Chapter 109: The moment I fell in love, the whole world became my rival in love (9)

Because she was due to start work the very next day, Bai Yao had not let Fu Huai get entirely out of hand the night before.

Afraid that he would wake up and start pestering her with childish nonsense again, she left him an envelope while he was still asleep. Inside was the allowance she had set aside for him. Then she picked up her suitcase and left home.

Lanshan Hospital, the place Bai Yao was heading to, was located in Lanshan. Though it was called a hospital, it was more like a sanatorium. It was famous for housing psychiatric patients, and many troublesome cases were sent there.

Bai Yao had checked the schedule. There were only two buses a day to Lanshan Hospital, one in the morning and one in the evening. The mountain road was poor, and few people drove up there, so she took the bus all the way up the mountain and never once saw another vehicle or a person along the way.

Lanshan Hospital had a long history, so every building carried the faded air of a century past. Even the ornate iron gates were rusting at the edges.

From a distance, it really did look like a cage.

On this trip, Bai Yao was the only passenger heading to the hospital. She got off the bus and walked to the entrance.

The gatekeeper was an elderly man with milky eyes. He was hunched over, and his health did not seem good. After Bai Yao gave her name and identity, the old man smiled broadly and welcomed her in. He even offered to help with her suitcase, but Bai Yao quickly declined and went in on her own.

The weather was pleasant today, the sun warm on the skin.

Quite a few patients were sitting on the grass soaking up the sunlight, while hospital staff stood nearby. It was obvious that many of the patients were not in a stable state of mind. The moment Bai Yao, a stranger, stepped inside, they all turned to stare at her fixedly.

To be honest, being watched by a crowd of unwell people was rather unnerving.

Bai Yao noticed one patient whose expression was different from the rest.

He was a man standing in the shade of a tree, thin as a skeleton, his hair sparse, his eyes cloudy. Yet the corners of his mouth were lifted, his eyes curved in a broad smile as he beamed at Bai Yao.

He did not move at all, the shape of his grin frozen in place. It was as though, if he could, he would have stretched the smile all the way to his ears, enlarging it without limit.

He was a living person, yet it was as if he were wearing a mask. That smile made him look especially sinister.

"Mr. Wu, why have you hidden yourself away here?" A nurse hurried over and helped the man out from beneath the tree.

The man, surnamed Wu, followed her with a dull, vacant expression, his eyes darting around in a flustered panic, as if he were afraid of something. The eerie smile he had worn just moments ago seemed almost like an illusion.

Bai Yao watched the patient being led away, frowning slightly.

At that moment, another nurse came running over. "You must be Bai Yao, the new one!"

Bai Yao turned back with a smile. "Yes, that's me."

The cute-looking nurse smiled and said, "Hello, I'm Luo Xiaoyang. Just call me Xiaoyang. Come with me. I'll take you to the dormitory first so you can put your things away."

Luo Xiaoyang had been arranged by the head nurse to welcome the new colleague. There was a reason she had been chosen: she was cheerful and outgoing, the sort of person who could talk naturally with anyone. Even on her first meeting with Bai Yao, there was no awkwardness at all, and she gave Bai Yao an overview of life at Lanshan Hospital as they walked.

They had two days off every week, arranged on a rotating schedule. But because transportation here was inconvenient, even on rest days most people chose to stay in the dormitory or go for a walk nearby and enjoy the scenery.

There was a small supermarket in the hospital where they could buy snacks, though naturally it was nowhere near as well stocked as a city supermarket.

Fortunately, Bai Yao had been far-sighted and prepared everything in advance, so she would not have to worry about where to buy daily necessities later on.

The staff dormitory was also an old building from a bygone era. Luo Xiaoyang said that more than ten years ago, two employees had to share one room, but now that the hospital had far fewer people, each staff member could have a room of their own.

Bai Yao's room was on the fourth floor, room 404. Though the place was old, it was not in disrepair. Clean and neat, with a bed and a desk, it held very little, yet everything was tidy and orderly.

Her work clothes had already been brought over and placed on the desk by Luo Xiaoyang.

Luo Xiaoyang handed Bai Yao the room key. "I live right across from you. Since you're new here, if there's anything you don't understand, you can come ask me."

Bai Yao said, "All right. Thank you."

Luo Xiaoyang waved it off. "No need to be so polite. Change into your uniform, and I'll take you to meet the head nurse."

Bai Yao changed into the white nurse's uniform. The pure, sacred-looking clothing was a little loose on her, but it made her slim figure seem all the more delicate.

Luo Xiaoyang sighed with admiration. "As expected, beautiful people look good in anything."

Bai Yao smiled brightly. "You look very pretty too."

Luo Xiaoyang became a little embarrassed.

The head nurse's surname was Fang. She had a stern face, and the younger nurses were somewhat afraid of her, but so long as one worked properly, she was not the sort to go looking for faults out of boredom.

Head Nurse Fang had already reviewed Bai Yao's file and was fairly satisfied with her. Although it was Bai Yao's first day here, work was work.

Dr. Ma from the neurosurgery department was short of an assistant, and they had not been able to find a suitable replacement. Bai Yao had arrived at just the right time.

When Luo Xiaoyang heard that Bai Yao would be assisting Dr. Ma, she looked worried. After they left the head nurse's office, she lowered her voice and said to Bai Yao, "You should be careful. I heard something's been off with Dr. Ma lately."

Bai Yao asked, "What's wrong with him?"

Luo Xiaoyang shook her head. "We don't really know. Dr. Ma used to be very good, kind and easygoing, but recently his temper has become stranger and stranger. He stays in his laboratory all the time and hardly ever comes out."

Luo Xiaoyang still had lingering fear in her eyes. "Not long ago, Dr. Ma stayed in the lab and forgot the time for surgery. His assistant went to knock on the door to remind him, and he ended up beating the assistant up. In the end, it was the director who stepped in to calm things down, but that assistant quit afterward."

She glanced around, then lowered her voice even further. "Everyone's been saying that Dr. Ma might have fallen under some strange curse too."

Bai Yao became interested. "What kind of curse?"

"It is said that before the hospital was built, this land was a gathering place for a cult. They summoned a demon here. Anyone who saw the demon would be cursed. Those who were cursed would unconsciously smile, and if someone happened to see them die with a smile on their face, that person would become the next one cursed."

Luo Xiaoyang continued, "I heard that a long time ago, when the authorities discovered that this place had connections to those organizations, they even sent people here to investigate. But then a fire broke out in the hospital, and many things were burned to nothing. After that, the matter was dropped."

Bai Yao said, "Wow, that sounds terrifying."

Luo Xiaoyang could not help wondering if beautiful women were simply better at controlling their expressions. Bai Yao sounded so frightened, yet her face remained calm and composed.