The security guard took us to a room on the first floor of the hospital. There was no sign on the door, but from the furnishings inside, it seemed to be a break room for doctors and nurses.
The room had a sofa, a coffee table, and a water dispenser, as well as a small refrigerator and a microwave.
When we went in, there were already people sitting inside. Two people in white coats were cracking sunflower seeds. At the sound of us entering, they merely glanced up before going back to their seeds and conversation.
The security guard called out, "Doctor Li," and "Doctor Wang." The two young doctors glanced up again. The guard pointed at Lu Qiaolan and me. "These are the owners of that box of bears."
The sunflower seeds fell from the two doctors' hands.
This turn of events was completely unexpected.
Before I could make sense of it, the two doctors tossed aside their seeds and hurried out.
They went around Lu Qiaolan and me as they left. Once they were outside, I heard them talking.
"They came looking for us!"
"I told you! Either someone comes looking for us, or somebody dies around here."
The guard closed the door, and I could no longer hear them.
Lu Qiaolan looked at the guard in confusion.
Embarrassed, he asked us to sit down and swept the sunflower seeds off the coffee table. He tried to make conversation. "They're doctors from the pharmacy. Sometimes when it's slow, they slack off a little..."
I cut him off. "What exactly is going on?"
The guard watched us cautiously. "You're from out of town, right?"
Neither Lu Qiaolan nor I answered.
The guard sighed. "Tell me, why did you bring that kind of thing to our town?"
"Could you explain