Before he could finish speaking, a doctor stepped forward and decisively jabbed a needle into his arm. "You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. Once you're in here, do you think you can leave?"
The elderly male patient immediately collapsed to the ground, silent and still.
The remaining three, including Qiqi, dared not move and stayed obediently on the grass. The female nurse, having stretched her limbs and feeling refreshed, returned to the corridor and announced, "Because these five didn't obey—they lazed in bed this morning and refused to drink the sugar water—none of you will get breakfast today."
The patients grew agitated, clamoring to rush over and attack the five on the grass. The female nurse added, "Anyone who hits them will join them for a shower."
At that, the patients quieted down, each looking as deflated as if they'd just had their gallbladders removed, and under the doctors' and nurses' shouts, they went off to do morning exercises. Only the two nurses remained in the corridor, cracking sunflower seeds while keeping watch, apparently planning to make the five on the grass endure a full day of "showers."
Qiqi lay on the grass, her whole body aching and unable to move, so she just endured the spray. Her head was still spinning, the drug's effects not yet worn off, and she didn't want to confront them head-on. She decided to stay put for now and wait until she felt better.
※※※
The five of them were indeed punished to "bathe" on the lawn for an entire day.
By evening, the nurses finally let them return to their rooms. Gu Qiqi lay on the hospital bed as a nurse brought over a small glass vial of medicine and handed it to her. "This is tonight's sugar water. Every patient has to drink it."
Qiqi took it and saw it was a drug similar to a sedative, used to treat manic episodes in psychiatric patients. But for a normal person, it would cause extreme drowsiness and had severe toxic side effects. With regular use, it could drive even a sane person crazy.
She shook her head. "I'm not sick."
The female nurse sneered. "Everyone who comes here says that at first. Psychiatric patients never admit they're sick. But think it over—if you don't drink the sugar water, I'll have to give you an IV later."
So that's why Rong Yi had been hooked up to an IV—because he refused the sugar water.
Qiqi thought for a moment, then took it and drank it. Though it had side effects, having it once in a while wouldn't hurt. If she insisted on refusing, she'd probably end up "bathing" again tomorrow. Don't think getting rained on in summer is romantic—try it for a whole day and you'll know what it's like.
After she drank the medicine, the nurse grilled her about Rong Yi's whereabouts, but Qiqi answered that she didn't know. At that moment, they were close, and Qiqi noticed the name on the nurse's badge—Xu Xiaobei.
So her name was Xu Xiaobei. Qiqi had thought it was "Damn You."
Unable to get anything out of her, Nurse Xu cursed a few times in frustration and went to consult with a doctor. They decided to keep Gu Qiqi for now and hand her over to the city patrol team when they arrived in a few days to make up for the loss.
After all, they'd lost one patient, so they'd just give them another. The numbers would balance out.
After taking the medicine, Qiqi felt that dizzy, fuzzy sensation creeping back. Her body went soft, and it was almost pleasant.
She couldn't think anymore and just went back to sleep. But this sleep wasn't as peaceful as the night before. In a haze, she felt someone calling her name—Qiqi, Qiqi.
Rong Yi?
She answered, feeling as if she were trapped in a dark cave, pitch-black all around with nothing visible, except for a faint white light above her ahead, pulling her like a magnet.
Was that the cave's exit? Would Rong Yi be there?