The place Liu Xie was taken to was the inpatient department, which was naturally where the old dean currently resided.
Walking through the hospital, surrounded by the smell of disinfectant, brushing past all kinds of ailments.
Like two butterflies dancing gracefully through a garden.
Liu Xie had hardly ever been to the hospital, and her visits to the inpatient department were even rarer.
This place was still fairly novel to her.
Her body had been quite healthy since she was a child, so common illnesses never really managed to bring her to the hospital.
Liu Xie remembered that the last time she had been admitted was because she ate too many different things at once, which triggered acute appendicitis.
Back then, Liu Anran had rushed her to the hospital and busied himself running back and forth, while she herself felt there was nothing to be anxious about.
She even had the leisure to mock Liu Anran as he paced circles around the hospital room.
Of course, that was only temporary. Once the anesthesia wore off, she was clutching her incision, writhing in pain on the bed.
Come to think of it, that was something of a silver lining.
She had gotten her appendix removed before becoming what she was now, and then that wretched Probationary Goddess turned her into this form, conveniently erasing even the tiny laparoscopic scar left on her abdomen.
If anything, that might count as one of the few advantages of becoming what she was now.
Liu Xie looked at Liu Anran, who was holding her hand.
From behind, she could take in the full view of Liu Anran’s back.
Actually, that wasn’t quite right either.
There were quite a few advantages to becoming what she was now; comparatively speaking, the disadvantages were slightly fewer.
Her constitution was a bit weaker, but that didn’t matter since she didn’t really exercise much anyway.
The only real downside was that every month, a monster called the Menstrual Period would attack her, deducting a certain amount of HP and afflicting her with a weakened status.
Liu Xie and Ye Qingchang were actually the two in the entire Dormitory who reacted the least to the arrival of their Menstrual Period.
Liu Xie was because her body was good enough that even after the proportional reduction in strength, she was still no different from a normal girl.
Ye Qingchang was because her body was bad enough that she usually looked like a frail, half-dead skeleton.
After the proportional reduction, she still looked exactly like a half-dead skeleton.
“Excuse me…” Liu Anran pulled Liu Xie along as he approached the nurse station to ask for the third time.
That finally seemed to pin down the location.
His steps carried a hint of urgency as he walked straight toward one of the rooms, with Liu Xie struggling to keep pace behind him.
There were three beds in the room.
Two were empty. Only the bed nearest the window held an elderly man lying with his eyes closed, a peaceful expression on his face.
He had changed into a hospital gown, looking a bit thin, though thankfully the hospital’s air conditioning was strong enough.
Liu Anran pulled over an empty stool from the side, set it down beside the bed, and then guided Liu Xie to sit.
Liu Xie glanced at the old man on the bed, then at Liu Anran, who seemed to be lost in thought about something.
A moment later, the door to the room opened again. Both Liu Anran and Liu Xie looked up to see a medical staff member at the doorway waving them over.
Liu Xie seemed a bit uncertain and looked once more at Liu Anran beside her.
Liu Anran simply got up and walked toward the door, a little tail naturally appearing behind him.
“Are you the patient’s family? His grandson and granddaughter, or…”
After Liu Xie followed Liu Anran out, the first thing she heard was that sentence from the person in the white coat.
“No, not exactly. We were fostered by him before,” Liu Anran said, shaking his head as he explained his relationship with the Old Dean.
“I heard just now that his family had come to visit. So you should be the one we contacted earlier…”
“Yes, I was the one who answered the phone,” Liu Anran said to the white coat.
“At the time, I only briefly explained the situation over the phone. The patient’s condition is actually quite complicated, which is why I called you to the hospital.”
At that moment, both the white coat and Liu Anran turned to look at Liu Xie. Oh no, not quite—they were looking past her at the room behind her.
So Liu Xie very helpfully closed the door.
Then Liu Xie stood between the two of them, listening to their conversation.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t understand much of it, and when some fairly technical terms came up, she understood even less.
But Liu Anran seemed to understand, his expression growing somewhat solemn.
“In any case, we hope you’ll keep a close eye on things.”
“I understand. Thank you, doctor.” Liu Anran gave a slight bow.
Then, seeing that the two of them seemed to have finished talking, Liu Xie reached out and tugged at Liu Anran’s sleeve.
“So what’s the situation right now?” she asked softly.
“It’s pretty serious…” Liu Anran said. “You can think of it as nothing working except maybe biological technology.”
“Ah, how could that be…”
Liu Xie furrowed her brow.
Usually, in situations like this where nothing could be done, even in literary works, the doctor would tell you how much time was left in the next moment, and then came the final indulgence of life.
“The old man worked in a mine when he was young, and for a very long time. Honestly, the fact that he made it to this age is already beyond what he expected.”
“There’s really no other way?” Liu Xie grabbed Liu Anran’s sleeve.
Even though she knew her feelings for the old man in that room couldn’t be as deep as Liu Anran’s, he was still the one who had raised little Liu Anran.
“A way?” Liu Anran shook his head.
“Better to just let the old man enjoy himself more. At least let him spend this last stretch happily.” Liu Anran seemed to take a more open-minded view.
Liu Xie frowned slightly, as if somewhat puzzled.
If it were her, she would be racking her brains trying to find a way to treat him as much as possible.
But she couldn’t exactly call Liu Anran cold-hearted.
Liu Anran must have tried, and only after confirming the situation did he give up.
Perhaps Liu Anran could already guess most of the reason for coming to the hospital this time, but in a situation where there was no turning back, Liu Anran just seemed a bit indifferent.
Liu Anran was rational, and she was emotional, but she couldn’t deny Liu Anran’s efforts and accuse him of being heartless at a time like this.
Liu Anran might be feeling even worse than she was right now.
Suddenly, a hand landed on her shoulder: “Don’t worry too much.”
Liu Xie wasn’t the type to be overly sentimental, of course. What she was worried about was Liu Anran.
But Liu Anran looked past her worried gaze and turned to the white coat.
Liu Xie tensed up.
Usually, at a time like this, they’d say how much time was left.
The female doctor seemed to remember something:
“Oh right, if you’re the patient’s family, remember to go to the billing hall to settle the medical expenses. Thanks for your cooperation.”