Chapter 10 The First Guest

  My sister said that I would be discharged in three months at most, but it has been more than two months now, and there is no news. Wandering around the hospital all day doing nothing is also a painful thing.

  These days, I've been spending my time eating and sleeping, occasionally playing a game or two of chess with Old Shao. Every time, he looks at me with that sly merchant's gaze, asking if I want to make a deal with him. To be honest, I'm quite curious about the story behind that postal book, but I've never liked making deals with others, especially not with sly merchants. It's a kind of innate self-protection mechanism. Besides, my sister will soon get me out of here, and from then on, life will just be "study hard, strive upwards" - knowing or not knowing about this won't make any difference in the future. Why bother stirring up trouble for a moment's curiosity? Old Shao isn't a good person either, having an affair behind his wife's back, and getting what he deserved today can't be said to be unjust.

  Days went by one after another, but there was still no news from my elder sister.

  Finally, one afternoon, while playing chess with Old Shao, a nurse came over and said someone was here to visit me.

  Haha, waiting for the stars and moon, I finally waited for my sister to arrive. I put on my slippers and followed the nurse in a small run to the meeting room.

  The nurse went in first, and I followed behind her. Pushing open the glass door and looking up, I was stunned!

  There were four or five people sitting in a row in the living room, none of whom was Lao Jie.

  "Where's my sister?" I asked the nurse in confusion.

  One of them stood up, "Xiaoyu, don't you still recognize me?"

  I took a closer look, and it was Officer He. Looking again at the people next to him, there was another person who looked very familiar. High nose bridge, pointed chin, those eyes could turn gray and I would still recognize them - it was Li Xiaosu!

  As soon as I saw him, my temper flared up. I took off my shoes and threw them at him with all my might. He dodged nimbly to one side, avoiding it with the same movement he had used to avoid the teapot that day. I was certain that this was the man who had laid hands on me.

  At that time, they panicked and several people quickly surrounded Li Xiaoshu to prevent me from making any further aggressive moves. Soon, two male doctors rushed in, one of whom grabbed my arm to restrain me.

  Then a doctor-like person said to Officer He: "The patient's mental state is not very good today and cannot provide any testimony with legal significance for you."

  "Alright," Officer He nodded at him, "We'll come again next time. Sorry for the trouble today."

  "It's okay, the hospital hopes that next time his guardian will come together with him."

  Officer He didn't respond, and two doctors escorted me out of the meeting room.

  After returning, of course, it was medicine and handcuffs again. I was like being nailed to the bed, not even getting up for bowel movements. That drowsy feeling came back, and I was dizzy all day, sleeping all the time except when I was sleeping. In my dreams, I often returned to the scene where I was stabbed with a dagger, seeing Li Xiaosu holding a dagger in her hand, standing beside me with a sinister smile, suddenly raising her hand and inserting the dagger into my hand. My hands and feet were filled with daggers, extremely painful but unable to shout. Sometimes, I would dream of my older sister and parents, our whole family happily sitting on the balcony of our old home drinking tea, my older sister occasionally taking out a handkerchief to wipe away my sweat. As she wiped, I felt someone pushing my arm while calling my name: "Xiao Yu, wake up..."