After finishing her porridge, Yun Shu put on her mask, picked up her phone and the payment slip, slowly got up, put on her shoes, and walked out of the ward.
Outside in the corridor, she saw another side of life: some people were in wheelchairs being pushed by family members, others moved slowly and with difficulty using crutches, and there were even emaciated patients pushing IV poles while walking.
This kind of scene no longer surprised Yun Shu. From her childhood, she had been to hospitals of all sizes, and it was always like this.
She held the system in her hands and took the elevator to the first floor, told the staff her ward number, handed over the payment slip, and settled the bill.
Yun Shu looked outside the main entrance but didn’t go straight upstairs.
She went to the hospital garden, where some patients were walking or exercising.
She found a quiet corner to sit down and placed the system on the nearby bench.
“System, you can play on your own for a while!”
“Hehe, Master, I’ll stay right here.”
“Mm.”
Yun Shu stared absentmindedly at the blooming flowers in front of her.
Suddenly, a voice from nearby interrupted her thoughts.
“Young lady, why are you sitting here all by yourself?”
Yun Shu turned her head and saw an elderly woman with a head full of silver hair speaking to her.
“Hello, Grandma. I was bored in the ward, so I came out here for a bit.”
She noticed the elderly woman was wearing a hospital gown.
“Grandma, are you hospitalized here too?”
The old woman sat down on the bench next to her. “Yes, I’ve been staying here for two months.”
“The morning air here is really nice. Seeing a young girl like you sitting here alone… what happened?”
“Congenital heart disease.”
The old woman fell silent for a moment after hearing this.
“Child, you have to relax. You’re still young, unlike me—I’m well into my seventies. You still have a chance. No matter what, you must live well.”
“Grandma, why are you here alone too? Where’s your family?”
“Sigh… they’re all busy with work and can’t spend every day with an old lady like me. I don’t need help at the moment, and I can still move around on my own.”
“Grandma, do you come here often?”
“I come almost every morning. Staying in the ward for too long is suffocating.”
“Grandma, what illness do you have?”
“Late-stage uterine cancer.”
Yun Shu fell silent. Cancer… indeed, that was likely incurable.
The old woman looked at Yun Shu, thinking that this girl must be about the same age as her granddaughter. She was tall but extremely thin, not even half as strong as her own granddaughter—a pitiable child.
Ding! “Affection +1, total affection 21.”
Hearing the sound, Yun Shu paused and saw the elderly woman looking at her with a kindly expression.
Beneath her mask, Yun Shu lifted a big smile, her eyes curving like crescent moons, clearly showing her happiness.
The old woman smiled gently. “Alright, you keep sitting here. Grandma has to go take her medicine, or the doctor will come looking for me.”
“Okay, goodbye, Grandma.”
“Eh, goodbye.”
After the old woman left, Yun Shu lightly kicked the small grass at her feet. The system said beside her, “System, I think I know how to collect affection points now.”
System: “Master, did you think of a way?”
“Mm, I did.”
“Master, go for it!”
“Okay.”
Suddenly…
Bang! A ball came from somewhere and hit the leg of the bench Yun Shu was sitting on.
It bounced and rolled a short distance before stopping near her feet.
The system jumped in fright, meowing and leaping onto Yun Shu’s body.
“What is that? It ran so fast!”
Yun Shu laughed, stroking its fur. “It’s a ball.”
She looked down at the small ball at her feet. It must belong to a child.
Looking up, she saw a little boy, about four or five years old, running over.
Yun Shu bent down, picked up the ball, and held it in her hands.
The boy ran to her side and stopped, looking up at her.
Yun Shu smiled at him, took off her mask, and asked gently, “Hello, little one. Is this your ball?”
The boy glanced at the ball in her hands, then looked at her face, and finally nodded.
At that moment, a woman came running, grabbed the boy’s arm, and apologized to Yun Shu. “I’m sorry, miss. My child didn’t mean to bother you. The ball didn’t hit you, did it?”
Yun Shu smiled. “It didn’t hit me. Is this your son?”
“Yes, my son.”
Yun Shu handed the ball back to the boy. “Here, this is yours.”
Then she turned to the woman. “Your son is very cute.”
The woman smiled. “Thank you.”
The boy took the ball, and the woman quickly added, “Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome.”
“An’an, this sister helped you pick up your ball. Shouldn’t we thank her?”
The boy didn’t react, just kept turning the ball in his hands.
The woman’s eyes flickered with a trace of sadness at his behavior. She looked up and smiled at Yun Shu. “My son… he… doesn’t talk much.”
“That’s okay,” Yun Shu said. Looking at the boy in his hospital gown and his behavior, the first thing she thought of was autism.
Typically, autistic children show little interest in others and rarely initiate or respond to social interactions—they may avoid eye contact, dislike hugs, and struggle to understand others’ facial expressions, tone of voice, or body language.
Yun Shu had read about this in some medical books.
She squatted down to meet the boy’s eye level and smiled. “You’re called An’an, right? I’m also staying here in the hospital. Look, we’re wearing the same clothes.”
Hearing her soft, pleasant voice, the boy looked up at her.
Yun Shu was charmed by his cuteness. He had fair skin, big round eyes, long eyelashes, and a chubby baby face.
She wanted to reach out and pinch his cheeks but restrained herself.
“Meow~” The system jumped onto Yun Shu’s shoulder, looking at the little boy.
The boy’s gaze shifted to the system, full of curiosity.
“Meow~ Hi, little human. Why aren’t you talking?”
The boy’s lips curled slightly, and Yun Shu noticed him watching closely.
The woman standing nearby also noticed and happily covered her mouth, afraid of startling him with a sound.
“You like it, don’t you?” Yun Shu asked with a smile.
The boy didn’t respond, but suddenly…
Ding! “Affection +1.”
Yun Shu didn’t think the boy had made the sound; it was probably triggered by the boy’s mother.
Yun Shu stood and said to the woman, “It seems he likes little animals.”