Plague (13): Go home secretly

After that, Tan Xiao made a dozen more calls, almost every ten minutes. Each time, a cold female voice reminded him, “Sorry, the number you dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later, sorry…”

By the fourteenth time, before Tan Xiao could make another call, his phone rang first. The screen showed that Dr. Wen was calling him.

He fumbled to press the call button, and the slightly distorted voice of Dr. Wen came through the phone: “Baby, what happened? Why did you call me so many times?”

Tan Xiao’s heart, which had been wavering due to worries about Wen Yi’s safety, finally settled down. He tried hard to keep his tone calm and composed: “It’s nothing. I sent a notification at ten o’clock this morning and couldn’t reach you, so I was particularly worried. It’s good to know you’re safe.”

Being an adult now, he couldn’t be of much help during such a critical period, nor could he hold Wen Yi back.

Wen Yi apologized: “It’s my fault. I had a very long meeting earlier, and they collected everyone’s phones during the meeting, so I only saw your message now.”

Tan Xiao shook his head and then asked, “Is it convenient for you to take a video call?”

He said to stay calm, but he realized he couldn’t be that calm either. He wanted to see Wen Yi’s condition with his own eyes. Even if they couldn’t hug face-to-face, at least he could see the other person’s face and confirm that his doctor was truly safe.

“Of course, you can. Wait a moment, I’ll find a quieter place.”

Wen Yi held the phone and kept the call going, and soon sent a video request.

Tan Xiao saw Wen Yi still wearing a protective suit on the screen, but the other person had already removed the goggles and mask. Dr. Wen’s face looked a bit pale, and his dark hair was slightly damp from sweat, but he seemed to be in good spirits.

He instantly breathed a sigh of relief: “Isn’t the hospital full of viruses? You should still wear the protective suit.”

“It’s fine, I’m on the rooftop of the 20th floor right now, there’s no one else here, and I’m about to have dinner.”

Tan Xiao took the opportunity to ask with concern: “What are you having for dinner tonight? Are you eating well?”

“The dumplings you prepared for me at noon, the pan-fried dumplings and the fried eggs were all very delicious.”

Wen Yi lifted the lunch box in his hand, opened the steaming lid, and pointed the camera at the food inside the box: “Look, they just distributed the standardized lunch boxes, the delivery truck just brought them over, they said it was a unified distribution by the government agency.”

Tan Xiao looked carefully for a while: “Let me see, braised chicken leg, stir-fried pork with black fungus, oil-braised prawns, and stir-fried greens, with chilled mung bean soup? It looks delicious, and the packaging of your lunch box is very exquisite.”

He was somewhat surprised: “Are the staff meals at Huaxi Hospital all of such high standards?”

Wen Yi shook his head: “Only the doctors and research team members who were sent over today get meals of this standard. Other medical staff receive standardized, ordinary boxed meals. The hospital cafeteria is also working overtime today to prepare dinner for the patients who are staying behind.”

The chefs, after passing health checks, cooked in a fully air-conditioned environment while wearing protective gear, and then the same-equipped prep cooks packed the meals into disposable boxes of the same quality as those used in five-star hotels for delivery.

On a scorching hot day, these meals were still packed in thermal bags, and the lunchbox in Wen Yi’s hand was still steaming.

After all, the hospital was now a high-risk area, with sick patients everywhere. The food cooked in the cafeteria might contain the virus.

Illness enters through the mouth, and the oral mucosa absorbs the virus faster than the external skin.

In the eyes of those in power, anyone could get into trouble, but not these medical personnel who studied viruses and vaccines. So their meals, like those of high-ranking officials, were specially provided.

Tan Xiao chuckled and then continued to ask, “I saw online that Huaxi Hospital has stopped outpatient services. After the order was issued, all the patients who came to the hospital were forced to stay for observation. Once they went in, they couldn’t come out. Is this true?”

Wen Yi explained, “Currently, not all patients are showing the same terrifying symptoms. Some have mild symptoms, while others have severe ones. The severe ones are obvious at a glance, but for the mild ones, blood tests are necessary.”

“So, can they be released after the tests?”

Wen Yi shook his head, “The development of infectious diseases has an incubation period. The patients who are forced to stay in the hospital today will have to wait at least three more days to undergo full-body and blood tests again to ensure their health before they can go home.”

Tan Xiao nodded. He didn’t actually care much about whether others could go home or not, “What about you? Will you be able to come back in three days?”

Wen Yi: “Within three days, Huaxi Hospital will be transformed into a specialized research hospital for infectious diseases named X12. All infectious patients will be transported by special vehicles to Huaxi Hospital for treatment and research… Baby, before we get results from the research, all medical staff who are holding the fort at Huaxi cannot go home.”

Although Tan Xiao had been mentally prepared, he still felt a bit disappointed upon hearing the news.

Wen Yi asked him: “What about you? What did you eat tonight?”

He smiled and opened his mouth to speak. Because he was worried about Wen Yi, he didn’t have the heart to make dinner: “I’ll boil some dumplings later; handmade dumplings don’t taste good after being left for a week.”

He reassured Wen Yi: “You don’t need to worry about me. I haven’t gone anywhere today; I’ve been at home the whole time. Now the house is just me. When you just went back to work, I stocked up on some dry goods, rice, flour, oil, and other supplies. I think it will last me for almost half a year.”

He didn’t actually need to worry about vegetables; there were all kinds of beans at home that could sprout, be made into soy milk, and there were various canned pickled vegetables and preserved vegetables…

He even set up a few foam boxes on the balcony to grow green onions, garlic, and the like.

Tan Xiao walked around with his phone, turning to let the foam boxes come into view: “Besides, we have so many vitamin tablets at home. If I eat fewer vegetables, I’ll just take some vitamin tablets.”

Unable to contact Wen Yi, he tried hard not to overthink things, doing nothing all afternoon and constantly scrolling through online messages.

Those restaurants that stockpiled goods couldn’t use them all within a month, so they quickly sold off their raw materials. The citizens rushing to buy food caused the major malls and markets to be overcrowded.

The citizens tried their best to arm themselves: if they didn’t have protective suits, surely they had waterproof raincoats and boots. If not, they would just use thick clothes and plastic bags to shield themselves.

It was a scorching hot sunny day, but everywhere you looked, there were people in colorful raincoats.

Undoubtedly, on this day of stockpiling, the city would see a significant increase in new infectious disease cases.

The players inexplicably felt a sense of happiness: the game was quite good, whether it was not being able to deviate from their character or not being able to disclose game information, those restrictions now seemed like favorable terms to keep them safe.

Moreover, they were not like other anxious citizens who would be able to clear the game and leave in another 20 days.

Tan Xiao belonged to the group of people who had no intention of going out. He didn’t know the game rules at all, but he knew that the supplies in the supermarket were limited and could not meet the entire city’s supply needs at the same time.

The government dared to put the entire city under lockdown, but it wouldn’t let residents starve to death at home. As long as there were enough supplies for a short period, he should avoid going out if possible.

Wen Yi praised him, “You’re really impressive.”

He fixed the phone stand, “We have an hour of break time. After we finish eating, we need to continue our research. The phone should be kept in a waterproof bag to avoid virus splashes.”

“Then I’ll eat with you.”

Eating in front of the phone screen counted as two people dining together.

Tan Xiao counted out 15 dumplings. He didn’t have much of an appetite today and could only eat half of what he usually did. During these unusual times, it was better not to waste food.

After an hour of phone call time, Wen Yi gently said, “Goodnight, dear. I’ll call you again when I have time.”

Tan Xiao made a heart gesture in front of the screen and kissed the other person through the screen: “Goodnight, you must pay attention to your safety!”

That night, Tan Xiao tossed and turned, unable to sleep. He lay in bed at 10 o’clock and didn’t fall asleep until nearly midnight.

In the silent state, S City lost its title of the city that never sleeps today, shrouded in darkness everywhere.

In the night, Huaxi Hospital was an immensely large black monster, continuously swallowing massive amounts of viruses with the sound of ambulance sirens. The glaring red sign was the monster’s eye.

S City at night and S City during the day seemed like two different worlds between life and death.

Soldiers armed to the teeth stood straight at the hospital entrance, and the highest-ranking military commander silently guarded the entrance.

As the clock stroke midnight, a tall figure in a blood-stained white coat appeared at the hospital entrance.

The soldiers all drew their weapons, aiming them at the man in the white coat: “The hospital is for entry only, go back!”

The man in the white coat, looking refined and wearing gold-rimmed glasses, showed no sign of fear in the face of so many dark gun barrels.

He looked at the man adorned with numerous medals and said slowly, “I want to go home and see my boyfriend.”

The tall man silently pressed the soldiers’ guns down: “Let him go.”

The man in the white coat walked down the deserted street, his steps light as he headed towards his destination. The streetlights flickered as if there was a bad connection, and the ground was dappled with tree shadows, but there was never an extra figure in sight.

A strange shadow appeared at the entrance of Unit 801, Building 13, in the Zihua Garden community.

It silently entered the bedroom, where Unit 801 was shrouded in darkness, except for a small orange nightlight left on in the master bedroom.

The shadow stood at the foot of the bed, gently smoothing the wrinkles on the young lover’s forehead, then lovingly kissed the thin lips he longed for: “Baby, everything will be over soon. Don’t worry, you will absolutely be safe.”

If Tan Xiao opened his eyes, he would find that the shadow standing by the bed was none other than his Dr. Wen: a doctor with eyes as red as rubies, a cold body devoid of warmth, and no shadow under the night light.