"Anran, you're getting discharged today?"
Shen Anran stopped walking and looked at who had called her. It was an elderly woman in a wheelchair.
Nodding, Shen Anran stepped into the room and saw several people there, so she affectionately greeted them with a smile.
"Everyone's already here?"
Seeing her, they happily greeted her back and asked her to play with them.
But Shen Anran could only shake her head. "I can't play with you today. I have to go somewhere."
"Where are you going?"
"She's going out."
"Oh? Then you're no won't play with us anymore?"
Shen Anran smiled and said, "Of course not. I will still come and play with all of you!"
That made everyone happy and smiling.
"Alright, all of you stop bothering Anran and play there," the elderly woman who called her earlier pressed a button to accelerate her wheelchair.
When she reached Shen Anran, the elderly woman held out a red scarf that had been wrapped around her neck and said, "Take this with you when you go out. It's so cold outside, and you're dressed lightly."
Shen Anran wanted to refuse. She was dressed normally in summer, and wearing a scarf would only make her sweat around the neck. But she didn't want to disappoint the old woman, so she accepted it.
"Thank you, Grandma Chen."
"Take this with you, too." Grandma Chen placed a gold butterfly pendant the size of a thumb in her palm. "Give this to my son when you meet him outside."
Shen Anran looked at the pendant in her hand and smiled. The old lady has been staying in that place for almost thirty years with no relatives coming to look at her, even once. Yet, she didn't dampen the old lady by telling her this.
Keeping the pendant in her pocket, Shen Anran finally bid everyone inside the room and walked out.
"You can fill out this paper, and then you can leave today," a nurse handed a paper to her.
Shen Anran filled in her name. But as she wrote her age, she paused.
Seeing her stop writing, the nurse looked down at the paper and asked, "What's wrong?"
Shen Anran shook her head. "It's nothing… Nurse Ma, what is today's date?"
Nurse Ma glanced at the calendar on top of her desk and answered, "It's March 8."
"Oh, thank you…"
Finally, Shen Anran wrote twenty-two.
Several hours ago, she had been twenty-one. She had grown a year older.
The nurse took her discharge papers and checked it in the system.
"You can go now, Miss Shen." Nurse Ma gave her a copy and a bundle of gifts. "This is to congratulate you on your release."
Seeing the kind gesture, Shen Anran thanked her and took the gift with her.
Stepping out of the building, Shen Anran paused by the entrance and looked back.
She read the signage and felt nostalgic.
Linzhou Mental Health Center.
How long had it been since she was sent there? Two. Three years? Maybe even four years. Shen Anran wondered as she stepped out of the entrance.
"Is that her?"
"Yeah."
"Oh my God. She looks so young. How did she get stuck in this place?"
"What else do you think? She's like this. She got pregnant, and the child died so she went crazy." Nurse Ma placed a finger right before her temple and made a circle a few times. "But she's recovered already. Though who knows if she'll be back soon."
"Tsk, tsk. This is why young people should always take care of themselves. She shouldn't have fooled around and studied properly."
Shen Anran hasn't left the hospital yet. She was only a couple of meters away from them, standing at the entrance, so she could hear their words clearly.
Although their words were unsightly to hear, they weren't wrong about the reason why she was there. Four years ago, she got pregnant and lost her child. Because of this, she lost her mind and ended up in this place.
But there was more to this story, and she didn't bother telling it to them.
Just then, a car sped in front and stopped right in front of her. The door opened, and a woman in a dark pencil skirt and white shirt greeted her.
"Miss Shen?"
Shen Anran glanced up and nodded.
"Please come with me. I'll take you back to the mansion as per your mother's order."
Shen Anran frowned, but kept her mouth shut.
Her mother died when she was barely a year old. Obviously, the 'mother' this woman was talking about was the woman her father married later.
As she was about to get in the car, Shen Anran paused. There was barely any room for her to sit in the backseat. It was filled with things.
Seeing that she wasn't getting in the car yet, the woman harshly told her, "Just find a place to sit inside. We won't be long on the road, anyway."
As if remembering something, the woman added, "Be careful not to flatten or touch the things inside. They're all Miss Yulan's, and if she sees they're damaged, she'll throw a fit."
This time, Shen Anran didn't force herself to get in.
The woman got annoyed at her dillydallying and said, "Miss Shen, what are you still standing there?"
Shen Anran stared at her and said, "So you know I'm also a member of the Shen family."
'Hmph! So what? You're just a crazy woman sent to a mental hospital.' The woman wanted to say this, but swallowed it as she saw Shen Anran's eyes were glued on her as if she said one more word, and things would turn bad.
"Move them," Shen Anran ordered without wasting another word to the woman.
The woman hesitated. She had been instructed by Shen Yulan to place the things she bought in the backseat instead of the trunk, saying that they were important things at the event today…
"If you don't do it, I'll throw them all out." Shen Anran let a smile appear on her lips again. "Then, you can explain to my sister how they're all broken."
This time, the woman knew Shen Anran wasn't joking around. If she still refused to move them, she might really throw them out.
Reluctantly, the woman had to step out of the car and move the things to the trunk. But there was so much that she could only beg for Shen Anran to allow a few things in the backseat, while most of the excess was placed in the front passenger seat where she was sitting.
The car finally drove away.
There was still time before they arrive so Shen Anran looked out the window to pass the time.
After four years stuck in that place, Shen Anran observed that many things had changed in the city. She had already planned to look around when she had time later. Now that she was out, she could also have fun and start living a new life.
While busying herself glancing around, Shen Anran saw a white card poking out of one of the boxes.
It was a scented card with elegant calligraphy and design printed on it.
You are hereby invited to our wedding afterparty.
Han Beichen💍Shen Yulan.