At Xin'an Hospital, on a bench outside the internal medicine clinic, Wang Meilan sat with her head down, her eyes lowered and her face dark.
Beside her, Jin Xiaomei sat shoulder to shoulder with her, holding Wang Meilan's arm with both hands. "Sister-in-law, don't be angry," she urged. "The boy is just being a good son."
"Yeah, Auntie..." Li Baoyu, who was standing nearby, heard this and was about to add a few comforting words, but he was met with Wang Meilan's hostile gaze.
Li Baoyu quickly turned his head away, averting his face along with Jie Chen.
"Hmph!" Wang Meilan snorted, glanced up at the internal medicine department's information board on the hospital wall, then said to Jin Xiaomei, "Sister, what do you think? Isn't this just a complete waste of time? We're supposed to be out shopping, but instead he drags me here for this whole charade."
