Hospital 444
Chapter 499 - 1 The Bus

Chapter 499: Chapter 1 The Bus

Gao Heyann tore open a packet of chips in her hand and started nibbling.

This was at a bus station.

She had been observing this bus station for quite some time.

Not more than eight hundred meters away from this station was a hospital. Therefore, a significant portion of the station’s commuters comprised patients and their families. And for this reason... ghosts were often spotted.

However, just a few days ago, an incidental house call that took her past this station led Gao Heyann to realize something was amiss.

Ghosts no longer dared to approach this bus station.

At first, it could have been a coincidence, but soon, she noticed that even her cursed objects felt repelled by the station.

With Gao Heyann’s clinical experience, this was definitely no trivial matter.

As a Paranormal Doctor, having come across it, she could not simply pretend not to see.

Nevertheless, no fatal accidents had ever occurred on the buses that stopped at this station.

Therefore, she decided to take her day off, buy a bunch of snacks, and sit there the whole day.

Then, she noticed that every evening between eight and nine o’clock, the feeling of repulsion from the cursed objects was the strongest.

But still, nothing strange happened, let alone any ghost sightings.

Eight o’clock was coming up fast.

She ate another chip.

Today’s snacks were almost gone.

Just then, her phone rang.

She answered the call and heard her colleague Jin Jun’s voice, "Doctor Gao, patient Zhao Jun’s curse symptoms have started early, and the surgery scheduled for tomorrow needs to happen now. Please come back to the hospital right away!"

"Understood."

She immediately put down the chip bag, and then... she vanished into thin air.

Not a single person waiting at the bus station sensed anything amiss.

About a minute later, a girl with a ponytail came over and took the seat Gao Heyann had just left.

"Who left their snack bag here?"

The girl frowned, then sat down, picked up her phone, and put on her headphones.

Through the headphones, an English listening exercise played.

As she waited for the bus, she listened attentively to the English.

Passing the IELTS exam...

Studying abroad in Europe...

Unquestionably, more challenging than passing exams or getting a recommendation slot was the issue of money.

Money could solve most problems.

And yet, money was precisely what An Xiunian currently found most troubling.

The only option she saw was to work part-time jobs to save up as much money as she could.

Regarding her own family, An Xiunian held no expectations whatsoever. In her parents’ eyes, only her brother mattered; as for her... what was she?

And her brother... just thinking about him made her blood boil. It would have been acceptable if his academic abilities were lacking, as he could have found a job back home or started a small business. But unexpectedly, he had become addicted to online gambling.

After that, things spiraled out of control.

After being punished by their parents, what else could be done? They had to repay his debts. Initially, they hoped he would quit gambling. But how could a chronic gambler give up so easily?

An incident about half a year ago finally made An Xiunian resolve to break ties with her family.

At that time, her brother had racked up a substantial gambling debt, and the creditor had come to their home for repayment. In the end, her parents actually called her, hoping she would use her scholarship and savings from part-time work to help repay her brother’s gambling debts.

"Xiunian, listen to me, your brother really says he’s going to quit gambling this time, and those creditors have even gone to your father’s workplace. We can’t just sell the house we’re preparing for your brother’s marriage, right?"

"Gambling debts are illegal, report it to the police!"

"They’re not stupid; there’s a legitimate IOU, and it won’t say it’s a gambling debt. Those people are vicious and capable of anything. Just give seventy thousand, that’s all. In the future, when you get married, you can keep the dowry money..."

"Seventy thousand, how could I have that much money!"

"Xiunian, you’re at a university in the big city, you must know a lot of people, right? You can borrow a little from them, or go to the bank... Just get a credit card for seventy thousand... He’s your brother, Xiunian, you can’t just stand by and watch..."

An Xiunian felt this was utterly unreasonable, and she flatly refused, "You can take out a bank loan, you have that house, just borrow more, you’ll have more gambling debts to pay in the future! You actually believe him when he says he will quit gambling?"

However, she discovered that she had still underestimated her brother’s bottom line.

Before long, the creditors actually found her school, and it was her brother who told them not only the school but even the location of her dormitory.

And her parents... they actually indulged her brother’s actions. They thought that if the creditors came looking for her, she would have no choice but to pay off her brother’s debts. As a result, the fact that she had a gambling-addicted brother also spread throughout the school.

How could they do this!

How could they?

Just because her brother was a man, and she was a woman?

In a rage, she said that she would sever ties with her family, and if the creditors dared to come, she would call the police. There was no reason for her to pay off her brother’s debts. After that, she dared not walk alone at night, and wherever she went, she chose paths with surveillance.

She was determined to raise the money for studying abroad on her own; she absolutely had to break free from this cursed family she was born into.

At this moment, the No. 34 bus she had been waiting for arrived.

She immediately stood up and, following an old lady next to her, boarded the bus.

Normally, she no longer walked the streets at night, but tonight she had to work overtime at her internship, and it was late when she left, so she had no choice. Now, for An Xiunian, saving money was the top priority.

There weren’t many people on the bus. She casually walked to the last row and sat down, continuing to listen to the English listening audio on her phone.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, she saw a woman sitting near the bus door.

The woman appeared to be about the same age as herself.

Her looks and figure were exceptional by any standard, definitely on par with top actresses in the entertainment industry. And her clothes, pants, including the belt, were all luxury brands.

Her jewelry, whether it was earrings, bracelets, or rings... just one glance, and it was clear they were worth a fortune.

Especially the Hermès bag on her lap, it was something An Xiunian could only ever see in a shop window.

Was she the daughter of some rich and beautiful family?

An Xiunian sighed.

People are born to different fates.

On the same bus, but the disparity is so huge.

Just then, as she listlessly scanned the bus interior again, suddenly...

She felt something was off!

Wait a minute...

What about that old lady who boarded the bus with her?

Including the driver and herself, there were only seven people on the bus.

The driver, herself, that rich beauty, a young man with headphones, a middle-aged man looking at his phone, an elderly man, and a man who looked to be over two hundred pounds.

Where was the old lady?

The bus had only been driving for a few minutes, and it hadn’t stopped at all!

That old lady couldn’t have possibly gotten off the bus!

An Xiunian clearly remembered, considering the old lady’s age, she let her board first. After the old lady boarded and swiped her transit card, she chose a seat and sat down.

It should have been a seat a few rows behind the driver.

Now why is there no trace of her?

Could the old lady have gotten off the bus from another door before it started moving?

But, she had already swiped her transit card; why would she get off the bus? Could it be that she realized she was on the wrong bus?

She felt increasingly that something was amiss.

The bus continued on its way.

And it seemed that no one else noticed the old lady’s "disappearance".

An Xiunian didn’t dwell on it; after all, she had no connection to the old lady.

At that moment, she looked again at the rich beauty.

Her outfit was so fashionable. For An Xiunian, clothes like that were something she never had the chance to wear.

Finally, she tiptoed and sat behind the rich beauty, carefully admiring her clothes and her earrings.

One day, could she use her own money to buy such clothes and earrings?

Could she?

As long as she could get a recommendation and a spot to study abroad... as long as she could save enough money to go...