Chapter 96

“Xu Ai…”

When the dean mentioned this name, a familiar face of Xiujing automatically appeared in Xu Gui's mind.

Because the director's surname is Xu, most of the children in their orphanage take the director's surname, such as Xu Gui and Xu Ai.

Xu Ai is five years older than Xu Gui. She is extremely steady, mature, and sensible. When she was still in the orphanage, she took great care of Xu Gui and the other children who were younger than her.

Later, she went to university and was able to live independently, so she moved out of the orphanage. Even so, she would still occasionally buy things and come back to the orphanage to visit everyone.

Thinking about these things, Xu Gui asked the dean, "How is Sister Xiao Ai now?"

The dean smiled and said, "She seems to be doing quite well, and she even has a boyfriend... She came here with her boyfriend this time, and he seems to have a very good personality. Xiao Ai said that the two of them have already discussed marriage."

Xu Gui was surprised and said, "Sister Xiao Ai is only twenty-seven years old, right? Is she getting married so early?"

The dean gave her a reproachful look and said, "Twenty-seven is not early at all. Do you think getting married is such a simple thing? There are betrothal gifts, dowries, and all sorts of other things to prepare. By the time you actually get married, it may be a year or two later."

A year or two later, Xu Ai will be twenty-eight or twenty-nine, which is the perfect age to get married. After marriage, she can have children in two years, when she will be thirty-one or thirty-two, which is also the most suitable age to have children.

“Xiao Ai is much more strategic than you little ones,” the dean said.

Xu Gui blinked, not quite understanding.

The dean looked at her and said with affection, "Alright, you should rest now. I'll tell Xueya and the others not to bother you..."

Xu Gui nodded. After the dean left, she took a shower in the bathroom, changed into her pajamas, tucked herself into bed, turned around, hugged the blanket to her chest, and took a deep breath.

"Hmm, the smell of laundry detergent..." Xu Gui sniffed the scent on the blanket, "and the smell of sunshine too."

She could imagine that on a sunny day, the director and the others would take the quilts out of the house and put them in the sun to dry. After the quilts were dried in the sun, they would smell a warm and cozy scent when sleeping at night, and the cotton inside would seem to become lighter and fuller.

Xu Gui took a breath, buried her face in the blanket, listened to the sound of the air conditioner, and quickly fell asleep.

She slept very well. The children in the yard, having been instructed by the director, did not disturb her, even though they all wanted to play with her. It wasn't until Xu Gui got up and came out that they rushed over, surrounded her, and chattered excitedly.

Xu Gui answered their questions casually, trying to take care of everyone.

"...Sister Turtle, the seashells you gave us, Aunt Tuanzi and I made them into wind chimes! Look!" The children pulled Xu Gui's hand and walked to the entrance of the cafeteria. Above the entrance, a string of seashell wind chimes hung, tinkling in the wind.

"You made this?"

"Uh-huh!"

Looking at the children's bright eyes, Xu Gui gave them a thumbs up and praised them, "Wow, this wind chime is so well made! How are you all so amazing? How can children be so skillful?"

The children's lips curled into smiles as she praised them, and they all puffed out their little bellies, looking very proud of themselves.

"Alright, come and eat..." the cafeteria lady called out, tapping the bowl like a bell.

As soon as the children heard it was time to eat, they rushed inside, shouting, "Oh, time to eat!"

During the meal, Xu Gui asked the dean about Dong Zhi's post-surgery progress—Dong Zhi's heart surgery had already been scheduled for the day after she arrived in H Province.

Xu Gui had originally said she would come back to keep him company, and she had already made arrangements with Kuang Ming. However, when she mentioned this to the dean, he refused.

The hospital director said that her work was the most important thing. The doctor who was to perform the surgery on Dongzhi also said that there was not much danger in the surgery, after all, she was young. The younger she was, the lower the risk of the surgery, and now was the most appropriate time.

Later, Xu Gui encountered the events on Jinding Mountain. By then, Dongzhi's surgery had been completed without incident, so there was no need for her to rush back.

She had previously discussed the post-operative situation with the hospital director on the phone, but Xu Gui remembered it now and asked again.

"It's going well, the doctor said the healing is progressing very well..." the hospital director said. "We'll probably stay in the hospital for another month to observe, and once we're sure there are no problems, we can be discharged."

Xu Gui nodded and said, "Then I'll go see her tomorrow."

The hospital director laughed: "You are Dongzhi's favorite older sister. If you go to visit her, she will definitely be very happy... You don't know, back when you were filming a show and doing live broadcasts, she watched your live broadcasts every day at the hospital. Whenever she saw a doctor or nurse, she would tell them that you were her older sister."

Listening to the dean's words, Xu Gui gradually recalled the image of Dongzhi proudly telling the doctors and nurses that she was her older sister. He couldn't help but smile, and his desire to visit Dongzhi in the hospital became even clearer.

The next day, after having breakfast, Xu Gui went with the hospital director to the hospital where the surgery was performed on the winter solstice.

At this time, Dongzhi had already woken up. When she saw Xu Gui, her eyes lit up and she called out, "Little Turtle Sister..." Her voice was sweet, as if honey was about to flow out.

Xu Gui walked over and asked her, "Winter Solstice, how are you feeling? Is there anything wrong with you?"

Compared to before, Dongzhi looks a bit thinner. She used to have a little bit of baby fat on her face, but now that baby fat is gone. However, she looks quite well, and when she looks at Xu Gui, her face is full of joy.

“It feels so good on the winter solstice,” she said with a smile, tilting her head back with a sweet smile. She pointed to her chest and said, “I used to feel heavy here on the winter solstice, but now it feels light.”

Xu Gui nodded and handed her the conch shell he had brought from H Province: "If you put this conch shell to your ear, you can hear the sound of the waves."

Dongzhi looked very curious. She took the conch from Xu Gui and held it to her ear. After a few seconds, her eyes lit up, as if she had heard something. She looked at Xu Gui with surprise.

"Little Turtle Sister..." she called out to Xu Gui in surprise.

Xu Gui smiled and said, "Haven't you always been curious about what the sea looks like? Once you're better, you can go to the beach yourself and see if it's as blue as it is on TV, if the sound of the waves is as pleasant as it is on TV, and if the sea is as vast as it seems..."

When Dongzhi was a child, he saw the ocean on TV and asked these questions, which Xu Gui still remembers.

After hearing her words, Dongzhi couldn't help but nod vigorously. She was filled with anticipation for the sea that she had never seen with her own eyes. Xu Gui watched as she kept holding the conch shell to her ear, picking it up and putting it down repeatedly, her hand holding the conch shell very carefully.

After a while, a nurse from the hospital came to check on Dongzhi's condition. Dongzhi pulled Xu Gui aside and said to her, "Nurse, look! This is my little turtle sister... My little turtle sister is amazing! She can tell fortunes!"

Hearing her words, the nurse looked up at Xu Gui with curiosity. She had heard a lot about Xu Gui, after all, during her hospital stay in Dongzhi, they had almost heard her call "Little Turtle Sister" so many times.

Of course, it was also thanks to Dongzhi that they knew Xu Gui was a celebrity who had previously participated in the program "360 Trades". Xu Gui didn't know that he had several fans in the hospital.

Now, looking at the nurses who were looking at her curiously, she smiled and said, "Hello, I'm Xu Gui... We've really been very grateful for your care during this time, Dongzhi. She said you've been so kind to her, we're so thankful!"

Hearing this, the nurse was flattered and said, "Ms. Xu, you are too kind. Dongzhi is a patient of our hospital. Taking care of her is our duty. Besides, Dongzhi is a good girl. Everyone in our nurses' station likes her very much."

Dongzhi is not only cute with a sweet smile, but she also has a sweet tongue and knows how to coax people.

Despite her young age, she is a craft whiz. The hospital director, worried that she might be bored, bought her a large stack of different colored papers. She used these papers to fold various flowers and gave them to the doctors and nurses who took care of her, which immediately won them over.

Upon hearing about Dongzhi's "heroic feat," Xu Gui couldn't help but glance at the child—although she had heard the hospital director say that the doctors and nurses at the hospital liked Dongzhi very much, she never expected that their affection came from this.

Xu Gui: Winter Solstice, what an amazing little kid! He'll be incredible when he grows up.

The nurse gave Dongzhi her routine check-up. Dongzhi was very well-behaved throughout the process. Even when she was pricked with a needle, she didn't move or cry. After the check-up, the nurse habitually took a piece of candy from her pocket and gave it to her, praising, "Our Dongzhi was great today too!"

Winter Solstice: "Nurse, you look beautiful today too, radiant!"

Nurse: "Haha, Dongzhi, your words are still so sweet."

Xu Gui watched helplessly as the nurse was hooked up and turned into a pouty-cheeked creature: "..." Winter Solstice, terrifying indeed.

After the nurse finished the examination, she left. When she got to the nurses' station, she grabbed a nurse and said, "Xiaowei, guess who I saw in Dongzhi's ward? Xu Gui!! Don't you really like her?"

The nurse called Xiaowei: "...Really?"

The nurse nodded: "It's true, I saw her with my own eyes when I went to check on Dongzhi. She must have come to visit Dongzhi... Wow, you don't know, she's really beautiful up close. A star is a star indeed!"

Xiaowei was both excited and nervous. She paced around the narrow nurses' station and asked her colleague, "Sister Hao, do you think it would be too much of a bother for her if I asked her for an autograph?"

Sister Hao said, "I think she has a good personality, and besides, aren't you her fan? She definitely won't feel bothered..."

Xiaowei hesitated and said, "But I'm a little embarrassed."

She was so conflicted that it was lunchtime, and Xu Gui was about to leave. At this point, Xiao Wei couldn't hold back any longer. Afraid that she would miss this opportunity and there would be no next time, she disregarded everything else and rushed straight to Xu Gui.

"Hello, Little Turtle..." she stammered, her face turning bright red as she spoke. She forced herself to say, "I'm your fan, could you give me your autograph?"

She held up the notebook and looked at Xu Gui with longing eyes.

Xu Gui opened his mouth, pointed to himself, and asked, "Me, my fan?"

Xiao Wei nodded vigorously.

Xu Gui exclaimed, "Wow! You're the first fan I've ever met who wants my autograph..."

She took the fan's note from Xiaowei, carefully wrote her name in the notebook, and then returned it to the fan, smiling and saying, "Thank you for liking me! I'm so surprised!"

Xiao Wei was delighted to receive the autograph. Xu Gui's attitude was so kind that she felt her skin had thickened a bit. She then quietly made another request: "Could we take a picture together?"

Xu Gui readily agreed to the request, after all, this was the first fan to ask for his autograph and take a photo with him.

Even if the other person asked her to kiss him now, Xu Gui felt she would be willing... It's a good thing she didn't say anything, otherwise Xiao Wei would definitely go from being a socially anxious person to a socially terrifying person if she knew.

After finishing her drink, Xiaowei looked at the photos on her phone with great satisfaction, and couldn't help but sigh: My little turtle is so cute, Mommy really loves it! — That's right, Xiaowei is a mommy fan of Xu Gui.

After looking at the photos, Xiaowei looked up and saw Xu Gui looking at her thoughtfully.

Xiao Wei: "...What's wrong?"

Xu Gui said, "Tonight, if you encounter a situation where you need to go into the operating room to help with emergency care, please take proper protective measures... otherwise it could be very dangerous."

Xiaowei was a little confused, so she humbly asked, "What kind of danger is it?"

As a fan of Xu Gui, she knew that Xu Gui was very good at fortune telling. If Xu Gui said that she would be in great danger at night, then it must be very dangerous. Since that was the case, she naturally had to ask him carefully.

Xu Gui looked at her gloomy eyes and said, "Because the patient you need to treat tonight is an AIDS patient..."

Upon hearing this, Xiaowei's eyes widened in surprise.

Xu Gui patted her head and said, "So, be careful. I hope you'll be alright when I come to the hospital next time."

After saying that, Xu Gui left, leaving Xiao Wei standing there in a daze. She felt a chill rise from the soles of her feet, making her shiver involuntarily.

"...Xiaowei, what are you doing standing here?" Sister Hao reached out and patted her shoulder, looking at her suspiciously. "And you look so pale."

After saying that, Sister Hao peeked towards the elevator and asked, "Miss Xu went back? Did Miss Xu say something to you?"

Xiaowei snapped out of her daze and grabbed Sister Hao's hand, saying nervously, "Sister Hao, what should we do? Xiaogui just said we're getting a patient with HIV tonight..."

Sister Hao was startled and subconsciously asked, "What did you say?"

Xiao Wei said, "Little Turtle said that if we don't take precautions, we'll get infected! What should we do, Sister Hao..."

As a nurse who had been working for four years, Xiaowei had never encountered an HIV patient before, so she was a little flustered and at a loss, and could only stare wide-eyed at Sister Hao.

After hearing her words, Sister Hao frowned. Seeing Xiaowei's worried and nervous look, she grabbed Xiaowei's hand and patted it reassuringly, saying, "Don't worry, since Xu Gui said so, then we'll take good precautions and there definitely won't be any problems!"

Xiao Wei nodded.

Because of this, she was somewhat distracted all afternoon. It wasn't until late at night, when she was about to leave work, that the hospital suddenly received a critically ill patient who was on the verge of death and needed to undergo surgery immediately.

Therefore, Xiaowei and the other nurses were urgently summoned to the emergency room.

Because it was almost time to get off work, and she had been so busy all afternoon, Xiaowei had almost forgotten about Xu Gui's "prediction" at noon. However, when she changed her clothes and was about to enter the operating room, she suddenly remembered what Xu Gui had said.

Xiao Wei paused in his steps.

"Sister Hao..." she called out, looking at the eyes above the other woman's mask, and asked, "Do you remember the prophecy Little Turtle made at noon?"

Sister Hao: !!

It has to be said that Sister Hao has also forgotten Xu Gui's prophecy.

It's not that they don't believe or value Xu Gui's prediction; it's just that the hospital is so busy that they don't think about so many things. Their minds are never free. If Xiao Wei hadn't brought it up now, Sister Hao probably wouldn't have remembered it until tomorrow.

"Wait for me!" Sister Hao said solemnly to Xiao Wei. She took off her clothes, turned around and walked to the outside of the emergency room.

Outside the emergency room, the patient's family members were anxiously waiting for the surgery to begin; reportedly, the other party was the patient's sister.

Sister Hao asked the patient's sister in a tactful way whether the patient had any infectious diseases.

"...What do you mean by that?" The patient's sister realized the implication in her words, and became somewhat agitated, asking in a shrill voice, "Are you suspecting my brother has some kind of shameful disease?"

Sister Hao: "Miss, please calm down. That's not what I meant. I was just thinking about the safety of the surgery..."

The patient's sister shouted, "What do you mean by 'safe surgery'? This is clearly discrimination! What, if a patient brought in has an infectious disease, you won't treat them?"

Sister Hao took a deep breath and said, "You really misunderstand. I asked these questions out of concern for the patient, so... I hope you can answer my questions honestly, because your answer not only concerns the patient's safety, but also the safety of all of us doctors and nurses!"

Sister Hao's tone was very serious, and her expression was also very earnest.

“I don’t have time to argue with you. You need to understand that if you intentionally conceal this matter, you will also bear legal responsibility if anything happens... And every minute we delay now is delaying your brother’s life!” she said. “So, please answer my questions honestly!”

Seeing this, the patient's sister's eyes flickered. She looked away and said, "Then let me tell you, no, my brother is perfectly healthy. He doesn't have any infectious diseases! Can you rest assured now?"

She glared at Sister Hao and said, "People outside call you angels in white, saving lives. Bah! My brother is in the emergency room waiting to be saved, and instead of rushing to save him, you come here to ask me these questions. You're treating human life like dirt!"

Hearing this, Sister Hao wasn't angry. She simply nodded slightly, exhaled, and said, "Okay, I understand the situation. Thank you for informing me... I hope what you said is true."

Upon hearing this, the older sister blinked rapidly, then looked away guiltily, saying, "Anyway, my brother is in your hospital, so you have to be responsible for his life... If anything happens to him, it's all your fault as doctors."

Sister Hao glanced at the other person, turned around and quickly returned to the emergency room. Once back in the emergency room, she took out a new sterile gown and put it on.

The atmosphere in the emergency room was heavy. The patient lay on the bed, and the nurses were checking his vital signs. Everything was ready, just waiting for the surgery to begin.

Xiaowei was anxiously waiting for Sister Hao. When she saw Sister Hao return, her eyes lit up, and she quickly asked in a low voice, "Sister Hao, how did it go? What did the patient's family say?"

Sister Hao frowned and said, "The patient's sister said that the patient does not have any infectious diseases."

"Huh?" Xiaowei was a little confused, her eyes widening as she said, "But, but Little Turtle said... Could it be that Little Turtle made a mistake? But Little Turtle is a diviner, that can't be, right?"

Sister Hao said calmly, "Calm down. I think Xu Gui didn't miscalculate."

Xiaowei frowned: "But the patient's sister... could it be that the patient's sister is lying?"

Sister Hao nodded and said, "That's my guess. This kind of situation has happened before..."

Speaking of this, she said to Xiaowei, "Wait here for me. I'll go talk to Dr. Luo about this and tell everyone to be careful." — Dr. Luo was the surgeon in charge of this operation.

Whether this is true or not, we should at least tell others about it. After all, as people on the same operating table, if this is true, then everyone is in danger.

At the very least, we must ensure that everyone takes proper precautions.

Sister Hao walked over and told Dr. Luo, who was making preparations, about it. After hearing her words, Dr. Luo couldn't help but look at her in surprise and asked, "Are you sure?"

Sister Hao said in a low voice, "I asked the patient's family, and although she denied it, I tend to think it's true."

The patient's sister denied it very loudly at the time, but sometimes, the more guilty a person is, the louder they speak, as if this can bury their guilty conscience.

According to Ms. Hao, this was the case with the patient's sister; the other person didn't even dare to look her in the eye.

Upon hearing this, Dr. Luo frowned, and his expression became extremely serious.

It's important to know that one of the main routes of HIV transmission is through blood. When performing surgery, doctors and nurses inevitably come into contact with the patient's blood. If the patient about to undergo surgery has the disease, then these doctors and nurses are constantly at risk of infection.

Dr. Luo took a breath and asked Sister Hao, "Are you sure about this?"

Sister Hao shook her head and said, "I can't be completely sure."

After thinking it over, Dr. Luo decided to tell everyone in the emergency room about it.

"...If any of you want to back out and not participate in this surgery, I can understand!" Dr. Luo looked at everyone present. "So, is there anyone who wants to withdraw from this surgery?"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other, but no one stepped forward to say they wanted to quit.

In the silence, Sister Hao laughed and said, "Dr. Luo, I don't like hearing you say that. You're not a coward, and neither are we. Besides, in this situation, what will happen to the patient if we back out? He's waiting for emergency treatment."

Hearing Sister Hao's words, the others chimed in, "Yes! Sister Hao is right..."

"Besides, as long as we take proper precautions, it's not a big deal!"

"Well... Dr. Luo, don't worry, we won't back down."

Everyone spoke up – whether out of professional ethics or a sense of responsibility, they couldn't just abandon the situation. Even if the patient might have HIV, they couldn't simply leave him on the emergency bed unattended.

The only thing they can do now is to protect themselves and take precautions to prevent the spread of the virus.

"Good, you've all done a great job!" Dr. Luo looked at everyone's determined eyes, took a deep breath, and his gaze hardened. He said, "In that case, let's prepare for the surgery!"