Meng Yan's Transformation

The dazzling sunlight made Zhan Mengyan close her eyes unaccustomed to it. When she tried to open them slowly, she found that the ceiling was abnormally high and dazzlingly white. The morning light shone through the curtains to form spots of light. The outlines of the ward equipment gradually became clear in her sight. Her fingers trembled slightly when they touched the cold metal bed rails. The smell of disinfectant on the sheets mixed with the morning breeze rushed into her nose.

Zhan Mengyan looked around blankly, like a traveler who had entered a different world.

"Little girl, you are awake. Didn't you come to the hospital to visit your classmate two days ago? Why are you hospitalized today? You had a high fever and kept talking nonsense all night... Why don't you remember me? We are staying in the same bed as your classmate! This is Ward 206, you have been here..."

The family member of the patient in the adjacent bed was a middle-aged woman. While she was talking to Zhan Mengyan, she wiped the hands of the patient on the bed with a towel and then looked at Zhan Mengyan who was still in a daze.

Zhan Mengyan imagined quickly and recalled.

"Yes, I remember now. That day I came to the hospital to visit my deskmate. You told me that she had moved away. You also asked me to go to the nurse's station to ask around. The nurse told me that my classmate had been transferred to another hospital... Auntie, you gave me some steamed buns... Oh, what a coincidence! I am also staying in the same ward as my classmate. But why can't I remember how I came to the hospital..."

As Zhan Mengyan spoke, her mind continued to think.

"It seems that you haven't been completely confused by the high fever. You still remember what happened a few days ago. Little girl, you were unconscious when you came last night, so of course you don't know how you got here. There was a man and a woman who brought you here. I saw how anxious and distressed they were when they saw you had a high fever. The sister kept calling your name: Xiao Mengyan! Xiao Mengyan... I guess they are your father and mother, right? Later, when your high fever subsided, they breathed a sigh of relief. When they left, they told me to take care of you and said they would go home to make some millet porridge for you. Do you live nearby? I also just bought some buns. You can have one first..."

The middle-aged woman said as she stuffed the bun into Zhan Mengyan's hand.

"I don't want it! Thank you, Auntie. I'm not hungry. You and Uncle can eat it!"

While Zhan Mengyan was speaking, she sat up and was about to get out of bed.

"Little girl, don't move! If you don't want to eat, just leave it alone. You've had a high fever all night, and your body must be very weak. If you get up too fast, you might fall down easily!"

As the middle-aged woman spoke, she held Zhan Mengyan down tightly with a pair of strong hands.

Zhan Mengyan was forced to lie down again.

"Auntie, then tell me about the person who brought me here. How old is he? What does he look like?"

Zhan Mengyan was pressed down and couldn't move. She lay down obediently, thinking: How did Dad and Mom know that I had a high fever? So she asked.

"They are about 40 or 50 years old. The man has dark skin, is not tall, has medium-sized eyes, and single eyelids. The woman is tall, a little taller than the man, has double eyelids, and is plump... Why do I feel that you don't look like either of them..."

As the middle-aged woman spoke, she let go of Zhan Mengyan, scratched her head, and looked at Zhan Mengyan's face in confusion.

"It's true that I don't look like them. In fact, I really don't look like my parents. I have a genetic mutation. But the two people you mentioned are definitely not my father and mother. They are my landlords..."

Zhan Mengyan looked affirmative as she spoke.

"Then your landlord is so kind. Little girl, you have met a good man. Seeing how anxious they were yesterday, I didn't have the nerve to ask them all sorts of questions. I heard that you were bitten by a dog. You weren't bitten by their dog, were you? So they sent you to the hospital? They are going to look for your father and mother now, right? How come they haven't come back for a while? Or did they sneak away and leave you alone?"

When the middle-aged woman spoke, she hunched her back and leaned close to Zhan Mengyan's ear. Her voice became smaller and smaller, with her lips almost touching Zhan Mengyan's ear. The sound seemed to be squeezed out from between her teeth. Every word she uttered was breathy, as if she was afraid that the air might eavesdrop. After every few words she looked around vigilantly, her eyes constantly glancing at the door of the ward, as if she was ready to switch to a nonchalant expression at any time. Whenever there were footsteps passing by, the middle-aged woman suddenly raised her voice to discuss Zhan Mengyan's injury.

"Little girl, what I told you are all good things. You should not have the intention to harm others, but you must be on guard against others... and..."

"Mother, why can't you change your habit of gossiping about others behind their backs? I don't think that couple are bad people. Don't let them teach the little girl bad things... cough cough..."

The husband of the middle-aged woman lying on the hospital bed interrupted the middle-aged woman.

"Just shut up. You're sick and you're lying down. I mean well. How could I be gossiping behind your back? This child is so pitiful. His parents aren't around. I'm afraid the child will suffer!"