Chapter 202: Sleeping Pills and Sugar Pills (2/2)

She felt like she had slept for a very long time, without any nightmares, and without the ever present war drum-like booming. She felt well-rested and unbelievably clear-headed. Everything felt crisp, like the wind outside the window. It sounded gentle as it softly caressed the windowsill.

Qin Shiya sat up in a daze. Someone had just parted the curtain between this room and her ward. A slender figure entered her room, but the light was too dim for Qin Shiya to see the newcomer’s features properly. All she could make out was a particularly bright pair of eyes that were clean and pure.

Cheng Xi smiled as she walked in. As she walked past the lamp, Qin Shiya was finally able to make out a young and pretty face. There was a small dimple by one side of her cheek, giving her a gentle and soft mien.

“Are you awake? Did you have a good sleep?”

Qin Shiya looked at her. “Who are you?”

“I’m a psychiatrist. My name is Cheng Xi.”

“I’ve never seen you before.”

“I’m new here.”

Qin Shiya made a soft “Oh” sound. “I remember you now. You prescribed me the sleeping pills.” But even as she talked, her head started hurting so much that she could no longer look at Cheng Xi—she was just too pretty. She still managed to earnestly say, “I have to thank you. You’re the first doctor who agreed to give me so many pills, and it’s all thanks to you that I finally got a good night’s sleep.”

Cheng Xi smiled. “Do you mind if I turn on the lights?”

Qin Shiya shook her head.

When the bright lights were turned on, Qin Shiya saw that Cheng Xi was even more beautiful than she had imagined. She possessed a kind and gentle beauty that made others instinctively warm up to her.

“You’ve slept for quite a while. Are you hungry?”

Cheng Xi’s tone was infinitely friendly towards Qin Shiya, as if she’d only gone to sleep here because she was tired. Unlike the other doctors, Cheng Xi didn’t spout off a stream of endless questions or offer vacuous consolations.

Qin Shiya looked at her seriously. “I’m not hungry.” And then, a moment later, she added on, “You’re different from all the other doctors I’ve seen to date.”

Cheng Xi smiled. “That’s why your mother filed a complaint against me. Our director told me that I’ve set a new record as the fastest to get a complaint after starting.”

Qin Shiya’s face had a shadow of a smile. “It’s not related to you at all. She’s just very worried that I might die.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being concerned about you.”

“No, she’s not concerned about me. She’s simply concerned about the benefits that she would lose if I died.”

Qin Shiya’s tone was very harsh, and if this was a misunderstanding, then it was a very serious one.

Cheng Xi was still thinking about the meaning behind her words when Qin Shiya continued, asking, “Can you give me some more of those pills? Don’t worry. I won’t exceed the amount that you gave me today.”

Cheng Xi took a bottle of pills out of her bag. “These?”

Qin Shiya looked at it, her eyes gleaming. “Yes. The only thing that I’m suffering from is insomnia.”

“In that case, I can give them to you,” Cheng Xi said as she shook the bottle, “however, can I ask you a few questions first?”

Qin Shiya fell silent for a moment before she replied, “Go on.”

“When did you start exhibiting symptoms of insomnia?”

“After the earthquake.”

“Why can’t you fall asleep?”

Qin Shiya’s voice mechanically replied, “Because I’m scared of another earthquake, because I’m suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder. Isn’t that what you all told me?”

“Yes,” Cheng Xi said with a nod, “That’s indeed what we said. But, if you don’t mind me being honest, if you keep refusing to tell us the truth and continue repressing yourself like this, then soon enough, even these twelve sleeping pills will be useless to you. What’s more, you don’t really need these pills at all.” As Cheng Xi said this, she twisted the bottle open, let a large number of tablets fall into her hand, and then swallowed them all.

Qin Shiya's eyes opened up wide. Cheng Xi had just eaten far more pills than she herself had taken. In fact, it was almost half the bottle.

But the pretty doctor in front of her was still smiling. “Don’t worry. These actually aren’t sleeping pills, just sugar pills.”

“……”