After falling hard and bumping her head, Xiao Ai was filled with resentment — but she didn’t dare complain, fight back, stay around, or call the police. She ran half a block before finally collapsing on the curb and bursting into tears.
When she still didn’t return to the clinic, Liu Jie grew restless. He called her, and the two ended up arguing again.
Xiao Ai demanded that Liu Jie go ask Tang Ran for money, but Liu Jie sneered, “You hit her in broad daylight yesterday, ignored her last night, and even pushed her today… Use your pig brain and think — after all the suffering she’s gone through because of you, do you really think she’ll give you money?
“She’s the one least in a hurry right now! You, on the other hand — what, planning to hang around outside until I’m forced to deal with this mess alone?”
That stung. Feeling wronged, Xiao Ai snapped back, and soon their quarrel escalated — complete with curses and insults to each other’s ancestors. Their fragile friendship boat capsized completely.
Liu Jie announced he was done with this nonsense, flung his sleeve, and stormed out of the clinic.
Left with no other choice, Xiao Ai went back to campus and scraped together some money from her dormmates.
By the time she returned to the clinic, Tao Ran had already finished dinner.
Hospitalization — that was Tao Ran’s genuine idea.
Tang Ran’s body was too weak and needed serious conditioning. A hospital stay was perfect.
The clinic might be mediocre, but it had all the basic equipment. She planned to run a few tests, do some lab work, and get vitamin and nutrient infusions — all billed as “medical expenses.” After all, someone else was paying.
And the food? Included. She ordered six meals a day!
To gain weight, she could just eat and sleep all day — what a luxurious, all-expenses-paid vacation!
Tao Ran moved into the ward in comfort.
She borrowed a nurse’s makeup kit and painted herself into a frail, pitiful look — the very image of a sickly beauty.
The nurses were amazed by her skill and even asked for lessons.
Dr. Ross slapped his thigh in admiration. “You’re a genius! That sickly makeup looks too real!”
Tao Ran smiled modestly. She explained she was good at beauty makeup, sickly makeup, even corpse makeup — from eyebrows to moles, dark circles to eye bags and livor mortis — she could do it all. She even offered to teach them… for a small fee, of course.
After all, she’d spent nearly thirty years working around film sets in her previous world — she could do this kind of special-effects makeup with her eyes closed.
Impressed, Dr. Ross once again tried to recruit her to work at the clinic.
The entire afternoon passed pleasantly — watching TV, chatting, basking in the sun.
As night fell, the receptionist informed her that Xiao Ai had arrived.
Startled, Tao Ran — who was hooked up to an IV in one hand and eating with the other — quickly shoved her apple into the drawer by her bed.
That troublesome girl hadn’t gone to pay yet — she’d come straight to the ward. This story is hosted at g.com.
When Xiao Ai entered, she saw Tao Ran lying weakly on the bed, eyes closed as the IV dripped. Her face was pale, her body limp, trembling faintly — she looked genuinely fragile.
A nurse came in just then, bringing seven or eight pills of different shapes and colors.
Xiao Ai watched as Tao Ran was roused, swallowed the pills, and slumped weakly back onto the bed…
She sighed. “Useless woman.”
“Tang Ran, give me some money,” Xiao Ai demanded, still unwilling to give up.
“I don’t have any.”
“Then give me your house key. I’ll get it myself.”
Tao Ran stared at her for a moment. “Do you realize that by pushing me down the stairs today, I could sue you for intentional injury?
“And my landlord called me — she said you were seen kicking and pounding on my door. That’s destruction of property and unlawful entry. I could press charges for that too.”
“You know why I pushed you—”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Why did you change the lock?”
“Because I’m not Fang Ming. I don’t trust you in my house. I’m afraid you’ll steal.”
She wasn’t wrong — Xiao Ai had stolen before.
Xiao Ai’s face flushed with anger.
The nurse jumped in, scolding her. “Stop disturbing the patient’s rest and get out!”
Tao Ran spoke softly, “Before you go — come back after you pay the fees.”
“For what?”
“I told my landlord I’d be away on a trip, and she packed a suitcase of toiletries and clothes for me. Be a dear and pick it up.”
“…” Xiao Ai bristled again at the commanding tone. What was she, a maid?
“If you don’t go by eight, I’ll have the landlady deliver it herself. She’ll be so surprised to find out I’m hospitalized — maybe she’ll even help me get justice.”
A loud slam echoed through the room.
Not just the door — even the windows and floorboards rattled from Xiao Ai’s furious exit. This story is hosted at g.com.
The nurse was about to scold her again, but Tao Ran raised a hand. “Go check the door.”
“If she broke it, make her pay for repairs.”
The nurse blinked, then caught Tao Ran’s meaningful glance and understood. Opening her toolkit, she gave the door a few exaggerated tugs — within five seconds, it was wobbling precariously.
“Hey, you! Stop right there! You broke the ward door!”
Rolling up her sleeves, the nurse charged after Xiao Ai.
Xiao Ai felt utterly drained.
By the time she finished paying the bill, it was already past seven. Too stingy to take a cab, she squeezed onto the subway, then jogged the rest of the way, barely making it to Tang Ran’s place before eight.
The entire ride, she fantasized about revenge — she’d spit on Tang Ran’s clothes, scrub the floor with her toothbrush, wipe subway railings with her shirts, pour filth into her toiletries…
But reality had other plans.
The landlady handed her a locked suitcase — secured with a combination lock. The most she could do was give it a few frustrated kicks.
It must have weighed at least thirty kilos. By the time she lugged it back to the clinic, the nurse refused to let her in, saying it might carry bacteria and had to be disinfected.
So Xiao Ai had to wipe down the entire suitcase — twice — with disinfectant. The mud and footprints she’d deliberately smeared on it earlier were now hers to scrub away.
The humiliation was indescribable.
When she finally tried to leave, another slip of paper was shoved in front of her — the repair bill for the ward door.
Since the repairman had to work overtime, the fee was doubled. She had to pay fifty dollars in cash.
By the time Xiao Ai returned to the dorm, it was already eleven at night.
Her miserable, endless day was finally over.
She truly, truly never wanted to see Tang Ran again.
And that was exactly what Tao Ran wanted.
After giving those two a full day of torment, she enjoyed two peaceful, quiet days of rest — not a single visit from them. Bliss.
On the third day, however, Xiao Ai and Liu Jie showed up again — bearing one good news and one bad.
The bad news: the clinic reported that the patient’s health indicators were still abnormal. She couldn’t be discharged yet and would need to stay another two to three days.
The doctor handed them several test reports and ultrasound sheets. The data clearly showed multiple irregularities — the uterine displacement had improved slightly, but was still far from normal.
The good news: Fang Ming’s two-week seminar had been shortened. He would be back in just five days.