Chapter 5（Shadows at the Hospital Gates）
1372 Words
Friday meant the night shift.
At lunch, Su Wan dragged her best friend Lin Fei to the cafeteria and finally told her everything.
She couldn’t let her grandmother worry.
But Lin Fei? Lin Fei deserved the truth.
When Su Wan finished, Lin Fei slammed her palm against the table.
“What kind of disgusting creep does that? You should’ve jabbed him with a syringe and crippled him.”
Su Wan gave a helpless laugh.
After venting, Lin Fei frowned. “If he keeps waiting outside your hospital… does calling the police even help?”
“I checked,” Su Wan sighed. “If it interferes with my daily life, technically yes. But right now? They’d probably just warn him and let it go.”
“And men like that don’t scare easily,” Lin Fei muttered darkly. “If he gets angry, he might escalate.”
Su Wan pushed her food around. Her appetite was gone.
Lin Fei studied her troubled expression and suddenly remembered high school.
Su Wan had always been pretty—quiet, gentle, impossible not to notice. Boys used to hover around her under the excuse of homework questions. Everyone knew what they really wanted.
She’d help.
But the second anyone hinted at romance, she shut them down—politely and firmly.
Back then, teachers and parents kept things in check.
This was real life.
Men like Wang Hao—entitled, shameless, convinced the world owed them something—weren’t scared by cold refusals.
Calling the police could make things worse.
What they needed… was a way to make him back off on his own.
“How about my cousin pretends to be your boyfriend for a few days?” Lin Fei said, pulling out her phone.
She showed Su Wan a photo.
Tall. Athletic. Bright smile.
But skinny.
If things turned physical… he wouldn’t stand a chance.
Su Wan shook her head. “I don’t want to drag him into this. What if Wang Hao snaps?”
Then she hesitated.
“Our head nurse set me up with someone. We’re supposed to have dinner this weekend.”
Lin Fei’s phone dropped to the table.
“What?! Why didn’t you say so earlier? Show me his photo—now.”
Su Wan coughed. “There isn’t one. She showed me a heavily edited side-profile pic before Wednesday.”
“You already met him and there’s a second date? That sounds promising.”
Su Wan lowered her voice.
“He looks terrifying. Like… those crime-boss characters on TV? He makes them look tame.”
Lin Fei listened to the entire story, emotional whiplash written all over her face.
Then her eyes lit up.
“That’s perfect.”
Su Wan blinked.
“Fight poison with poison. Next time Wang Hao blocks you, have that guy pick you up. Small-time thug meets real boss—he’d wet himself.”
“I was planning to end things on Sunday,” Su Wan hesitated. “Using him feels wrong.”
“Why end it? Give him a chance. If he’s really just got a villain face and a decent heart… having a boyfriend like that is prime security.”
Su Wan snorted. “Easy for you to say. If I called him here right now, you’d freeze before you could speak.”
“I don’t believe you. Call him.”
She smirked.
“Loser sends money.”
Su Wan buried herself in her rice.
Defeat accepted.
Lin Fei poked her forehead. “So what’s the plan about Wang Hao?”
“Wait and see. Our shifts change all the time. Maybe he’ll miss me a few times and give up.”
“You be careful. If anything feels wrong, call the police—and me.”
Su Wan nodded.
“Tonight I’m driving you to work,” Lin Fei added firmly. “And picking you up tomorrow morning. No arguments.”
Just like that, Su Wan’s eyes burned.
That night, Lin Fei drove straight into Peace Garden Apartments, picked Su Wan up at Building Five, and took her all the way to the hospital underground garage.
The ward hallway was empty.
No Wang Hao.
No nurses yet.
Su Wan hugged Lin Fei at the security gate. “You can go. Don’t come back in the morning—if he shows up, I’ll ride with a coworker.”
Lin Fei agreed far too quickly.
At 7:30 a.m., Su Wan’s phone vibrated.
Lin Fei: I walked through the lobby. Is this him?
A photo followed.
A man leaning against the wall, delivery bag in hand, staring at his phone.
The exhaustion vanished in an instant.
Cold spread through Su Wan’s chest.
She typed:
Yes.
Lin Fei: How does he know you’re off this morning?
Su Wan was still handing over patients.
She told Lin Fei to wait in the car.
They’d talk in person.
When she stepped out of the ward after eight, Lin Fei was already there.
“You look awful,” she whispered, hooking Su Wan’s arm. “From staying up… or from rage?”
“Both.” Su Wan swallowed. “The nurses wouldn’t leak my schedule. He must’ve figured out the pattern.”
With rotating shifts, one glimpse was enough to calculate the rest.
“I want to go down and yell at him.”
“Don’t,” Su Wan squeezed her arm. “Let him waste his time.”
They waited until the elevator emptied before slipping inside.
When the doors opened, Su Wan stayed behind Lin Fei’s shoulder and hurried toward the garage.
“I saw him,” Lin Fei muttered once inside the car. “Standing across from the elevator lobby. Slimy-looking. Men have terrifying confidence for their faces.”
Su Wan sagged into the seat.
Lin Fei ruffled her hair. “Forget him. Go sleep.”
Su Wan pressed her cheek against Lin Fei’s arm.
Having a friend like this… mattered.
Wang Hao waited until nine.
When Su Wan didn’t appear, he stormed upstairs.
Visitors came and went freely—only the wards had access control.
“I’m here for Su Wan.”
His glare made the nurse stiffen.
“She’s off today.”
“She worked nights.”
“Night shift means she’s off. She left early.”
“I’ve been downstairs all morning.”
“I don’t know what to tell you.”
The elevator opened.
Several doctors stepped out—along with Head Nurse Li Mei.
Her expression darkened.
Wang Hao recognized her and moved aside, pretending to leave… then lingered.
Li Mei pulled the nurse aside.
“He again?”
“Yes.”
“Where’s Su Wan?”
“Left early. Friend picked her up through the garage.”
“Male or female?”
“Female. Probably her best friend.”
Su Wan slept until evening.
When she woke, Li Mei had messaged her to call.
Lin Fei had too.
She phoned the head nurse first.
“He came again this morning,” Li Mei said briskly. “Are you planning to give him any chance?”
“Never. If he keeps this up, I’ll call the police.”
“Good. Protect yourself.”
Short call.
Warm heart.
Li Mei was infamous for being strict—but she always defended her nurses.
Later that night, Su Wan sat in the plaza with her grandmother watching retirees dance.
She messaged:
What do you like to eat tomorrow?
Lu Feng replied instantly.
Meat. Barbecue, hotpot, seafood—anything.
Relief.
She sent restaurant options.
He chose beef hotpot.
11 a.m. I’ll pick you up?
Sure. East gate again. Thank you.
See you tomorrow.
Su Wan leaned back.
One problem was enough.
Please—let the other end quietly.
Lin Fei refused to miss this.
She arrived early, milk tea in hand, pretending to wait for someone.
Scanning.
Then—
A black Jeep rolled to the curb.
Her pulse jumped.
Through the windshield, she saw the driver glance at his watch… then toward the gate.
Broad shoulders.
Sharp profile.
The kind of face built for crime documentaries.
He turned.
Looked straight at her.
Lin Fei froze.
Then bolted into the compound, clutching her drink.
Terrifying.
And Su Wan is meeting him again?!
That woman has nerves of steel.
- Writer
