I stared at the three words she’d written and got lost in them for a moment. Then I noticed her pen had stopped moving. I froze for a second, only then realizing she was deep in thought, the pen tip hovering over the gender box.

After a long while, she carefully wrote one word.

Male.

I leaned in close, watching Minghai seriously and trying not to let the nurse at the front desk hear me. “Pat your crotch and answer me honestly. Are you a man right now?”

Minghai turned her head and stared at me without a word. After a while, she scratched out the word with a few messy strokes and wrote:

Female.

The clinic for the CT scan was on the fourth floor. I took Minghai upstairs and asked a doctor from another department. He said it was at the very end of the hallway, then left.

When we got to the CT room, the doctor told me to step outside. He said the scan would take about five minutes and told me to wait outside.

I didn’t want to just stand around, so I hurried downstairs and smoked more than half a cigarette. By the time I came back up, Minghai was already done.

When I got upstairs, I saw her leaning by the window, not wearing her glasses, staring outside without saying a word. She gave off a slightly melancholy feeling. Without her glasses, she didn’t seem so cold and unapproachable.

I looked at her a few more times.

The doctor was waiting by the door with the film. When he saw me, he pushed up his glasses and came over with the CT images. I couldn’t understand a thing, but I still put on a deeply focused expression. The doctor pushed up his glasses again and said thoughtfully, “Take a look. The liver area is normal. No shadows... Just remember to watch your schedule. Make sure you get proper rest. As for diet, eat more fruit...”

I nodded again and again. “Got it!”

“It’s nothing serious. Go downstairs and get a glucose drip. She should be discharged this afternoon.”

I took the slip he handed over and smiled. “Thank you. Sorry for the trouble. Really, thank you...”

I led Minghai downstairs to get the IV. Since she was fine, I finally relaxed.

Still, I really couldn’t understand it. Just how much staying up did it take to end up in a coma?

We went down to the first floor. The big hospital had an infusion room, kind of like an outpatient ward. When we went in, the room was quiet. Dozens of beds were lined up inside. Sunlight from outside fell across the floor, and you could clearly see the dust floating in the air.

At this hour, most of the people getting drips were kids with colds or elderly people in poor health. There weren’t many of them, just a few. The room was especially quiet. The old people and children with IVs were all asleep. Even the kids who were awake didn’t make a sound. They just sat there playing on their phones.

Minghai found a bed by the window. She slowly took off her shoes, lifted the blanket, and got into bed.

I let out a sigh and stood beside her bed. She turned the pillow up to the headboard, picked a comfortable position, pulled the blanket over herself, lowered her eyes to the bedding, and stayed silent. From where I stood, the way she lowered her eyes made her look especially obedient.

Behind the curtain, an unfamiliar young nurse took out a syringe and hurriedly mixed things from bottle after bottle.

In the noon sunlight, Minghai sat turned slightly toward the light. Her whole body seemed rimmed in gold. She lowered her eyes and brushed the hair from her forehead. Under that blazing midday sun, her eyes reflected a soft sheen, as if covered by a thin film of water, shimmering with color.

Everyone in the ward was asleep. It was so quiet that the only sound was that little nurse fussing with the bottles.

I stood to the side and opened my mouth, wanting to find something to talk about. Then I remembered how little Minghai liked idle chatter, so I shut it again.

Minghai still stared straight at the bedsheet. Her eyes, usually so deep they seemed to swallow all light, now glimmered under the sun. They looked moist and luminous. She didn’t seem as calm as usual. Instead, there was a trace of softness and sorrow.

I watched her for a while and slowly let out a sigh.

The ward was quiet, so I could only speak softly. “You gonna keep staying up late after this?”

Minghai said nothing. She lifted her head and looked at me, my reflection sitting in her gentle eyes—

The moment those eyes turned toward me, I suddenly found them hard to meet. For no reason at all, I lowered my head and stared at the harsh sunlight on the floor tiles.

The atmosphere started getting weird again.

I stood there a while, then dragged over a chair and sat beside Minghai’s bed. By then, the little nurse behind the curtain had finished preparing the IV. She came over carrying the stand with the hanging bottle and stopped by the bed. I shifted aside to make room for her.

This wasn’t my first or second time at this hospital. It was a small city, and even the big hospital didn’t have that many people. After coming often enough, you started to become a familiar face.

This little nurse looked pretty unfamiliar.

She looked at the IV bottle for a while, then at the needle for a while. Then she actually stared at the needle in a daze before finally adjusting the roller clamp seriously.

Holding the tourniquet awkwardly, she said in a soft voice, “Sorry... c-could you hold out your hand?”

Minghai slipped one arm out from under the blanket.

I stared at that arm.

It was very thin, with a sickly pale color to it. The veins in her hand were especially clear, buried under the skin like faint blue lines.

I sat there to the side as the little nurse lifted Minghai’s wrist, tied on the tourniquet, and rubbed the back of her hand with an alcohol swab for a while. After a moment, she glanced at Minghai awkwardly, picked up the thin needle, and slowly inserted it into the back of her hand.

I sighed and looked out the window—

When I’d gone out to smoke earlier, I’d stopped by the third floor to check on the old man... It was almost noon, and he still hadn’t gotten up. He was lying on his side in bed, asleep.

Looks like... there really isn’t much time left.

I was lost in thought when Minghai frowned slightly and suddenly said, “Wrong spot.”

I froze and looked at the little nurse. She jumped, hurriedly pulled the IV needle back out, then anxiously wiped the back of Minghai’s hand with an alcohol swab. I stayed silent, watching that swab slowly stain a pale red. The little nurse apologized over and over. “I’m sorry... I’m sorry, I’m so sorry...”

Minghai didn’t say anything. She stared at the back of her hand and said, “Aim for the vein.”

The little nurse nodded repeatedly and dabbed again at the needle mark on Minghai’s hand, gripping the needle handle in a bit of a panic.

Watching from the side, I couldn’t help asking, “Where’s the nurse from before?”

The little nurse slowly pushed the needle into the back of Minghai’s hand again and said softly, “Their lunch break is over... they’re upstairs eating...”

Minghai stared at the back of her hand and cut her off. “Wrong again.”

This time, even I could tell it was definitely wrong. Once the needle went in, blood started flowing backward from the back of Minghai’s hand into the tube. It was almost backing up into the IV line.

I took a deep breath.

Minghai was already built like she barely had any blood in her. At this rate, they were gonna drain her dry.

The little nurse’s face instantly flushed red. Without a word, she hurriedly pulled the needle out again. She probably didn’t do it right, because I clearly saw Minghai frown.

The little nurse wiped the IV needle with an alcohol swab and kept apologizing in a low, timid voice. Then she looked up and murmured, “I’m sorry, I’m really sorry... Um, sorry, could we use the other hand...?”

I slowly stood up and said coldly, “What, you think people’s hands are carrots? You just stab wherever the hell you want? Go call the other nurse down here. Hurry up.”

The little nurse froze. She stood there holding the IV needle, head lowered, not saying anything. Then she said softly, “I’m really sorry... I-I haven’t finished my internship yet...”

You haven’t even passed your internship and you’re out here sticking needles in people?

I was already in a rotten mood. Hearing that, I almost started cursing again. Minghai lifted her head, looked calmly into my eyes, and said, “Apologize to her.”

The little nurse froze when she heard that. She probably wanted to say it wasn’t necessary, but was afraid I’d keep yelling at her, so she could only turn and look at me timidly.

I froze too. I stared at the two needle marks on the back of Minghai’s hand, then looked up into her eyes—

Those eyes were completely still, shining bright under the sun. Her face was especially pale, her expression serious, and her ink-black long hair was tucked behind her ear.

We looked at each other for a while. Then Minghai repeated herself. “It was wrong for you to curse at her. Apologize.”

That serious expression rarely appeared on Minghai’s face. For a moment, I had nothing to say.

I took a deep breath, turned my head, and could only suppress my voice as I said to the little nurse, “Fine. Sorry...”

Then I added, “And, uh... go get that nurse from upstairs. Hurry. The one surnamed Wang. The nurse who gave Old Master Han on the third floor his IV...”

The little nurse nodded timidly and was just about to turn around when Minghai stopped her. The nurse quickly turned back. Minghai beckoned with her hand and said, “No need to trouble them. Medical staff are under a lot of pressure. We can understand that too... You come do it. I’ll give you a chance to practice.”

The little nurse stood there in a daze for a while and timidly glanced at me.

The moment I heard that, I just looked away, speechless. I couldn’t talk Minghai out of it, so I didn’t bother trying. I knew exactly how stubborn she could get.

The little nurse stood there, completely at a loss.

I turned back to look at Minghai, wanting to say something. She was sitting on the bed, head tilted slightly, looking straight at me. The moment I met those bottomless eyes, I immediately lowered my head and waved irritably to the side. “Come on... then it’s you. Do the needle.”

The little nurse stood there blankly for a moment, then walked over again carrying the IV.

Minghai held out her other hand and said softly, “Slowly. Aim for the vein. Even if you miss, it’s okay...”

I sat back down in the chair and said sourly, “If you miss again, I’m writing a complaint letter. Figure it out yourself.”

Minghai seemed to let out a quiet laugh. “Don’t listen to him.”

The little nurse tied the tourniquet around Minghai’s right hand, wiped the needle with alcohol, and swallowed.

Minghai raised her wrist and said softly, “When you have time, think about why you chose to become a nurse in the first place... Don’t panic when trouble comes. And don’t forget why you started.”

The little nurse’s hand visibly paused.

I sat at the foot of the bed, gloomily staring at her back. I couldn’t really see how the needle was going in. I only saw the little nurse carefully holding Minghai’s wrist—

After a while, Minghai nodded and said softly, “See? That’s how it should be.”

The little nurse instantly let out a breath of relief. She peeled off the medical tape stuck to her wrist, pressed the needle in place on Minghai’s wrist, and taped down the tube. As she adjusted the IV line, she gave Minghai an embarrassed smile. Her eyes were earnest as she said, “I’m really sorry about today... After I finish my internship, I’ll work hard to become a good nurse...!”

Minghai nodded, lightly lifted her wrist, and said, “Do your best.”