Out of tune (12)
The surroundings were eerily quiet, without a sound. They stood there dumbfounded, seemingly completely stunned.
Shu Ningmiao closed her eyes, took a deep breath, opened them again, and suddenly calmed down. She took out the terminal from her coat pocket and put the receiver to her ear.
After the last overpass accident, she had the clinic's number saved; Pinhes had no better clinic than this.
The person on the other end answered the phone calmly, completely unconcerned about the chaotic scene on the other end. They told her that she had to register the hospitalized patient's identification number and wait for the identity verification before an ambulance could be dispatched; otherwise, who knew if he could afford the expensive medical bills?
"Coming right away." Shu Ningmiao gave her ID number, squeezing out a few words through gritted teeth, feeling utterly absurd: "I'll pay."
A few clicking sounds came through the static of the receiver, as if the person on the other end was checking her identity. Their tone then softened: "Just confirming your address..."
Shu Ningmiao hung up the call immediately, grabbed Yeluqi's shoulder, and tried her best to keep him from collapsing. He burst into a series of rapid and heavy coughs, as if a knife was constantly grinding in his throat, and then vomited a large amount of turbid black liquid.
"teacher!"
At this moment, the people around him also reacted and rushed over to help. Some supported his arms, some grabbed his hands, and some patted his back. Yelüqi coughed uncontrollably, and his breathing looked extremely difficult, as if half of his breath was being torn apart and the other half was stuck in his throat.
Black slime dripped down his clothes. He seemed to have no strength left. His body was curled up. This usually strong giant seemed to have collapsed all of a sudden, shrinking into a tiny, dazed and fragile figure.
Shu Ningmiao pried open his eyelids and saw that the bloodshot eyes had turned black from their original red color.
You An asked anxiously, "What should we do? What should we do? Should we do some first aid?"
He tried to use the first aid techniques he had learned in his public class to perform CPR on Yelüqi, but Shu Ningmiao grabbed his wrist immediately.
She had never seen this disease before and didn't know what the taboos were. Touching it randomly might worsen Yelüqi's condition, so it was safer to wait for the doctor to arrive: "Wait for the ambulance."
You An looked up at her, her eyes red-rimmed, her hand gripping Yelüqi trembling slightly until her whole body was shaking.
At first, he didn't think it was a serious matter, until Yeluqi started spitting out black water. Those puddles of black water were like black spots covering his mind, obscuring all his senses.
Who could remain completely calm when they saw their beloved teacher suddenly collapse? The most terrifying life-and-death separation You An had ever witnessed in the village was his elderly grandfather holding his hand and quietly leaving this world. He had never seen pain closer than that. He panicked for a moment, and his body was trembling.
Shu Ningmiao's words seemed to have a calming magic, instantly pulling him back from the edge of chaotic thoughts and clearing his mind.
His voice was still trembling uncontrollably: "Do you still remember the contaminants in the combat system?"
Shu Ningmiao didn't speak. How could she not remember? The black liquid flowing from Alan's body had run straight onto her skin, just as real as it was now.
You An felt her mouth go dry, and swallowed unconsciously, only to feel a stinging pain: "What do you think..."
He struggled to control himself, turning around anxiously to look at everyone around him: "Is this pollution?"
No one around spoke, or perhaps they were simply too afraid to give that answer.
Eric squeezed through the crowd, kneeling down with a pale face. She glanced at Shu Ningmiao several times, seemingly wanting to try using her superpower, but ultimately didn't dare to.
Her special ability, "Light," can purify negative statuses and some minor injuries, but its power is limited.
During her last attempt to purify the small, polluted creature, she failed after only managing to purify a small portion of it.
The contaminated organism died on the spot.
She would be even more hesitant if it were Yelü Qi; reality is not a game, and she couldn't afford to gamble.
If this is some kind of disease, failure at most means there is no effect; if this is some kind of "contamination" process, failure could very well kill the Yeluqi on the spot.
Shu Ningmiao was also concerned about this, otherwise she would have already used "Light" to alleviate Yeluqi's symptoms before Erigi arrived.
The ambulance arrived, and Shu Ningmiao, as the guarantor, accompanied her to the medical clinic, while Shi Yu went to notify the other teachers and staff.
She sat in the car, propping her forehead up, completely dazed the whole way. The nurse wiped away the black mucus remaining on Yeluqi's face. Now, lying there in a daze, it was impossible to tell what was wrong with her. Her heartbeat was steady, and the only sound was the regular beeping of the electrocardiogram monitor.
Even though Shu Ningmiao emphasized that his symptoms were very serious, the medical center still calmly sent him to a regular ward, without any intention of taking it more seriously.
After sitting in the corridor for a while, Shu Ningmiao found the doctor in charge of Yeluqi's ward. When he saw her come in, the tall, thin doctor slowly buttoned up his white coat and pointed to the chair opposite him: "Are you a family member?"
Shu Ningmiao didn't know how to contact Yelüqi's family, and the school hadn't arrived yet. She vaguely brushed aside the doctor's question: "Can I see his condition?"
"Of course, his condition is stable. We've already given him some injections of crystalline powder. You can go in and see him in a little while." The doctor stared at the screen in front of him and nodded casually.
Shu Ningmiao tapped her fingertips on the table slowly: "I mean, I want to understand his condition—what disease he has, the future treatment plan, and whether he will be able to move around in the future?"
The doctor coughed a few times as she stared at him coldly. She was casual in demeanor and spoke softly because it was a medical clinic, but she still had a piercing aura that made him uneasy. Her gaze swept across his face like thorns.
"You're being too anxious." The doctor chuckled dryly. "His physical condition is quite good; he doesn't have any illnesses. He can leave anytime after he wakes up."
"You don't have any illness?" Shu Ningmiao asked in surprise.
"Yes." The doctor nodded and pulled up the test report: "All his physical indicators are normal, there are no abnormal indices, he may even be healthier than you young people."
"He just passed out!" Shu Ningmiao's face showed an incredulous expression, and she enunciated each word with utmost clarity: "And..."
"Listen to me," the doctor interrupted her. "He may have fainted due to fatigue from not getting enough rest recently, but it's not an illness. Please don't scare yourself."
“You mean,” Shu Ningmiao laughed, “that he vomited so much black liquid, but he’s fine, right?”
“You find it terrifying simply because you don’t know the underlying principles.” The doctor looked at her, his face tilted upwards, appearing very impatient. “Only those who don’t understand the principles would regard man-made tricks as miracles and worship them, just like those terrorists who can only manipulate fools. Miss Shu, I think you should be different from them.”
What gave you the illusion that you could judge me?
Shu Ningmiao had reached her limit and smiled coldly: "Give me a reasonable explanation now, and I won't mind donating some CIN to your medical center so that the director can fire an insignificant doctor."
"It's just gastrointestinal bleeding." The doctor withdrew his face in embarrassment: "What you call black mucus is just vomit mixed with blood. The blood has just turned black because of the stomach acid."
“I told you that he’s had that kind of stuff coming out of his nose before.” Shu Ningmiao stared straight at him: “Does your vomit come out of your own nose?”
"Maybe, after all, the nasopharynx is connected." The doctor didn't take it seriously and shrugged, saying dismissively, "Ms. Shu, if you don't trust the doctor, you can take him home now."
Shu Ningmiao took the medical record from the doctor. It was written in a reasonable and detailed manner. If she hadn't seen Yelüqi fall down with her own eyes, she would have been convinced.
The doctor and assistant doctor in the ward had all left, leaving only one nurse watching the IV drip.
Everything was telling her that it was just a simple gastrointestinal bleeding, nothing more.
This is absurd.
The nurse saw her sitting by the bed and quietly left. Shu Ningmiao flipped through the medical record from beginning to end, making a rustling sound, until she heard the man next to her cough slightly, and then she realized that Yelü Qi had woken up.
Shu Ningmiao had never served anyone before, but there was no one else around, so she could only frantically help him up and then turn around to pour him some water.
His voice was weak and weary: "No need."
"I'm really sorry." Yelü Qi gave a self-deprecating bitter smile, and after a long while, he moved his eyes: "Did I scare you?"
Shu Ningmiao turned around somewhat stiffly: "Teacher."
After saying those two words, she paused for a long time before speaking again: "Is your illness related to Pandora?"
Yelü Qi seemed surprised that she would ask the word "Pandora" so directly. He chuckled for a moment, picked up the report she had just placed on the bedside table, and casually flipped through it: "Doesn't this say upper gastrointestinal bleeding?"
He didn't want to talk about it, and Shu Ningmiao couldn't force him to.
Yelü Qi pointed to the stool next to the bed: "No need to trouble yourself, come and sit down."
He recovered so quickly. Was it because of the IV drip? He's completely recovered from his previous lethargy, just like the doctor said. He looks like he could be discharged at any time.
The more this happened, the more uneasy Shu Ningmiao felt.
"It's okay, don't make that face." Yelü Qi said, both amused and exasperated. "People aren't made of iron; there will always be times when they have minor problems."
Shu Ningmiao turned her head away, her expression unchanged: "Should the teacher notify the family?"
Yelü Qi didn't say whether he wanted it or not. He put his hands behind his head and looked thoughtful. "My daughter will definitely scold me if she finds out."
He seemed more interested in chatting with her than discussing her illness: "She has a bad temper and little patience, just like you."
"Ah." Shu Ningmiao gave a short "ah," feeling that he was being a little impolite.
“Of course, I don’t think so, it’s just what others say.” Yelü Qi grinned at her, showing his teeth. “Precisely because I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it, she won’t suppress her personality. I’d rather she bully others than have others bully her. That’s not what a good parent should do, right?”
He chuckled.
Yelü Qi was a patient, and the horrific image of him was still etched in Shu Ningmiao's mind. There was nothing she could do but follow his words and ask, "How old is she?"
"Ten years old." Yelü Qi stopped his hand at a point slightly higher than the bedside table and gestured a couple of times. "He should be about this tall."
When he mentioned his daughter, his eyes lit up more: "I used to smoke, but I stopped after she was born. She would put cigarettes in the toilet before she was even as tall as my calf. If I smelled of smoke, she would wipe my face with a towel she used to wash her feet."
Shu Ningmiao didn't understand why he was so interested in talking about these things: "If you don't tell her now, she'll only be more upset if she finds out by accident."
Yelü Qi touched his nose: "When you're sick, you naturally want to hide it from your child. If your child has even the slightest problem, you wish you could take their place. Every parent is like that."
"..." Shu Ningmiao felt that Yeluqi was exaggerating. She had stayed in the medical center for a week, and her father didn't even know she was hospitalized.
The door to the ward was pushed open, and the school staff arrived late. Not to mention the tutors from other classes, even the principal was there. Shu Ningmiao tactfully withdrew and saw Weston at the back.
His appearance was even rarer than the principal's; Weston didn't seem like the type to have deep feelings for his colleagues.
But when she thought of what Weston had asked her to give to Yelüqi, Shu Ningmiao felt it made more sense. She didn't know what it was, but she had a vague feeling that it was related to Yelüqi's illness.
The shape of the contents of the bottle, based on her perception, resembled a pill.
She didn't believe the diagnosis of gastrointestinal bleeding.
Weston brushed past her as she left, then suddenly turned to her and said, "There's a women's restroom on the fourth floor."
His gaze swept lightly over the black liquid splattered on her coat, which had already dried somewhat: "Pack up and go back to school. Don't stay out here any longer."
"Okay." Shu Ningmiao followed his gaze, disdainfully lifting the hem of her coat. Her attention had been focused on Yelü Qi, and she hadn't even realized how disheveled she looked. "Thank you."
Weston looked away, and the door to the ward closed silently, completely cutting off the sound and sight inside.
Knowing is one thing, doing is another. Shu Ningmiao called someone to send a new set of clothes to the hospital, and opened her terminal while blow-drying her hair.
She didn't believe that something that had happened could go unnoticed.
Regardless of whether Yelü Qi has an illness or not, he is certainly not the only one in the world with this symptom. She has encountered two people with rare genetic diseases like Su Ni.
She first tried keywords like "black blood from the mouth and nose," but the search results were all irrelevant diagnoses. Shu Ningmiao clicked on one that suggested cancer, but the other symptoms didn't match.
She flipped through dozens of pages but still couldn't find the result she was looking for.
Shu Ningmiao recalled the chaos just now, wondering if there were any details she had overlooked. Yeluqi's dilated pupils flashed through her mind. In that instant, she saw that Yeluqi's eyes were filled with black blood vessels.
She paused for a moment, deleted all the words in the search box, and retyped: black bloodshot eyes
The results this time were much fewer than last time. Shu Ningmiao scrolled to the bottom and found a question that had been posted for six or seven years. The post was on a local forum and there were hardly any active users anymore, but it was still up.
There weren't many replies to the post, so Shu Ningmiao started reading from the beginning.
OP: I've been coughing a lot lately and I've been sleeping for longer periods. When I looked in the mirror this morning, I was terrified to see dark circles in my eyes. But when I looked closer, I realized they were bloodshot.
Jin Cin Loves Me: Did you go to the hospital? We can't draw a conclusion based on that alone.
OP: I went to the doctor, and he said I'm fine, but I still feel uneasy.
Orchid: The doctor said you're fine, it's just psychological, right?
OP: If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do. I've been feeling increasingly unwell lately, and I've already resigned from my job these past two days.
Orchid: I'm sorry, I was just worried that the more you think about this, the worse your health will become. Where did you move to?
Original Poster: New Land.
Orchid: ? ? ?
Judging from the posting time, the original poster did not reply for six months after the orchid message, until an ID that had never appeared before sent a message.
Eliminate evil and promote good: Are you still there, OP? Your condition is very similar to an illness I heard about back in my hometown. I have a folk remedy here; would you like to try it? We can meet in the new place.
Shu Ningmiao swiped her finger upwards, but the page didn't scroll, and she realized that the post had reached the bottom. The last message was a reply from the original poster quoting "Eliminate evil and promote good".
OP: Okay.
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