After Transmigrating As The Mother Of The Pitiful Female Supporting Character in a Campus Novel - Chapter 11

Upon entering the hospital, they naturally went their separate ways. Liu Tong’s legs nearly gave out the moment they stepped inside; Qin Wang alone didn’t have the strength to support an almost unconscious Liu Tong, so Xiao Nuo had to step in to help. The group split into two teams at the entrance, each heading off to handle their own business.

The hospital elevators were slow, and since the pediatrics department wasn’t on a high floor, Xia Shibai and Xia Yaozhou took the stairs. Because the little girl had just woken up, her head bobbed with every step. After a few paces, her brain seemed to stall, and she stood frozen in place, staring at Xia Shibai with large, pitiful eyes.

Despite being exhausted, Yaozhou didn’t act spoiled or demand to be carried. Instead, she pouted as if she’d suffered a great injustice. Every two steps, she would tug at Xia Shibai’s hand—her strength was no more than a kitten’s scratch, unable to convey even a hint of anger, making it feel more like a soft plea.

Just as they exited the stairwell onto the floor landing, the wind whistled through an open window, eager to rush into the hospital corridor.

Xia Shibai used her body to shield Yaozhou from most of the draft. Just as she was about to move forward, she spotted two figures standing with their backs to them not far ahead.

It was Qin Zhijin and an older middle-aged woman with graying hair.

Since there was a bit of distance between them, Xia Shibai felt a wave of awkwardness. Although it was accidental, stumbling upon someone’s private conversation always felt intrusive.

Seeing that her mother had stopped, Yaozhou looked at the two figures cautiously. After staring for a moment, her eyes brightened. Recognizing the doctor she had met before, she grabbed Xia Shibai’s clothes and gave them two light tugs.

She was as excited as a kitten wagging its tail, desperate for everyone to know about her little discovery. Xia Shibai chuckled and squeezed her daughter’s hand, signaling that she knew and had seen her too. No need to be so worked up.

The two women in the distance were finishing their talk. Eventually, the older woman let out a light sigh, patted Qin Zhijin on the shoulder, whispered a few more words, and walked away.

Once the woman left, Qin Zhijin didn’t linger. Xia Shibai, watching the exchange, could guess a few things. After Qin Zhijin disappeared around the end of the hallway, she led Yaozhou forward. “Come on, let’s go find Dr. Qin.”

“But… but Dr. Qin was just there,” Yaozhou said, her short legs working hard to keep up with her mother’s pace. Trying to move her brain and her body at the same time was clearly a struggle, and she accidentally started walking with the same hand and foot forward.

Yaozhou tried to fix her gait a few times, but feeling that her movements didn’t match her mother’s and unable to get back in rhythm, she simply gave up. Whatever. She just clung to Xia Shibai’s leg as they moved.

By the end, Yaozhou wasn’t even walking on her own; she was essentially being dragged along by Xia Shibai toward Qin Zhijin’s office. What else could Xia Shibai do but support her? It wasn’t like it was an unreasonable request.

Knock, knock. A crisp knock was followed by a string of much smaller, softer taps.

Qin Zhijin was inside tidying up her things, preparing to clock out and go home. Hearing the knock, she hesitated for a moment before instinctively asking, “Who is it?”

“Dr. Qin, it’s me, Xia Shibai.”

It took a moment for Qin Zhijin to retrieve a thin but beautiful face from the corner of her memory and realize who Xia Shibai was. This was Yaozhou’s mother—the stranger who, after adding her on WeChat, had been promptly set to “Chat Only” status. Despite her confusion as to why they were here, Qin Zhijin told them to come in.

When the door opened, Qin Zhijin was immediately struck by Xia Shibai’s beauty. Today, she looked much more stunning than at their first meeting. After all, the first time had been during a torrential downpour; Xia Shibai had been soaked through and looked a mess. Now, just standing there, she seemed completely out of place in her surroundings.

Yaozhou peeked her head out from behind Xia Shibai, her brow slightly furrowed in an elegant pout, seemingly debating whether or not she should greet the “Doctor Auntie.” Before the girl could reach a conclusion, Xia Shibai explained why they had come.

“Is Qin Wang okay?” Qin Zhijin asked, worried about her cousin. Once she heard he was fine, she relaxed slightly. “My appointment slots for today are all closed, but I can help you book a physical.”

“Did Zhouzhou have breakfast this morning?” Qin Zhijin pulled a pack of sea salt crackers from her pocket and offered them to the girl.

“I ate,” Yaozhou nodded, though she didn’t dare take the snack. She instinctively looked up at her mother standing beside her.

Xia Shibai had her own philosophy about children and snacks. If you’re too strict now, they’ll overindulge the moment they’re free. Better to let her have a little every day so she learns moderation.

“What do we say when we get something to eat?” Xia Shibai took the snack for her and, following Yaozhou’s silent wish, tucked the crackers into the large pocket of her dress. “She had breakfast this morning.”

Yaozhou grinned happily, patted her bulging little pocket, and smiled at Qin Zhijin. “Thank you, Auntie.”

Qin Zhijin gave a light “Mhm” in response. She turned back to her still-active computer and used her staff ID to book a pediatric physical in the hospital system. She crossed off the tests for liver and kidney function that required fasting, and scheduled a routine blood test, trace element analysis, and a physical exam.

“Since she ate breakfast, it would affect the accuracy of the liver and kidney tests, so we’ll skip those for now and just do a general check-up.”

“Alright. Thank you, Dr. Qin.”

The two adults settled the matter in a few sentences. Yaozhou, standing to the side clutching her pocket of crackers, looked confused. I don’t understand, but I feel like something bad is about to happen to me.

The physical exam forms had to be picked up on the first floor, and a card had to be issued at the self-service machine, which would take some time. Qin Zhijin helped her jump the queue by entering the girl’s age, but Xia Shibai would have to fill in the rest of the personal info downstairs. Taking Yaozhou up and down would be a hassle, and the child wouldn’t necessarily enjoy it.

Qin Zhijin spoke up: “I’ll watch her for you. I’m officially off duty now anyway, so I can take her to the pediatric exam room. It’s at the end of that hallway to the right—there’s a large activity room specifically for kids’ physicals.”

“I’m very grateful, Dr. Qin.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Yaozhou didn’t understand what a “physical” was, but she understood that Xia Shibai was leaving her temporarily. As soon as Qin Zhijin stepped toward her, Yaozhou grabbed Xia Shibai’s leg and hid behind her, completely unwilling to go with the doctor or leave her mother’s side.

The two adults seemed to have expected this.

Xia Shibai shielded Yaozhou, slowly pulling her from behind her and crouching down to eye level. “Mommy is just going to get some forms for Zhouzhou. I’ll be back very quickly—even faster than we were at the police station this morning.”

“Is it as fast as closing my eyes and opening them?” Yaozhou pouted, clinging to her mother’s leg. Mentioning the police station only made her feel more aggrieved; they had already been apart once this morning, why did it have to happen again? She didn’t want to be away from Mommy.

“But we need to do the check-up. Dr. Qin already booked it for us. Mommy is just going down to get the forms and make a card for Zhouzhou. I’ll be right back up.” Xia Shibai knew the girl was anxious, but she also knew she could be reasoned with. “The hospital is crowded; taking you up and down the stairs is a lot of trouble. Stay here, and Dr. Qin will look after you. You’ve spent time with her before, haven’t you? She just gave you crackers. She’s not a bad person.”

Yaozhou’s voice took on a tearful tone. “Then how long will Mommy be?”

“Fifteen minutes, okay? Mommy will be back in fifteen minutes. You can ask Auntie Qin to keep time for you.”

Both the large and small sets of eyes landed on Qin Zhijin, causing the doctor to instinctively take a step back. Fortunately, working in pediatrics meant she dealt with all kinds of children every day. For her, Yaozhou was among the easier ones to manage. She pulled out her phone and opened the timer. Placing it in front of Yaozhou, she said, “When the numbers in the middle change to 1 and 5, Mommy will be back. It’s very fast.”

Yaozhou reached out to grab the phone, poking the screen. The interface didn’t change much, and she looked up at Qin Zhijin innocently. Qin Zhijin started the timer for her; the zero began to count up rapidly.

Yaozhou’s head started to spin. Having never even attended kindergarten, she didn’t know her letters or her numbers. After two confused sounds, she clutched the phone and took two steps toward the crouching Qin Zhijin. Her small strength was no match for an adult’s; Qin Zhijin, afraid she might fall, turned the phone to face herself.

“What’s wrong?”

Yaozhou poked the screen frantically, looking pained. “I don’t understand. Zhouzhou doesn’t understand!”

Xia Shibai put her hand to her forehead. She had forgotten that her current daughter wasn’t the future top student yet, but a “little dummy” who couldn’t even recognize flashcards. After all, Auntie Lin didn’t care about her own son’s or grandson’s education, so she certainly hadn’t prioritized Yaozhou’s. In her eyes, little Yaozhou was just a “worthless girl.”

Xia Shibai sighed, realizing she had a lot of work ahead of her, including slowly introducing things like literacy.

Qin Zhijin, however, didn’t think much of it. A three-year-old with clear speech and good logic—what did it matter if she didn’t know her letters? She hadn’t even started kindergarten. Children just needed to grow up healthy.

Qin Zhijin simply used her finger to trace the shapes of the numbers 1 and 5 in Yaozhou’s palm. She pointed to the timer on the screen. “When these two spots change into a 1 and a 5, it means fifteen minutes have passed. That’s when Mommy will appear in front of Zhouzhou!”

Only half-understanding and looking skeptical, Yaozhou looked back and forth between the two adults. She waved her hand at Xia Shibai. “Mommy, come here.”

“What is it?” Xia Shibai leaned down. Her daughter pointed at the “hours” section of the timer and asked, “When this part is a 1 and a 5, it’s… it’s fifteen minutes?”

Xia Shibai: “?”

She looked at Qin Zhijin in shock. She hadn’t expected the serious Dr. Qin to lie to an “illiterate” little girl. Does your conscience not hurt?

While condemning her in her heart, Xia Shibai’s mouth said, “Yes, Dr. Qin is exactly right.”

The “illiterate” Yaozhou gripped the phone awkwardly. She felt something was off but couldn’t put her finger on it. Finally, like a little adult, she sighed. “Okay, okay. Then Mommy come back early.”

“Mhm.” Xia Shibai looked at her easily-fooled daughter, her conscience stinging for exactly one second before she decisively handed the girl to Qin Zhijin and turned to run out.

Yaozhou didn’t hold back either; she patted Qin Zhijin’s hand and urged her to keep track. “Auntie Qin, fast, fast!”

Qin Zhijin gave a light “Mhm,” restarted the timer, helped the girl hold the phone, and carried her out. “Come on, let’s go to the exam room. We’ll do a simple physical first.”