Fear of food

Chapter 10 Conditions for Discharge

Chen Qi was restless and couldn't wait to rush into the stairwell and get the jianbing guozi back.

He was afraid the cleaning lady would clean it up.

However, he suppressed his impulse. It was the peak time for medical staff to go to work, and he would be easily seen in the crowd. It would be better to wait a while before going.

Moreover, it's unlikely that wild food has been cleared out; those jianbing guozi (Chinese crepes) have been in the flower bed for several days and haven't been cleared out.

It seems that as long as Chen Qi doesn't touch the wild food, everyone else will subconsciously ignore its existence.

Chen Qi returned to the ward, took out the dried bread from the paper bag, and tapped it with his hand; it was rock hard.

It makes a tapping sound like striking a wooden fish, and its surface is rough and uneven.

He broke off a piece and found that not only was the outer crust dry, but the inside of the bread was also dry.

"I happen to need a bath towel at the hospital, so this is perfect."

Chen Qi put the piece of bread he had broken off into his mouth and chewed it vigorously, making a crunching sound.

Bland and tasteless, dry and hard in texture, but that's not a big deal.

The key is that this bread is extremely absorbent. You don't even feel it when you first put it in your mouth, but after chewing it thoroughly, all the moisture in Chen Qi's mouth is absorbed, and he feels unbearably thirsty.

He quickly grabbed a bottle of mineral water and gulped down the half-bottle of water left over from last night. Still feeling thirsty, he poured himself another large glass of water and drank it down.

With so much water, it even felt a bit rough on my throat when I swallowed it.

"If I ate this whole loaf of bread, I'd turn into Kuafu, the legendary Chinese mythical figure!"

Chen Qi couldn't help but wonder how Xu An'an survived eating this stuff three times a day.

He would never choose to eat this stuff if he had any other option.

After just one bite, Chen Qi abandoned his plan to eat dry bread for the rest of his life.

However, he quickly realized that if it really tasted that bad, Xu An'an wouldn't have been able to eat it so well.

It's very likely that this dried bread tastes different here than it does with Xu An'an.

Just like wild food, it only looks delicious to Chen Qi, while Xu An'an can't understand it.

So dried bread might be Xu An'an's exclusive delicacy.

Of course, this bread wasn't entirely useless to Chen Qi.

Even though Chen Qi forced himself to eat it, he was still able to swallow it.

This can help him prove to others that he is now able to eat normal food!

After waiting a while longer and confirming that the medical staff had completed their shift handover, Chen Qi quietly slipped into the stairwell.

He looked around and finally found the giant jianbing guozi that Xu An'an had hidden in the gap behind the open stairwell door.

The moment he looked directly at the jianbing guozi (Chinese crepe), the immense temptation made Chen Qi's body tremble slightly, his throat bob, and his saliva involuntarily secrete faster.

After eating six wild foods last night, Chen Qi no longer felt hungry, but upon seeing the jianbing guozi (Chinese crepe), his appetite was suddenly whetted.

The golden-yellow jianbing guozi (Chinese crepe) looks so tempting that it seems to exude an intoxicating aroma even through the plastic bag.

Even if Xu An'an dressed up as a bunny girl and wiped the windows next to him, she probably wouldn't be able to take Chen Qi's eyes off the jianbing guozi.

He suppressed his appetite with great willpower, looked around to make sure no one was around, and then picked up the jianbing guozi.

Upon closer inspection, the jianbing guozi (Chinese crepe) appeared round and plump, seemingly filled with ample ingredients, making it one of the largest jianbing guozi Chen Qi had ever seen.

That's why Chen Qi always suspected he was sick. The jianbing guozi (Chinese crepe) that had been exposed to wind and rain in the flower bed for several days was still piping hot when he picked it up!
However, Chen Qi no longer doubts himself as much as before. Various anomalies and the appearance of Xu An'an have gradually changed his opinion.

He now feels that he and the world are seriously ill!

Chen Qi carefully hid the jianbing guozi (a type of Chinese crepe) inside his clothes and then walked back to the ward.

Chen Qi had never walked the short distance from the corridor to ward 408 with such trepidation as he had today. He was filled with anxiety and fear that the medical staff would discover his jianbing guozi (Chinese crepe) and confiscate it.

"call!"

Chen Qi breathed a sigh of relief upon successfully returning to his ward.

With his back to Sun Xuechao, he hid the jianbing guozi (a type of Chinese crepe) inside his pillowcase.

Although he really wanted to eat the jianbing guozi right now, Chen Qi knew that now was not the right time.

Eating a whole jianbing guozi takes some time, so to be on the safe side, you can wait until the early hours of the morning and use the elevator's mechanism to finish eating.

A short while later, Nurse Xiaoru entered the ward.

"Here is today's medicine."

She distributed the medicine in her hand to Chen Qi and Sun Xuechao.

These are all psychotropic drugs. After taking them, one will feel drowsy and lethargic. Chen Qi usually tries to escape or discard them if possible.

Chen Qi threw the medicine on the bedside table and offered to have Xiao Ru take him for a check-up.

"Didn't we just have a check-up the day before yesterday?"

"I feel much better now, I'll go get checked out again."

Xiaoru couldn't persuade him otherwise, and she could also see that Chen Qi's complexion had indeed improved a lot. So, after consulting with Dr. Zhao, she took Chen Qi to the first floor for various physical examinations.

After all the tests were completed, it was almost 10 o'clock, and some test results were still pending.

Chen Qi returned to his ward to wait. At 11 o'clock, Nurse Xiaoru called him to Dr. Zhao's office for a test.

Chen Qi was already mentally prepared. Carrying a paper bag containing dried bread, he arrived at the examination room next to the nurses' station.

"Dr. Zhao." Chen Qi pushed open the door and saw Dr. Zhao typing away on the keyboard.

"You're here, please have a seat," Dr. Zhao said gently.

After Chen Qi sat down, Dr. Zhao stopped what he was doing and asked, "How have you been feeling these past two days?"

"I feel that my body has basically recovered and I can be discharged from the hospital."

"Oh? So confident?"

"You can check my physical exam results from this morning; they should all be out by now, right?"

"Wait a minute, let me take a look."

Dr. Zhao scratched his temple with one hand and operated the mouse with the other, bringing up Chen Qi's physical examination data on the computer.

He immediately looked surprised: "This... how could things have changed so much in just two days!"

It had only been two days since Chen Qi's last physical examination, but the data in all aspects were vastly different.

"All of your physical indicators are close to the minimum standards for a healthy person. The main problem is that your weight is too low. Otherwise, it would just look like mild malnutrition."

Chen Qi looked expectant: "Then can I be discharged from the hospital?"

Dr. Zhao smiled and said, "No rush, we can talk about that later. Let's proceed with today's tests first."

Is further testing still necessary?

"Of course. Although I don't know why your body is recovering so quickly, my goal is to cure your anorexia and ensure that you have the ability to eat normally. A temporary recovery doesn't mean anything."

Chen Qi's heart sank; he had a bad feeling.

Just then, the door to the clinic was pushed open, and Nurse Xiaoru walked in carrying several disposable lunch boxes.

"Dr. Zhao was worried that the cafeteria food wouldn't suit your taste, so he specially asked me to buy several kinds of food outside. See if there's anything you like," Xiaoru said as she arranged the lunch boxes. Dr. Zhao stood up and opened the lids of the lunch boxes one by one, introducing the food inside to Chen Qi with each box he opened.

"These are the big meat buns we bought outside the hospital. This husband-and-wife shop has been open for many years and is very famous in this area."

"This old-fashioned fried chicken is also good, it's very popular. Their fried chicken is golden and crispy, and most importantly, it's not oily..."

"Old Li's BBQ is a place we often go to for our colleagues' gatherings. The ingredients are fresh, and the owner has a great grasp of cooking time and temperature."

"I was worried you wouldn't want to eat meat, so I specially asked Xiaoru to stir-fry some broccoli at a restaurant."

"They also have desserts. This blueberry cake is very popular online recently, and there's always a queue when you go to the store. I had to ask a friend to help me buy it."

"This sesame seed cake..."

"And this mixed noodles..."

It's clear that Dr. Zhao put a lot of thought into the food; he prepared a wide variety of dishes today, including meat, vegetables, sweet, and savory options.

But in Chen Qi's eyes, these things were ugly in all sorts of ways and disgusting in all sorts of ways.

The "meat bun" was a transparent skin wrapping a vomit-like substance;

The skin of the fried chicken was covered with dense warts, resembling cauliflower.

Each floret of broccoli, upon closer inspection, resembles a tiny eye, with countless tiny eyes blinking erratically, triggering Chen Qi's trypophobia.

Not to mention the grilled skewers that looked like they were from a mixed crowd, the fatty blueberry cake, and the sesame seed cakes stained with bloody sanitary napkins...

"Help yourself to whatever you want to eat," Dr. Zhao said warmly.

Nurse Xiaoru didn't touch her chopsticks either; both of them stared at Chen Qi, waiting for him to make a choice.

Chen Qi took a deep breath and said, "You guys eat first, I'm not hungry yet."

Dr. Zhao's eyes gleamed: "It seems you're still not fully recovered."

Chen Qi picked up the paper bag he had brought and said, "I just ate a lot of bread and haven't digested it yet."

As he spoke, he took out a piece of bread and took a bite.

He chewed a few bites quickly, then forced himself to swallow it, suppressing the urge to choke.

It was simply to prove that they had the ability to eat "normal food".

Upon seeing this, Nurse Xiaoru exclaimed in surprise, "This bread looks familiar! Isn't this the bread that the intern doctor ate?"

She recognized it immediately as the same bread that Xu An'an had eaten yesterday, since bread that looked so dry was a rare sight.

She winked and teased, "So it's the magic of love."

Chen Qi didn't explain much, trying his best to maintain a smile, feeling as if the dry bread was absorbing all his stomach acid.

Seeing this, Dr. Zhao looked somewhat surprised and asked, "Have you been eating bread lately?"

Chen Qi nodded.

Dr. Zhao suddenly realized, "No wonder you recovered so quickly."

Taking the opportunity, Chen Qi said, "Dr. Zhao, I've recovered and can eat normally now. Is there any need for me to stay in the hospital any longer?"

Dr. Zhao shook his head: "Just eating bread won't do. It's too nutritionally unbalanced. You need to combine it with the hospital's treatment methods to ensure that you get a balanced diet."

Chen Qi glanced at the lunchbox on the table: "So you mean I have to eat all this before I can be discharged?"

"That's right. Putting everything else aside, you at least need to be able to eat vegetables and meat. Otherwise, from my perspective, I wouldn't recommend you be discharged from the hospital."

At this point, Dr. Zhao paused, then continued, "Of course, I'm just offering advice. Whether you can be discharged depends on your parents. I will tell your mother about your situation and my advice, and let her make the decision."

"In a responsible manner, if you are unable to get the nutrients your body needs, I will not only recommend that you continue hospitalization, but I will also require you to use nasogastric feeding to provide nutritional support."

"Do we need to insert a feeding tube?" Chen Qi's gaze sharpened.

Dr. Zhao explained, "Your body is recovering so well now, and your appetite seems to have returned as well. This is a crucial period for your treatment, so we should strike while the iron is hot and not let the momentum falter."

"Although inserting a nasogastric tube is somewhat uncomfortable, it ensures that your body receives enough nutrition and recovers to a healthy level as soon as possible."

"Many mental illnesses are triggered by physical ailments. Perhaps once your body recovers, your anorexia will naturally resolve itself."

After saying that, Dr. Zhao invited Nurse Xiaoru to sit down and have a meal.

Chen Qi watched silently from the sidelines, but his heart was not as calm as it appeared.

He came with two major bargaining chips, but not only could he not be discharged, he also failed to change Dr. Zhao's decision to insert a feeding tube into him.

He found this result somewhat unacceptable.

"Although I can talk to my mom again this afternoon, judging from her recent behavior, she probably won't agree to my discharge if Dr. Zhao doesn't approve."

"We can't keep going like this. Staying in the hospital will only do me harm, not good."

"The only way to get discharged is to eat these things..."

As if he could read people's minds, Dr. Zhao, while munching on cauliflower and fried chicken, spoke up at the opportune moment:

"Give it a try. Eat some broccoli and some meat, just a little bit. Take the first step."

Chen Qi lowered his head, a voice echoing in his mind:
"Want to eat?"

"Swallow it whole with your eyes closed?"

"Everyone around me is eating this food and they are all fine, so I probably won't feel any discomfort if I eat it."

"At most, it'll just make me feel nauseous..."

Dr. Zhao continued to coax him gently: "Just take one bite, and I'll contact your mother and have her come and process your discharge."

The voice in Chen Qi's heart grew louder and louder:

"Take a bite!"

"Just one bite!"

"It doesn't seem entirely unacceptable."

His gaze wandered among the lunch boxes, as if he were subconsciously considering which one would be easier to eat.

Upon seeing this, Dr. Zhao smiled.

Just when Dr. Zhao thought Chen Qi was finally going to compromise, he saw Chen Qi suddenly shake his head, as if trying to shake off the distracting thoughts in his mind.

The next moment, his eyes became clear and firm.

Why was he hospitalized?

Why was I discharged from the hospital?

And why are they unwilling to accept the insertion of a nasogastric tube?
Isn't it simply because they don't want these disgusting so-called foods to enter their bodies?
If we compromise now, what will all our perseverance and hard work over the past month amount to?
Why not just compromise more than a month ago?
Chen Qi looked up and met Dr. Zhao's gaze. Just as he was about to refuse, he saw Dr. Zhao suddenly reach out and scratch his temple again.

In Chen Qi's memory, Dr. Zhao often did this, and he didn't know if it was a habitual action or if he had some kind of skin disease on his temples.

This time, the itching seemed unbearable, so Dr. Zhao took off his glasses and started scratching vigorously.

As he scratched up and down with his fingers, the skin at his temples sometimes bulged and sometimes tightened, and a striking red mark suddenly appeared on the skin covered by a thin layer of hair.

Chen Qi blinked uncertainly, thinking he was seeing things, but when he looked more closely, his pupils suddenly contracted!
A finger-length cut appeared on Dr. Zhao's temple, the skin of which would sometimes close and sometimes be pulled open as he moved his fingers, revealing bright red flesh and pale yellow fat.

Two bean sprout-like fleshy tendrils emerged from it, each with a small eye at its tip, like a snail's antenna. After turning around once, they pointed directly at Chen Qi.

(End of this chapter)