He had originally intended to investigate Qiqiancao’s secret, but now he was left with even more unsolved mysteries.
Fang Wei judged people entirely by intuition.
He had some knowledge of psychiatry, but only because his mother had suffered from mental health issues during her battle with cancer, which led him to study the field on his own.
However, the girl before him felt very different.
He truly could not connect a sweet girl like Qiqiancao with this icy beauty in a hospital gown.
Even if they looked the same, sounded the same, and even gave Fang Wei a somewhat similar vibe.
Fang Wei stood rooted to the spot, making no movement or sound, quietly observing the girl.
Qiqiancao seemed to sense his intentions.
She flurried in an attempt to stand up, reaching for the crutch beside her, but her hand refused to obey.
From the slight agitation, it began to tremble and spasm.
“Are… are you the person Dr. Sun sent?”
“Did Mom send you? Did Mom say she was coming to take me back?”
“Speak! Why aren’t you speaking!”
She began to scream hysterically, her previous coldness vanishing.
It was replaced by an extremely distorted expression of agony, as if her entire body were being exposed to the world, leaving her feeling ashamed and infuriated.
Her small hand, thin enough to show bone from her long-term confinement to the hospital bed, finally grabbed a glass from the table.
She threw it toward Fang Wei, but it missed, shattering into pieces on the floor.
“Get out! Or… or I really will call someone… *cough, cough*…”
Even as she spoke, her trembling hand remained hovered over the alarm button, hesitating to press it.
Was it because she didn’t want to? Or because she didn’t dare to?
“Sorry, I have the wrong room.”
Fang Wei retreated silently from the room.
He was certain this “Qiqiancao” didn’t refrain from pressing the button because she didn’t want to; she was afraid to.
This phenomenon was actually common in many patients, especially those poor souls with physical or mental disabilities.
They lived in long-term suppression and loneliness, out of place with healthy Society, yet possessing a fierce sense of dignity.
If they wet themselves and a nurse tried to help them change, they might even strike or scream at the nurse, howling like ghosts, because they felt their sensitive pride had been insulted.
People like this would rather die than let others see them during an episode.
This “Qiqiancao” was so frantic that it made Fang Wei’s heart ache.
Her condition was far more severe than the Qiqiancao he knew; she was more guarded and more afraid of being hurt.
She didn’t refuse to press the button out of choice; she was terrified that if she did, a swarm of nurses and doctors would burst into the room and see her in such a painful, distorted, and uncontrollably hysterical state.
Fang Wei could only quietly close the door, letting “Qiqiancao” shout and curse inside.
Eventually, the shouting turned into wailing sobs.
He felt a pang of pity for such a beautiful, yet broken girl.
The commotion caught the attention of nurses in other wards, and soon, several nurses and doctors came running toward the room.
Fang Wei had noticed earlier that this ward was not for short-term patients.
The room had a lived-in feel to it, the kind that only comes from staying for at least several years.
To be able to stay in a private room for so many years showed that “Qiqiancao’s” family was quite wealthy — or at least, they weren’t afraid of being crushed by their daughter’s illness.
Fang Wei donned his ribbon, concealing his form to one side.
He watched the group of nurses exchange hesitant glances until a female doctor in a white coat approached and gave the door two light taps.
In an instant, the wailing inside the room ceased.
“Xiao Cao, it’s Dr. Sun. Can I come in?”
“…Yes.”
The “Qiqiancao” inside the room seemed to have undergone a personality shift.
It was as if the screaming from moments ago had never happened; she answered in a calm, gentle tone.
Dr. Sun took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
The young girl was sitting on the bed as usual.
There wasn’t a trace of emotion on her face, as if the person who had just collapsed into tears wasn’t her.
If it hadn’t been for the shattered glass on the floor, Fang Wei would have certainly believed that to be the case.
The scene was too eerie, so Fang Wei chose to continue observing.
“Xiao Cao, how are you? Are you feeling a bit better lately?”
Dr. Sun didn’t mention what had happened.
She stepped over the glass shards as if nothing were wrong and poured a glass of warm water for “Qiqiancao.”
None of the nurses wanted to break this sudden peace.
One nurse holding an IV bag and tubing took a step forward, but “Qiqiancao” stopped her.
“Nurse Shan, you stay outside!”
Nurse Shan immediately withdrew her foot and looked at Dr. Sun.
Dr. Sun smiled and took the IV tubing, preparing to set up the drip for the patient.
“Alright, let Sister Shan stay outside. Only Sister Sun will stay here to keep Xiao Cao company.”
“Xiao Cao… did you see anything again today?”
Dr. Sun spoke very euphemistically, but the nurses at the door looked as if they had seen their own Lao Da running toward an airplane door — a sign of extreme danger — and they scrambled away in fright.
“Qiqiancao” subconsciously frowned, but she soon managed a quiet smile.
It was the smile Fang Wei was familiar with, yet it was different.
This smile held a sense of guardedness, a shallow and indifferent curve.
It felt less like a smile and more like a polite response.
“Thanks to Dr. Sun’s treatment, I haven’t seen those people for a long time. I feel like my condition has improved a lot lately.”
“Is that so? That’s good then.”
Despite saying it was good, the worry on Dr. Sun’s face didn’t diminish in the slightest.
She pulled a laptop and headphones from under the bed and handed them to “Qiqiancao,” then flicked the needle to hang the IV drip.
“By the way,” this “Qiqiancao” asked in a slow, unhurried voice, “Dr. Sun, how many more treatments do I have before I can be discharged?”
“Well, the previous treatments have been very effective. I believe it won’t be long before Xiao Cao’s mother comes to pick her up.”
Dr. Sun gave a comforting answer, walking softly to the door to sweep up the glass shards.
As she closed the door to leave, she exchanged a few words with the nurses beside her.
Fang Wei saw her rubbing her temples, muttering about how she could ever get better if she hid her medicine all day, and how her condition was worsening.
“Sigh, I hope I’m not the one who gets worn out first. I heard Dr. Wang couldn’t handle her either. I’m already the fourth one.”
“Who cares? Whether she takes it or not is her business, as long as she doesn’t die on our watch. I’m telling you, last time she used a knife to slit her wrists…”
Once the group had walked away, Fang Wei retracted the ribbon he had wedged in the door crack.
The door opened silently.
“Qiqiancao,” who was now wearing headphones and tapping on a keyboard, didn’t notice in the slightest that the previous intruder had returned.
She had an IV in one hand while the other flew across the keyboard.
It wasn’t unusual for a blind person to use electronic devices.
In this highly developed Society, many designs took the inconveniences of the blind into account.
For something like a computer, screen-reading software could be installed, allowing it to be used via keyboard shortcuts.
“Qiqiancao” was clearly a veteran in this regard.
The speed at which she typed with one hand was faster than many healthy people could type with two.
It was touch-typing in the truest sense.
The sound of her fingers hitting the keys was strangely soothing, yet it carried a sense of detachment that made one instinctively hesitate to approach.
However, Fang Wei soon noticed that once she touched the keyboard, her previously cold lips curled into a slight arc.
It wasn’t the fake, skin-deep smile she had given Dr. Sun, but a genuine one, and she was trying her best to restrain it.
‘Could she be…’
Fang Wei silently activated **[Dream Nail (Fragile)]**.
**[‘She knows he will definitely like it, because her Angel will only ever look at her. So, she will be like a Princess attending a ball, wearing an outfit that makes everyone’s eyes light up. Her inner filthiness makes her show it off outside on purpose, just so she can throw herself into his arms when she sees him. That way, everyone will cast envious looks, and Boyfriend Sir will be secretly proud. Just as she said, making him happy is all she wants.’]**
**[‘There is no room for Love with any other person in their world. Any villain who dares to try and lay a finger on this purity will be silenced by her without a sound. She is his Princess, and the sword that protects him.’]**
**[‘He certainly knows the love she shows. When she lies in his arms like a kitten, Boyfriend Sir will stroke her hair, kiss her cheek, her nose, and the corners of her lips, moving down her collarbone, making her let out sighs and whimpers of happiness…’]**
Yes, she was writing a novel.
Specifically, a romance novel.
The girl’s writing style was a bit too flowery and pretentious, but what caught Fang Wei’s attention even more was the appearance of the term “Boyfriend Sir” in the text.