Tongtong paid no attention to the doctor and continued to look outside the window.
The doctor approached step by step, keeping his tone as gentle as possible, "Tongtong, there’s nothing of interest here, let’s go back and rest."
Tongtong finally showed a small reaction, turning slightly to glance at the doctor, her eyes full of despair, her complexion frighteningly pale.
From a distance, she looked like a ghost lost in the human world, somewhat horrifying.
Tongtong softly asked, "Doctor, where do people go after they die? Is there nothing left?"
The doctor said, "No, you’re thinking too much. There’s another world after death, just one. Don’t think about dying; there are many beautiful things in this world you haven’t seen yet.
It’s dark now, but when it gets light, with the sunlight, outside will be blooming beautifully, and you can find many delicious things to eat..."
The words of the doctor were comforting, albeit a bit disjointed, flitting from one subject to another—sounding like he was pacifying a three-year-old child. But his tone was gentle, calming to listen to.
Thus, with the doctor’s coaxing, Tongtong went back to bed.
Seeing Tongtong lying in bed, the nurses gathered outside the room, including He Jinxia, couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief; the situation had been rather terrifying.
With Tongtong in such a mental state, she had to be watched at all times, but no one dared share a room to sleep with her, fearing that if her depression worsened, what would they do if Tongtong decided to harm someone?
Although everyone knew this illness often harms the afflicted individual more, it’s always better to be cautious; no one dared take the risk of staying with a mentally disturbed patient.
Consequently, the night shift nurses began a rotating schedule, changing shifts every hour to keep an eye on Tongtong.
When it was He Jinxia’s turn to watch over Tongtong, the image of Tongtong staring out the window kept echoing in her mind—the scene flashed, morphing into a silhouette leaping and plunging down from behind her.
He Jinxia took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, feeling somewhat frightened.
Everyone has their fears, and in this life, she discovered she didn’t have the problems of her past life. She could endure hardship and labor, fight without fearing insects or animals, and her body wasn’t delicate—healthy as she was, she thought nothing could shake her.
But now, seeing Tongtong, He Jinxia realized that she too had fears—death.
Birth, aging, illness, and death are natural to human beings; she might be unable to bear someone passing away in front of her. Just a hint of such an event, and the scene would play over and over in her mind hundreds of times.
She couldn’t stop thinking about it even if she tried; closing her eyes, all she saw was Tongtong’s pale face and those lifeless eyes.
For the first time in her life, He Jinxia experienced insomnia, haunted by dreams of other people’s pale faces!
When Sheng Yan got up early the next day, he saw his mobile phone’s notification light blinking, beckoning him to check it quickly.
Upon checking, he found it was a WeChat message from Jinxia, sent at over three in the morning!
Sheng Yan frowned and immediately made a call.
"Hello?" Soon, Jinxia’s raspy voice, tired and devoid of its usual crispness, conveyed an undertone of torment.
Sheng Yan, "What’s wrong? Weren’t you going to experience a role recently?"
He Jinxia rubbed her eyes, yawned, and tried to sound a bit more spirited, muttering, "Yeah, I was experiencing a role, and while doing so, I fell into it."
Sheng Yan, baffled, "Fell into it?"
He Jinxia, dispiritedly said, "I got caught up in it too. Every time I close my eyes, all I see are the faces of patients with depression, and I’m not in a good mental state."
Sheng Yan furrowed his brow, and he, too, remembered that in "Eighteen Years Old Sky," the female lead He Jinxia was playing a lady prone to depression, who initially decided to adopt a child believing that the child would be her salvation.
The thought swirled around his throat and then he swallowed it back down. Since she had already accepted this role, no matter what, Jinxia was definitely going to see it through.
The contract was already signed, and it was too late now to talk about leaving the production.
Sheng Yan said in a low voice, "Then just think about me more."
He Jinxia was puzzled, "Huh?"
Sheng Yan, "When you’re feeling down, just think about me, and your mood will get a lot better."
He Jinxia’s lips curved slightly, a trace of embarrassment crossed her face. Was Mr. Sheng really okay with flattering himself ?
She snorted lightly, her eyes twinkling as she deliberately said, "Oh dear, it’s been so long I’ve even forgotten what you look like, what should I do?"
Sheng Yan raised an eyebrow, "Video call me every morning and evening, change all your phone screen savers to my pictures, and I guarantee you won’t forget."
Just the thought made He Jinxia burst into a giggle and she said, "What if someone sees and mistakes me for one of your crazy fans?"
Sheng Yan’s tone became slightly excited, he casually said, "It’s not shameful for stars to have idols, many celebrities publicly admit that I am their idol too."
He Jinxia stuck out her tongue, "Got it, narcissist."
The two of them chatted nonsense for a while, and by the end, He Jinxia didn’t even remember what she and Sheng Yan had been talking about. But when she hung up the phone, she did so with a smile on her face, and her spirits lifted considerably.
She thought for a moment, looked down at her phone, and quietly changed her screensaver to Sheng Yan’s face.
"Jinhe, Jinhe! What are you doing? I’ve been calling you for so long and you didn’t respond!" a nurse tapped He Jinxia on the shoulder and suddenly spoke.
He Jinxia jumped in surprise, quickly put away her phone, and said with her head bowed, "Oh, I was just thinking about some things."
The nurse nudged her playfully, whispering slyly, "I saw just now."
He Jinxia stiffened, looking up at the nurse. What had she seen?
The nurse pointed to her phone, "Your phone."
He Jinxia’s heart raced, her hand clenched slightly, feeling nervous. Could it be that the nurse knew about the phone call she had just had with Sheng Yan?
She blinked rapidly, her mind whirring as she tried to find an excuse. Just as she was about to speak, the next second, the nurse suddenly grabbed her hand and exclaimed excitedly:
"I didn’t expect you to be a fan of Emperor Sheng too. Just now, I saw your phone screensaver!"
He Jinxia’s tension melted away, the roller coaster of emotions making her break out in sweat on her forehead.
She smiled stiffly and nodded at the nurse, "Yes, yes, I am his fan too."
Nurse, "Do you know Emperor Sheng’s latest schedule? It’s been a long time since he last appeared. Ah, I don’t know when I’ll get to see Emperor Sheng. He’s really handsome. When will he start acting again? Ah, such longing..." Chapters fırst released on n0velfire.net
Meanwhile, Sheng Yan hung up the phone and quickly headed to the production set.
In the car, he thought for a moment and asked Zhang Ming to look up information on depression.