The next day.
Jiangshi Psychiatric Hospital.
When Su Ning arrived, she truly saw her grandmother—whom she hadn’t laid eyes on for nearly six years.
Dressed in the hospital’s stark blue-and-white striped patient gown, her hair had gone grayer, with even more white strands than before.
Her familiar features now carried a vacant dullness. Though her lips murmured Su Ning’s childhood nickname, she no longer recognized her.
The moment Su Ning grasped her grandmother’s hand, tears welled up and spilled over:
“Grandma, your Ning’er is back. I’ve been unfilial.”
Grandma had once been perfectly healthy. Five years ago, when Li Boyan had Su Ning imprisoned over that medical incident, the shock drove Grandma into mental illness.
Throughout those five years, Su Ning never had a chance to visit. She could only glimpse photos of Grandma on Qin Muye’s phone during his prison visits.
Each sight of Grandma wrenched her heart with a pain sharper than a branding iron searing flesh—a torment multiplied a thousandfold.
After her mother died of liver cancer when Su Ning was five, she was meant to be taken in by her uncle and aunt. Instead, they shut her out, treating her with the contempt reserved for garbage.
Only Grandma cherished her like a treasure, holding her dear all along.
Su Ning had believed that once she endured all hardships and started working, she could finally care for Grandma properly and give her a peaceful life.
Little did she know she’d end up behind bars, and Grandma would fall ill because of it.
Guilt from the depths of her soul felt like ten thousand ants gnawing at her limbs and bones, corroding her very spirit!
“It’s all my fault. I’ve failed you.”
Su Ning clung to Grandma, weeping as if her heart would break.
“Don’t touch me! Stay away! I’m waiting for my Ning’er. I need to find my Ning’er.”
The old woman shoved Su Ning away, eyeing her warily as if facing a terrifying villain.
“Grandma, I am Ning’er. I’m your Ning’er.”
She spoke soothing words with utmost care, afraid of frightening Grandma.
But the old woman no longer knew Su Ning. She watched her guardedly, huddling into a ball in the corner. “No, you’re not my Ning’er. You’re a bad person.”
“Grandma…”
Su Ning was choked with sobs.
Just then, the ward door swung open, and the attending physician in charge of the old woman’s case entered.
“Are you the patient’s family?”
Wiping her tears, Su Ning quickly composed herself. “I’m her granddaughter.”
“The patient’s fees are three months overdue. We can’t keep her here any longer.”
Su Ning paled in panic. “No, you can’t send her away.”
Grandma was mentally ill; without medication, she’d be lost.
“If you want her to stay, pay up immediately. Thirty thousand in medical fees—not a cent less.”
The doctor’s attitude was unyielding, devoid of any compassion.
Su Ning stood frozen on the spot.
Thirty thousand?
She had only five hundred to her name—painstakingly saved over five years in prison by scrimping, working, and hiding it from the Boss Ladies. Where could she possibly find thirty thousand now?
Seeing her hesitation, the doctor said heartlessly, “You look like you can’t afford it. Since that’s the case, take the old woman and leave at once.”
“No, Doctor, give me three days. I’ll find a way right away.”
“I’ll give you three days, but who’s giving me three days? Patients like you with no family, no money, and no discipline—these ‘three-no’ stubborn cases are the hardest to manage. I’m truly speechless!”
The doctor was extremely frustrated and didn’t want to accept Su Ning’s grandmother at all.
“No, it won’t happen again. I’ll come whenever you call.”
Before, when she was in prison, she couldn’t take care of her grandmother’s situation and had to trouble Qin Muye, who was also busy with his company matters.
But not anymore. From now on, she could be available at a moment’s notice.
“No, I won’t tolerate it this time.”
This time, the patient was inexplicably taken away by family members, and he almost had to account for a lost life.
“I beg you.”
Su Ning knelt humbly before the doctor. She had little pride left to squander anyway. Five years in prison and the brutal reality had taught her that dignity was worthless.
So what did kneeling matter if it was for her grandmother?!
Clearly, the doctor was startled by Su Ning’s action, but soon the nurse behind him recognized Su Ning.
Being in the same profession, she was quite familiar with Su Ning’s reputation.
“Aren’t you Su Ning, the murderer from five years ago who caused the death of a pregnant woman and her unborn child?”
The doctor froze. “Murderer?”
Su Ning: “…”
“So it is you.”
The nurse said gleefully, turning to the doctor, “We can’t trust a murderer’s word. What if she has some evil scheme and turns on us? Then we’re finished.”
The doctor: “…”
“In my opinion, Doctor, just kick this filthy old thing out to avoid dirtying our hospital.”
The nurse’s words instantly turned Su Ning’s face cold. “How dare you! They say doctors have the heart of parents. As a nurse, don’t you find such cruel words despicable and harsh?”
“Hmph!”
The nurse sneered, her scornful gaze cutting into Su Ning like a knife. “You were once a medical professional too, yet I didn’t see much mercy from you. You didn’t even spare the child in the pregnant woman’s womb. When it comes to cruelty, you’re millions of times worse than us.”
“You…”
Su Ning was left speechless by the retort.
The nurse pressed further, “A murderer has no right to tell us what to do. Get as far away from here as you can!”
Su Ning gritted her teeth in anger. Her slender figure rose from the ground, and she glared coldly at the nurse, uttering fierce words:
“So you’d better not provoke me! Otherwise, I can’t guarantee that the knife in my hand won’t swing toward your neck!”
She could endure anyone insulting, trampling, or tormenting her, but she would never allow anyone to harm her grandmother.
The nurse, intimidated by Su Ning’s fierce words, didn’t dare to retort further.
After all, someone who had been to prison might truly be capable of anything.
Seeing her fall silent, Su Ning felt a cold scorn inwardly.
This world truly bullies the kind.
Once again, she turned her pleading gaze to the doctor. “Doctor, three days—just give me three days. I’ll definitely raise enough money.”
With that, Su Ning shoved the only five hundred yuan she had into the doctor’s hand and left the ward.
Only when she stood outside the mental hospital did Su Ning heave a deep sigh of relief.
Under the circumstances, she had no choice but to seek out Su Zhifeng.
The last five hundred yuan had been given to the doctor, and now she didn’t have a single cent left—not even enough for bus fare.
As for shared bikes, her phone had no money, so she could only walk to find her uncle, Su Zhifeng.
She had no idea how long she had been walking, only that by the time she reached the Su residence, her throat was parched to the point of feeling like it was on fire.