Chapter 17 The Past 1
When Cheng Sinian sent the last patient away, Qiao Yu had been waiting at the door of his office for a while.
Cheng Sinian brought Qiao Yu into the office and poured her a glass of water. "Sorry, we had a lot of patients added to the office today, so we finished a little late."
Qiao Yu smiled and shook his head, "It's okay, I didn't wait long."
Even though they knew that the equipment could not be used due to the power outage, the hospital was still so noisy. The end of the world was indeed at hand.
Cheng Sinian sat down opposite her and said straight to the point, "Is there anything you need my help with today?"
Qiao Yu suppressed his smile and looked at him straight, his face calm and composed, but the words he asked made Cheng Sinian tense instantly.
She asked, "Have you ever been to the Jiang family's back mountain?"
Cheng Sinian's voice trembled, and even his breathing paused for a moment, "You...saw it?"
Qiao Yu didn't say anything, but Cheng Sinian could already see the answer in her eyes.
"When did it start?" Qiao Yu asked.
Seeing that she was still calm, Cheng Sinian sighed, "About three years ago." Seeing that Qiao Yu didn't say anything, he thought for a moment and continued, "Qiao Yu, although I know it's unfair for me to say this to you, as Jiang Zhan's brother for many years, I sincerely implore you, if you really want to leave, just think of it as pity for him and spend his birthday with him before you leave, okay?"
Jiang Zhan’s birthday is January 18th, the day after tomorrow.
Qiao Yu didn't agree or refuse, but asked him seriously: "Can you tell me about his past? And...what kind of mental illness does he have?"
Qiao Yu met Cheng Sinian during their college years. They were both medical students at University A, and although their majors were different, Cheng Sinian was still considered her senior. It was he who took Qiao Yu to her dorm at the beginning of the semester. As a prominent figure at University A, Qiao Yu would often hear gossip about Cheng Sinian around campus.
For example, when he was a child, his family fell into poverty and he was adopted by the Jiang family. For another example, he chose psychology as his minor.
Cheng Sinian was silent for a while, and finally stood up, took out a medical record from the locked drawer in the middle of the desk, and handed it to Qiao Yu.
Name: Jiang Zhan.
Diagnosis: severe anxious dependency disorder.
After Cheng Sinian handed the medical record to Qiao Yu, he walked to the window with a cup of water, leaned against the wall, and recalled the past without caring whether Qiao Yu listened or not. His voice was filled with endless sadness.
"I came to the Jiang family when I was twelve years old. At that time, my parents were dead, and my aunt was seriously ill in bed, so Grandpa Jiang adopted me. My family and the Jiang family were partners, so I met Jiang Zhan when I was very young. Although he didn't like to talk at that time, he was at least normal. He was two years older than me and would take me to read picture books and catch butterflies. But after Uncle Jiang's accident, I never saw him again until I was twelve years old and came to the Jiang family."
"Grandpa Jiang said he would take me to meet Jiang Zhan. I was actually quite happy, thinking that even if I had to live under someone else's roof, I would still have a childhood playmate. But when he actually stood in front of me and looked at me, I didn't dare to get any closer. There was no emotion on his face, and he looked at me as if he was looking at a dead person who had nothing to do with him. Numb and indifferent."
"Grandpa Jiang said that he had just taken Jiang Zhan back half a year ago. After Uncle Jiang's accident, he had been living with his mother. I didn't know why he became like that until I heard two maids chatting in the garden one day. They said that after Uncle Jiang died in a car accident, Aunt Jiang couldn't bear the blow and had mental problems, sometimes better and sometimes worse. When she couldn't control herself, she would abuse Jiang Zhan. She would tie Jiang Zhan up and lock him in a small dark room for days at a time, without giving him food or water. Sometimes she would hang him on the clothesline on the balcony and beat him with a rattan stick."
Qiao Yu felt a pang of pain in her heart when she heard this. "Why? Jiang Zhan is her biological son! Why would she do this?"
Cheng Sinian smiled bitterly, "Because on the day Uncle Jiang had the accident, he was rushing back from another place in the heavy rain in order to go home and spend Jiang Zhan's birthday with him, and he got into a car accident."
Qiao Yu's hand clenched a corner of the medical record, trembling slightly, "But this is not Jiang Zhan's fault... Jiang Zhan didn't want to do this..."
"Yes." Cheng Sinian sighed, "But Aunt Jiang was no longer normal at that time. She only had hatred for Jiang Zhan, believing that Jiang Zhan had killed her husband. Jiang Zhan spent four years under his mother's abuse until Grandpa Jiang found out and he was taken back to the Jiang family."
"Later, Grandpa Jiang arranged a school for the two of us. Jiang Zhan was very smart and learned everything very quickly. Grandpa Jiang was very happy and often showed off to others how good his grandson was. He also took him out to various banquets, hoping that he would become more cheerful. But Jiang Zhan still didn't like to talk, never smiled, and had almost no emotions. I thought that nothing in the world could touch Jiang Zhan anymore, but until... the first time I saw Jiang Zhan angry -"
Cheng Sinian took a sip of water, his voice slightly hoarse. "It was a weekend, and a family brought their children to the Jiang family. I heard they were here to discuss cooperation with Grandpa Jiang. While the adults were discussing things, they let us play together. The boy was about the same age as us. He was probably spoiled by his family and had no rules. He called Jiang Zhan a mute behind his back. I was so angry that I scolded him a few times. As a result, he actually ran into Jiang Zhan's room while he was taking a shower, rummaged through everything, and even ate a piece of candy that Jiang Zhan had left in the box."
Cheng Sinian turned to look at Qiao Yu, "I've seen that candy before. It's a very ordinary piece of fruit hard candy. It has the strawberry flavor that Jiang Zhan hates the most, but Jiang Zhan keeps it in a box as a treasure and won't let anyone touch it."
Qiao Yu lowered her eyelashes. If she remembered correctly... the candy she gave to Jiang Zhan when they first met was strawberry flavored.
"When Jiang Zhan came out, he saw that the boy had eaten the candy, so he went up and pinned him to the ground. That was the first time I saw Jiang Zhan angry. He beat the boy until his mouth was full of blood and several of his teeth fell out. If Grandpa Jiang hadn't brought people over to hold him back, the boy would have been beaten to death on the spot."
Seeing that Qiao Yu didn't say anything but clenched his hands tightly, Cheng Sinian twitched the corner of his mouth slightly, turned his head to look out the window, and continued: "After this incident, Grandpa Jiang paid special attention to his emotions, but Jiang Zhan became the same as before, without emotions and not talking much. Just when I thought he might always be like this, he once again broke my cognition."
"After school that day, I waited for him at the school gate as usual, but he didn't come out after waiting for a long time. I went to his class to look for him, but the student on duty said that he had left a long time ago. I was shocked. Jiang Zhan went to school and went home with me every day, so this shouldn't happen. Besides, the driver was still waiting for us, so he must not have gone home. I called him in a panic, but he didn't answer after several calls. I called Grandpa Jiang again, but it was Grandpa Jiang's secretary who answered the phone. She said that Grandpa Jiang had an important meeting and was speaking on the stage. I had no choice but to take the driver along the roadside to look for him. Just when I was getting more and more anxious and almost wanted to call the police, Jiang Zhan called me back. The driver and I found him at the address he gave us. At that time, I really thought he was dying."
"He was covered in blood, with no idea how many wounds he had. We were terrified and wanted to take him to the hospital, but he refused and forced us to take him to No. 45, Jinhuwan Villa District. The look on his face at me was like a demon crawling out of hell. If I didn't agree, he threatened to drag me down with him."
"We had no choice but to send him there. Fortunately, it wasn't far and we arrived quickly. He got out of the car and even walking was very difficult, but he was desperately trying to walk to the entrance of the villa. He didn't stop until he heard a girl's voice, then he turned around and ran towards the girl." Cheng Sinian turned his head to look at Qiao Yu and smiled slightly. "Qiao Yu, that was the first time I knew you existed."
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