"Right, how long will you be here for?" the president asked, wheeling himself back to the table and flipping through some files.
"I'll be here for a month," I answered.
He smiled. "What are you studying in school? Are you going to be a doctor?"
"No, no. I'm studying marketing and I don't have any experience in dealing with patients. Will it be difficult?"
"Whenever an intern comes along, we will train him for three months and put him through a test. He can only start officially if he passes the test. Since you'll only be here for a month, the training program isn't going to work," he said, pulling out a form from a file.
It was my application form.
"Is it going to be that difficult? Can't I just help out in other ways like sweeping and cleaning? I'll assist with the basics. I'm not afraid of hard work and I won't slack off."
"The process here is... unique. You do understand that we're taking care of special patients and there will be times when they require emergency care, don't you? What if a patient under your care gets injured and there are no other employees around? It's going to be difficult for us to accept you if you don't know basic first aid," he explained before throwing the form into the rubbish bin.
I nodded. "So there's no chance for me?"
"Not exactly. You learned some math, didn't you?"
I nodded again. "Yes, when I was young. But you threw my form away, doesn't that mean that I'm out?"
"I have another job for you. You'll take care of and play with that girl Xiaoyu for a month. It should be simple, right?" he said before pulling out a new form, filling a few blanks and handing it to me.
"Yes, that shouldn't be a problem," I agreed and received the form.
It was a contract.
3,000 dollars for a month.
I was overjoyed, but I was also a bit uneasy.
"I'm here to volunteer, sir. I shouldn't take this money."
"Yes, you're a volunteer to those outside, but in here, it is our obligation to pay you. You'll still be paid even if you're a doctor volunteering with us, so don't worry about it. You're not receiving any special treatment," he reassured me.
I nodded and filled up the form. "But to take money for taking care of a child…"
"I'm not asking you to just play with her. You'll need to educate her as well," he clarified.
"What can I teach her? She seems to know more than I do," I protested.
"Do you know the head of the millennium problems?" he asked.
"The seven unsolved problems? Solve any and get 1,000,000? Post the solution on the magazine and succeed if there are no challengers within two years? One has already been solved, right?"
"Yes, Henri Poincaré's conjecture has been solved. There are six more and I hope to train Xiaoyu for her to be able to solve them someday. I was convinced that no one would ever be able to before I met her. She has a special kind of magic. What she understands as math isn't just math. It's purer and more instinctive."
"Speaking of which, President, is it true? The bus driver mentioned that she can predict lottery numbers."
"That is true. It's her power."
"He even said that Xiaoyu's never been to school. She's 12, right? Why won't you send her to school?"
Since the moment we met, this was the only time that he looked at me properly.
He sighed. "We brought her to school when she was eight, but because she's an orphan and in an unusual situation, she got bullied by the other kids. I had no choice but to withdraw her application. She's not exactly in a normal mental state as well."
"Not in a normal mental state?" I repeated.
"It's better if I explain it to you now, although you'll only be taking care of her for a month. She was born here from a pair of mentally ill parents."
I nodded. "They're both mentally unstable?"
He shook his head. "Not really. It's my fault."
A tear rolled down his cheek and his voice started to tremble.
"Don't rush, take your time," I encouraged.
"Have a seat. It's a little long," he said, pointing at the sofa not far away.
"Have you heard of Pang Dahai? A murderer from 14 years ago?"
"Isn't that the serial killer that shook the nation? Five victims. I was still in elementary school then, and our school principal had parents pick their kids up personally after class. No one dared to go out alone at night that month. Everyone was living in fear. Wait, he's Xiaoyu's father?" I asked, wide-eyed.
"You're right, but the whole process might be a little different from what people had imagined," he answered.
I was in shock.
I was also extremely curious.
"Pang Dahai's family looked for me 14 years ago. They offered 150,000 for me to forge a report, claiming that Pang Dahai is mentally ill and should receive treatment in the institution."
"And… you agreed?"
"The eastern face of the mountain we are located on collapsed that year and we had no funds to fortify the groundwork so I had to agree. I diagnosed him and placed him under the most severe patient category. He was under sedation and nurses' care 24/7. He didn't serve his sentence, but his ward was like a prison."
"Then something happened…" I guessed.
He pulled the blanket on his lap, revealing only a left leg.
"He did that?" I asked, pointing at his missing right leg.
"Yes. Someone named Xiaowen was involved, too, but I deserved it. It's not her fault," he responded.
"Pang Dahai? Xiaowen?"
"Xiaowen is a female patient. Extremely beautiful. His ward was beside Xiaowen's. Stockholm Syndrome… heard of it?"
"When a victim develops feelings for his or her captor? It's a legitimate condition?" I was in disbelief.
"Xiaowen was brought in as a severe patient. Throughout that two years, she would enter Dahai's ward through the window. She prepared a knife for him as he plotted his attack. I was the main doctor in charge of Dahai since I brought him in."
"What happened next?"
"Luckily, the other staff arrived to save my life. I wrote another evaluation report and he was sentenced to death. I was supposed to be fired, but the committee decided to let me stay on as the president since they knew the reason behind it all. Plus, I've paid the price. No one had expected, however, that Xiaowen would get pregnant."
"Xiaoyu?" I asked.
"Yes. Xiaowen tried killing herself six times during the pregnancy, but luckily, she was stopped. We thought about abortion but she was against it. The child is innocent and we did not have the right to take its life."
"I don't know much about mental health, but was Xiaowen still suffering from Stockholm Syndrome at that point?"
After a short pause, he nodded. "We thought that was it, but after giving birth to Xiaoyu, she tried to end both their lives."
"Why didn't she try that when Xiaoyu was still in her tummy?"
"She wanted to but she decided to wait for the gender reveal. Perhaps she felt the need to let Dahai know so they can reunite in the netherworld."
"And then?" I asked again.
"She jumped off the building, but she kept Xiaoyu tight within her embrace. Perhaps she changed her mind at the last second, but whatever the case, that allowed Xiaoyu to survive the fall. Xiaoyu got her name from her mom. Word spread that Xiaowen was an undergraduate from a prestigious university before she entered our institution. Xiaoyu's name is very artistic and she's an obedient child. We discovered her gift soon after, which is why I'm planning to tap into it."
"What a story…" I sighed.
"I don't feel that I owe anyone anything, but I am worried about Xiaoyu. I hope you'll help me since you're better in math as compared to the other employees. Is that fine with you?" he asked.
I nodded. "She's only 12. I can handle her."
"Thank you. You can start today. Teach her in a fun way or she won't listen. Get her to write down the whole of Euler's equation and she'll be done for the day. She should be in the staff canteen now. Take my meal card and go ahead. Yours will come tomorrow and I'll keep that for myself then. You'll start at 8 AM and knock off at 8 PM daily. Two-hour lunch break. You only need to take care of Xiaoyu, you don't have to get involved in other things. I thank you again," he finished with a smile.
I accepted his meal card and nodded.