Forced into a romantic relationship

Chapter 326 Defective Products

Xiao Xiaoxiao has disliked hospitals since she was a child.

For her, who had been frail and sickly since childhood, going to the hospital was basically the same as getting an injection, and she hated sharp objects and was afraid of pain.

The hospital bed is like a cage, and the IV drip in your hand is like a chain. Once you lie down, you can't move around. You also have to cover yourself with a thick, stuffy blanket that's so heavy that you can't breathe.

She disliked the smell of disinfectant in the hospital and hated the layout of the ward because the windows were always far away. Even if she stretched her neck as far as she could, she couldn't see anything outside. She could only imagine things based on what she could see and hear.

Bright sunshine, drifting clouds, the wind blowing the curtains, chirping birds, and a group of playful peers—the young girl could only imagine such a simple scene, completely unable to comprehend that beneath such a scene, her beloved parents were discussing selling her.

The ward was small, and the nurse only came once a day to change the IV drip. The rest of the time, she was all alone with no one to talk to. To pass the time, she could only count how many drops of saline solution had been dripping into the IV drip. Her parents had told her that it was saline solution, but at that time she did not understand why saline solution could not be mixed at home and drunk, but had to be injected into the body with a needle.

After getting injections many times, she realized that her parents didn't seem to like her as much as she liked them, and they would often scare her with stories about bad children being sold.

So she always tried her best to be a good child and never caused trouble. She got first place in her class twice in a row when she first started school and had a lot of little red flowers stuck to her home. Most of her peers at that age were still crying and making a fuss around their parents, but she was already helping to share the housework.

She is really a very well-behaved child. Not only does she think so, but her teachers and neighbors also say so. However, her parents don't seem to think so and have never praised her.

Not once.

She knew the reason: she was often sick, and her illnesses cost her family money, and her family was not wealthy.

At that time, she did not understand that getting sick was not something she could control. She only remembered that her parents said it was a punishment from God. She thought that she had not done enough, so she stopped going out to play, wore more clothes than anyone else, and went to bed earlier than anyone else after finishing her housework. However, it did not work.

Seeing that her parents' smiles were becoming fewer and fewer, she mustered up her courage and said that she didn't want to get injections anymore when she was about to go to the hospital. She was afraid of needles and afraid of pain.

She had never said these things before because she was afraid of worrying her parents.

She still remembers that after she said those words, her parents' eyes became quite frightening. They still took her to the hospital and then disappeared as usual, only reappearing a long time after she finished her IV drip.

On the way back, she noticed that the two of them had smiles on their faces.

That same night, when she got up to use the bathroom, she finally heard her parents outside quietly praising her for the first time.

"Xiaoxiao is a good child."

There was another sentence that followed, but she didn't hear it clearly at the time, until much later when she suddenly remembered and realized it.

"Good children are more valuable when they are sold."

……

Xiao Xiaoxiao opened her eyes, her vision was blurry for some reason, and all she could see was a stark white ceiling. The smell of disinfectant kept wafting into her nose, reminding her that she was still in that dreaded hospital ward.

The pain pump wasn't as effective as the doctor had said; the pain quickly spread like wildfire all over her body, causing her to gasp for breath.

It wasn't this painful before the treatment...

She grumbled inwardly, thinking that there was no need to be hospitalized and it was a complete waste of money. If the guy who sent her to the hospital dared to show up again, she would make him get her out of there no matter what.

As Xiao Xiaoxiao was thinking this, she noticed that it was completely dark outside. There were very few lights still on outside the window, and the surroundings were silent; not even a dog could be heard barking.

Although she had gotten used to it, she still felt inexplicably lonely.

It's not as good as when I was a child... at least back then it was daytime outside the window.

She muttered to herself, then suddenly noticed that her eyes were wet with tears when she looked out the window. She tried to raise her hand to wipe them, but her hand wouldn't obey her commands, as if the anesthesia hadn't worn off yet.

Hospitals are so annoying...

Fortunately, no one will come in, and no one will see that I cried.

If someone does come in and your tears haven't dried yet, just say it just rained and the rainwater got on your face.

Xiao Xiao stared out the window for a while, her whole body aching and unable to sleep. She could only pass the time by counting the number of times the IV drip was falling.

When the count reached the twenty-third, the ward door opened.

I don't know if it's just my imagination, but the light outside the door seems brighter than the light inside the room.

The thought had barely crossed Xiao Xiaoxiao's mind when she saw a figure tiptoeing to her bedside.

"You didn't sleep?"

Even just by hearing the voice, she could tell that it was the same guy who had taken her to the hospital.

What's this guy doing back here?
Just as Xiao Xiaoxiao was about to speak, she suddenly noticed that the other person was staring blankly at her face. Realizing something, she quickly said, "It just rained, and the rainwater got on my face!"

She noticed her voice was incredibly dry as soon as she opened her mouth, but she still forced herself to finish the sentence despite the discomfort.

Han Zhou turned his head to look at the window and said suspiciously, "But the window is closed."

He paused, shook his head dismissively, and said casually, "The nurse must have turned it off for you earlier. It was drizzling when I came, and it's not only cold tonight, but also very windy."

Xiao Xiaoxiao paused for two seconds, then looked away and hesitantly hummed in agreement.

"It is indeed a bit cold."

The ward fell silent, and the wind howled outside the window as withered leaves fell and pattered against the glass.

After a long silence, Xiao Xiaoxiao broke the silence in the ward first: "What are you doing back here?"

“I heard about your heroic deeds from the police, and on the way back I kept thinking about it and I admired you more and more. I also remembered that I hadn’t eaten dinner, and you probably hadn’t either, so I came back.”

Han Zhou placed the bag he was carrying on the bedside table, turned around to get a cup of hot water, and asked, "Would you like some water?"

Xiao Xiaoxiao's nose twitched as she smelled the aroma of the food. She wanted to refuse, but in the end, she just mumbled an "Mmm."

Han Zhou poured hot water back and forth between two paper cups. Seeing that the temperature was about right, he walked to the bedside. Remembering that the other person seemed unable to sit up, he hesitated and asked, "Can you drink water while lying down?"

Xiao Xiaoxiao didn't speak, but just tilted her head back as if to say, "This is fine."

Han Zhou's lips twitched, and he reached out to gently hold the back of the other person's head before feeding her water.

"You put... glug..."

Xiao Xiaoxiao wanted the guy to take his hand away, but water had already rushed into her mouth, making her unable to speak. By the time she finished drinking the water, the other person had already withdrawn his hand. She was too embarrassed to hold a grudge, so she could only sulk.

Han Zhou didn't look at her. He was unpacking a plastic lunchbox on the bedside table, and the aroma quickly filled the entire ward. He asked in a "take it or leave it" tone, "I bought two servings of porridge. Do you want some?"

For some reason, he felt like this had happened somewhere before.

Xiao Xiaoxiao glanced at him but didn't answer. She just tried to raise her head again, her expression ferocious.

Han Zhou couldn't help but chuckle, and couldn't help but think of Gu Zheng, who was equally proud. He laughed and said, "You're a lot like one of my friends." As he spoke, he cupped the girl's head and fed her porridge with a spoon.

Being taken care of like this for the first time made Xiao Xiaoxiao feel a little uncomfortable, especially considering that she had deliberately acted unreasonably towards this guy not long ago. So she took the initiative to reply, "How is that like it?"

They're all so concerned about saving face...

Han Zhou sighed inwardly, but this girl had such a bad temper, so it was obviously not appropriate to tell her directly. Therefore, he changed his words and said, "They are all very interesting."

"Oh……"

Xiao Xiaoxiao seriously doubted that this was what the guy really wanted to say, and said, "I also feel that you look quite familiar."

It was precisely because of this inexplicable familiarity that she felt a strange sense of trust in this guy.

Han Zhou was taken aback: "What a coincidence? Me too."

“But I’m sure I’ve never seen you before,” Xiao Xiaoxiao continued.

"why?"

"Because I have a very good memory, I won't forget people I've met."

Han Zhou nodded: "I heard from the police that you provided them with a lot of clues, and I believe that group of human traffickers will be caught soon."

"I hope the children are alright."

Xiao Xiao took a sip of porridge absentmindedly, seemingly not very concerned about the fate of the human traffickers. Suddenly, she remembered something and hesitantly asked, "By the way, what's your name?"

"Han Zhou, what about you?"

Even though he already knew the girl's name from the police, Han Zhou asked her again.

"Just call me Xiaoxiao." Xiao Xiaoxiao's eyes trembled slightly. She swallowed the porridge in a big gulp and said with a sullen face, "Han Zhou, right? You have to get me out of here. I don't want to stay in the hospital."

Here we go again… Han Zhou sighed: “No matter how much you’re in a hurry to be discharged, you have to wait until you’re fully recovered. Don’t worry about the medical expenses, I’ll cover them for you first. The police are already in the process of contacting your family.”

He borrowed money from Lin Anyu not long ago.

"What?" Xiao Xiaoxiao was shocked and almost bit the spoon in half. "I didn't say anything, how did they find my family?"

Han Zhou smiled and said, "You have to trust the police. Focus on recovering. Your family will be here to pick you up soon... Aren't you going to eat?"

Xiao Xiaoxiao didn't speak again, but fell silent with a gloomy face.

"Discharged from the hospital."

A few seconds later, she said through gritted teeth, "I want to be discharged now."

Han Zhou was taken aback, noticing that something was wrong with the girl's mood. He tentatively asked, "Can you tell me why?"

Xiao Xiaoxiao didn't answer, and said impatiently, "Anyway, I want to be discharged now."

"In your current condition, where can you go even if you're discharged from the hospital?" Han Zhou asked calmly. He had already determined one thing: this girl didn't seem to really want to see her family.

"I don't care where I go, I'd even beg on the street, I just don't want to stay here anymore." Xiao Xiaoxiao wanted to kick this nagging woman. "Stop nagging, go tell the doctor I'm not staying in the hospital, you don't need to worry about the rest!"

"You really have a bad temper."

Han Zhou sighed and placed the bowl on the bedside table.

"So what? I have a bad temper, so what! Let me make this clear first, I'm not going to pay back the medical expenses you paid. It's not too late to back down now!"

Xiao Xiaoxiao kept provoking, "If you don't let me leave the hospital, once I recover, I won't pay you back, and I'll smash your windows and splash paint on your door every day!"

She didn't think having a bad temper was a bad thing. After all, the greatest value of a good child is that they can be sold for a good price, while a bad child can at least live a more carefree and unrestrained life.

Moreover, as a "defective product," it's not impossible for her to be returned by the buyer—when she was first sold as a child, she naively thought that as long as she was naughty, she might be able to return to her parents' side. Who knew that she would be sold again.

Of course, this is also related to her frail health.

Although the result was quite ridiculous, she was determined to become a "defective product" and hasn't felt anything wrong with it to this day.

As a "defective product," she knew exactly how to disgust both buyers and sellers. Similarly, as long as she could make this guy hate her, she could leave the hospital as she wished.

However, Han Zhou remained quite calm in the face of her constant provocations, casually saying, "Whatever, I'm used to what you're saying."

Whether it was throwing stones at windows or splashing paint on doors, he had seen these methods many times before from the group of debt collectors who came to collect debts from Han Long.

Moreover, this guy was clearly just talking nonsense.

Xiao Xiaoxiao was taken aback: "What do you mean by that..."

Does this guy have a miserable life?

Seeing how sickly he looks, even unable to get enough to eat, it doesn't seem impossible...

Han Zhou had no idea what Xiao Xiaoxiao was thinking, and said dismissively, "It's nothing, just having a bastard father."

He shook his head, looking like he didn't want to say anything more.

However, Xiao Xiaoxiao became interested and pressed on, "What bastard father? Explain yourself clearly!"

"Why should I tell you?" Han Zhou asked, puzzled.

"I can give you some ideas!"

Han Zhou looked at the girl with suspicion and sized her up for a moment: "You're not thinking of smashing his windows, are you?"

"You're so long-winded, just tell me already!" Xiao Xiaoxiao urged. "I have a lot of experience in this area!"

Han Zhou feigned hesitation, looking troubled as if he wanted to confide in someone but was too embarrassed to speak up: "We've only just met, is it really appropriate for me to tell you my secrets like this?"

Before Xiao Xiaoxiao could speak, he gritted his teeth and continued, "Unless...unless you also tell me why you're in such a hurry to be discharged!"

Xiao Xiaoxiao wasn't stupid; how could she not see that this guy was trying to trick her into revealing information? Her expression immediately darkened, and she fell silent.

After a long pause, she reluctantly said, "Okay, but you have to swear that you'll take me out of the hospital after I tell you the reason."

"And... you can't tell these things to the police."

I've been a bit busy these past couple of days, two more chapters to come.

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(End of this chapter)