Chapter 430 The Naive Little White Dove "Stop talking nonsense." Su Tang didn't have time for pleasantries. "We only have about thirty minutes. Take off your clothes and lie down."
Jiang Yan: "..."
The air seemed to freeze for a moment, carrying the unique smell of disinfectant from the infirmary, which entered his nostrils but made him feel thirsty.
He looked up at Su Tang in surprise, his cheeks instantly turning bright red.
Take...take off your clothes?
Lie down?
...
Meanwhile, in the isolation room a few dozen meters away.
The isolation room had a heavy iron door, and the windows were reinforced with steel bars as thick as a thumb, cutting the sunlight outside into cold stripes that pierced the concrete floor. Inside, there was nothing but a bare wooden bed and a peeling wooden stool.
Bai Wei, dressed in a faded hospital gown, huddled in the corner of the bed. Her face was deathly pale, her lips were cracked and chapped, her once bright and spirited eyes were now dull and lifeless, and she had lost a lot of weight. She looked like a flower ravaged by a storm, fragile and helpless.
This is her, practicing the "victim" persona for an entire morning, staring at her blurry reflection in the water glass. She knows that her only weapon now is the sympathy of others.
"Squeak—"
The iron gate was pushed open with a piercing sound.
A young medic wearing a white coat, a red cross armband on his chest, and two black braids walked in carrying an aluminum lunchbox.
It's Li Xiaoge.
Li Xiaoge is only eighteen years old this year. She has a round, apple-shaped face and big, bright eyes, like black grapes washed with mountain spring water. She looks at everyone with an innocent and enthusiastic naivety. She grew up in a small town, listening to stories of Dong Cunrui and Huang Jiguang. She came to the army with the purest revolutionary ideals, feeling that everything here was sacred and beautiful.
"Comrade Bai Wei, dinner's ready." Li Xiaoge placed the lunchbox on the small stool by the bedside, her voice clear and sweet, with the unique sweetness of a young girl.
The lunchbox contained today's meal: a stew of potatoes and sliced meat, a stir-fried cabbage dish, and a steamed bun. Considering the intense training during "Hell Week," this was already a pretty good meal.
Bai Wei slowly raised her eyelids, glanced at the lunchbox, and her eyes revealed a perfectly timed hint of disgust and deep resistance. She weakly shook her head, her voice hoarse as if it had been rubbed with sandpaper.
"Thank you, Comrade Xiaoge... I... I can't eat..."
Li Xiaoge was in a dilemma.
Before she came, her mentor, Sister Liu, a hot-tempered but experienced medic, specifically instructed her to make sure Bai Wei finished her meal. "That woman is so fussy, always complaining of aches and pains. Don't listen to her nonsense, you have to force-feed her the food. If she starves to death in our clinic, who will be responsible?"
Sister Liu's words were still ringing in her ears, but seeing Bai Wei's pitiful appearance, Li Xiaoge's heart softened instantly.
"Comrade Bai Wei, please eat something," Li Xiaoge patiently persuaded. "How can you recover if you don't eat? Look at you, your face has gotten so thin."
Bai Wei gave a self-deprecating bitter smile, a smile that looked even more like a grimace.
She raised her hand and pointed to her heart, her eyes visibly reddening.
"It's so congested here, like a huge rock is pressing down on me. I can't even breathe properly, let alone eat."
She didn't talk about her physical injuries, but instead talked about the pain in her heart.
This tactic of "moving people with emotions" was remarkably effective on the simple-minded Li Xiaogao.
Li Xiaoge had little social experience and couldn't stand seeing people cry. Seeing Bai Wei like this, she was immediately at a loss, and her defenses crumbled instantly. She moved a stool over and sat down by the bed, softening her voice: "Comrade Bai Wei, don't overthink it. Instructor Zhang said you're just too stressed. Get some rest, and you'll feel better soon."
"Rest?" Bai Wei seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. She suddenly raised her head, a surge of intense emotion erupting in her dim eyes. Tears finally streamed down her pale cheeks like broken beads. "How can I rest? Comrade Xiaoge, every time I close my eyes, all I see is Wang Xiaoya's face... the way she hung from the tree, her toes swaying back and forth..."
As she spoke, she covered her face with her hands, her thin shoulders trembling violently, and suppressed sobs escaped from between her fingers, filled with endless sorrow, fear, and self-blame.
"Waaaaah... I'm so sorry... If I had cared more about her... maybe she wouldn't have gone to the back mountain, and this wouldn't have happened... It's all my fault..."
These words had a completely different meaning to Li Xiaoge.
So... so Bai Wei became like this because of self-blame and guilt?
Li Xiaoge's sympathy deepened instantly. She felt that the rumors circulating outside that Bai Wei "had something to hide" were utterly outrageous. How could someone deeply remorseful for the death of their comrade be a bad person?
She awkwardly reached out and gently patted Bai Wei's back, comforting her, "Comrade Bai Wei, don't be like this. Hasn't the special investigation team already concluded that Wang Xiaoya's death was a suicide? It has nothing to do with you. Don't take all the responsibility on yourself."
"It's alright?" Bai Wei suddenly let go of her hand, revealing a face streaked with tears. She grabbed Li Xiaoge's hand with astonishing strength. "Xiaoge, tell me, what do you mean by 'it's alright'? I've been treated like a madwoman by the entire camp and locked up in this godforsaken place. Is that alright?"
Her voice was hoarse, filled with grievance and resentment.
“I…” Li Xiaoge was speechless after being asked that question.
"They all say I have a guilty conscience, that I'm haunted by Wang Xiaoya's ghost." Bai Wei gave a miserable laugh, the sound echoing eerily in the empty room. "But little do they know, I'm the most innocent one! Wang Xiaoya's death had nothing to do with me! I'm just taking the blame for someone else!"
"Take the blame? For whom?" Li Xiaoge's curiosity was piqued.
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