Chapter 84
The doctor initially judged it to be a superficial second-degree scald. Burns like that weren’t especially difficult to treat: disinfect it, apply ointment, bandage it... Lin Baixin’s burn only looked alarming. The blisters were fairly large, but she had handled the initial care at home pretty well, so even though treatment had been delayed a little in the middle, it hadn’t affected much.
Still, the whole process was a trial. For the next half month, she would need a dressing change every day, along with monitoring the wound’s changes. If it worsened, the treatment plan would have to be adjusted accordingly.
After a brief examination, the doctor said she should stay in the hospital for two days first. If nothing else came up by the day after tomorrow, she could be discharged, go home, and then come back regularly for dressing changes. The important thing was that the wound must not get wet; during recovery, she should try not to use her hand too much, and the blisters would be dealt with later depending on the situation.
Of course, she didn’t have to stay. It wasn’t yet at the point where hospitalization was absolutely necessary. The burn ward happened to have a few empty beds recently; if the beds were full, they generally wouldn’t allow admission.
Lin Baixin chose to stay. She followed the doctor’s advice; afterward, the doctor prescribed some anti-inflammatory medicine and ordered an IV as well.
“Can a family member come take care of you? If so, try to have one come,” the doctor said. “You burned your right hand, so with only your left hand, things are definitely inconvenient. It’ll limit what you can do.”
No relatives could come. Lin Qi and the others weren’t around, and the rest were just friends; she couldn’t exactly call up friends who were busy with their own families or work. That wouldn’t do.
Lin Baixin handled the admission paperwork herself, and went to collect the medicine herself too. But when she finally got to the window after standing in line, the staff told her it had already been handled; someone had just brought all the paperwork up to the inpatient ward.
“Did you bring your ID card? Perfect timing; we can fill in the missing documents now so you won’t have to come back down later,” the staff member said.
There was no need to ask who had done it. Normally, the hospital wouldn’t process admission without identification unless someone from inside the hospital had specifically come to notify them.
Lin Baixin picked up the medicine herself. When she went back upstairs, she was assigned to a four-bed room; by the window, there were already two other patients.
A nurse came in. She seemed to know Lin Baixin and was very gentle with her. At the end, she even said specially, “Miss Lin, we still have private rooms in the inpatient ward. If you need one, just let me know anytime and I’ll arrange it for you.”
A four-bed room was definitely far worse than a private room; it was hard to get any real rest. The other two patients in the room were also burn victims, and neither of them had much tolerance for pain. One kept groaning “ow,” while the other would suck in a sharp breath and let it out heavily now and then. Maybe it was annoying after hearing it for too long, and the enclosed room made the air feel stuffy, thick with the smell of disinfectant mixed with medicine and other odors. Lin Baixin couldn’t help frowning; her mood grew restless, and only then did the pain on the back of her hand start to register more clearly. By this point, the scalded area was finally burning hot and stinging like needles.
If there was a private room available, she might as well switch. She still had to stay two days; if this went on, she wouldn’t be able to stand it.
Lin Baixin didn’t want to trouble the nurse from earlier, so she handled the transfer herself. It was a small matter; no need to bother people.
The room transfer went smoothly. She went straight to the doctor and got in line. Since there happened to be an empty private room, there was no long wait, and she moved in that afternoon.
When she filled out the application forms, her left hand made writing inconvenient, so she was a little slow. During that time, another young woman came over. Lin Baixin happened to glance at her and instinctively thought she looked familiar. It took her a while to remember the girl was also a student of Cui Zhen’s; they had met her last time at the private dining place.
The young woman had also come to help someone reserve a private room. She had already found the right person, but when she turned and saw Lin Baixin, she froze. At the time, she didn’t say anything immediately; later, she quietly went back to the person she had just contacted and canceled the reservation.
Lin Baixin shouldn’t have known about that. The girl only passed by her, and there wasn’t any further interaction between them. It was only after Lin Baixin signed the forms and submitted the application that she overheard the staff talking.
“Why are there so many people lining up for private rooms today? Two from dermatology already came to ask. Xixi just said to keep one reserved.”
“Are they all asking for private rooms?”
“No, probably just asking around. Anyway, if they really come, we’ll check again then and wait a bit longer.”
“Seriously, in the last two days the dermatology department has already sent over several people who registered under the wrong specialty. It’s true; those departments seem hard to tell apart. Every few days someone signs up for the wrong one.”
With half-lidded eyes, Lin Baixin, no matter how slow she usually was, should have understood what was going on by now.
Once she got into the private room, the cafeteria staff even brought her a meal. In theory, private rooms didn’t include meals, and Lin Baixin hadn’t had time to order any. The cafeteria worker looked at the slip and said, “Dr. Cui ordered this for you. It was sent here for you.”
Some things were apparently not what Lin Baixin had thought. Everyone asking about private rooms had been trying to reserve one for her in advance, but the person doing it was not the one she had assumed. The one who asked about the private room was Cui Zhen; Cui Zhen was the one who contacted the burn unit, and even that nurse named Xixi was in touch with her.
Later that evening, Qiu Qiu called through a video chat. She had learned from Cui Zhen that Lin Baixin had been scalded and was worried that Lin Baixin might not be able to manage alone in the hospital, so she hurried to call and check on her.
Now that she knew the things were actually done by Cui Zhen, Lin Baixin unconsciously pressed her lips together, then shook her head and said softly, “It’s nothing. It’s okay. I only got a little bit on the back of my hand. I should be fine before long.”
“Lin Qi and the others aren’t there, and you’re all by yourself. What are you going to do? Why don’t I come keep you company?” Qiu Qiu offered warmly.
Lin Baixin refused. Qiu Qiu still had work, and she had a young daughter too; how could she make someone leave their job and family to take care of her?
“I hired a caregiver. I can handle it. Really, it’s nothing serious right now. If I need help later, I’ll look for you,” Lin Baixin said. “Thanks to Dr. Cui from your family this time. Once I’m discharged, I’ll treat you all to dinner.”
“Oh, look at you, getting polite with me now. We didn’t even do much, so don’t be so distant. We’ve been classmates for so many years; isn’t our friendship worth doing this little thing for you? You’re just too burdened in your heart,” Qiu Qiu said with a smile. She promised she would definitely find time to come later and visit her.
After the video call ended, Lin Qi and the others called one after another. It was only a small burn, and Lin Baixin herself hadn’t even had time to tell anyone, yet somehow everyone knew already. By evening, even Zhou Jin, far away in Jincheng, was calling nonstop, worried out of his mind.
“Jie, what happened to you? How did you get burned like that? You scared us to death; I was nearly half scared stiff. You really aren’t badly hurt? You’re already hospitalized and that still doesn’t count as serious? Are you guys lying to us?” Zhou Jin rattled on without stopping, making Lin Baixin’s ears hurt.
She held the phone farther away and switched on speaker. “Who told you I was in the hospital?”
“No one, I heard it,” Zhou Jin replied. After a pause, he quickly changed his answer. “Sister Lin Qi told me. I went to her place this afternoon and heard her talk about it. If Sister Lin Qi hadn’t told me, you definitely would’ve hidden it from us.”
“Uncle Zhao and the others know too?”
“Mm-hm.”
The fact that she had been hospitalized had spread everywhere, and Lin Baixin had a headache. More than that, she couldn’t handle the calls of concern one after another. After Zhou Jin, Uncle Zhao and the others followed in quick succession, and the private room hadn’t had a moment’s peace since she moved in.
But once all the calls were finally over, the flood of concern suddenly cut off. She was the only one left in the room; the caregiver had gone out for a while, and everything instantly felt empty.
Aside from bringing her here, Yu Min had left and never appeared again.
Several times, footsteps sounded at the door. Lin Baixin looked up, but each time it was just medical staff hurrying past. Not long after, a nurse came in and checked the other parts of her hand again, confirming that only the back of her hand was scalded and that nowhere else had shown symptoms yet. After asking a few more questions, she left.
Hiring a caregiver was actually rather unnecessary. It wasn’t as if she couldn’t take care of herself; having another person watching over her felt awkward.
After a few rounds of staring at each other with the caregiver, Lin Baixin still had nothing she needed help with. After holding it in for more than ten minutes, she finally couldn’t stand it anymore and said to the caregiver, “I’ll contact you if I need anything. I’ll be staying on my own tonight. Sorry for the trouble.”
Since they had already been hired, the pay would of course still be given. At first the caregiver was embarrassed to be paid for doing nothing, and even if it was only to stay and chat and keep her company, that would have been fine. Unfortunately, Lin Baixin insisted, so the caregiver could only stand up and ask again and again, “I’m really going out?”
“Mm, thank you.”
“Then please rest early. I’ll come again tomorrow morning. If anything comes up, just message me on your phone, and I can come back over.”
Now that she was alone in the room, Lin Baixin sat by the bed. In truth, this place wasn’t much better than the four-bed room. The four-bed room at least had some life to it; here, the smell of disinfectant was even stronger. It was clearly summer, yet the room felt chilly.
She sat there for who knew how long before remembering the real big problem; the thing more troublesome than the burn:
Lu Dagun was a cat at home. These few days, Auntie was on leave and had gone back to her hometown for something urgent, so with no one there, the little one had no one to look after it.
All the things Lu Dagun used, from the litter box to the water dish and food bowl, were automatic. Normally, if no one paid attention to it for two or three days, there usually wouldn’t be much of a problem. But Lin Baixin hadn’t had time to change its water today, and the food had only been topped up last night. She didn’t like giving Lu Dagun too much food at once; if it sat too long, it wouldn’t stay fresh. The little thing itself also didn’t like water or food that had been left out too long. If no one went over tonight to add food and change the water, based on Lu Dagun’s picky habits, it would definitely stubbornly go hungry and thirsty for two or three days without taking a single bite.
She couldn’t find anyone to go take a look... to be exact, she couldn’t find anyone suitable. Lin Baixin hesitated, wondering if she should still stay in the hospital.
While she was still wavering, the same girl who had come earlier to ask about private rooms actually showed up here, knocking on the door and poking half her body in with a large bag in hand.
“Miss Lin.” The girl lowered her voice and called to her. “May I come in?”
Lin Baixin looked up and naturally let her in.
“These are the things Teacher Cui asked me to bring you,” the girl said. “It should be everything you’ll need. Nothing important is missing.”
Inside the bag were some basic daily necessities, enough for two days in the hospital. Lin Baixin’s life skills had been getting more and more rusty lately; she had sat around for half a day and still hadn’t thought to buy these things, spending all her time dealing with phone calls and not thinking at all about how she’d get through the night.
She didn’t know whether the things were bought by Cui Zhen or whether Qiu Qiu bought them and had Cui Zhen deliver them here. The bag was very complete; there were even three towels, slippers, clean underwear, a cup... there was even bottled water inside. Lin Baixin couldn’t have considered things this thoroughly herself. The person who bought them was careful; anything she might need had been included.
After accepting the things, Lin Baixin only thanked her and didn’t say anything else. Everyone had spent the whole day running around because of her.
The girl said cheerfully, “It wasn’t hard. Dr. Cui treated all of us to milk tea and even gave out red envelopes. We got to benefit from you too.”
As the spouse of a classmate she had only met twice, Cui Zhen really did too much. Lin Baixin didn’t know how to respond for a moment. She wanted to ask more, but after hesitating for a long while, she still said nothing.
After the girl left, less than ten minutes passed before Lin Qi sent a photo with a timestamp and location tag. It was taken in Lin Baixin’s place; in the photo, the water and food had already been changed, and the litter box had been cleaned again. In the center of the picture, Lu Dagun was lying on its back on the floor, acting cute and rolling around comfortably, all four paws in the air, showing its fluffy belly.
Lin Qi: - Rest easy and stay in the hospital. The cat’s handled.
Lin Baixin sent a voice message: “You came back?”
Lin Qi: - No. I figured you probably wouldn’t have time to deal with that, so I found someone to do a home visit and feed the cat.
Lin Qi: - I know I’m great; no need to thank me.
Lin Qi had the password to Lin Baixin’s place, so finding someone to go feed the cat at home was exactly the sort of thing she would do. Lin Baixin didn’t mind her taking matters into her own hands; she really had been dazed, not even thinking of home-visit cat feeding.
But Lu Dagun being so affectionate toward people was rare. Usually it wasn’t even friendly to Auntie, and it ignored Lin Qi and the others too. Maybe because it was already late and no one had come home yet; once it finally saw a person, it changed its nature.
After finishing her chat with Lin Qi, Lin Baixin messaged Qiu Qiu again and thanked her once more.
Qiu Qiu replied instantly: - No need. You’ve thanked me so many times today I’m getting embarrassed.
After sending that, she followed with another message: - And we really didn’t do much.
Probably thinking the second sentence wasn’t quite right, Qiu Qiu quickly retracted it and sent another: - Anyway, if anything comes up, you can tell me. Back when we were in school, you took such good care of me; I still haven’t thanked you properly for that.
The night in the private room was far more uncomfortable than being at home. She rolled around and couldn’t fall asleep; the pain in the back of her hand grew more and more obvious, throbbing in little bursts. The blistered area itself was all right, but the edge of the burn felt as if some invisible force were pulling at the flesh and skin. Lin Baixin got up at least three times that night. When she couldn’t sleep, she scrolled through her phone; when she’d nearly finished browsing everything worth seeing, she got out of bed and walked around, or stood by the window to catch a bit of breeze.
The hospital was quiet that night. The lights downstairs in the inpatient building were bright; most of the surrounding buildings had already sunk into darkness, though a few windows in nearby residences still glowed, answering the sparse stars in the sky.
In the first half of the night, the inpatient ward took in two emergency patients; in the second half, several more arrived. Among them was one especially horrific burn case, both legs charred black with the skin burned away. The patient himself didn’t shout or cry, but the family members following behind him were crying and yelling hysterically.
Lin Baixin heard the family’s shrill sobbing. Not long after, she overheard the nurses’ station discussing it; the burn victim was only twenty-three or twenty-four, a young man. It seemed he had gotten into an argument with his family and acted on impulse, pouring alcohol over himself and setting himself on fire in an attempt to die.
“Sigh, what’s the point? In the end, the one who suffers is still himself. He’s thrown away the rest of his life for nothing. Using such an extreme method still won’t change other people.” The nurse on duty muttered softly, sounding regretful too.
Twenty-three or twenty-four... not much different from Yu Min’s age when she moved out.
That thought flashed through Lin Baixin’s mind, just for an instant.
That age wasn’t really that old, but it wasn’t exactly young either. A lot of young people at that stage had only just graduated and entered society; mentally, most of them were still basically half-grown children, not truly mature yet.
Maybe because the family member’s cries were so abrupt in the middle of the night, Lin Baixin found it even harder to sleep afterward. Once she got used to the pain on the back of her hand, it was manageable; she could bear it. It was just that she kept thinking about that young burn victim, and then about all sorts of messy things.
When she was that age, what had she been doing?
Lin Baixin couldn’t quite remember. It seemed like she had spent those days in a daze, with no goal, no direction, no energy for anything. The only time that felt better was when she went back to Siping County and lived alone in that villa.
...Not alone. There was also Yu Min.
Back then, Yu Min was still in high school. Later on... she stayed in Kyoto, and Yu Min came to Kyoto alone to find her.
People are always impulsive when they’re young; they’re also very fragile.
Lin Baixin suddenly remembered that sentence. She had forgotten where she’d seen it, but it came to her all at once.
After she left, did she live well?
—Lin Baixin didn’t know. She had never really understood.
She forced herself through the night until the sky turned pale fish-belly white. Only after the morning nurse did her rounds did she manage to sleep for a little over an hour. After one night, the blisters had grown much larger, and it already felt as if they were affecting the movement of her fingers.
The dressing change was the same as before. After examining her, the doctor still gave the same answer: keep observing it, and just make sure the wound doesn’t get infected.
That day, Qiu Qiu, who had said she would come, finally arrived. Last night her daughter had been acting up, and Cui Zhen had been on the night shift, so although she had said she’d come, she couldn’t make it. That was why she had come first thing this morning.
Qiu Qiu brought breakfast; there was porridge and a few light side dishes, packed in insulated containers. One look and it was obvious it wasn’t bought outside, but made at home.
The dishes suited Lin Baixin’s taste pretty well, and they tasted fine. Qiu Qiu sat to one side and smiled. When Lin Baixin asked casually whether breakfast had been made by her, Qiu Qiu denied it and didn’t take credit.
“You really think too highly of me. How would I know how to make that?” Qiu Qiu said, brushing it off. “Anyway, someone made it, so don’t worry about who. It’s just breakfast; eat it and relax.”
It would have been better if she hadn’t said that. Once she did, Lin Baixin could no longer relax. Her left hand, still holding the spoon, froze in midair; she suddenly had a faint answer.
It took a long while before she gave a muffled response. Lowering her eyes, Lin Baixin stirred the lean pork porridge in front of her absentmindedly and, pretending not to care, said, “Mm, then help me thank her...”