the keys to Shi Ya. “You drive home. I still have a few things to take care of here.”
Shi Ya took the keys and gave her a stern look. “Don’t go getting into any more fights.”
Nie Yijun watched them drive away before turning back to find Chi Mu.
“Where are you?” she asked over the phone.
“Inpatient Department, Building 3, Ward 1202,” Chi Mu replied.
Nie Yijun hurried over. If she remembered correctly, Ward 1202 wasn’t on her scheduled rounds today. When she reached the doorway, she saw “herself”—Chi Mu sitting by a hospital bed, speaking in a soft, gentle voice to the patient.
It was the little girl from the night before.
“Here, have a candy.” Chi Mu peeled a White Rabbit milk candy and popped it into Guo’er’s mouth. “Doesn’t hurt anymore, does it?”
Guo’er smiled, revealing two cute little canine teeth. “It’s okay. I’m not afraid of pain.”
“Aren’t you brave?” Chi Mu said. “I’m not like that at all; I’m a total coward when it comes to pain. You’re much stronger than this big sister.”
“If you’re scared of pain, you should have a candy too,” Guo’er said.
Chi Mu took the remaining candies from her lab coat pocket and placed them on the pillow. She had found them earlier in the drawer of Nie Yijun’s desk.
“You eat them for me. I don’t really like sweets.”
“Okay.” Guo’er chewed the candy and beckoned with her small hand. “Sister, lean in. I want to tell you a secret.”
Chi Mu leaned down. Guo’er whispered, “Sister, can you talk to the doctors? Ask them not to make the bills so expensive. My mom works so hard to earn money and hasn’t rested in a long time. She stayed with me all night and had to go back to work again today.”
In her childhood innocence, the girl believed the hospital could simply lower its prices. Chi Mu didn’t have the heart to correct her. She simply nodded gently. “Okay. I’ll go talk to them for you. It’ll be fine, don’t you worry.”
“Thank you, Sister.”
As Chi Mu stepped out of the ward, she found Nie Yijun standing by the door. She pointed a finger at Nie Yijun’s chest. “In the future, stop meddling in Chi Xi’s business. My parents handle her affairs. You stay out of it.”
She then retracted her finger and held out an open palm. “Give me my phone.”
Nie Yijun handed it over. Chi Mu took it and marched toward the nurse’s station. “Give me the bill for bed B102.”
The nurse looked through the system and pulled up Guo’er’s file. Chi Mu took the bill straight to the payment counter and cleared the balance. When she returned, she told the nurse, “If her mother asks, just say a kind donor covered the costs. Don’t tell her who it was.”
“Oh, okay,” the nurse stammered, nodding blankly.
Once the payment was handled, Chi Mu tossed her phone back to Nie Yijun. Nie Yijun caught it with both hands and hurried to keep up. “Was that really necessary?”
Chi Mu reached out to press the elevator button. “Didn’t you call me cold-blooded?”
“Are you doing this just to prove to me that you aren’t?” Nie Yijun asked, shocked.
“You’re overthinking it,” Chi Mu said, stepping into the elevator. “I just have too much money. Is that a problem?”
“That’s not how you handle things,” Nie Yijun countered, following her in.
The elevator was crowded, so they lapsed into a mutual silence. It wasn’t until they stepped out that Chi Mu let out a cold snort. “I saw she was in a tough spot and gave her a hand. How does that interfere with your life?”
“There are thousands of people in this world facing difficulties. Throwing money at them isn’t the way to help.”
“You.” Chi Mu stopped in her tracks, tilting her head to look at her. “Nie Yijun, do you even have a shred of compassion?”
“What does this have to do with compassion?” Nie Yijun said. “I may not be as rich as you, and I don’t help people so bluntly. My way is to do everything in my power to heal my patients. If my skills aren’t enough, I refine my craft and keep learning so I can save more people.”
Chi Mu laughed. “You help people your way, I help them mine. There’s no fundamental difference. What right do you have to lecture me?”
“No, what I’m trying to say is.” Nie Yiyun took a step closer. “You can see the struggles of a stranger. You can see when a stranger needs help. Why can’t you see the struggles of your own sister, Chi Xi?”
Chi Mu gritted her teeth, the veins at her temples bulging. She glared at Nie Yijun, then turned and stormed away, her pace furious.
After about a dozen steps, she abruptly stopped, spun around, and marched right back into Nie Yijun’s face.
“Stop acting like you have the moral high ground,” Chi Mu spat. “Maybe I’m not a good person. Maybe I ‘can’t see’ my sister’s struggles. Maybe I’m better to strangers than my own family—but that’s my choice! If you can stand it, watch. If you can’t, then get the hell out of my life!”