Li Xian's eyelid twitched, and a thought flashed through his mind-
Someone's here to make the rounds.
He kept his eyes closed, doing his best to breathe steadily as he waited for the rounds to end.
Li Xian waited in silence for a long time, but nothing else happened.
Silence.
Silence so complete that he could hear nothing, even when he strained his ears.
No footsteps, no rustle of sleeves against clothing, no scratch of pen on paper after an examination.
The entire room was utterly still. He could sense no "other person" at all, and the silence even made Li Xian wonder whether that gust of cold air had been his imagination.
His uncertainty urged him to open his eyes and see whether anyone was in the room, but reason told him to wait a little longer. Something was definitely wrong.
Suddenly, he caught a scent that did not belong here.
It was the unpleasant smell of disinfectant. Though very faint, Li Xian still picked it up.
Then the smell grew stronger and stronger-
In the darkness, the Head Nurse bent down, half crouching at an odd angle. Her head was level with the edge of the bed as she leaned forward, bringing her face close to Li Xian's.
Without blinking, she carefully studied his sleeping face, then reached out a finger to check his breathing.
Li Xian suddenly felt as though the foul smell of disinfectant was aimed straight at the tip of his nose.
He fought down his nausea and forced himself to keep breathing at a normal pace.
After an unknown stretch of time, a voice drifted eerily into Li Xian's ear.
"Are you asleep?"
The words were spoken so quietly that if the person being asked really had been asleep, they could never have woken