Su Tong had made up her mind. Since Qin Yi chose to trust her, she was willing to prove herself.
Though she disliked causing trouble, she wasn’t afraid of it either, and she refused to act against her conscience.
“Comrade Qin, I can cure Ma Liu, but I need an operating room and a set of silver needles for acupuncture. Moreover, I don’t want a third person to know about this.”
This response somewhat surprised Qin Yi.
He knew she must have some idea, and had originally hoped she might offer some insights given her “impressive” track record. But he never expected she’d dare to treat Ma Liu alone!
And even claimed she could cure him outright!
“Think it over. Notify me once you’ve decided.”
Su Tong nodded at him and turned to return to the ward.
She knew this decision would be difficult for Qin Yi. After all, her own “background” was so tragic, and she had never displayed any “medical talent”…
From how highly they valued Ma Liu, it was clear he was an important prisoner. Any mishap wouldn’t just affect Qin Yi personally—it might even jeopardize the investigation’s timing.
“I only have one question.”
Qin Yi’s voice came from behind.
Su Tong turned to see him standing in the snow like a proud pine tree, his voice deep and firm as he asked seriously:
“I want to know—were you hesitating earlier because of Ma Liu’s condition, or because you’re afraid I’ll learn more of your secrets?”
Su Tong curved her lips slightly, her eyes confident and resolute. “Ma Liu’s condition isn’t enough to make me hesitate.”
Without further delay, Qin Yi responded directly:
“Good! Wait for my message!”
With that, he strode away.
Watching Qin Yi’s retreating figure, Su Tong let out a long exhale.
If he dared to trust her, she wouldn’t let him down.
Besides—this was a human life!
She was a doctor, after all.
Before returning to the ward, Su Tong went to the restroom at the end of the corridor. When she came out, she saw a washbasin left in the sink containing toiletries, with a medium-sized round mirror leaning beside it—likely forgotten by someone after washing up.
Su Tong paused. She’d been here for days but still didn’t know what she looked like!
The mirror was old-fashioned with an iron stand, propped there casually. She leaned closer to the sink, slightly crouching, and saw her own face in the reflection.
The sight startled her—this was unmistakably her own face, identical to her modern self’s features.
Though her skin condition was much worse—dark, sallow, and painfully thin, with a touch of youthful immaturity—it was still the familiar face she knew.
Su Tong was momentarily stunned. Besides the different surname, this world’s Wu Tong shared not only the same name but also the same appearance as her other self. Was it coincidence?
Or was there some hidden causality at work?
“Pfft—”
Someone chuckled at the doorway. “Oh! The young lady’s grown up! Can’t tear herself away from the mirror.”
Su Tong snapped back to reality and saw the plump Head Nurse Chen standing at the entrance, smiling at her. She quickly greeted, “Head Nurse, hello!”
Head Nurse Chen walked in while drying her hair with a towel. “You’re recovering well, young lady! Looking much better today!”
“Yes! Much better! Thank you all for your care!”
“Don’t mention it! It’s our duty.”
Head Nurse Chen was tidying the items in her basin when she suddenly turned around and whispered:
“Don’t worry, girl. My father-in-law is a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner. He has this scar removal cream, an ancestral secret recipe. I’ll get you a jar later.”
Su Tong was taken aback for a moment before realizing that Head Nurse Chen thought she had been staring in the mirror earlier because she was worried about scarring. The bandage on her head hadn’t been removed yet, and she hadn’t seen the wound herself. Judging by the nurses’ reactions during dressing changes, the wound was probably quite significant. The possibility of scarring hadn’t even crossed her mind.
She waved her hands repeatedly, “It’s really not necessary! Even if there’s a scar, it’s fine!”
“How can you say that! What young girl doesn’t care about her appearance! When you’re discharged, I’ll give you an address. Come get the ointment after a few months when the wound has fully healed. The ointment needs to be freshly prepared to be effective!”
Head Nurse Chen’s round, fair face was very expressive when she spoke. “Alright, my night shift is over! Get some proper rest!”
With that, she left with her basin.
Su Tong felt warmth in her heart. Although conditions were tough in this era, people were genuine and simple-minded. Trust and warmth could be found everywhere, which made her think things weren’t so bad after all.
Su Tong’s ward was at the eastern end of the second floor, a three-person room.
The hospital had originally assigned only her as a patient, but as her condition improved over the past couple of days, they had added another patient – Sister Dong.
Sister Dong was a local from the county town. She only came during the day for IV drips and went home in the evenings, saying she needed to take care of her children.
When Su Tong returned to the ward, Sister Dong was already receiving her IV drip. The moment she saw Su Tong, she called out:
“Oh! Comrade Xiao Wu, you’re back! Someone from your village came to visit you earlier. She waited for quite a while and just left!”
“Someone from my village?” Su Tong was completely puzzled.
“Yes! A young woman, quite delicate and pretty, very polite!”
“A young woman?”
From Sister Dong’s description, it probably wasn’t Wu Dongling. Su Tong had almost no friends in the village and couldn’t think of anyone who would come visit her.
She went to the corridor railing, stood on her toes and looked around, but didn’t see any familiar figures.
“Don’t worry! Don’t worry! I told her you couldn’t have gone far. That girl said she’d come back later.”
Sister Dong had a straightforward personality and spoke in a loud voice, like beating a gong.
“Oh! Thank you!”
Su Tong searched through her limited memories but couldn’t find any useful information. Thinking about having to deal with the original host’s “interpersonal relationships” in the future gave her a headache.
In her previous life, most of her time had been spent either in the laboratory or in the operating room. She occasionally led medical teams to frontline support missions, experiencing baptism by artillery fire on the battlefield. Her interpersonal relationships had been extremely simple – nothing but comrades-in-arms. Following orders and giving orders had been her entire life.
She entered medical university at eighteen, joined the Southwest Military Region General Hospital at twenty-four, went to the battlefield with peacekeeping forces at twenty-five, and until her sacrifice at twenty-seven, she had grown accustomed to the simplest way of living.
However, the original host was an introverted and insecure girl, carrying an “unlucky” aura around her. In her memories, there were very few people she could actually talk to.
Nurse Xiao Li saw that Su Tong had returned to the ward and brought over a small cart to hang up Su Tong’s IV drip, then prepared to change the dressing on her head wound.
Just then, they heard Sister Dong from the opposite bed enthusiastically call out toward the doorway:
“Oh! You’re back, young lady! Comrade Xiao Wu has returned!”