PANT - Chapter 4
Chapter 4
When people are desperate and on the verge of collapse, they tend to cling to whatever is in front of them, like a drowning person grasping at the last straw.
It’s an instinct that follows a loss of emotional control.
Su Tianxue quickly composed herself and stemmed her tears. She forced herself to calm down, only to realize the person she was holding was Shi Ning.
Su Tianxue: “.......?”
She pushed Shi Ning away, said a word of thanks, and got up to leave.
Seeing her act as if she were trying to shake off a piece of sticky plaster, Shi Ning smiled. The corner of her mouth hooked up as she said to Su Tianxue, “Miss Su, you seemed to enjoy crying in my arms just now. Why the sudden change of heart?”
What was she supposed to say?
She suspected Su Tianxue had been a frying pan in her past life, otherwise how could her expression flip so fast? Even the eggs she fried at home didn’t change as quickly as Su Tianxue’s face.
Su Tianxue said coldly, “My apologies.” She added, “I didn’t mean to.”
Shi Ning pouted. “My clothes are dirty.”
She stood up and swayed in front of Su Tianxue, showing her the messy state of her clothes. Not only was the back covered in dust from sitting on the ground, but the front was soaked with Su Tianxue’s tears.
Su Tianxue: “.......If necessary, madam, I will compensate you.”
Su Tianxue was in no mood to entertain Shi Ning right now.
“Compensate me?” Hearing her words, Shi Ning couldn’t help but laugh. She was discovering that Su Tianxue amused her quite often. The woman spoke with a kind of chilly humor that always made her feel an urge to find a way to shut her up, or perhaps, make her speak in a different tone.
Shi Ning asked Su Tianxue, “Miss Su, do you know how much these clothes cost?”
She grabbed Su Tianxue’s wrist, pulling her into her arms, and whispered in her ear, “For me to sleep with you once, it’s a hundred thousand. If you want to compensate me for my clothes, you’ll have to be slept with by me another seven or eight times.”
She deliberately provoked her, and sure enough, Su Tianxue’s eyes filled with anger and disgust. Her expression dropped like a sudden plunge in temperature, and she shoved Shi Ning away with considerable force.
Shi Ning didn’t mind. She brushed the dust off her clothes and looked at Su Tianxue, asking curiously, “So, Miss Su, can you tell me why you were squatting on the side of the road crying just now?”
“Thank you for your concern, but it has nothing to do with you.” Su Tianxue was clearly unwilling to say more. She stood before Shi Ning with her arms crossed, a posture of resistance. She walked toward the curb and raised her hand to hail a taxi, but it was extremely difficult to get a cab in this area, especially now during rush hour when vehicles were scarce.
Noticing Su Tianxue’s anxiousness, Shi Ning reached into her pocket, pulled out a car key, and dangled it from her fingertip, waving it in front of Su Tianxue. As if coaxing a puppy, she said, “Miss Su, care to get in my car?”
Su Tianxue stared at her for a long while. Just when Shi Ning thought she was about to refuse, Su Tianxue said, “I’ll have to trouble you.”
That was beyond Shi Ning’s expectations.
She hadn’t expected Su Tianxue to give in so quickly, which led her to surmise that Su Tianxue was indeed in a hurry for something urgent.
She led Su Tianxue to the parking garage, opened the front passenger door for her, and then returned to the driver’s seat.
Shi Ning stepped on the gas. As the car pulled out, the window wasn’t fully closed, and the wind lifted her red hair, making it dance like flames.
She asked, “Where to?”
Su Tianxue said, “City Center Hospital.”
Hearing this destination, Shi Ning had a good idea of the situation. She glanced coolly at Su Tianxue. The woman sat in the passenger seat, her hands gripping the seatbelt tightly, her gaze fixed out the window, as if trying to prevent Shi Ning from catching even the slightest hint of her vulnerability.
Based on her memory of the novel’s plot, Shi Ning could guess that something had likely happened to Su Tianxue’s grandmother.
Sure enough, after they arrived at the hospital, Su Tianxue completely ignored her, a whole living person, and rushed straight upstairs. Shi Ning followed close behind and, from her conversation with the doctor, learned the terrible news.
Just a short while ago, Su Tianxue’s grandmother had been declared dead after resuscitation efforts failed.
The reason Su Tianxue had been squatting on the street like that was probably because she had just received the call from the hospital. After processing it for a while, she couldn’t hold back her emotions and finally broke down crying.
She had cast aside all her dignity, hoping to save her grandmother’s life.
Who knew that all she would receive in the end was a death notice.
People came and went in the hospital, the beds were crowded, and doctors and nurses hurried by with anxious steps. Only Su Tianxue stood frozen in place. Her silhouette was cold and detached, yet tinged with a hint of desolation. Shi Ning just watched her.
She was probably too much of a sucker for a pretty face, as she felt an impulse to go over and wrap her arms around Su Tianxue. But she knew that if she actually did, she wouldn’t be met with Su Tianxue pouring her heart out like a delicate bird, but rather with a cold glare or even a punch.
Why ask for trouble? Su Tianxue probably didn’t want to see her right now anyway.
She wanted to smoke a cigarette, but then remembered this was a hospital and stopped herself. This was the second time today she had taken out a cigarette but hadn’t smoked it. Shi Ning decided to put the blame for this on Su Tianxue’s head.
Su Tianxue stood before the doctor. After he offered his condolences, she calmly looked up and asked politely, “Hello, may I see the surgical records or a video recording?”
The doctor understood what Su Tianxue was implying and replied guiltily, “I’m sorry, Miss Su, I can’t fulfill your request. But I assure you, we all did our best. It’s just that it happened so suddenly-”
Su Tianxue pressed her lips together. “Then can I see her medical records?”
The doctor was helpless. “I’m sorry.”
Su Tianxue didn’t insist. “Alright, I understand.”
Seeing Su Tianxue’s somewhat dejected state, Shi Ning couldn’t help but speak up. “Article 16 of the ‘Regulations on the Prevention and Handling of Medical Disputes,’ No. 701, states that patients have the right to review and copy their outpatient medical records, admission notes, temperature charts, doctor’s orders, laboratory test results, medical imaging data, consent forms for special examinations, surgical consent forms, surgical and anesthesia records, pathology reports, and so on.”
“If the patient has died, their next of kin may, in accordance with the provisions of these regulations, review and copy the medical records.”
Shi Ning had handled a medical malpractice case before, so she knew these regulations like the back of her hand and could recite them from memory.
The doctor was stunned. He hadn’t expected someone so professional to show up; he was completely baffled. The young doctor hadn’t dealt with many disputes before and was now a little flustered. He looked at Su Tianxue. “Miss Su, is this your lawyer?”
Su Tianxue shook her head. “I don’t know her.”
Shi Ning: “.......”
You’ve really got some nerve, Su Tianxue.
Biting the hand that feeds you! No good deed goes unpunished!
Hearing Su Tianxue’s reply, the doctor was even more confused and looked at Shi Ning. Shi Ning forced a smile. “I’m just an unremarkable legal enthusiast who happened to be passing by.”
The doctor breathed a sigh of relief and continued explaining the situation to Su Tianxue. Su Tianxue listened patiently, understanding that it was all fated. Whether it was her, her grandmother, or the medical staff, everyone had done their best.
She pursed her lips, bowed, and said to the doctor sincerely, “Thank you. I know we all did everything we could.”
“I’ll come by later to handle the body. Thank you for your hard work.” After saying this, she turned and walked to the end of the corridor.
Shi Ning followed and offered her a cigarette. “Smoke?”
Su Tianxue shook her head. She felt a bit cold standing in the draft, so she rubbed her arms.
“Thank you. I don’t smoke,” she said.
Shi Ning took off her jacket and handed it to Su Tianxue, who seemed a little hesitant.
Shi Ning said, “You’ve already gotten it dirty anyway. I don’t want this jacket anymore, so you might as well take it.”
Hearing this, Su Tianxue didn’t act coy and accepted the jacket, putting it on.
It was strange.
The woman’s jacket had a warm scent. The scent of the ocean, which had made her uncomfortable before, now enveloped her like the embrace of Mother Nature.
Shi Ning observed her expression. “What, fallen in love with my jacket?”
Su Tianxue: ......She shouldn’t have let her thoughts wander.
Shi Ning: “I’ll send you the brand of laundry detergent when we get back.”
Hearing her nonsensical words, Su Tianxue’s perpetually gloomy mood suddenly lifted. Her eyes curved, and when she smiled, it was like a spring breeze blowing through a snowy winter night, melting everything.
Shi Ning had been about to light a cigarette, but remembering Su Tianxue’s words about not smoking, she put it away again. She said to Su Tianxue, “Why did you want the medical records and surgical report just now?”
Su Tianxue: “.......”
Shi Ning: “Don’t want to talk about it?”
Su Tianxue: “It’s nothing. It just didn’t feel real, and I couldn’t accept it. But I’ve calmed down now. What about you, were those regulations you recited real?”
Having her professional expertise questioned annoyed Shi Ning. She took out her phone to search for the clause, only to discover… that in this damn ABO world, the laws were slightly different from her previous world. That article really didn’t exist.
Seeing her expression, Su Tianxue shook her head and softly uttered two words: “Liar.”
It was clearly a derogatory term, but when Su Tianxue said it, Shi Ning felt it took on a different flavor, carrying a hint of playful reproach.
She couldn’t be bothered to explain. Shoving her hands in her pockets, she tilted her head up and looked ahead. “Yeah, I’m a big liar. So don’t believe anything I say.”
Su Tianxue also looked ahead. “I’m not that stupid.”
Shi Ning clicked her tongue and said no more. She stood with her in the corridor, watching the various people in the hospital courtyard.
Su Tianxue suddenly said, “That money isn’t needed anymore. I’ll transfer it back to you in a bit.”
Shi Ning hadn’t expected her to offer a refund.
She teased her, “Don’t. What if there’s a next time?”
Su Tianxue shot her a sideways glance. “Who would have a next time with you?”
Shi Ning was about to retort when a commotion erupted behind them. Some family members had come to cause trouble.
At first, Shi Ning thought the chaos had nothing to do with her, until she heard Su Tianxue’s name.
She turned around to see an extremely fat, heavily bearded man accompanied by a woman as frail as a willow branch. Both looked ferocious and extremely agitated. The man opened his mouth and said, “Su Tianxue, where’s your grandmother? We need to see her about something.”
Su Tianxue said, “Oh,” and pointed upstairs.
The man asked menacingly, “Which floor?”
Su Tianxue’s eyes were like ice as her red lips parted slightly. “The rooftop.”
Shi Ning instantly understood what she meant and burst out laughing.
This woman, she thought, just had to say the most shocking things. Just like in bed-she always said the most unexpected things, possessing a natural, deadpan humor. Interesting, really interesting.
Seeing the large man glare at her again, Shi Ning quickly covered her mouth and made a “please continue” gesture. “You guys go on, go on.”
She wanted to see how Su Tianxue would handle this. A person as cold as her didn’t seem like the type to get into a red-faced shouting match with these two vicious-looking people. What would she do?
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