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nChapter 212 – Will Never Bloom Again

nChapter Two Hundred and Twelve: Will Never Bloom Again

n“…Aunty?”

nThe woman turned towards the source of the voice. Her penetrating gaze held no change in expression.

nNan Qi wasn’t sure if she recognized him. He wasn’t even sure if she could see him.

nBut, he recognized her.

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nThis woman who’d been so tortured by her mental illness was his own Aunty and Yan Jin’s mother. She was Du Yirou.

nThe treasured daughter of the Du family should have lived her life happily. But, in this justiceless world, she had wasted away here in her prime years.

n“Doctor, don’t stand too close. This patient is a little unstable and can become aggressive. It would be unfortunate if you were accidentally injured,” the nurse cautioned out of goodwill. She hadn’t heard Nan Qi softly call out to the patient earlier.

n“‘Can become aggressive…’” Nan Qi repeated as if he didn’t understand the words.

n“Recently, she’s been doing better, but two months ago, it was pretty bad. Multiple people struggled to restrain her. Most of the time, she’s as harmless as anyone, but when her illness acts up, she becomes a deranged old lady.”

nNan Qi subconsciously ground his teeth.

nHe struggled to reconcile the gentle woman he had known all those years ago with a “deranged old lady”.

nHe also couldn’t accept that his Aunty who had accurately captured that entire garden on canvas using a simple paintbrush had turned into this ghostly shell of a human body.

n“Do you have her medical records?” Nan Qi asked.

n“The records of these patients aren’t so easily accessible. Only the president has the privilege, but…”

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nThe nurse hesitated, then added, “If Doctor Chu wants to see them, I can help you.”

n“Didn’t you say that only the president has this privilege?”

n“The record storage room is currently being remodeled, so the records can be accessed now, but only for a short while. They need to be returned immediately after.”

n“Then, I’ll have to trouble you. Thanks.”

n“Don’t worry about it.”

nWith the nurse’s departure, only Nan Qi and Du Yirou remained.

nNan Qi had straightened up earlier when talking to the nurse. He turned back now to see Du Yirou aimlessly staring into the same empty space as before. She had no reaction to anything happening around her.

nHer eyes were as lifeless as stagnant water. This shell of a human seemed to be already rotting away like dead wood.

nNan Qi squatted down one more.

n“Aunty, do you still remember me?”

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nNo reaction.

nNan Qi repeated the question.

nStill, no reaction.

n“Aunty, do you understand what I’m saying?”

nDi Yirou didn’t respond.

nNan Qi pulled out a small bundle of lavender from his pocket and held it in front of her.

nThe small flower buds fluttered in the air. The light purple petals had once made the most beautiful garlands.

nThe sound of flowing spring water could be heard.

n“The flowers…” Du Yirou finally opened her mouth. “Are they for me?”

nThis over-fifty-year-old woman who was already free from material desires sounded more like a young girl.

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nIt was a strange yet sorry scene.

n“They are.”

nNan Qi pressed the bouquet into Du Yirou’s shriveled hands.

n“How beautiful.” Her eyes began to brighten.

n“Aunty, do you know who I am?”

nDu Yirou stared closely at Nan Qi for a while. Then, she suddenly realized. “I know! You’re Qingqing. You’ve finally come to visit me!”

nNan Qi shook his head. “I’m Nan Qi. I’m your nephew. You came to visit me a lot when I was little. You planted a lavender garden in the courtyard of my home.”

n“Ah, I know. You’re Yixue’s kid.”

nDu Yixue was Nan Qi’s mother. Nan Qi was gratified to hear her name from Du Yirou.

nAlthough he didn’t know what had happened all those years ago, Nan Qi’s heart had sunk to rock bottom when he’d entered the room and seen Du Yirou.

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nEven a normal person would have gone crazy after being trapped here for so many years.

nNan Qi didn’t dare consider his relationship with Yan Jin. Currently, all he cared about was the extent of Du Yirou’s condition. He even entertained thoughts of recklessly fleeing the clinic with Du Yirou.

nSummer Springs Third Clinic was indeed a very nice place. They had ample resources of every type, and it was obvious that the doctors and nurses were very experienced. But, no matter how good the clinic was, it was still an asylum.

nTrue, the clinic could satisfy any material need. But, what about mental needs?

nThere was no way Nan Qi could forgive Yan Jin for imprisoning his own mother here for so many years. It didn’t matter the reason. She was the one who brought Yan Jin into the world!

nNow, seeing that Du Yirou could still remember her past, Nan Qi’s feelings of pity and guilt were somewhat alleviated.

nBut, only by a little. It was as negligible as the sun melting the tip of a massive iceberg.

n“Yes, Du Yixue is my mother.”

n“Du Yixue’s son, you’re all grown up now…”

nDu Yirou extended a hand to caress Nan Qi’s cheeks, but she misjudged the distance between them and only caught air.

nNan Qi caught her hands with his own.

nHe finally understood why her eyes couldn’t focus. It was no longer a mental issue.

nShe was almost blind now.

nThe world no longer looked the same in her eyes.

n“Aunty…”

nNan Qi suppressed his own sadness. One word at a time, he asked, “Who made you become like this?”

nDu Yirou tilted her head just as a young girl would. However, it looked wrong coming from her.

nNevertheless, Nan Qi didn’t mind. In his eyes, Du Yirou was still the irresistible beauty from long ago.

nTo him, she would always be the master of that lavender garden.

nEven if she was confined to the wheelchair and had lost nearly all her eyesight.

nEven if she would never again be able to prance through the sea of flowers.

nWith no master, the flowers would never bloom again.

n“Aunty, who made you like this? Who…?”

nNan Qi desperately wanted answers, but he also feared the answers he would receive.

nDu Yirou shook her head. It was impossible to tell if that was her response to the question or if she didn’t understand the question.

n“Aunty…”

nNan Qi grasped her retreating shoulders. His throat caught, but he still forced out the words like he had a mouthful of sand. “Was it… Yan Jin? Did he do it to seize the Du Family’s assets?”

nThe response was entirely unexpected.

nA mournful cry came from Du Yirou’s lips, like the final death cry from a crow.

nThe two words “Yan Jin” acted like a key to unlock the woman’s insanity.

nNan Qi received a scare from Du Yirou’s cry. He’d unconsciously loosened his hands, and in the next instant, Du Yirou slid off the wheelchair in a heap, wheelchair and all. She landed heavily with a piercing screech.

n“Monster! Die, monster, die!”

nDu Yirou pounded the ground, disheveled. Her bones rattled and fingers bled, but she didn’t feel the pain and continued her self-injury.

n“Aunty! Aunty!?”

nNan Qi was only late by a few seconds, but Du Yirou’s hands were already completely mangled. Before he could stop her, a sudden burst of strength from Du Yirou pushed him aside.

nAn alarm began wailing next to his ear.

nThe pain from his head hitting against the bedhead couldn’t compare to the twist of anguish in his heart.

nNan Qi looked on helplessly as a fully geared team of medical personnel stormed the room and injected Du Yirou with some unknown drug in a very practiced maner. Then, she was cruelly tied down onto the bed.

nThey didn’t care for her desperate struggling one bit and unyieldingly restrained all four of her limbs. The treatment seemed more suited for livestock rather than a human.

n“Wait, you guys—”

n“—Doctor Chu, are you okay?!”

nThe nurse threw aside everything in her hands and rushed to Chu Ge’s side. She pulled him up and said, concerned, “Sorry! It’s all my fault; I shouldn’t have left you alone here. She’s been well-behaved for the past few days so I didn’t think her illness would act up again! I’m really sorry!”

n“Don’t worry about it.” Nan Qi barely managed a smile.

n“The symptoms appeared so suddenly… *sigh*, it’s getting worse and worse…,” the nurse muttered. Then, she told Nan Qi, “They’ll take care of everything. You can leave it to them; let’s step outside.”

nThe team that had stormed in were the clinic’s dedicated team for handling the symptoms of insanity. They were more experienced in handling this than any doctor or nurse.

nNan Qi wanted to stay, but he didn’t have the courage.

nHe saw someone stuff gauze into Du Yirou’s mouth to prevent her from biting her own tongue or trying to kill herself. As he left, he thought he heard the sound of her cries, but that was impossible; she already had no way of speaking.

n……

nNan Qi walked out of the ward with the nurse.

n“Here’s the medical history, Doctor Chu. Would you like to look at it now or…”

nAs the nurse was talking, she realized something wasn’t right with Nan Qi. She quickly added, “Doctor Chu, don’t take it too heavily. This patient’s symptoms appear quite frequently. It’s not your fault. Since you’re new here, you’re probably not too used to what we do here. Most of the patients here have illnesses that can act up anywhere, anytime. Our team here is always ready on standby, so don’t worry. Nothing bad will happen.”

n“Need to fix up her injuries…” Nan Qi muttered.

n“Sorry?” The nurse didn’t hear him properly.

n“Her injuries, her hands were hurt.”

n“Huh? Is it bad? Were her wrists cut?” the nurse asked, concerned.

n“No, but her joints…”

n“That’s not a major issue then. It happens frequently.”

nThe nurse didn’t seem too concerned anymore. “It’s only a problem if the bleeding is too serious. This patient has type AB panda blood. The blood banks don’t have enough of this type.” TLN: “panda blood” is commonly used Chinese slang that means Rh negative blood factor, since it’s “as rare as pandas”. About 3 in 1000 people carry Rh negative factor.

n“What blood type?”

n“Rh negative. We don’t have enough of this stored up…”

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