Life Plan

Chapter 5, Misunderstanding

Liu Chichi saw Hao Jia after get off work in the second week. She was still fully covered in sun protection clothing and slowly moving forward in her wheelchair.

Shen Shuyi followed her gaze and asked, "You two know each other?"

"Hmm." Liu Chichi no longer avoided the question. "Has she always been alone?"

"No, her boyfriend was here a few days ago. They seem to be looking for a caregiver, but they probably haven't found one yet."

In July, at six o'clock in the evening, the sky was still bright and the sunlight was dazzling. Hao Jia moved close to the wall. The hospital's accessibility facilities were very convenient, but Hao Jia was not very skilled at operating a wheelchair.

Liu Chichi followed her movements and saw that she was probably heading to the food delivery locker. It wasn't far, but there was a waterproof step under the locker, which wasn't ideal for Hao Jia's current physical condition.

Liu Chichi glanced at her phone screen. The black screen reflected her masked face. So many years had passed, her voice had already changed, she probably wouldn't recognize her.

She quickly walked up behind Hao Jia: "Hello, I'm Shen Shuyi's colleague. She asked me to help you."

Hao Jia was taken aback for a moment, then followed the direction she was pointing and saw Shen Shuyi, who waved to them before turning and leaving. Hao Jia turned back to Liu Chichi, her voice hoarse but full of emotion: "Thank you, and please thank Dr. Shen for me too."

Liu Chichi narrowed her eyes. A sun hat, mask, and sunglasses covered Hao Jia's entire face, but her enthusiastic tone was exactly the same as that of a female warrior in an anime, just like in her memory.

The 50-meter distance only takes three minutes to push the wheelchair, shorter than Hao Jia walks out of the inpatient department. After picking up the takeout, Liu Chichi insisted on escorting Hao Jia upstairs, but Hao Jia strongly declined, saying, "Don't trouble yourself, I can manage by myself. I know the way back to my ward very well."

Just as Liu Chichi was about to speak, her phone rang suddenly, and the elevator doors opened at the same time. Hao Jia took this opportunity to wheel herself into the elevator and waved to Liu Chichi: "Don't worry."

It was Zhou Ya's phone call.

As soon as I answered, I heard the caller's anxious voice: "Chichi, it's too far for me to get there in time. Could you please pick up my daughter for me?"

This was the third time Zhou Ya had asked her to pick up her child in just one and a half weeks since she started working there.

Seeing that she didn't speak, Zhou Ya's tone softened, becoming almost pitiful: "I've been out of the workforce for so many years, it's so hard to find a job. My mentor is working overtime, and I really don't dare leave early. Am I troubling you a bit? I'm so sorry..."

"No," Liu Chichi subconsciously denied.

"If you're also working overtime, I'll tell my supervisor I'm leaving early and I'll come pick you up myself."

"I'm off work." There was a bus stop right outside the inpatient department. Liu Chichi looked at the No. 71 bus that had stopped, turned around and walked towards the intersection. The library was just two intersections away. "I'll go pick it up. You can tell the manager."

"Okay, okay, thank you Chichi. I'll definitely treat you to a meal when I get a permanent position."

The library is a children's reading room funded by the property management company of Zhou Ya's residential community, and it also provides meal services. Not only are the property prices in this community high, but the property management fees are even higher.

Although it's called a reading room, it actually consists of two floors of shops containing several multi-functional rooms, resembling a small cultural center, and was converted from a sales office. It accommodates children aged 6-12 from three surrounding upscale residential communities, with management as strict as a kindergarten; registration is required for both pick-up and drop-off.

She signed the papers to pick up Zhou Ya's daughter, Xiao Qiao, and sensed that the girl was sullen. Liu Chichi wasn't good at communicating, so it was Xiao Qiao who took the initiative to pull her hand: "Sister Chichi, I've lost my best friend."

As soon as she spoke, Xiao Qiao's tears fell, and she raised her hand to wipe her eyes haphazardly.

Liu Chichi squatted down. "What happened?"

"I gave the hair clip to Manman without telling my mom. My mom saw it and said Manman was a thief..."

Liu Chichi pieced together what had happened from her intermittent sobs. Manman was the granddaughter of the library security guard. The little girls were exchanging gifts, and Xiao Qiao had given away the hair clip she received for her birthday. She didn't know that the hair clip cost three thousand yuan, which was very expensive; she just thought it suited Manman very well.

She didn't tell Zhou Ya when she gave the hair clip to Manman, and Manman's family didn't know that a hair clip was so expensive, so they didn't pay much attention to it.

When Zhou Ya picked her up yesterday, she asked Xiao Qiao if her hair clip had been stolen. Manman overheard this and hasn't spoken to Xiao Qiao all day.

Liu Chichi's vision suddenly blurred, as if she saw herself thirteen years ago, and Hao Jia, who was holding the meat bun that she hadn't handed over and was being scolded by her mother as "neither fish nor fowl".

Xiao Qiao's crying pulled her back to reality. She looked at the child seriously and asked, "Did you explain to your mother?"

"I don't dare, Mom will be very angry."

Do you still want to be friends with Manman?

"I wanted to, but she's ignoring me."

"Did you apologize to Manman?"

"I don't dare, I'm afraid she'll say she hates me."

Liu Chichi held Xiao Qiao's hand, wishing she could travel through time and hold her past self. She regretted it so much. "If you do nothing, Mom will misunderstand you and Manman, and you will lose Manman too."

Liu Chichi understands the instinctive avoidance she felt when facing her mother's anger in her youth, but avoidance solves nothing; cowardice and concession only lead to continuous loss.

Now, having retreated, Liu Chichi is left with nothing.

She owes Hao Jia an apology from thirteen years ago.

With Hao Jia's image in the wheelchair constantly on her mind, Liu Chichi unsurprisingly suffered from insomnia. As dawn broke, she got up early and rushed to the hospital.

Boyfriend? Caregiver? Are they capable of providing adequate care?

This job is hers to do.

This is the ninth working day now. I told Shen Shuyi that I wanted to accompany her on the visit. That shouldn't be too difficult, right?

Before she could speak, Shen Shuyi said, "We scheduled three follow-up appointments yesterday, and two of them are at the hospital today. You can join them."

Liu Chichi stopped beating around the bush and asked directly, "Is Hao Jia here?"

"She has just joined the group and is still receiving medication; these two stages are different."

Liu Chichi was a little disappointed, but it didn't matter. At least starting today, she had the opportunity to contact the test subjects, which meant she would have the opportunity to contact Hao Jia.

Clinical trial follow-up is similar to a re-examination. The examination items and drugs are confirmed according to the protocol. Generally, it is not necessary to follow the subjects completely when they undergo the examination items. However, in order to ensure that no problems occur, Shen Shuyi closely followed the subjects.

Liu Chichi followed behind her, and seeing how meticulous she was, she couldn't help but feel nervous: "Is it necessary to be so careful?"

"No, she lives far away. If she misses any tests and has to come back to complete them, it might take longer than the allotted time."

Shen Shuyi carefully checked the diary card and the remaining medication and found that there was one missed dose on the diary card, but the amount of medication was consistent with the estimate.

After questioning, it was learned that the subject had a sore throat, but did not report it or take any medication on her own. However, she ate too much dried tangerine peel and vomited, mistakenly believing she was pregnant. Before the test results came out, she deliberately missed one dose "in order to keep the baby". After confirming that she was not pregnant, she took two pills a day to "make up for the missed dose".

Shen Shuyi's vision blurred: "Why didn't you say you had a sore throat?"

The participant lowered his head shyly, "I was afraid of adding to your workload."

Researcher Director Jiang was also stunned; this concern had resulted in at least three additional documents and reports.