Yang Na

Chapter 610: Yang Na

In the reception hall of Kangning Hospital, both visiting family members and staff couldn't help but glance toward the southeastern corner. Sitting there, silent and still, was a young woman with delicate features and a slender figure.

Girls who looked like that were rare in a place like this.

Yang Na wore her red down jacket over the same pure white sweater as always. A small cross-body bag hung at her side. She sat sideways on the bench, her folded hands clasped tightly on her thighs, looking as though she was waiting for something with anxious anticipation.

Today, Yang Na had clearly dressed with care. As if to mask the exhaustion on her face, she had even put on a touch of light makeup.

Hanging from her left earlobe, nestled against the hair that fell to her shoulder, a delicate, classical jade earring swayed gently as she looked around.

Yang Na pulled out her phone—a plush-cased one—to check the time, then took a tube of light lipstick and a small mirror from her bag.

After touching up her lips, she pressed them together softly.

When she heard someone ahead call her name, Yang Na quickly grabbed a white plastic bag at her feet with both hands and hurried over.

But the moment she stepped joyfully into the room, the excitement on her face came to an abrupt halt. She saw Li Huowang, standing on the other side of an iron grille.

"Why is he locked up for a family visit?! Other psychiatric hospitals aren't like this! This isn't a prison!" Seeing Li Huowang treated that way, her voice rose with anger.

"Na Na, it's okay."

Yang Na ignored the nurse who was about to explain, walked straight up to the iron bars, and reached through with both hands, grasping Li Huowang's hands that he had already extended from inside.

When she saw the silver handcuffs around his wrists, her eyelashes instantly beaded with tears.

Li Huowang quickly tried to comfort the girl in front of him. "Don't cry. Don't be sad, Na Na. I'm really fine now. Don't feel wronged for me."

"This hospital is pretty good. The doctors are responsible, the food is decent, the other patients are friendly—I've even made quite a few friends in here."

"Besides, my illness is almost cured. I just need to stay a little longer, and I'll be discharged! Then I can see you freely outside."

Under Li Huowang's reassurance, Yang Na's tears never actually fell.

"Na Na, how did you know I was at this hospital? Who told you?" Li Huowang was genuinely surprised that she had come looking for him. He had thought their next meeting wouldn't be in a psychiatric ward.

Yang Na lowered her head and gently pressed her cheek against the back of his hand. "Auntie told me you were at this hospital. She said your illness was cured—that you wouldn't go crazy anymore, and that you could recognize people again."

"You know? When I got that call, I was so happy I couldn't sleep for two days straight. Your illness is really better."

Li Huowang felt a bit helpless. His mother meant well, but sometimes she meddled in ways that didn't help.

He had planned to contact Yang Na after he was discharged, but she had been too impatient to wait.

"Na Na, I heard you've been sick? Feeling any better lately?" Li Huowang asked her, his tone concerned.

"My illness is very mild. As long as I take my medicine, it stays under control." As she said this, Yang Na let out a soft laugh.

"You know? When the doctor told me I was sick, I was so happy. I thought to myself, maybe I could end up in the same hospital as you."

Yang Na was lying. Li Huowang, who had seen far too much, could tell immediately. Any illness that required medication to stabilize could not be called "mild."

What's mild is just feeling depressed—a mood, not a disorder. It doesn't need medication. The difference between the two is wider than a trench.

Depression as a mood is just a gray cloud overhead. After a while, that cloud will drift away on its own.

But major depressive disorder is like raising a black dog—one that steals your ability to feel joy and paints everything in a shade of oppressive gloom.

This black dog follows you everywhere, never leaving your side. The more attention you give it, the bigger it grows.

Sometimes it swells up, and other times it inexplicably shrinks, but whether it grows or shrinks, it never goes away.

If left untreated, this black dog will follow a person for their entire life, suffocating them, preventing them from ever finding happiness.

If a person's life is destined to be nothing but endless, horizonless despair—utter darkness as far as the eye can see—then the urge for self-destruction is hardly surprising.

And this kind of illness, even if it gets better and the medication is stopped, can relapse at any time if the person suffers a major blow.

"Na Na." Li Huowang looked her seriously in the eyes. "Don't worry. Once I get out of here, no matter what you're facing, I'll be right there with you."

Yang Na bit her lip gently and nodded firmly. Then, as if remembering something, she quickly let go of his hands and picked up the translucent plastic bag from the floor.

"Huowang, look—these are all your favorite snacks. I bought so many. Liquor-filled chocolates, stone cookies, tomato-flavored chips. Make sure you hide them well, okay? Don't let anyone steal them."

"And, and—I also bought some stuff you can use..." As she explained each item, the atmosphere gradually lightened. A faint smile even appeared on both their faces.

This meeting was different from every single one before it. Because Li Huowang's illness was cured. He no longer suffered from hallucinations. For the first time, they could at least dare to hope for a future.

Yang Na held Li Huowang's hands and never let go. In a soft voice, she told him about the plans she had already made for after his discharge.

Once he was out, she would take him to all the fun places. To all the best restaurants. They would make up for every single thing they had missed over all these years.

Time flew by. The visiting hours were almost over.

"Did it leave a scar on your chest?" Li Huowang asked seriously, looking at the white sweater under her down jacket.

The smile on Yang Na's face slowly faded. "Six stitches. A little bit."

"Na Na... I'm sorry. At the time, I..." A powerful struggle twisted Li Huowang's expression.

Yang Na forced a smile back onto her face and interrupted him. "It's fine. And besides, in the future, you'll be the only one who sees it anyway. As long as you don't mind."

"Huowang, look! I still have the birthday gift you gave me!" Yang Na gently flicked her hair aside, revealing the jade earring hanging from her delicate earlobe.

"By the way, Huowang, where did you buy this earring? My best friend said it's worth a lot of money. It didn't cost you too much, did it?" she asked casually, as if making small talk.

But the moment she finished speaking, she paused for a split second, looking at Li Huowang through the iron bars. "Wait... you've been in the hospital the whole time. How could you have gone out to buy something? Oh, and that jade pendant, too."

Li Huowang's pupils contracted sharply. "Is that so?"

"Yes. The one worth four hundred thousand yuan."

— Next chapter update: 23:30.