"Since the past is the past, let it be. Itâs very difficult to trace back. Truth be told, it wasnât easy to get an education back then. Sun Rongfangâs elementary school education, if she really got into any schooling, it would at most have been a night class or some kind of training course. Itâs of little significance to investigate further."
"You canât say that, Director Zhang. If Sun Rongfang had managed to enter a vocational training class back then, even a slight diploma was exceedingly valuable in those days. If she could take more exams and attend better schools with her efforts, her personal life path would not have just stopped at being sneered at for having only an elementary school education. Her daughterâs achievements donât mean she can be resigned to being taken advantage of. I know sheâs someone who works hard at both learning and life, so itâs very saddening that her fate was unlucky." Aunt Min was deeply saddened, feeling for her friendâs ill-timed life, caught in a harsh era and her struggle without familial support wasted.
Director Zhang shared in the sorrow and fell silent for a while.
No matter what, they had to start from reality. Aunt Min suspected the idea of a swap at Capital Hospital was nonexistent, and Director Zhang said, "You shouldnât associate that person being in the Capital. That person couldnât make it to the Capital, let alone work there. Sun Rongfang was in the South back then; they applied to Southern health schools, intending to stay in the South after graduation. The Capital isnât a place just anyone can come to. With such low qualifications, they couldnât even outscore Sun Rongfang on exams; how could they come to the Capital? Theyâre probably getting by in some small local hospital."
Just like her initial reasoning, this wasnât something she could broadly speculate about due to her motherâs unfortunate experiences, Xie Wanying thought.
After confirming with Director Zhang over the phone, Aunt Min hung up, her brows tightly furrowed, unable to understand.
"Aunt Min, can you tell me how you collapsed in the corridor?" Xie Wanying asked as the doctor.
It was important to discern if Aunt had other diseases causing the heart attack, so they could take preventive measures in the future.
Aunt Min explained the situation that day, "I was scared."
"Scared?"
"Yes, someone was standing by the stairwell door, seemingly eavesdropping on my conversation with Director Zhang. When I turned my head and noticed her, her eyes gave me such a fright, my whole heart panicked, and then I felt dizzy and collapsed." Aunt Min recalled what she went through that day, shivering involuntarily, genuinely finding that pair of staring eyes a bit terrifying.
"Do you recognize that person, Aunt Min?" Xie Wanying saw that Aunt seemed to know who that person was.
"I remember, that person should be Doctor Hu," Aunt Min said, her memory completely intact.
With Aunt Minâs testimony, it was confirmed that Dr. Hu was indeed standing by the stairwell door and should have seen Aunt Minâs condition. Oddly enough, afterward, Dr. Hu adamantly denied seeing any patient.
Was Dr. Hu lying? Why did Dr. Hu insist on claiming not to have seen the patient?
"Yes, later I thought, could it be related to your motherâs case, so she covered it up?" Aunt Min said, addressing the point everyone previously suspected, but regrettably, after hearing Director Zhang over the phone, this possibility was ruled out.
It seemed Dr. Hu had no connection to the events involving Sun Rongfang back then. Dr. Hu was in the North, while Sun Rongfangâs situation occurred in the South, distances vast and wide.
"Is Dr. Hu from the South?" Aunt Min guessed again.
"No, she is a native of the Capital." Xie Wanying had heard this from Dr. Guan, confirming it without a doubt.