Xu Qinghuan’s mind was a chaotic blur, a pool of muddy water where no clear thought could form. She stumbled out of the hospital in a daze, her legs, swollen from a night spent on her feet, throbbing with a leaden ache. Scarcely able to walk, Xu Qinghuan spotted a diner that was open and ducked inside. She ordered the first thing she saw and sank into a chair, needing a moment to recover. The owne