lcionline Chapter 29 Rehabilitation Center
Chapter 29 Rehabilitation Center
joke,
If Bai Yuze makes Bai Cha Qianxia cook today, then he'll never be able to escape the class monitor's clutches again.
So this lifetime
I can never repay the kindness of the class monitor.
Thinking of this,
Bai Yuze quickly stepped forward and gently pressed her wrist. In that instant, both of them were slightly stunned.
Bai Yuze's fingers were slightly cold.
The white tea, Qianxia, seems to have abundant qi and blood, and the contrast between hot and cold is very noticeable.
"Ahem, squad leader, you're a guest. What kind of host makes a guest make breakfast?"
Bai Yuze quickly withdrew his hand, went to Bai Chaqianxia's side, skillfully took the cleaver from her hand, and began to cut the meat.
"Squad leader, you can go to the living room and rest for a while. I'll do it as a way of thanking you for feeding me these past few days."
"Um."
The warmth of his fingertips still lingered on Bai Cha Qianxia's wrist, and her cheeks were slightly flushed.
"Wouldn't this be too much trouble for Bai?"
"Squad leader, look at what you're saying. If it weren't for you feeding me these past few days, I would have starved to death long ago! I'm just making you a bowl of noodles right now, and besides, you even bought the ingredients. It really makes me feel uneasy. If this continues, I'll be trained to be your loyal follower."
"It's not as serious as you make it out to be, Bai."
Bai Cha Qianxia was also amused by Bai Yuze, and the embarrassment and awkwardness she had shown earlier disappeared.
She walked out of the kitchen, sat on the sofa, looked at the kitchen lights that had come on, and listened to the sound of running water and the soft clattering of kitchen utensils.
She looked down at her fingertips, and a slight smile crept onto her lips.
"It seems that Bai Yuze isn't all blockhead after all."
In the kitchen,
Bai Yuze skillfully scooped out the stir-fried meat sauce and set it aside. Then he took out the noodles he had just bought yesterday afternoon from the cupboard, put them in the pot, and turned on the heat to boil water.
Speaking of,
This was the first time in over a decade that he had cooked for anyone other than Okasan.
The water in the pot quickly started to bubble.
The rising steam blurred his features.
Bai Yuzhe subconsciously turned his head to look at the girl sitting quietly in the living room. Sunlight streamed through the window and fell on her long hair, giving it a soft glow.
After a long while,
He sighed softly.
Ugh,
I wish the other person was a hydrangea.
If that's the case,
Even if the other person deliberately approached him, he complied.
And now,
He felt that he was never good enough for a gentle and considerate girl like his class monitor.
He felt incredibly lost and uneasy!
A few minutes later,
Bai Yuze brought two steaming bowls of noodles to the table.
The bowl he served to Shiracha Chika contained significantly more ingredients, including two soft-boiled eggs, neatly arranged greens, and a light yet flavorful broth.
"Squad leader, give it a try. I haven't cooked in a long time, so my skills might be just so-so."
"Bai is being modest~"
Hakucha Chika picked up a piece of noodles with her chopsticks, blew on it to cool it down, and put it in her mouth. The warm soup slid down her throat, and the taste was very delicious.
She looked up at Bai Yuze, her eyes sparkling: "It's delicious, even better than the breakfast shops outside."
"Class monitor, what you said makes me a little embarrassed."
Slurp~
Bai Yuze ate his noodles very quickly, mainly because the atmosphere was too strange. As someone who had been single for decades, he simply couldn't stand it.
Until the other person has almost finished eating,
He then took the initiative to ask, "Class monitor, what materials does the class need to purchase this time? Let me search the map and see which side is closer to here."
Shiracha Chika took out a tissue from the side and wiped her mouth, then chuckled, "I've made a list of materials to buy. It mainly includes decorative ribbons, balloons, and stage backdrop fabric. There might be quite a lot to buy."
As he spoke,
Bai Cha Qianxia handed the shopping list to Bai Yuze.
Bai Yuzhe glanced at it and roughly understood what was going on. He chuckled and said, "It's alright, I'll just call a Lalamove truck then."
finished,
Bai Yuze put the list in his pocket and tidied up the dishes on the table. When he came out of the kitchen...
Shiracha Chika was already standing in the entryway, holding a faded light blue canvas tote bag, which matched her snow-white cotton dress.
"Let's go, Bai."
Shiracha Chika turned her head, and the morning light shone through the gap in the curtains, falling perfectly on her profile. "It's 7:30 now, the building materials market over there should be open by now."
"it is good."
When Bai Yuze led Bai Cha Qianxia out of the apartment.
The sunlight in the sky was somewhat dazzling.
The air still carried that slightly astringent smell, a mixture of dust and emissions from the distant industrial area.
Several ordinary family cars and a small truck unloading goods were parked in the open space in front of the building, making it look somewhat messy.
Bai Yuze stood by the steps, took out his phone, and started calling a car.
Shiracha Chika stood quietly half a step away from him, her gaze sweeping gently over the street scene ahead, seemingly in no hurry.
During the few minutes of waiting for the bus,
Bai Yuze's gaze swept around, and suddenly, he spotted a sleek, angular black sedan. The windows were covered with dark privacy film, reflecting a dim light in the sunlight, which seemed out of place with the slightly old-fashioned surroundings.
Tsk,
Are there still luxury cars like this in Hanjiang District?
quickly,
The ride-hailing car arrived.
Bai Yuze opened the car door and gestured for Bai Chaqianxia to get in first.
"Where to?"
"Let's go to the Hanjiang District Rehabilitation Center first."
After Bai Yuze finished speaking, he turned to Bai Chaqianxia and explained, "Class monitor, the Hanjiang District Rehabilitation Center is on the way to the building materials market. I need to go there to take care of something, which may take a while."
"fine."
Shiracha Chika shook her head, not caring at all. Instead, she looked curiously at the environment outside the window.
It's the weekend.
There was a slight traffic jam on the street, but the surrounding streets were also quite lively.
About ten minutes later,
We have arrived at our destination.
Bai Yuze paid the fare, but after getting out of the car, he was a little confused.
It stands to reason,
weekend,
The Hanjiang District Rehabilitation Center must be quite lively and crowded.
But looking at it...
The lobby of the rehabilitation center seemed somewhat empty. Sunlight streamed through the huge glass curtain wall, casting clear spots of light on the floor, but it couldn't dispel the smell of disinfectant mixed with a faint sense of anxiety in the air.
Occasionally, a nurse or patient would hurry by, their footsteps echoing in the silence, their faces mostly bearing a tense weariness.
Bai Cha Qianxia followed Bai Yuze, her gaze slightly curious as she looked around at the rather deserted environment.
Although she didn't know what Bai Yuze was doing at the rehabilitation center, she didn't ask any questions. She simply looked around quietly, maintaining a proper distance.
Bai Yuzhe led her through the lobby with practiced ease, heading towards the floor where the director's office was located.
Along the way
His gaze kept sweeping along both sides of the corridor.
Although there were constant conversations in the corridors and the constant ticking of medical equipment in the wards, the overall atmosphere was noticeably less lively than before.
Many wards were even completely empty, and several of the familiar nurses were gone.
Bai Yuze frowned slightly.
Somewhat puzzled,
As he climbed to the second floor, a familiar, sweet scent entered his nostrils.
Suddenly,
The answers to all the questions surfaced in his mind.
Thinking of this,
His previously serious expression relaxed considerably. He arrived at the director's office, which bore the nameplate "Li Hua," and knocked on the door.
"Please come in."
A slightly hoarse and irritable voice came from inside.
Push open the door and enter.
The office was simply and neatly furnished, but the air was filled with the lingering bitter smell of coffee and a hint of smoke.
The director behind the desk looked to be around fifty years old, with neatly combed hair, but his brows were shrouded in a heavy sense of fatigue and irritability, and the dark circles under his eyes were clearly visible.
He saw Bai Yuze and forced a smile, but when his gaze swept over Bai Chaqianxia, a hint of doubt and displeasure at being disturbed flashed across his face.
"Xiao Bai, who is this...?"
Director Li stood up, his tone was still polite, but it clearly conveyed a sense of distance.
"Director Li, I'm sorry to bother you."
Bai Yuzhe bowed slightly, somewhat embarrassed, and introduced himself.
"This is my classmate, Shiracha Chika. We were passing by and wanted to drop by to see you, but you don't look too well, and the rehabilitation center is unusually quiet today. Is something wrong? If there's anything I can do to help, please let me know."
Director Li was just about to say something when
But when his gaze fell upon Shiracha Chika beside him, he hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't...
Bai Cha Qianxia's clear gaze swept between Bai Yuze and Director Li, seemingly sensing Director Li's predicament. She took a small step forward, nodded politely to Director Li, and said softly:
"Bai, Director Li, you have important matters to discuss, so I won't disturb you any longer. I'll just sit in the rest area outside for a while."
As the wooden door closed,
Only two people remained in the office.
A smile flashed across Director Li's face. "You rascal, you've quietly found a gentle and considerate girlfriend. Not bad!"
Bai Yuze touched his nose.
"Director Li, please don't make fun of me. It's still far from settled. Tell me what happened at the rehabilitation center. I remember when Professor Mu asked me to bring medicine last time, it was packed with people."
When it comes to serious matters,
The polite smile on Director Li's face vanished instantly. He slumped back into his chair, rubbed his temples vigorously, and let out a long sigh.
"Xiaobai, you have no idea how driven I've been these past few days. If this continues, my rehabilitation center might have to close down!"
"Yes, I noticed that too. Is there a problem?"
"Xiaobai, since you are my student, you are one of us. My rehabilitation center is not just having a problem, it's having a big problem. Recently, I don't know what's wrong, but patients and nurses on night shifts have been telling me that they can always see blurry black shadows moving around at the end of the corridor, at the entrance of the storage room, and in the basement!"
Many patients have also reported hearing strange noises, like fingernails scratching a blackboard, or something humming softly...
Each of them spoke with such conviction and detail!
This frightened some patients who were recovering well, causing their condition to relapse, leading to anxiety, and some even requesting to be transferred to another hospital or refusing to be hospitalized altogether.
But we checked all the surveillance footage and found nothing. Either the cameras in that time period were inexplicably malfunctioning, or the screen was full of static.
"Damn it, what ghosts are there? What else could these unseen filthy things be? They're either Abyssal Beasts crawling out of the abyss, or those disgusting fake humans!"
Combining the scent I smelled when I came in,
Bai Yuzhe knew perfectly well that what the other party said was true; the rehabilitation center did indeed have Abyssal Beasts and pseudo-humans, but the level of danger wasn't particularly high. However, he wouldn't reveal this. Instead, he asked in a deep voice:
"Director Li, wasn't this situation reported to the Secret Service? Shouldn't they have a dedicated team to handle these kinds of unusual incidents?"
"It was reported! Why wasn't it reported!"
Speaking of which,
Director Li's face turned red. He slammed his hand on the heavy solid wood table, making a dull thud.
"But what kind of place is Hanjiang District? It's not Yunding District, it's not Maple Leaf District. These special police officers who are just drawing salaries without working, as soon as they hear that there was a disaster at our rehabilitation center in this ordinary neighborhood, they either make excuses about insufficient police force and heavy workload recently, or they complain that we don't have solid video evidence or victims, and that it doesn't meet the standards for filing a case based on just a few words! I don't know how many times I've made phone calls and submitted several reports, but every time they just disappear into thin air or are dealt with perfunctorily!"
"They're...they're a bunch of bastards!"
Director Li was so angry that his chest heaved, clearly indicating that he had been harboring resentment for a long time.
"If no one takes care of this after a while, I'll be willing to be shameless and ask the teacher for help."
Bai Yuzhe's eyes flickered slightly, and a hint of anger appeared on his face as he said:
"That's how these special agents are; they only care about the wealthy areas, completely ignoring those of us in the working-class and slum areas. But not all special agents are like that, for example..."
Speaking of which,
Bai Yuzhe seemed to suddenly remember something and said in a low voice, "Director Li, I do know a captain from the Special Operations Bureau who's on duty near Qingyang Bridge. His surname is Morikawa Kenji. He's a very upright person, very responsible, and very concerned about the security of the area. Perhaps... I could try to mention the situation here to him privately? See if he can help in his personal capacity, or maybe think of a solution?"
Director Li's eyes suddenly lit up, and he involuntarily leaned forward, as if grasping at a lifeline:
"Really?! Junior Brother Bai, if you could get a captain from the Special Operations Bureau to come and take a look, even if it's just to show up and calm people down, that would be a huge help to our center. No wonder you were recommended by our teacher, you have so many connections. Don't worry, as for the expenses, the center can..."
Bai Yuzhe gently raised his hand, interrupting Director Li's conversation about expenses, a slightly meaningful smile appearing on his face:
"Director Li, you're too kind. However, as you know, it's not quite in line with procedure to have a serving special operations captain handle this kind of disaster without concrete evidence, and it might put him in a difficult position. But..."
Bai Yuze paused briefly, then said in a very low voice:
"I heard that Captain Morikawa's only son recently had an accident, fracturing all four limbs. His injuries are quite serious, and he's urgently looking for a reliable rehabilitation center for systematic treatment. You see, if this captain's son happens to be at our Hanjiang District Rehabilitation Center, receiving the most professional and effective rehabilitation treatment, and with significant results…"
So, wouldn't it be perfectly reasonable, even taken for granted, for a father who cares about his son's rehabilitation environment to visit the rehabilitation center more often on his way home from work, occasionally patrol the area around the center, and even, out of professional instinct, help check for any safety hazards?
Director Li was taken aback at first.
immediately,
He slapped his thigh suddenly, and the gloomy look on his face was instantly blown away by the strong wind:
"It has to be Junior Brother. You're quick-witted. If you can get the Special Operations Captain here, then we won't have to worry about medical disputes anymore. Even if there are Abyss Beasts or fake humans, we won't have a problem dealing with them."
"Director Li is exaggerating. I'm just running errands for Professor Mu."
Bai Yuzhe certainly didn't dare to accept Director Li's praise. He was now Professor Mu's errand boy and dared not call himself Professor Mu's student.
"Junior brother, don't be modest. Although I'm the worst off and most miserable one under the teacher, you're definitely the first undergraduate to get into the lab. Maybe I'll need your help in the future."
Bai Yuzhe dared not continue the conversation on this topic, and he said with a smile:
"Then, Director Li, it's settled. I'll contact Captain Morikawa now, and ask you to provide a reasonable and convenient treatment plan."
"No problem, these are minor issues!"
Director Li nodded excitedly, rubbing his hands together. His previous fatigue and irritability vanished, and he radiated with energy.
"Slots, the best rehabilitation programs, fee reductions, the most experienced therapists... everything will be arranged to the highest standards, and I'll personally oversee it! Xiaobai, go contact Captain Morikawa right now, the sooner the better! If this is done, you'll be a major contributor to our Hanjiang District Rehabilitation Center's recovery from this crisis!"
Bai Yuzhe smiled modestly:
"Director Li, you flatter me. I was just acting as a go-between, doing you a favor. I'll go talk to Captain Morikawa now and let you know as soon as I have any news."
"Okay, I'll wait for your good news!"
Director Li personally escorted Bai Yuze to the office door, showing exceptional enthusiasm.
Stepping out of the office,
Bai Yuze gently closed the door, shutting out the excited atmosphere inside.
in the corridor,
Shiracha Chika was sitting on a bench in the rest area, quietly looking out the window, the sunlight outlining a serene profile for her.
Bai Yuze walked over and said apologetically:
"Sorry, class monitor, did you keep me waiting? It was just a small matter, we've already finished talking."
Bai Cha Qianxia turned around, smiled slightly, and stood up: "It's alright. Shall we go to the building materials market now?"
"Okay, let's go."
Bai Yuzhe nodded, and the two walked side by side toward the elevator.