The sterile hallways of Beijing's most notorious mental institution echoed with sporadic outbursts and the occasional haunting wail. It was here, in the shadow of this grim, foreboding place, that Gu Liang had been warehoused for over a decade, her once-bright future slowly disintegrating alongside her tenuous grip on reality.
As the shift nurse rounded the corner towards Gu Liang's isolated ward, she tsked loudly to her younger colleague trailing behind. "You'd better brace yourself for this one. Our little former 'princess' tends to get...agitated around this time."
She shot a derisive look over her shoulder as they neared the reinforced door leading to the padded cell. "Can you believe this nutcase used to be part of one of Shanghai's elite families? Silver spoon ripped right from her mouth when the Gu empire went bankrupt amid that massive scandal."
