Seventh Snowflake

Shen Qiancheng had braced herself for the worst, expecting the township hospital to be run-down, but it was actually decent. A stone gate marked "Serve the People" welcomed visitors.

Most of the people coming and going were elderly, their weathered skin and gray hair stark against the bright day, some sitting on tricycles with large bags of medicine.

Shen Qiancheng waited at the entrance for Liao Xue to park the tricycle, taking in the scene. Though clean, the hospital was barely bigger than a community clinic.

Passing tricycles slowed down involuntarily, drivers craning their necks for another look at Shen Qiancheng.

Whose daughter was this, so beautiful?

Liao Xue soon emerged, the hem of her white dress bouncing, drawing the attention of many elderly women.

This young woman was very pretty too.

Shen Qiancheng noticed that Liao Xue's bangs had grown longer, finally looking as if a dog hadn't gnawed on them. She couldn't resist reaching out to tousle them, letting out a "tch" before speaking.

"I'll take you to get a trim later. There's a hair salon in town, isn't there?"

Liao Xue recoiled at first, but once she realized Shen's intent, she leaned into the touch, like a needy puppy.

"There is a salon. I can just cut it myself."

Shen Qiancheng, refused, clutched her chest dramatically. "If you don't get that haircut, my heart will ache!"

Half an hour earlier, Liao Xue had nervously helped Shen Qiancheng sit up, her lips trembling with anxiety.

"Miss Shen, what's wrong? Please don't scare me."

Liao Xue's grandmother had died of a heart attack. It had started with chest pain, but the old woman had been reluctant to spend money on doctor visits, delaying until it became serious. In the end, with no money for treatment, she suffered for half a month before passing away.

Shen Qiancheng's heartache could easily be a precursor to heart disease.

Shen Qiancheng clutched her chest, covertly observing Liao Xue's expression from the corner of her eye.

Nervous and anxious—perfect.

Weakly, Shen Qiancheng said, "Let's hurry and register."

Liao Xue had been to the town hospital many times and knew the registration process well. Online registration would have been more convenient, but since Liao Xue didn't have a phone, she had no choice but to help Shen Qiancheng to a blue seat in the corridor.

Shen Qiancheng sprang up. "Hey! Clean it for me first!"

Liao Xue grabbed her skirt and wiped the seat, but when she looked up, Shen Qiancheng looked perfectly normal, no sign of chest pain.

She felt she'd been tricked.

But being tricked made her happy.

Liao Xue vaguely felt she might be the one with a serious illness and should be registering.

Shen Qiancheng sat down as if it were her right, unaware her intentions had been seen through, and clutched her chest again. "I didn't bring my ID. Can I use yours to register?"

Liao Xue sat down one seat away, her hair pulled back from her neck draping over her thin shoulders. The hair that had become smooth and silky just a few days ago had returned to its dry, brittle state after only a few days back at the Liao household.

Shen Qiancheng couldn't help but think—whether Liao Xue stayed with the Liao family or returned to the Shen family, neither was a good option.

"I didn't bring mine. Without an ID, I can't register."

Shen Qiancheng gave a wry smile, having genuinely forgotten that detail. She could remember the Village Chief sending Liao Xue to see her off, but she'd never imagined Liao Xue would leave home without her ID.

Shen Qiancheng glanced down at Liao Xue's leg. If it weren't for her, Liao Xue wouldn't have injured it twice.

All of this was her doing.

Having come this far, Shen Qiancheng shrugged, pulled out her own ID from her wallet, and handed it to Liao Xue.

"Will mine work?"

After taking the ID, Liao Xue asked, "Should I register you under internal medicine?"

Shen Qiancheng's beautiful, roguish eyes slanted, her pale face impatient. "What internal medicine? Register for orthopedics."

Liao Xue's hand froze.

She looked up in disbelief, her gaze intense, as if trying to bore a hole through Shen Qiancheng.

Shen Qiancheng let out a sigh. "If I didn't say I was unwell, would you have come to the hospital?"

The sky within Liao Xue seemed to ignite with gunpowder, countless brilliant, colorful fireworks cheering and leaping, rushing toward the clouds, embracing the blue sky.

Liao Xue's lips trembled, her eyes reddening as her mother's voice echoed in her ears.

"You little dead child, don't expect me to get your leg looked at. If you want to die, go die outside! You're a jinx!"

And yet Miss Shen said to her, "Would you come to the hospital?"

She already owed Miss Shen too much—ten thousand yuan, the medical fees, and now this. Without Shen Qiancheng, she truly wouldn't have been able to come to the hospital.

Liao Xue felt her whole body go numb, as if drenched and electrified.

"Miss Shen, are you this kind to everyone?"

Shen Qiancheng, looking down at her phone searching for "Can I delete my registration records?" on the town hospital's network, looked up.

"Go register yourself. Can't you see I'm busy?"

In fact, Shen Qiancheng hadn't even heard what Liao Xue said. She thought Liao Xue was afraid of the registration process.

After a sigh, she wanted to offer words of comfort, but Liao Xue had already vanished from sight.

With a leg injury, how could she walk so fast?

Liao Xue pressed herself against the hospital's cold white wall, clutching Shen Qiancheng's ID in one hand, her other hand over her chest.

Her heart was beating so fast she suspected it might be overloading.

Miss Shen was truly someone with a hard mouth but a soft heart.

Seeing that the record couldn't be deleted, Shen Qiancheng closed her eyes and let out a long sigh.

She still needed to leave this place quickly; otherwise, if Shi Jianren found out about her visit to the township hospital, he would soon come rushing over to catch her.

Shen Qiancheng calculated the time—she could stay at most three more days.

A bottle of orange juice with pulp was handed to her by a hand.

Shen Qiancheng followed the bottle up to see Liao Xue's shyly smiling face.

Shen Qiancheng didn't take it and asked, "You got registered that quickly?"

Liao Xue thrust the orange juice into Shen Qiancheng's hand and stammered, "Shen Qiancheng... Miss Shen, your name is really beautiful."

What the hell!

Shen Qiancheng's eyes widened.

How could she have forgotten when she handed over her ID!

Shen Qiancheng clucked her tongue and pursed her lips, wanting nothing more than to slap herself from five minutes ago.

Every time she met Liao Xue, her brain stopped working.

Liao Xue said cautiously, "I won't tell anyone your name. I know you must have your reasons."

Shen Qiancheng gave a bitter laugh, raised the orange juice as if in a toast, and said flatly, "Thanks."

Liao Xue nodded.

Watching Liao Xue's obedient expression, Shen Qiancheng suddenly felt the urge to confide in someone.

But was Liao Xue the right person?

Shen Qiancheng said mysteriously, "Actually, I ran away from home. My father wanted me to marry a bastard, and I didn't agree, so I escaped the marriage. That's why I used the alias Shen Tianqing."

She didn't expect Liao Xue to understand. She just needed someone to talk to.

The next moment, a hand gripped Shen Qiancheng's wrist.

Surprised, she looked up and saw Liao Xue smiling stiffly.

"It will all pass."

Shen Qiancheng nodded without thinking, the orange juice in her hand clear and crystalline.

Soon it was Liao Xue's turn—or rather, Shen Qiancheng's.

After waiting for the previous elderly woman to finish her chat with the doctor and leave, Shen Qiancheng followed Liao Xue into the room.

The orthopedic doctor, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and not even in his white coat, smiled warmly. "What seems to be the problem?"

Shen Qiancheng replied rudely, "Can't you see she's limping like that?"

The doctor wasn't offended. Township doctors had been toughened by the elderly and middle-aged women who came through, and were immune to people like Shen Qiancheng.

"Let's take an X-ray first to see the fracture," the doctor said.

Shen Qiancheng dragged Liao Xue out, but Liao Xue added a quick "Thank you, doctor."

Shen Qiancheng was worried the doctor might talk more to Liao Xue and remember the name Shen Qiancheng.

Liao Xue fidgeted with her fingers. "I didn't get the order sheet."

Shen Qiancheng's eyes widened. "You're not expecting me to go get it for you, are you?"

Liao Xue waved her hands frantically. "No, no, no, I'll go get it myself."

Shen Qiancheng said in exasperation, "Then don't report to me."

With that, she turned and strode off.

By the time Liao Xue fetched the sheet and came out, Shen Qiancheng was nowhere to be found.

Liao Xue was about to search for her when the CT technician, who had been idle for quite some time and was excited to finally have a patient, called out Liao Xue's name repeatedly in a hurried tone.

Liao Xue was the kind of person who would blush from her neck to her cheeks if called on in class. Being called out loudly again and again in public had turned her face into a ripe tomato.

Seeing Liao Xue walking away, Shen Qiancheng returned to the orthopedic clinic door and gave a rare knock.

The doctor was cleaning his glasses and answered casually, "Come in."

When he saw it was Shen Qiancheng, he raised an eyebrow. "Can't find the CT room? Out the door, turn right, north side of the courtyard."

Shen Qiancheng smiled without a word and gently closed the door.

"I need to discuss something with you."

The doctor, sensing that it sounded more like a threat than a discussion, felt his heart leap into his throat as Shen Qiancheng closed the door.

"What do you want?"

By the afternoon, the sunlight had softened.

Liao Xue finished her CT scan, and since the technician was free, he let her wait a bit for the report.

An hour later, when Liao Xue finally received the report, she quietly thanked him and hurried back to find Shen Qiancheng.

Crossing the small courtyard, she saw Shen Qiancheng sitting under the big tree at the entrance, the shadows of leaves falling across her, making her seem to radiate a gentle, benevolent light.

As soon as Shen Qiancheng spotted Liao Xue, she frowned. "Hurry up."

Liao Xue pressed her lips together and jogged over.

"Got the report?"

Shen Qiancheng took the X-ray film, staring at the dark shape with white bone projections, not understanding a thing.

"Let's go see the doctor."

The orthopedic doctor was filling a cup with water. "Give me a minute."

Liao Xue nodded silently and stood by obediently, while Shen Qiancheng sat in a chair looking quite docile.

The doctor studied the film for a moment, frowning. "The bone hadn't healed yet, and it cracked again. You'll need a cast; the current one has to come off. How did you fall?"

Liao Xue's fingers were clenched tightly the whole time. At the doctor's question, she evasively answered, "I wasn't paying attention on the mountain and fell."

The doctor nodded, seeming unconcerned with the answer, set down the film, and began to write a prescription.

"Take this to the payment desk."

The form in front of her had illegible scrawls that Liao Xue couldn't make out. She habitually looked at the area where the amount should be written.

The doctor added, "You'll need to go to the billing office to confirm the amount before paying."

Meaning the amount wasn't written on it.

Clutching the prescription, Liao Xue dared to ask, "Doctor, roughly how much will it be?"

The doctor's eyes, hidden behind his glasses, instinctively glanced at Shen Qiancheng, then hesitated.

"Around a hundred or so."

A hundred or so?

Liao Xue doubted it. Even the village clinic charged several thousand; the town hospital would only be more expensive, not less.

Liao Xue wanted to ask more, but Shen Qiancheng, who had been silent, interrupted. "I have medical insurance, so I'll be reimbursed at a higher rate."

So that was it.

Liao Xue sighed in relief, but in her mind, she added another few thousand to her tally.

When would she ever repay Shen Qiancheng?

Shen Qiancheng went to pay while Liao Xue got her cast applied.

The casting went smoothly, and since it was getting late, the two prepared to head home.

Passing by a pharmacy, Shen Qiancheng noticed the supplements on display inside—cordyceps, donkey-hide gelatin, and the like. She shook Liao Xue's arm to signal her to stop.

Liao Xue pulled the tricycle to a stop and saw the pharmacy.

This pharmacy's medicines were ridiculously expensive and, since its opening, had never actually sold a single thing.

Afraid Shen Qiancheng would buy her some medication and get ripped off by the clerk, Liao Xue grabbed at Shen Qiancheng's clothes.

"My leg doesn't need medicine..."

Shen Qiancheng often looked at her like she was an idiot, and she was giving her that look now.

Liao Xue instinctively shrank back.

Shen Qiancheng smacked Liao Xue lightly on the head. "Why do you always think so highly of yourself? I'm being poisoned by the Village Chief's wife's cooking and need to replenish myself."

With that, she crossed her arms and headed into the pharmacy, leaving Liao Xue standing there, now having to hunt for discount tickets.

Shen Qiancheng felt a pang of desolation, but then her wrist was suddenly grabbed.

"I'll cook for you."