Reluctantly Willing

An Xiaoyan looked at the person who came to visit him in jail. It had never occurred to him that his first visitor would be Gu Jun, the family of the victim.

"Do you know why I came, murderer?"

"Mr. Gu, I am very sorry about your child."

Gu Jun sneered. "You think you're off the hook just by saying sorry? What about my child? Do you know the importance of an extra heir to the Gu Family? Your mistake might very well cause me the chance for inheritance."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Gu. I really am."

"Oh right, I forgot the main reason why I came today. I heard that you're about to graduate and was accepted as a master's student at A University, correct?"

An Xiaoyan's eyes brightened. "Mr. Gu," he said, grasping the metal bars, "Can you help me with the paperwork for a gap year? Then I can go back to school after being released."

"I didn't think you'd be so naïve. Do you think I'm a good person? I am not." With that, Gu Jun took out two pieces of paper from his bag and put them where An Xiaoyan couldn't reach.

"This is your bachelor's diploma and admission letter for your master's program. They look so nice, huh." Gu Jun caressed An Xiaoyan's name on the paper with his right hand. His eyes were filled with hatred.

"What would your expression be if I made these pieces of paper disappear?"

An Xiaoyan had an idea about what Gu Jun was planning. He shook his head violently and tried to grab the papers, but Gu Jun had them completely out of his reach.

"Someone like you doesn't deserve to be called a university student, let alone a master's student. You're a murderer. You should be treated like a rat, insulted by everyone!" Gu Jun folded the two pieces of paper and let An Xiaoyan watch his admission letter be ripped apart and scattered on the ground.

As the shreds of paper landed on the ground, An Xiaoyan's dream flew away. He wouldn't have a chance to go to school anymore. He was nothing now—nothing.

Gu Jun sat in the chair, enjoying the despair on An Xiaoyan's face. Seeing this, he actually felt happy. Revenge felt great.

"Alright, I'm leaving now. Enjoy your time in jail, Mr. University Student."

After Gu Jun left, An Xiaoyan returned to his cell mechanically. His future had been completely rewritten. His childhood dream of becoming a doctor would never come true.

Fights occurred everywhere in jail. This jail was in the suburbs and filled with the evilest criminals. Gu Jun had worked hard on transferring An Xiaoyan here. An Xiaoyan, this jail will be your pathway to hell!

The Warden was flipping through new prisoners files when he caught that An Xiaoyan was surprisingly a medical school student and suddenly got an idea. "Call that An Xiaoyan over."

An Xiaoyan was resting in bed when he was suddenly summoned by a prison guard. He was afraid that he had done something wrong.

"An Xiaoyan, right? Sit."

An Xiaoyan sat down obediently, "Why did you call for me?"

"I looked at your file. You were a medical school student?"

"Yes."

"So you can treat simple injuries?"

"Yes."

The Warden was happy. "We don't have a prison doctor because of certain reasons. Why don't you take the position?"

"Warden, you know my situation. I'm afraid I can't. I'm a murderer."

"I know, but be patient and let me finish."

"If you're willing to take this job, you'll be somewhat like an employee and can live in your own room. There are so many predators here and with you looking like this, I'm sure you don't want to keep getting harassed. We'll also offer you half the salary of a regular prison doctor. You'll be imprisoned for a year and it'll be hard for you to find a job even after getting released. It'll be easier if you have this money."

Hearing this, An Xiaoyan was tempted. This was indeed not a bad deal at all. He was broke. If he could earn some money, it would be easier to get by after being released.

"Okay, I'll do it. Thank you, Warden."

"Don't thank me. Just do your job well. A lot of prisoners get hurt every day."

安小言真正接触这份工作的时候才知道有多累,每天送来的犯人身上都多处擦伤,严重的还头破血流,以前没有狱医的时候他们身上的伤没法治,新伤加旧伤在一起无比难堪,有的人身上都化脓了,流出来的脓水不禁让安小言恶心.

An Xiaoyan didn't realize just how tiring this job was until he actually started. The prisoners who were brought here every day all had numerous scrapes on them. Those in more serious conditions even had bloody injuries. There wasn't a doctor before, so their old and new wounds all overlapped, making the situation worse. Some people even had festering sores and the liquid that oozed out disgusted An Xiaoyan.

He couldn't help but pity these criminals. Without a doctor, they might die from infections. He found comfort in that he could actually act as a doctor here and help them.

The prison was troubled by an enduring shortage of medicine. An Xiaoyan had used every means possible to dilute the medicine, but it still wasn't enough. He sent a request to the Warden for more medicine.

"Xiaoyan, you know that no one pays attention to our prison. The prisoners here are either on the death roll or sentenced for life. Even what we have here was hoarded over many years."

An Xiaoyan knew about the prison's dilemma, but to him, those criminals were his patients. He had to do something.

"Use a portion of my salary to buy medicine."

The Warden didn't think An Xiaoyan would do that. As expected, doctors were all benevolent. He found it hard to believe that An Xiaoyan was a murderer after days of observation.

"An Xiaoyan, you have to think carefully about what kinds of people are in here. You've been here long enough to know that they won't thank you for this. They might even stab you in the back!"

"Warden, I've made my decision. No matter how they are in the future, I only hope that I can help them get better. They're just patients."

The Warden saw the decisiveness in An Xiaoyan's eyes. He sighed and took out a pen and paper from the drawer. "Write down what you need. I'll ask someone to buy them from the market."

An Xiaoyan took the pen and paper, bowing deeply.

He thought of what medicine he needed for the injuries. After writing them down, he was about to hand the paper to the Warden, but then he turned back and added one more item to the list. He thought that it would be useful.

After the worker went out and bought the medicine, they were put in An Xiaoyan's room.

When the worker left, An Xiaoyan looked at the boxes of medicine, touching the medicine softly like patting a child. This was his dream. Even if it was in jail, it was worth it if he could do what he loved.

An Xiaoyan slept well that night. It was his best night's sleep since he came to prison. In his dream, he wore a white coat and sat in a bright room to tend to his patients. They were all smiling at him…