Chapter 185: Is She All Right? (1/2)
Cheng Xi gripped her phone tightly, lost in thought. It wasn’t until the driver reminded her, “Miss, we’re here,” that she broke out of her reverie.
She quickly gave the driver Cai Yi’s laboratory’s address. “Please send me here instead, sorry.”
The driver squinted as he typed the address into the GPS. After a quick glance at the route, he started his car up again. “Alright. I’ll send you over before I go get lunch.”
Cheng Xi smiled slightly, and then turned to stare outside the window. It was almost June, and the sun had transformed into a cruel ball of fire; being outside felt like being slowly baked to death in an oven. She had visited Cai Yi’s laboratory quite often, but she had never found it as unfamiliar as now.
Ever since she had argued with Cai Yi about Chen Jiaman’s transfer to her laboratory, Cheng Xi had never returned. Even the communication between them had dwindled; the last time they had talked was during the New Year, when Cheng Xi sent a greeting to everyone on her friend list, and Cai Yi had replied with a simple, “Thank you.”
When Cheng Xi arrived at her destination, it was just past one, and Cai Yi was still taking her afternoon nap. Cheng Xi was familiar with everyone in the laboratory, and everyone behaved more or less naturally around Cheng Xi. One of her seniors even pinched her face as she remarked, “Gosh, how long has it been since you last came to see us?”
Cheng Xi smiled. “I’ve been a little busy since the new year.”
“I know. I’ve heard you’ve started taking in students now? You’re doing so well for yourself even at Renyi. It’s really impressive.”
Cheng Xi didn’t know what else to say, so after she exchanged a few more pleasantries with her senior, she asked, “Did the lab recently take in a patient called Chen Jiaman?”
“Yup.” Her senior was particularly forthright. “She was your patient before, right? Follow me. The professor said to bring you over to see her if you came, but she just got here, so her condition isn’t the greatest.”
Even though Cheng Xi was prepared for it, and even though her senior had warned her beforehand, when she saw Chen Jiaman, Cheng Xi was still dismayed by the sight.
Chen Jiaman’s four limbs were strapped to the corners of the bed, and she even had a gag in her mouth. Her saliva was dripping out of the corner of her lips, and her gaze was terrified and fearful.
“When she was first sent here, she wouldn’t stop hitting her head against the wall, so we had no choice but to strap her down for two days. While we weren’t paying attention yesterday, she even tried to commit suicide by biting her tongue off…… Even Risperidone (a medication for calming a patient’s emotions) is starting to taper off in effectiveness. It’s really strange, and even if you hadn’t come today, we would have called you sooner or later. When she was at Renyi, was she like this too?”
Cheng Xi looked at Chen Jiaman’s image on the monitor. As she watched her writhe about helplessly, Cheng Xi’s heart’s pounding sped up faintly.
“Senior, are you responsible for her?” After receiving a nod, Cheng Xi pulled out a thumb drive from her bag. “She likes listening to stories, so if you have the time, why don’t you try recording the story inside here and then play it for her? Perhaps it’ll help her get better.”
Her senior raised her eyebrows curiously. “Really?” She then smiled and took the proffered thumb drive, but didn’t make any promises.
Cheng Xi didn’t request to go inside and see Chen Jiaman. She knew the rules of the laboratory; despite her familiarity with everyone here, they still wouldn’t let her interact with their patients without a reason.
After showing Chen Jiaman to Cheng Xi, her senior ran off to perform her own tasks, and Cheng Xi was left sitting alone in her professor’s office, waiting for her to wake up from her afternoon nap. Cai Yi led a healthy lifestyle, so she didn’t sleep for very long, and Cheng Xi was able to meet with her without waiting too long.
When Cai Yi saw Cheng Xi, she smiled as she said, “You’re here.”
As if they’d never had that argument.
Cheng Xi nodded tersely. She didn’t have the same self-imposed calm that Cai Yi did, and when she recalled Chen Jiaman’s current situation, she was still a little pale.
Cai Yi also noticed her uneasy complexion. “You saw Chen Jiaman?”
“Yes. Professor, I remember telling you before that, due to Chen Jiaman’s past, she’s particularly scared of violence and of violent treatment. This sort of thing can be devastating to her psyche.”
“So?”