Chapter 7: No one wants Yilan, I’ll raise her

The girl put away her phone camera, but her voice still held an undeniable excitement.
“It really is you, Jiang Wenting! I love your performance in ‘The City in Spring, Grass and Trees Deep.’ Can I get a photo with you?”

Jiang Wenting’s thoughts were still stuck on the sound of the shutter click.

Xiao Ru decisively rejected the request for her.
“Sorry, you’ve got the wrong person!”
She pushed Jiang Wenting back.
“Go back to the ward first!”

The girl: ???

Jiang Wenting came to her senses and gave the girl a brief, awkward smile before turning and hurrying back towards the ward.

After that incident back then, she had become a little afraid of strangers pointing cameras in her face.

It just so happened that the girl had forgotten to turn off the shutter sound when taking the picture, and the sudden click had frightened her.

Jiang Wenting still hadn’t fully recovered by the time she reached the ward.

Yi Lan had already fallen asleep from exhaustion.

Jiang Wenting sat down on the chair by the bed, and only after watching her breathe deeply in and shallowly out did she calm down a little.

A short while later, Captain Lu, the director, the doctor, and others all came to the ward, with Xiao Ru behind them.

“This is Ms. Jiang,” Captain Lu introduced her to the director.
“She’s been helping to take care of her since we arrived at the hospital.”

The director was around fifty-five or fifty-six, not tall, slightly plump, with a kind face, looking very prosperous.

She reached out her hand.
“Thank you, Ms. Jiang. You’ve been a great help! My surname is Qi, and I’m the director of Yunshan Sanatorium.”

Jiang Wenting politely shook her hand back.
“Director Qi, you’re too kind. It’s what I should do.”

Captain Lu waited for the two to greet each other before continuing with the handover to the director.
“You’re aware of the general situation. You can go over the specific details with Dr. Qin. If you need any help later on, you can contact us at any time.”

“Yes, okay! Thank you too, Captain Lu. If it weren’t for your efficiency, this would have been a real disaster.”

Captain Lu acknowledged with a business-like attitude.
“In the future, for patients in her situation, if they go missing, you should still choose to call the police immediately. This time, she was lucky to be rescued in time. Any later, and her life might not have been saved.”

“Okay, okay. We were negligent this time. We will definitely be more careful in the future.”

The director readily agreed, her attitude of admitting fault overly positive.

Captain Lu didn’t say much more and turned to Jiang Wenting.
“Ms. Jiang, the patient has been properly arranged for. If you have other matters, you can leave first. Thank you again for your cooperation and help. Later, the police will write a letter of commendation to various official platforms regarding your actions this time.”

Jiang Wenting shook her head.
“There’s no need, Captain Lu. I didn’t really do much.”

“Yes, yes!” Officer Xiao Liu beside her interjected.
“Teacher Jiang, you took great care of the patient. We must write a good letter of commendation for you and publicize it for everyone to see!”

Jiang Wenting was amused by him and said “alright,” not bothering with further pleasantries.

The police’s work was more or less handed over, leaving Director Qi and the doctor to communicate.

“Dr. Qin, so with her current condition, you don’t recommend a transfer midway, right? I’d like to ask, if she receives treatment at your hospital, roughly how long would the cycle be? Because I have a lot of things on my plate, and I’m worried I won’t be able to handle running back and forth between Yacheng and Yuncheng.”

The doctor thought for half a second and spoke truthfully.
“My suggestion is not to move her around too much for now. Wait until the patient’s condition has stabilized a bit before returning to Yuncheng for treatment at her original hospital.”

A look of difficulty appeared on the director’s face.

Then she asked,
“What if I hire a caregiver…”

“It’s best to have someone relatively familiar around,” the doctor interrupted her, emphasizing his point.
“The patient’s current physical condition and emotions are not very stable. If it’s a stranger, she might resist. If any unexpected situations occur midway, the caregiver won’t be able to bear the responsibility.”

“Oh, alright then. I’ll coordinate.”
The director was clearly reluctant, but since the police were still present, she agreed for the time being.

Jiang Wenting became suspicious of her attitude.

She hesitated, wanting to say something, but at that moment, the person on the bed suddenly screamed.

Before anyone could react, Jiang Wenting rushed over.
“Yi Lan, it’s okay, it’s okay, don’t be afraid!” she comforted, stroking her chest.

The sleeping person’s brows furrowed, her expression looking very painful.

A few seconds later, she began to cry and murmur,
“A-Ting… don’t…”

Jiang Wenting couldn’t hear what she was saying, so she leaned her ear closer to carefully make it out.

Then she heard her say,
“A-Ting, don’t go, don’t leave me.”

In that instant, Jiang Wenting’s heart skipped a beat.

Then, she took her hand and pressed it against her own cheek to soothe her.
“Don’t worry, Yi Lan, I won’t go. I’ll stay right here with you. I won’t go…”

Finally, under her repeated reassurances, Yi Lan’s tense body relaxed.

Jiang Wenting stood up, looked at Captain Lu and Director Qi, and without thinking, blurted out,
“How about I take care of her during this time?”

“Jiang Wenting!”
Xiao Ru looked over nervously upon hearing her words.

Jiang Wenting gave her a slight smile, and ignoring her opposition, looked at Director Qi and Captain Lu again.
“I just have an opening scene for the Flower Goddess the day after tomorrow afternoon. After that, I’m free. I have time to take care of her. Besides, the patient is indeed quite dependent on me right now.”

Before Captain Lu could speak, Director Qi cut in.
“That’s great, Ms. Jiang! You’re truly as beautiful as you are kind. Yi Lan really does like watching your dramas. If you’re willing to take care of her, I think she’ll recover faster, right, doctor?”

As she spoke, she looked at the doctor, who could also clearly feel that she was trying to shirk responsibility.

He glanced at Captain Lu’s face.

“Ms. Jiang,” Captain Lu turned to Jiang Wenting with a persuasive tone.
“Dr. Qin just said that the patient’s current physical condition and emotions are not very stable. If something goes wrong midway, you might have to bear the responsibility. So you need to think carefully.”

As soon as Captain Lu finished speaking, before Jiang Wenting could react, the director immediately guaranteed,
“That won’t happen. Ms. Jiang is just helping out of kindness. Our sanatorium is more than grateful. How could we hold her responsible? Besides, I’m really busy with my own affairs and can’t be in two places at once.”

Her attempt to pass the buck was too obvious.

Captain Lu saw this, raised his eyelids, and gave her a faint look.

The smile on Director Qi’s face froze for a moment but was quickly hidden.

Captain Lu took in her expression but found it inconvenient to say more.

He only said to Jiang Wenting,
“Then you can just communicate it well among yourselves.”

Xiao Ru frantically winked at Jiang Wenting from the side, but she still took on the responsibility regardless.

Director Qi’s mood at this moment was beyond words.

Seeing that the handover was almost complete, Captain Lu and his team went back.

After the little remaining liquid in Yi Lan’s IV drip had finished and the needle was removed, the doctor also left the ward.

Only Jiang Wenting, Xiao Ru, and the director remained in the room.

The director was very attentive to Jiang Wenting, saying a lot of polite words, but from the moment she had started passing the buck, Jiang Wenting had no good feelings for her.

It was only her upbringing that allowed her to maintain a peaceful facade.

Qi Hongyu kept telling Jiang Wenting about her difficulties and busy schedule.

Jiang Wenting would occasionally look up at Xiao Ru while dealing with her, giving her a small look of admission of fault.

Xiao Ru noticed but ignored her, standing in the room with a baseball cap on, not saying a word.

A short while later, Yi Lan woke up.

She felt that it was a bit noisy around her and slightly lifted her eyelids.

The heavy darkness before her pressed down on her, making it hard to see anything clearly.

After a while, her vision gradually brightened.

She looked around, searching for Jiang Wenting’s figure.

Just then, Jiang Wenting also happened to turn around.

Seeing her awake, she hurried over and took her hand.
“You’re awake, Yi Lan. How are you feeling? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”

Yi Lan shook her head, her gaze shifting between the IV drip beside her and the back of her hand where the needle had been removed.

Seeing this, Jiang Wenting explained cheerfully,
“The IV drip is finished. The doctor took it out for you. You can move around freely now. Are you happy?”

Yi Lan’s long lashes drooped, her initial grogginess making her contemplate what she had said.

After a while, she slightly raised her hand, signaling for Jiang Wenting to help her up.

At this moment, Director Qi also came over.
“Aiyo, Lanlan is awake? How are you feeling? Does your chest still hurt?”

Yi Lan glanced over at the sound.

She didn’t know this person, but the moment the other person reached out her hand, her body couldn’t help but tremble.

Jiang Wenting also noticed her reaction and subconsciously blocked her with her elbow.

Only then did she realize she had been a bit out of line and hurriedly explained with a smile,
“I’m sorry, Director Qi. After spending these few hours with Yi Lan, I feel like she’s a bit shy around strangers, so I subconsciously…”

She trailed off, feeling unable to smooth things over, and stopped awkwardly.

Director Qi quickly waved her hand to help her out.
“Ah, it’s fine, it’s fine. She is indeed a bit reclusive. She rarely lets others touch her at the sanatorium.”

Jiang Wenting calmly accepted her understanding and turned to Yi Lan, her gaze warm and gentle.
“Do you want to sit up for a bit? Shall I help you?”

Yi Lan tacitly raised her arm.

Jiang Wenting lifted her from the bed and let her lean on her shoulder.

With a support, Yi Lan’s thoughts became less blank and sluggish.

Seeing this woman staring at her, she asked in a slightly cold tone,
“Who are you? Why do you keep looking at this general like that?”

“Huh?”
Director Qi was choked by her words and explained,
“I’m the director, Lanlan. Don’t you recognize me?”

At the same time, a “ding” sounded in Yi Lan’s head.

[Host, the person before you is indeed the director of Yunshan Sanatorium, Qi Hongyu. The reason you are afraid of her is because the original owner suffered mistreatment from her, forming a muscle memory.]

“Original owner?” Yi Lan asked in her mind.
“What is that?”

[It’s the owner of this body, Host. You have no physical form in the book world. If you transmigrate, you must rely on someone else’s body to survive. It just so happens that the original owner died accidentally while she was lost, giving you the opportunity to enter her body.]

Yi Lan: ???