Chapter 185: Chapter 152: Prosthetic Matching
With her signature woven basket on her back, Huai Yu returned to Flower City Hospital.
She was already familiar with the route to the private ward. Her small frame held great energy. When she passed the nurses’ station, everyone only needed to see her back to know that Zhou Qian’s sister had come again.
However, when she knocked gently on the door, there was not a single sound from inside the ward.
She had no choice but to stand on her tiptoes and peek through the small window on the door. "Damn it, being short really limits my field of view!" she grumbled inwardly. "Is he resting?" she wondered.
Huai Yu thought for a moment, then gently turned the doorknob, only to find the ward empty. She remembered Zhou Qian mentioning his prosthetic adaptation that morning, so she turned around briskly and headed straight for the nurses’ station.
"Excuse me, Miss," she said, looking at the two familiar nurses with her large, dark eyes. "Where did Brother Zhou Qian go?"
The nurse let out a soft "Ah," looking inexplicably conflicted and a bit hesitant. But Huai Yu continued to look at her expectantly, her eyes full of trust.
She pursed her lips and spoke anyway—after all, there was no rule saying she couldn’t tell, right?
"At the end of the right corridor, in the New Biomaterial Adaptation Area. He should be in there doing his basic adaptation.
"But... sweetie, this procedure isn’t really suitable for family members to watch. How about you sit and wait for a while? I have some candy here, would you like some?"
After saying that, she opened a drawer and carefully pinched out a piece of candy. When she handed it over, her eyes practically clung to it—after all, candy was so expensive.
But Huai Yu just giggled, accepted it, and then took out a paper packet from her woven basket. She grabbed two pieces of slightly yellow, translucent rock sugar and handed them over.
"Miss, I’d like to treat you to this, too."
"Huh?" The young nurse’s hand, still outstretched from giving the candy, was gently grasped by Huai Yu. A cool sensation pressed into her palm. By the time she snapped out of her daze, Huai Yu had already rewrapped her remaining rock sugar and was walking far away.
The two nurses looked at each other. After a moment, they simply popped the sugar into their mouths. "This doesn’t have a wrapper, so we’d better eat it quickly—Mmph!"
Mumbling indistinctly, both of them widened their eyes. "So sweet! It’s pure sweetness!" It tasted so much better than the plant-extracted soothing saccharin cube issued by the hospital that she had just given away!
Meanwhile, Huai Yu had quietly stepped into the right corridor.
Various consultation rooms lined both sides of the hall. A few people were scattered across the row of benches by the doors, either hooked up to IV drips or missing limbs. Everyone looked pessimistic and exhausted. Just passing through the area made Huai Yu feel a sense of heavy oppression.
Coming back to the hospital had definitely been the right decision. Otherwise, in an environment like this, Zhou Qian going to his prosthetic adaptation all by himself would surely feel incredibly lonely and pitiful!
Only... why did the nurse say it wasn’t suitable for family members to watch?
She scrunched up her face in speculation. "Is it because they have to do basic rehabilitation exercises during the adaptation, and they’re afraid of looking too awkward and losing face in front of their families?" she wondered.
"That shouldn’t be it," she thought. "Doesn’t rehabilitation training precisely require family members to be there for encouragement?"
As she pondered, she reached the end of the corridor. Suddenly, a middle-aged woman walked out of the ward in front of her, chatting with the doctor beside her as she moved. She narrowly avoided bumping into Huai Yu.
Huai Yu quickly stepped sideways to dodge, but she forgot she was wearing her woven basket. The basket hit the wall and nearly bounced her right back into the woman.
Fortunately, the woman seemed to be in a good mood. Stepping onto the floor with a skin-colored prosthetic foot, she firmly caught Huai Yu with both hands.
"Careful," she said. She then turned back to the doctor. "It feels very comfortable. So far, there isn’t much pain during this adjustment period."
As she spoke, she stomped her foot twice.
The woman’s prosthetic was attached below the knee. The skin tone didn’t look out of place, and there was no obvious sound of joint friction when she walked. Judging by her movements and coordination, she was clearly very close to a normal person. If this was really the case, then once the prosthetic was fitted, one should be able to live like a normal person, right?
The doctor smiled warmly. "Yes, our country’s prosthetics nowadays are gentle and have a high adaptation rate. Even foreign countries have to import from us.
"Plus, the preliminary data collection was very meticulous, and you’ve maintained yourself well. Now that it’s officially installed, just walk around slowly for a while so we can observe."
His voice was steady, and he spoke with an air of absolute reliability. A look of peace washed over the middle-aged woman’s face, and she continued to step forward without hesitation.
Huai Yu subconsciously took a few extra glances, unable to help but wonder what color Zhou Qian had chosen. "I wonder if he likes bright red!" she thought. "If he had a bright red leg bone, it would be extremely eye-catching in the wilderness, wouldn’t it?"
She turned her head to look at the consultation room, her eyes brimming with anticipation.
After accompanying the middle-aged woman a few steps forward and leaving her with a few more instructions, the doctor returned. Seeing Huai Yu standing at the door full of anticipation, he couldn’t help but look her up and down.
"Little girl, are you here for a fitting yourself? Why didn’t I see your appointment slip?"
Curious, he went back into his office, grabbed his notebook, and flipped through it. "There’s nothing else. She was the only appointment for this afternoon..." He looked at Huai Yu. "Did you register?"
Huai Yu shook her head and quickly explained, "It’s not me. My brother is also getting fitted. The nurse said it was here, but..."
She looked around and realized this was just an ordinary consultation room. The outer section was the doctor’s office, with various calculation models and auxiliary tools scattered across the desk and floor. Inside the room was a glass door. Without even going in, she could see a spacious area with handrails. Several prosthetics of different colors and sizes were placed to the side, presumably for patients to practice adapting to them.
But Zhou Qian was nowhere to be seen.
The doctor flipped through his notebook again. The large blank space on the bottom half of the page made him frown in confusion.
"But I only had that one appointment scheduled for today. What’s your family member’s name?"
Huai Yu was also a bit bewildered, but she answered honestly, "Zhou Qian."
She couldn’t help but turn her head to look at the sign on the door—it was indeed the right corridor, and it was indeed the Prosthetic Adaptation Area!
To her surprise, the doctor’s eyes widened instantly. "Your family member is Zhou Qian? THAT Zhou Qian?"
"That... Zhou Qian? Which one?" she wondered.
Huai Yu frowned. She saw the doctor look her up and down again, his eyes now filled with pity. "The two of you rely on each other to survive. Life must be very hard for you, isn’t it?
"I was just thinking that the Defense Army has good benefits. Money might be a bit tight in the future, but it shouldn’t be too bad... Still, I have to say, your brother is truly remarkable!"
Huai Yu was even more confused. Just as she was about to ask what he meant, the doctor gently patted her shoulder and turned her around.
"He has sacrificed so much for your family, little girl. Make sure you take good care of your brother from now on!"
As he spoke, he ushered her toward the door. "Here, you’ve got the wrong consultation room. He’s in the very last one at the end—the New Biomaterial Fusion Room."