Chapter 14: Arrangements for Discharge

“Ms. Jiang, are you feeling better today?” She sat down naturally on the chair beside the bed, noticing Jiang Hui half-sitting up. She even adjusted the hospital bed for her but gestured that there was no need to get up.

Jiang Hui hadn’t had time to adjust properly, so she could only sit on the bed and watch as the visitor came in. Lying down or sitting up both seemed somewhat impolite, especially since she had already been able to get up and eat at noon.

However, what struck her most was how natural the interactions between the interstellar medical staff and patients were. Even though they were meeting for the first time, their conversations felt as if they were old friends catching up. Their ease made Jiang Hui seem a bit less composed by comparison.

“It’s nothing serious. I’m recovering faster than expected. I thought I’d need a longer recovery period, but then Therapist Carlette told me I could be discharged this afternoon.”

“You actually called him Therapist Carlette to his face?” Miss Xu’s focus was unexpectedly elsewhere, a hint of amusement in her voice.

Jiang Hui blinked in confusion. Was there a story behind that? It seemed like she had already heard several pieces of gossip since waking up less than a day ago in this interstellar world.

Miss Xu didn’t seem to mind Jiang Hui’s somewhat embarrassed expression and explained, “There’s another therapist named Carlette at the district hospital, but he works in radiology on the seventh floor. Those two have never gotten along well, and sharing the same name has caused some trouble.”

“So…”

“So, it’d be better if you just call him Mr. Carlette if you see him. The older one upstairs is always ‘Therapist Carlette’… Of course, it’d be best if you never had to meet either of them again.” The woman made a rather cold joke.

The remark chilled Jiang Hui. She almost smiled, but the humor froze before it reached her lips, and she could only press her mouth awkwardly.

Of course, that was just a minor episode. Miss Xu didn’t continue with the Carlette stories and naturally pulled over a somewhat strange-looking cart.

“Here, let me use your inpatient barcode.” It took Jiang Hui a moment to realize what it was, and she quickly handed over the barcode tag hanging from her wrist.

The other woman took it, checked the code, then flipped the cart around and opened a small compartment.

With a soft click, a recessed drawer popped open. Miss Xu withdrew a set of six palm-sized vials, each about the size of a thumb. The liquid inside glowed a mystical blue.

She didn’t rush to give them to Jiang Hui, but carefully verified the information, then handed the matching vial to her. After swiping through the small screen on the cart to confirm the details, the medication delivery was complete.

“Although you’re mostly healed, you still need to take a five-day course of psychotropic stabilizers. There are six vials here, one of which is a starter dose. You have to take that one first before you can be discharged.” She pointed to the vial under Jiang Hui’s thumb, which was shorter and contained a semi-transparent gel-like liquid, clearly different from the other five.

Jiang Hui only knew how to take out the vial and looked uncertain, unsure if the interstellar medication could be taken directly. Her memory was foggy, and she seemed to have rarely taken medicine before.

Misreading her hesitation as a fear of taking medicine, Miss Xu softened her tone, thinking, “Still a child after all.” She said, “The psychotropic stabilizers can be tough to handle, but for your future, it’s best to recover fully. Start with this starter dose; it won’t cause such a strong reaction.” After all, if there were serious side effects, Jiang Hui wouldn’t be going home so soon.

The starter dose helps ease the body into the medication, essentially testing for sensitivity—if there’s an adverse reaction, it means the body can’t tolerate it.

Miss Xu, however, didn’t mention this detail. The injured young woman was alone and vulnerable in the hospital. She was cautious and uncertain and didn’t want to frighten her.

Fortunately, Jiang Hui seemed to tolerate the medication well, and no complications arose.

After recording everything, Miss Xu’s task was complete.

As she was about to leave, Jiang Hui hurriedly stopped her. She suddenly remembered a tricky issue—she was completely empty-handed, without any form of identification, and knew the hospital better than this strange world knew her. If she left the hospital, could she even find her original home?

“Oh yes, I almost forgot. Your admission was an emergency, so the medical staff only took some basic supplies. Frye is on another shift today and probably forgot to mention it to you. Let me check… Ah, here it is!” Miss Xu produced the item from somewhere.

Jiang Hui wondered how she found it so precisely, considering she seemed unsure just moments before.

Beside the bed, what Jiang Hui had previously thought was a metal worktable suddenly rose up smoothly, revealing a small screen on its reverse side. Below it was a cover resembling a safety lock. The entire transformation was seamless and silent; the edges fit perfectly, as if it had been designed that way from the start—an exquisite piece of craftsmanship.

Before Jiang Hui could marvel, she followed Miss Xu’s instructions and scanned her pupil and brainwaves in front of the screen.

Hearing “brainwave recognition” had made her nervous, fearing she might be exposed, but before she could react, the scan was complete. The lock clicked open, revealing the contents inside.

There were few items: a necklace with a distinctly punk style and a small, round, flat object resembling a button—just those two things.

Miss Xu didn’t hide her surprise upon seeing them. “So, this style is popular in the Inner Rim systems?” She instinctively moved her wrist, revealing a similar-looking electronic watch. A vague memory told Jiang Hui that this was called a “Lightbrain.”

So that’s what a Lightbrain looks like.

The girl shook her head. “They also like wristbands over there, but I prefer this style myself.”

Miss Xu nodded in understanding and urged Jiang Hui to put it on quickly. For interstellar citizens, the Lightbrain was an essential personal item that shouldn’t be left behind unless necessary.

Then Jiang Hui tried to put on the small button-like object, presumably a space buckle.

“Wait—” Miss Xu quickly stopped her, a mix of amusement and exasperation in her voice. “Ms. Jiang, I don’t suppose you want to go home in these hospital clothes, do you? You should wait to put on the space buckle until after you change into your own clothes. Otherwise, it’s a hassle to unlock it due to the cooldown period. I imagine your space buckle contains your everyday clothes, right?”