Sweet slice-of-life love story: Wife, Let's love again
Chapter 238 - 234: The Hidden Other Side

Chapter 238: Chapter 234: The Hidden Other Side

The sixth day of the Lunar New Year.

The sky was gloomy.

From the time when dawn was breaking, small snowflakes had begun to flutter down. By a little past eight in the morning, large snowflakes were falling everywhere, spinning as they landed on the streets and laying a thin blanket of white on the ground.

The old snow had not melted, and new snow was accumulating.

A white Audi pulled up at the entrance of the large pharmacy. As soon as the car came to a stop, the door was pushed open, and Qin Guanglin hurried in with a black bag in his hand.

"Hello, I would like to ask for your help in identifying what this medication is for?"

The pharmacist looked up and glanced at the young man standing in front of them with a weary expression. They didn’t look at the drugs set on the counter but instead lowered their head again and said, "Isn’t it your medication?"

"It’s not."

Qin Guanglin’s mind had been unsettled all night long. It would have been alright if there were labels, but the labels on the bottles were torn off, and they were so carefully hidden, it was inevitable that he would overthink.

The more he pondered, the less certainty he felt. Finally, at a little after seven, guessing that the pharmacy might be about to open, he immediately took the drugs and left. But none of the surrounding drugstores were open during the festive period, so he had driven around for quite some time before finding this place.

"Then you should ask the person who takes the medication. I can’t tell you that; it’s against the rules."

"..."

Qin Guanglin’s hand resting on the counter clenched slightly, the nails whitening under the pressure. He fell silent for a moment, then turned to leave for somewhere else but paused and stopped again, "I want to buy a full set of exactly the same medications that are here."

The pharmacist raised their head upon hearing this, frowning and saying, "This is... uh..."

"Please help... thank you." Qin Guanglin looked at her sincerely, "This person is very important to me, I’m very worried. Even if you don’t tell me now, I will find out from somewhere else eventually. I just want to know what these are for..."

"Others can say what they want, but I have my professional ethics," said the pharmacist, waving their hand to cut him off, yet their gaze involuntarily fell on the drugs laid out on the counter. Their eyes narrowed slightly, and then they called out hesitantly after seeing Qin Guanglin turn to leave, "Wait..."

"Hmm?"

"Who did you say this person is, to you?"

"... My wife."

"What does she do?" the pharmacist continued, and seeing Qin Guanglin’s frown deepen, quickly added, "I just want to know, does she work in a hospital?"

Qin Guanglin felt his heart sink slowly and shook his head, "No, she’s a teacher." He paused, looked at the drug bottles and pills he was holding, and then looked up at the pharmacist, "Is there... a problem with these medications?"

"There’s a bit of an issue." The pharmacist hesitated whether they should speak up or not.

If they were ordinary medications, she wouldn’t have given them a second glance – where to inquire was the querier’s own business; patient privacy was a line that shouldn’t be crossed.

But this was an exception.

Pouring out the pills from the bottle for inspection, and estimating the quantity left inside, the pharmacist’s expression grew increasingly serious. Looking up, she said, "This... it’s a sleeping pill."

"Just a sleeping pill?" Qin Guanglin was stunned for a moment, then relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief as the weight on his heart started to ease.

Just sleeping pills. Although such medications are often associated with suicide, Teacher He... could that be possible?

Absolutely impossible.

"Thank you, really, thank you."

He nodded his thanks, but the pharmacist didn’t respond. Instead, she picked up another medication, examined and pointed at it, "Estazolam, this one is probably eszopiclone..."

"These are all prescription drugs, not only for aiding sleep but also for relieving anxiety, fear, tension..."

"...The control over sleeping pills is very strict nowadays; they’re usually prescribed by the pill, ten pills, twenty pills... No one dares to give out a whole bottle. This bottle is a hundred pills, so I asked you about the patient’s occupation and whether she works at a hospital. A teacher... I have no idea how she managed to get a whole bottle..."

"...And nearly half this bottle is already gone. There’s also the rest of these drugs; some have been consumed as well, like this one, which is highly addictive and usually taken only when there’s no other choice. Fortunately, only two pills are missing from this strip..."

"...This whole bag of medicine is sedatives. A single doctor definitely should not have prescribed these. If it weren’t so, I wouldn’t be telling you all this... If she has been secretly taking it without your knowledge, this situation..."

...

"Mom, I’m going to He City."

"Eh, eh, why are you in such a hurry? You..."

Bang.

Qin Guanglin grabbed his clothes and headed straight out, getting into his car and starting it up.

It was the time for the Spring Festival return travel rush, and he couldn’t even snatch up half a ticket; driving was the only option.

He opened a crack in the car window, and the biting cold wind whistled in, making him shrink his neck as his thoughts tumbled in his mind, interspersed with the doctor’s words.

Chaotic.

Very chaotic.

Qin Guanglin had never imagined—that He Fang, who was always optimistic and cheerful, who always teased him with a smile, who always wore a silly smile on her face—

At the bottom of her storage box, there’d be a pile of estazolam... some of it already consumed by more than half.

Insomnia?

Anxiety?

Or...

Had he not gotten the whim to tidy up the room... a feeling of dread washed over him.

Luckily, it had been discovered early.

Qin Guanglin furrowed his brows as he stopped the car, pulled out his mobile phone to give He Fang a call, but upon looking at the phone, he hesitated. Since she had hidden it from him, he obviously couldn’t find out anything over the phone; he would have to meet her in person.

They had been living together for over half a year, and he had been completely clueless...

As a boyfriend, he had neglected his duty.

Severely neglected his duty.

He restarted the car, but suddenly his actions paused; looking into the rearview mirror, he confronted himself, and his mind flashed with the past.

"I can’t sleep, come on in... just get up early tomorrow..."

"... Classmate Qin, are you asleep?"

"I’ve been having a bit of insomnia recently ..."

"... I can’t sleep, I miss you a lot."

He Fang’s voice lingered in his heart, and the car roared in the direction of He City.

Qin Guanglin finally understood. Before living together, he clearly turned off the lights and said goodnight to her around ten o’clock every evening, yet it wasn’t until eleven or twelve in the morning that she’d wake up for breakfast.

Does anyone sleep for more than twelve hours a day?

Maybe occasionally, but not many people do so daily.

His grip on the steering wheel tightened, his knuckles turning somewhat white. Suddenly he opened the car window a little more, the cold rushing in wildly from outside, instantly clearing his head. His tangled thoughts were swept aside, and another question emerged from the depths of his heart.

After moving in together, He Fang would usually fall asleep first most of the time; she never showed any signs of insomnia.

This...

Something was wrong.

The medication didn’t appear out of thin air, nor did it disappear by half out of nowhere, and it couldn’t possibly be something she was holding for a friend.

If a friend had insomnia issues, why would they have her hold onto the drugs?

"All are prescription meds, apart from aiding sleep, they can also be used to alleviate anxiety, fear, nervousness..."

The doctor’s words echoed in his ears again, and as he drove, Qin Guanglin’s heart gave a sudden lurch.

Anxiety... Fear... Nervousness...

What was she afraid of?