Yang Yiyang walked to the entrance of the toilet. The smell was truly overpowering. She passed the toilet and headed to the corner.
It was nighttime, and no one would come to such a place, so she entered the space from the corner beside the toilet.
Once inside, she looked outward from within, using her consciousness. Surprisingly, she could see the pitch-black area outside.
Did this mean that while inside the space, she could see the outside world?
This discovery delighted her immensely. From now on, she would know whether it was safe outside before emerging from the space.
She hadn’t bathed for several days and couldn’t stand it any longer. Taking off her clothes to wash wasn’t difficult—the bathroom in the room had hot water ready.
The challenge was deciding what to wear afterward and the fact that the washing machine on the balcony couldn’t be used now.
Putting aside these worries, she decided to bathe first. It was early in the year, just over two months after the Lunar New Year, and the nights were still somewhat chilly.
After bathing, she returned to the room, found a set of low-neck thermal underwear to wear, and hand-washed the clothes she had been wearing inside.
As for the outerwear, she would simply put it on when leaving the space later.
Pants were easier to manage. There were straight-leg pants in the space, so she found a pair to wear, along with thermal leggings underneath.
Fortunately, her current body was thin and weak, so any clothes would fit.
Afterward, she searched around the room. There were no cotton quilts—
in modern times, such quilts were too thick and heavy, so she hadn’t bought a single one.
However, she had wool quilts, cashmere quilts, lightweight quilts for air-conditioned rooms, and silk quilts.
As for cotton-padded jackets, she had only one. The rest were several down jackets.
None of these styles were suitable to wear now, so she could only rely on thin sweaters and thermal wear underneath.
Fortunately, she had prepared plenty of underwear and sanitary napkins. To avoid trouble, she had stuck to one brand and bought them in bulk, case by case.
As for the limited amount of jewelry, aside from gold, she dared not take anything else out to exchange for money. Even if she did, they wouldn’t be worth much.
Daily necessities like facial creams could only be used by herself.
Noticing the bowl of porridge on the table was still warm, it seemed the room had a preservation function.
This discovery lifted her spirits, which had been low just moments ago.
After one final look around, she realized there was nothing here that could be quickly converted into cash in this world.
That damned heavens! What about her over a hundred million, the money she had earned over a lifetime?
“Not a single cent was left for her.”
Who could she complain to about such suffering?
Just as she was about to leave, she turned and spotted a large suitcase in the corner. Yes, that large suitcase was filled with small items she had collected during her spare time to bring back to the orphanage.
There were many beautiful hair clips, hairbands, hair ties, and hair flowers, all bought in small boxes. Opening the suitcase, she found the items still in great condition.
This was the happiest discovery of the day.
There were also crystal bracelets and necklaces, some made of platinum, as well as crystal and agate bracelets, and various beaded bracelets.
These took up little space, so she had bought quite a few.
There were also various types of gloves, inexpensive to buy online—she had purchased about 200 pairs.
She had 200 silk scarves and 100 towels.
All of these could now serve as her startup capital in this world.
Seeing the contents of the suitcase finally put her mind at ease. At last, she no longer had to fear being driven out by the Jiang Family and starving on the streets.
For now, she took out two of the plainest, patternless towels to bring with her, along with a toothbrush and toothpaste.
The rest can wait until she's better.
After searching the room, she found nothing to eat because Yang Yiyang disliked the smell of food in the room.
Now it was good—the room was completely empty.
Glancing outside and sensing no one around, she slipped out of the space and walked toward the ward door.
As she neared the entrance, she heard voices inside the room. It seemed her mother-in-law had woken up.
Yang Yiyang looked around—no one was nearby—so with a thought, she retrieved a bowl of still-warm porridge from the space and carried it inside.
Jiang Zihao turned and saw her. "Where did you go? I called for you outside the bathroom several times just now and didn’t hear you answer."
"I thought you had come back, but then Mom woke up. I was just telling her I needed to find a nurse to check the women’s bathroom to see if you were inside."
Yang Yiyang felt a wave of relief that she had returned just in time.
Next time she entered the space, she would have to be more careful—not only guarding against outsiders but also these two family members.
"I came back to warm up this bowl of porridge. I thought Mom would wake up soon, and it had gone cold after sitting for so long."
With that, she handed the bowl forward.
Jiang Zihao thought to himself, so she had gone to warm the porridge for Mom. He had worried for nothing.
Then again, the hospital was full of people everywhere—how could someone as noticeable as her possibly get lost?
A single shout would be enough for someone to hear.
While Mother Jiang lay in bed observing Yang Yiyang, Yang Yiyang also took a look at her.
She had thought it would be difficult to address her, but surprisingly, the words came out naturally: "Mom, you’re awake."
Jiang Zihao also brought the porridge to his mother. "Mom, let me help you sit up so you can eat a little porridge. You haven’t eaten in two days—you must be hungry."
Mother Jiang, still very weak, said, "You and Yiyang should share it."
Yang Yiyang couldn’t understand—was this what they called maternal love?
Even though she was so hungry her vision was blurring, she still wanted to save it for her child.
"You eat it. Both of us have already eaten."
Jiang Zihao quickly added, "That’s right, I bought two bowls. Yiyang already had one. Hurry up and eat. Tomorrow morning, I’ll return the bowl—I even left a 5-cent deposit."
Hearing about the deposit, Mother Jiang struggled to sit up and eat.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t manage it after several attempts. Jiang Zihao quickly put down the bowl and helped her sit up, leaning against the bed.
And so, they finished the meal quietly.
Yang Yiyang said, "Mom, do you need to use the bathroom? Let Zihao carry you there."
Mother Jiang’s face flushed slightly, and she hesitated. Yang Yiyang knew she needed to go, so she quickly told Jiang Zihao to carry her.
She followed them to the bathroom door and said, "Wait here for a moment. I’ll go in and see if anyone’s inside."
"If no one’s there, you can take Mom in. I’ll stand guard outside to make sure no one enters."
Mother Jiang felt embarrassed and said, "I can go in by myself."
Yang Yiyang replied, "He’s your own son—there’s nothing to be embarrassed about letting him take care of you. He can just turn around for a moment."
Jiang Zihao also felt awkward—entering the women’s bathroom was no small matter. If someone found out, it would be a disaster.
But he knew both women were patients, and he was the only healthy one. No matter how embarrassed he felt, he had to steel himself and do it.
Yang Yiyang herself had never taken care of anyone like this before and insisted firmly that his own mother was his responsibility to care for.
Seeing that they weren't moving, she urged again, "Hurry up, or else your mother will soil her pants and you'll have to wash them."
Jiang Zihao jolted into action and quickly carried her inside.
Yang Yiyang called from outside, "Don't worry, if anyone comes, I'll explain it to them. They'll understand."
After a short while, Jiang Zihao emerged, his face flushed red as he carried his mother on his back. Mother Jiang's face was equally flushed.