What I Saw at the Hospital / Prelude to Departure

"I can't breathe," said Mikiya Kokutou, pushing open the office door.

Chapter 166. Hospital Observations

"Hey, have you heard about the patient in the private room on the third floor?"

"Of course I heard about it. It was all over the place last night. Everyone was in a panic, starting with Dr. Lu, who never jokes. How could I not know? But it's really unbelievable that the patient actually woke up."

"No, no, that's not what I meant. But it was indeed about that girl, after she woke up. Guess what the first thing that patient did after waking up from her coma was? It was terrifying, she actually poked her own eyes."

"... What? It's true?"

"Well, although no one in the hospital wants to talk about it, I heard it from a nurse who works with the Lu family doctor, so it should be true. Apparently, when the doctor wasn't looking, the child poked his eyelid hard with his hand, oh dear."

"Wait a minute, hasn't that child been in a coma for the past two years? Logically, he shouldn't be moving."

"Logically, that's how it should be. But isn't that child's family very wealthy? They requested special care from us as soon as she was admitted, so her joints weren't actually that stiff. However, even with special care, it wasn't her own movement, and her joints weren't flexible enough to move freely. Thanks to that, in the end, her eyes were saved."

"... That's still quite remarkable. You probably learned that in nursing school, although bed rest is easier, the body will gradually weaken. If you sleep for two years straight, you'll almost lose all your human functions."

"So the doctor was careless too. Oh right, what's it called again? It's that symptom of bleeding in the white of the eye."

Subconjunctival hemorrhage.

"Yes, that's it. Generally, it heals naturally, but because the injury almost caused cataracts, the patient still can't see anything. Apparently, the patient has now bandaged their eye."

"Hmm. So, that patient hasn't seen sunlight even once since waking up... From darkness to darkness again? That's unusual."

"That's quite unusual. There's another issue, actually. How should I put it? Aphasia? Something like that. It's impossible to speak properly, so the doctors thought of bringing in a professional psychologist. But our hospital doesn't seem to have anyone like that."

"Yes, Dr. Araya resigned last month."

But... in that case, the patient should probably refuse visitors, right?

"That seems to be the case. It's said that even his parents restricted him from seeing his parents until he calmed down."

"Really? Then that boy will be pitiful."

"Who is it? What boy?"

"Don't you know? The child who's been visiting every Saturday since the patient was admitted. Actually, judging by his age, he shouldn't be called a boy anymore. I really want him to see that child."

"Ah, it's that boy. Yes, that's quite a rare sincerity these days."

"Yes. For the past two years, only that child has been taking care of the patient. So... I think the miracle of the patient waking up is largely thanks to him... I'm really surprised that someone who's been doing this job for so many years is still talking about this kind of thing."

As Mikiya Kokutou, Wang Xiaoming, and Touko Aozaki entered the hospital lobby, they overheard the whispers of two nurses at the reception desk.

"Oh, sorry, I'll go check first!"

Kokutou, whose attention was drawn to the nurse's conversation, probably never expected that something like this would happen while he was away. Kokutou, who usually had a calm and indifferent expression, showed a rare look of panic in front of Wang Xiaoming and Touko Aozaki.

After greeting the two women, Kokutou hurried to the reception desk to find out the details of their previous conversation.

After a while, Kokutou returned to Wang Xiaoming and Touko Aozaki and explained apologetically, "Although Shiki is no longer in danger, she still needs treatment from a psychological counselor due to her own condition, so she cannot meet with outsiders for the time being."

The reason Kokutou invited Touko Aozaki was to use Touko Aozaki's superb medical skills to help Shiki Ryougi examine her condition, but now they haven't even seen her...

Wang Xiaoming didn't care; he just happened to be passing by to check on Kirie Fujou, but Touko Aozaki—

"Didn't that nurse just say I needed a psychologist?"

Instead of getting angry, Touko Aozaki asked Kokutou a question.

"Ah, yes."

"Hey, hey, hey, you wouldn't...?"

Wang Xiaoming twitched his lips, suddenly remembering that the psychological counselor hired by the hospital in the "original work" seemed to be this woman in front of him.

After giving Wang Xiaoming a smug look, Touko Aozaki pulled a cell phone from her pocket.

"This is when we need to call in the professionals."

Not long after, a doctor in a white coat rushed into the lobby. Judging from the respect the nurses around him showed him, Wang Xiaoming guessed that this doctor was at least a department head.

The doctor approached Touko Aozaki and greeted her respectfully.

"Miss Aozaki, you've arrived."

"I heard that a patient at your hospital seems to need psychological counseling, so I've come uninvited. I hope you don't mind."

After removing her glasses, Touko Aozaki became decisive and efficient in everything she did.

"No, no, no, how could that be?"

Upon hearing Touko Aozaki's words, the doctor broke out in a cold sweat. He took out a handkerchief from his pocket, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and hurriedly said, "How could that be? We were just about to invite you over."

Although they didn't know the doctor would be so respectful to Touko Aozaki, thanks to Touko Aozaki, Wang Xiaoming and his group were finally able to complete the necessary procedures for the visit.

"However, the patient's family is currently in the ward, so your visiting time will have to be postponed for a while."

After arranging visiting times for several people, Touko Aozaki impatiently waved the doctor away. Once the doctor was gone, Touko Aozaki turned to Wang Xiaoming and said:

"Alright, take this time and go see your girlfriend."

Wang Xiaoming: "???"

Looking at Wang Xiaoming's bewildered expression, Touko Aozaki was somewhat dissatisfied. Why was this guy still pretending to be stupid?

"It's that Miss Fujou who's still lying in the hospital bed. Since I've already accepted the payment, I should at least do my part."

Wang Xiaoming shook his head with a wry smile:

"Don't make jokes like that. I only helped her because it happened to be there."

"Alright, I got it, you pushover."

"Hey, how am I being a pushover?"

Watching the two people gradually disappear down the corridor, still arguing, Kokutou, who was still standing there, thought for a moment and decided that it would be better to stay put and wait patiently for the visiting time.

Our slogan is--

Chapter 167. Prelude to Departure

In the ward, the girl who was gazing into the distance through the window suddenly sensed something and turned to look at the door of the ward. A smiling man had just walked in.

"Mr. Ming!"

Good morning.

The girl's voice revealed a hint of joy.

Wang Xiaoming raised his hand to greet the girl, but instead of walking in as she expected, he turned and complained towards the door of the ward:

"Hurry up!"

Who is Mr. Ming talking to?

Seeing Wang Xiaoming's actions, the girl was slightly stunned, but the next second—

"Alright, alright, what's the rush? I'm covered in the smell of smoke. Do you want to worsen her condition?"

An impatient voice came from outside the door. Although the girl couldn't quite hear what was being said due to the distance, she could still make out what it was saying—

There was a woman standing outside the door.

"Um... Miss Fujou, are you alright?"

After a brief commotion, Wang Xiaoming had turned his attention back to the ward, asked with some concern after seeing the girl's face, which was flushed from holding her breath.

"It's fine."

Although the girl's expression quickly calmed down, the puffed-up expression of the spirit floating in mid-air did not escape Wang Xiaoming's eyes.

It must be a misunderstanding. After a moment's thought, Wang Xiaoming roughly understood the key point. Just as he was about to explain the situation, a voice suddenly came from beside him, interrupting what Wang Xiaoming was about to say.

"This is 'dual existence'? I've heard you mention it before, but seeing it with my own eyes is truly quite... 'surprising'."

The woman who walked out from behind Wang Xiaoming looked up and examined the face of the spirit floating in the air above the ward, which was identical to the girl on the hospital bed. The woman paused for a moment and found a word that was not too impolite.

"Well, let me introduce you."

Wang Xiaoming, pretending not to notice the awkward atmosphere as the temperature in the ward rapidly dropped, then introduced the girl:

"This is Aozaki Touko, the doctor I found to examine you... right...?"

"Hello, I'm Kirie Fujou."

Not noticing the slight hesitation in Wang Xiaoming's tone, the girl, feeling a little relieved, gave Touko Aozaki her name.

Touko Aozaki simply nodded slightly, then turned to Wang Xiaoming and said to him:

"I'm going to examine her now, would you like to watch?"

Under Touko Aozaki's amused gaze, Wang Xiaoming had no choice but to "give in," giving the girl on the hospital bed a "don't worry" look before leaving the ward.

After Wang Xiaoming left the ward, the woman named Touko Aozaki didn't say much. She walked to the bedside table where the girl's medical records were placed, picked them up, and started looking through them.

This gave the girl the opportunity to observe the "doctor" up close.

Judging from her perfectly wrinkle-free shirt, this woman named "Touko Aozaki" looked more like a school teacher than a doctor, except for the overly conspicuous orange tie on her white shirt, which slightly detracted from her appearance.

After a period of silence, the woman who had put down the medical record took something out of her breast pocket, then quickly put it back.

Is it a cigarette?

Recalling what Wang Xiaoming had said earlier, the girl made a guess.

"Smoking is prohibited in the ward, especially since your lungs seem to be failing. Cigarettes can become highly toxic."

She said it with a hint of regret.

As expected--

Seemingly because her guess had been confirmed, the girl felt a strange sense of joy. However, what followed was like a bucket of cold water poured over her.

"However, it seems that it's not just your lungs that are failing. Because we can see ulcers all over your body. The fact that they're even starting to swell at the extremities indicates that the situation is extremely serious. The only thing you can call healthy right now is your hair. Even so, you still have the strength to do so. An ordinary person would have died before being ravaged by the disease to this extent... It's been so many years, Kirie Fujou."

She was probably asking about the date of her hospital admission. However, the girl was unable to respond to this.

"I don't know, I stopped counting the days a long time ago." Because it's meaningless, because I won't be able to leave this place until I die.

The girl spoke calmly, as if what she was saying had nothing to do with her.

"What if I could cure you?"

"??!"

The girl looked up, staring in astonishment at the woman in front of her.

"I can let you witness with your own eyes everything you once looked down upon, and no longer be troubled by illness."

What seemed unbelievable to the young girl came out of Aozaki Touko's mouth so easily, as if it were a trivial matter that could be easily resolved.

Why do this?

Perhaps because of that sliver of hope in her heart, the girl did not question the truthfulness of Touko Aozaki's words, but instead asked her a question in return.

"There's nothing I can do. I owe that guy something. I guess this is what they mean by 'he who takes a bribe is bound to be obliging.'"

Aozaki Touko helplessly shrugged.

It was Mr. Ming who asked her to treat me.

Thinking of this, the girl's heart couldn't help but flutter with joy again.

However, when she recalled the relationship between the doctor in front of her and Wang Xiaoming...

[EMMM]

"Excuse me!"

"What's up?"