"Dad isn't tired. We're not far from the hospital now, we'll be there soon." Chang San quickened his pace, not wanting to let his daughter walk on her own.
"I want to walk by myself." Shen Man gripped the clothes on his shoulder, her tone stubborn.
Chang San said, "The hospital is still far. Walking such a long way isn't good for your leg."
Chang San didn't even realize that his two statements completely contradicted each other.
When he said he wasn't tired, the hospital wasn't far.
When his daughter wanted to get down and walk, the hospital was suddenly far again.
The closer they got to the hospital, the more pedestrians there were on the street.
Shen Man stopped struggling and rested quietly on her father's back.
"We're here."
Arriving at the clinic door, Chang San squatted down and set his daughter on the ground.
Lin Zijun pushed the door open and walked out. Chang San was taken aback for a moment before he heard him say enthusiastically, "Good morning, Doctor Chang!"
"Ah, oh, morning."
"Is this your daughter? She's so pretty." Lin Zijun's face was full of smiles, his attitude toward Chang San completely different from before.
Chang San had a hard time processing this.
He had begged Lin Zijun yesterday, but he thought the matter was definitely a lost cause.
He hadn't expected Lin Zijun to actually cooperate with him.
Chang San held his daughter's shoulders and introduced her, "This is my daughter, Shen Man. Manman, call him Uncle."
"No need," Lin Zijun scratched his head. "Just call me big brother."
"Uncle," Shen Man said, looking up at him.
Fine then, both father and daughter were equally unlikable.
Lin Zijun forced a fake smile. "Come on in."
Shen Man lifted her leg and stepped up the stairs.
Only then did Lin Zijun notice that she had a slight limp in one leg.
The fake smile on his face dropped. "The innermost ward is empty, and the bedsheets were freshly changed yesterday."
"Okay, thank you."
Chang San took his daughter straight to the ward. "Wait here for Dad for a little bit, we'll be right over."
Shen Man nodded.
Once Chang San left, her eyes quickly swept around the unfamiliar environment.
She pursed her lips to hide her nervousness.
Lin Zhilan came over soon after, followed by Lin Zijun and Qin Qing.
"Shen Man?"
"That's me." Shen Man slid off the hospital bed, her hands behind her back, nervously gripping the blanket.
"Doctor Chang is busy right now, so I came to check on you."
"Okay." Shen Man wasn't timid; she just didn't go out because she didn't want to cause trouble, nor did she like hearing people laugh at her or pity her.
But facing Lin Zhilan, the little girl always felt an inexplicable sense of nervousness.
Lin Zhilan didn't wait for her to react. She simply grabbed her by the waist and lifted her onto the bed.
"Don't be afraid, I'm going to examine you."
"Okay." Shen Man lay down properly, her eyelashes drooping as she secretly observed Lin Zhilan.
Lin Zhilan rolled up both of her pant legs and first compared the child's two legs.
The right leg had obvious muscle atrophy, but the condition was much better than Liu Feng's.
Chang San's care over the years had not been in vain.
Because of long-term inactivity, the right leg lacked muscle, but there was no severe deformity, and the joint mobility was maintained quite well.
"Shen Man, try to flex your toes upward," Lin Zhilan said, pressing her hand against the sole of the girl's foot.
Shen Man bit her lip and tried with all her might to flex her foot.
Her toes moved, but not by much.
"Not bad," Lin Zhilan praised. "Now try lifting your leg off the bed."
Shen Man took a deep breath and used her thigh to pull her calf up, lifting it slowly.
It hovered about two inches off the bed, paused for a second, and then dropped back down.
"That's enough, very good." Lin Zhilan pulled her pant leg back down and praised her with a smile.
"Auntie is going to check your pulse now, okay?"
Shen Man nodded and extended her hand.
Lin Zhilan placed her fingertips on her thin, weak wrist.
The pulse felt as thin as a silk thread, deep and weak, with a hint of sluggishness.
Lin Zhilan kept her expression neutral and withdrew her fingers. "Everything is pretty good. Today, Auntie is going to give you some acupuncture. Are you afraid of pain?"
"No." Shen Man shook her head.
"Then I'll start the needles." Lin Zhilan picked up her acupuncture tools and smiled at Shen Man. "I'll try to make it painless. If you feel any discomfort, tell me, and we'll stop."
"Auntie, can I sit up?"
Lin Zhilan: "?"
Shen Man pursed her lips. "I want to see how you do it."
This kid was quite interesting. Lin Zhilan smiled, "Sure. Today we are only doing acupuncture points on your legs, so you can sit up."
Many adults didn't even dare to watch acupuncture, but Shen Man watched the entire process until her leg was full of silver needles.
Even Lin Zijun admired her; she was tough.
Not only was Shen Man unafraid, but she also compared the sensations between Lin Zhilan's and Chang San's acupuncture.
When her dad gave her acupuncture, she could sometimes feel a warm flow moving down from her knee, but this sensation of energy was intermittent.
Most of the time, she only felt her leg become slightly swollen and numb.
But as soon as Lin Zhilan inserted the needles, Shen Man felt a difference.
A warm sensation spread from where the needle was inserted, like a thin, warm current trickling down her calf all the way to the tips of her toes.
Shen Man unconsciously wiggled her toes.
Then, to her surprise, she realized her toes had actually moved.
"Ah!" Shen Man exclaimed.
"What's wrong?" Lin Zhilan looked at her with concern.
"My toes moved." Shen Man's eyes lit up.
"Now you know how amazing my master is," Lin Zijun smiled smugly. "Tell your dad to learn a thing or two."
"Lin Zijun!"
Lin Zhilan glared at him in displeasure.
It was one thing to joke with Chang San, but why tease a child?
Lin Zijun rubbed his nose. "My bad. Sorry about that, Shen Man."
Shen Man shook her head. "Auntie really is amazing."
"You're much more reasonable than your dad," Lin Zijun couldn't help but add.
"Tsk."
"Sorry." Lin Zijun quickly apologized again.
Shen Man burst out laughing.
She had never met anyone like Lin Zijun before.
Lin Zhilan smiled, "Since you made Shen Man laugh, I won't punish you today."
"Thank you, Master." Lin Zijun secretly gave Shen Man a thumbs-up.
"The needles need to stay in for thirty minutes. Do you want to lie down?" Lin Zhilan asked the child.
Shen Man shook her head.
"That's fine too. Just wait here for a bit, and I'll come back in half an hour to remove the needles."
After giving her instructions, Lin Zhilan went out to see other patients.
Lin Zijun and Qin Qing followed her out.
At the door, Lin Zijun stopped, fished two fruit candies out of his pocket, and tossed them into Shen Man's lap.
"A treat for you. 'Uncle' it is then; I can't be bothered to argue with your dad."
"Lin Zijun! What are you doing? Why aren't you out yet?!" Qin Qing came looking for him and shooed him out.
What was a grown man doing staying alone in a little girl's ward?
Qin Qing shooed Lin Zijun away and said to Shen Man, "I'll be right outside. Just call out if you need anything."
She thought for a moment, went back to get her own cup, poured a glass of water, and placed it by Shen Man's bed. "I washed the cup, it's not dirty."
"Qin Qing! Hand out the medicine!"
Someone called from outside.
"I'm leaving now, call if you need anything," Qin Qing said before walking out with long strides.
Shen Man clutched the two candies in her hand as the door was opened once again.
