Chapter 28

Then the ward door opened again. A very beautiful woman came in—the “head nurse,” it seemed.
When she saw Jiang Shan was awake she looked surprised, then smiled. “You’re awake. How do you feel?”
Jiang Shan found she was wearing a hospital gown. She had been cleaned up and changed.
The head nurse sat on the edge of the bed. She had a pleasant smell of hand soap. Jiang Shan didn’t know what she had been through—even hand soap smelled good now.
“Hello. I’m Zhang Wanqiu. You can call me Nurse Zhang or Dr. Zhang.”
Some patients couldn’t tell nurse from doctor; the way she said it put Jiang Shan at ease.
Jiang Shan opened her mouth. Her voice came out hoarse. “Where am I?”
Nurse Zhang paused, then seemed to understand Jiang Shan was still confused. She explained patiently: “This is Songshan Hospital. Dr. Wei’s people brought you here. You had a high fever when you arrived…”
In Jiang Shan’s memory she had never heard of Songshan Hospital. So where was this? She still didn’t know.
She looked at Zhang Wanqiu. “Is this Zicheng?”
Zicheng was her city. She wanted to know where she had been taken.
Nurse Zhang paused before saying quietly: “This is Jingang.”
Jiang Shan kept her gaze level. She said nothing for a long time. Jingang? If she remembered right, there was only one place called Jingang—the capital.
She had been brought to the capital?
Nurse Zhang tried to reassure her again: “Dr. Wei asked us to take good care of you. Don’t worry. We’ll do our best to treat you.”
Jiang Shan was no stranger to those words. It was like going back in time. All her life she had heard: We’ll do our best to treat you.
She knew she was different from other cancer patients. From the time she could remember she had been told she was terminally ill. Before she was sixteen she had lived in the orphanage. Under welfare, doctors came every month for free clinics. The way they looked at her had always been shock.
Nurse Zhang couldn’t have known that her normal words of comfort would affect Jiang Shan so strongly.
Jiang Shan frowned and tried to sit up. She even threw off the blanket.
She hadn’t expected to end up in a hospital bed again. The one thing she had most wanted to escape in her life was a sickbed.
“… I need the toilet…” She pushed Zhang Wanqiu’s hand away with effort.
Nurse Zhang had to stand quickly. “The washroom is down the corridor. I’ll have someone take you…”
Jiang Shan didn’t wait. She headed straight for the door. Zhang Wanqiu followed closely, as if afraid she would fall.
The moment Jiang Shan stepped out of the ward she stopped and stared at the long corridor. No one was there. All the ward doors were closed. You couldn’t tell if anyone was inside.
Zhang Wanqiu came out after her. She looked past Jiang Shan’s shoulder at the empty corridor. “The washroom is the other way.”
Jiang Shan slowly turned. Nurse Zhang was still gentle. She asked hesitantly: “Do you still need the washroom? I’ll take you.”
This time Jiang Shan didn’t refuse. Zhang Wanqiu led the way. “This way.”
Jiang Shan had rushed out of bed without shoes, but she had thick socks on, so her footsteps were silent. Nurse Zhang… was wearing white slippers, no socks. You could see her bare heels.