Autumn in Luocheng.
In a hollow office under the pale fluorescent light, a middle-aged doctor adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose.
"Chen Ji, hello. I need to ask you some questions now. After you answer, I will evaluate based on my judgment using the five levels: 'none', 'very mild', 'moderate', 'severe', and 'very severe'. Is that okay?"
"Okay."
"Do you want to end your life?"
"... End whose life?"
"Your own."
"No, I don't."
The middle-aged doctor hesitated for a moment: "Do you hold grudges? Is it hard for you to forgive those who have hurt you?"
"I don't hold grudges."
"Do you often forget things? What memories do you have from when you were twelve?"
Across from the doctor, the eighteen-year-old Chen Ji's gaze drifted to the darkness outside the window: "Twelve? That summer, my deskmate Ma Kai secretly took my eraser. I really liked that eraser because it had a picture of Itachi Uchiha on it."
The doctor's eyes returned to the previous question about grudges.
He crossed out "1 point, none" and wrote "5 points, very severe" instead.
He carefully observed the young man across from him.
Eighteen-year-old Chen Ji had a rather delicate appearance.
His skin was clean, likely from staying indoors for long periods, and his eyes were clear and sincere.
"Next question, can you endure loneliness?"
This time, Chen Ji finally paused to think seriously about the question.
After a long while, he answered: "Yes."
......
The questioning lasted for half an hour.
When the quartz clock on the wall struck ten at night, the doctor said: "Last question, do you feel like someone wants to harm you?"
Chen Ji: "No, my family treats me well."
The doctor's eyelid twitched slightly.
He quickly noted in his notebook: 168 points for positive symptoms, 67 positive items, factor score 3.8. The patient developed severe 'post-traumatic stress disorder' with violent tendencies after his parents died in a car accident.
"Chen Ji, the diagnosis shows that you have severe post-traumatic stress disorder. You need to stay in the hospital for observation. The nurse will take you to the sixth-floor ward later. I need to take your phone. External information will interfere with your treatment."
"Oh," Chen Ji didn't seem surprised.
"Wait here for a moment. I need to inform your family of the results," the doctor said, standing up with the diagnosis report.
"Wait!" Chen Ji called out to him.
"What is it?" the doctor turned back to ask.
"I haven't given you my phone yet," Chen Ji took a phone out of his pocket and handed it to the doctor.
"I'm just holding onto your phone temporarily," the doctor put the phone in his pocket, turned around, and left, closing the door firmly behind him.
Outside, the dim and empty corridor was only occupied by a middle-aged couple, both looking uneasy.
The man stepped forward: "Old Liu, did it go smoothly? Did he... notice anything?"
"No, he still thinks you're good to him," Doctor Liu nodded: "Here's the diagnosis report. You can apply to the court to have him declared 'incapacitated'."
The middle-aged woman smiled awkwardly: "Thanks, Old Liu. I'll treat you to a meal later."
Doctor Liu gave a forced smile: "No need for a meal. I don't know why you want to declare him mentally ill, and I don't want to ask. But when the court reviews it, I can also overturn my diagnosis."
Chen Ji's uncle, Chen Shuo, quickly took out a bulging envelope from his black leather bag: "Count it."
Doctor Liu glanced at the envelope: "Alright, you can go back. I'll arrange for him to be hospitalized. He doesn't seem to resist, but just to be safe, I'll call two male nurses over."
"Alright, I'll leave then," Chen Shuo and his wife Wang Huiling walked towards the elevator.
In the dim corridor, Wang Huiling whispered to her husband as they walked: "How much did you give him?"
"Fifty thousand."
"That much? He just sat there and asked a few questions. Why does he deserve that much?" The plump Wang Huiling widened her cow-like eyes.
Chen Shuo impatiently said: "Do you really think treating him to a meal would be enough? Fifty thousand is nothing compared to Chen Ji's house! Tomorrow, hurry and submit the application to the court. Once he's declared incapacitated, we'll transfer the house to our names to avoid any complications."
Wang Huiling whispered: "Is Old Liu reliable? Don't let Chen Ji escape from the hospital."
"Don't worry, I heard the sixth floor of Qingshan Hospital is like a prison. He won't escape. Let's not talk about this in this creepy place. I always feel like it's eerie here."
As they walked out of Qingshan Mental Hospital, Chen Shuo inexplicably turned back to look.
In the night, the twisted and dense ivy crawled up the building, almost covering the windows.
As his gaze swept over, he saw faint shadows moving in the gaps of the ivy, as if many 'people' were watching him.
......
Chen Ji was escorted by two male nurses, one on each side, walking through the dim corridor of the sixth floor.
Only the faint light from the safety exit signs on the walls provided some illumination.
There was no nurse station on this floor.
At the end of the corridor was a metal door that required a password to open.
One male nurse covered Chen Ji's eyes while the other entered the password.
Click, the door opened.
Inside was a spacious hall with a single bed placed every one and a half meters.
In the dim light, the single beds looked like coffins, numbering over a hundred.
In the next moment, black figures sat up from each bed, turning their heads to silently stare in Chen Ji's direction.
The male nurse whispered: "Ignore them, let's finish this quickly and get out."
They laid Chen Ji flat on the bed and secured his limbs with restraints.
"Wait!" Chen Ji said.
"What is it?" the male nurse asked impatiently.
Chen Ji: "Aren't I supposed to change into a hospital gown?"
"... Are you crazy?" the male nurse cursed under his breath, then turned to his colleague: "Let's go."
With a clang, the metal door closed, and the room fell silent again.
Chen Ji turned his head to look around.
The windows of the ward were all welded shut with stainless steel security bars.
Rustle, rustle.
The sound of clothes and bedding rubbing against each other echoed in the ward, followed by faint footsteps.
Chen Ji heard the sounds getting closer, more and more of them, approaching him.
"Wait..."
Chen Ji helplessly opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling: "Am I the only one tied up? How awkward."
By the faint moonlight outside the window, he saw five or six heads poking out like turtles, crowding his view of the ceiling.
Their dark faces bore eerie smiles.
Chen Ji: "This is really scary, it's curing my mental illness..."
Someone whispered: "Do you think he usually poops before or after meals?"
"Let me call the United Nations and ask," an middle-aged man took out a calculator and quickly pressed a series of numbers.
The crisp female voice announcing the numbers was particularly out of place in the ward.
Before he could finish, an old man pressed the calculator.
"Reset."
All sounds ceased, and the patients made way for the old man.
The old man came to the bedside, bending down to look at Chen Ji: "You really came."
Chen Ji: "What do you mean?"
The old man took out a piece of paper: "Someone once said you would come here today."
On the paper, a pencil drawing of his likeness was strikingly lifelike.
Chen Ji was filled with respect: "Very reasonable."
......
Those who end up in a mental hospital are either too foolish or too clever.
They are just caught in an endless struggle with themselves in a world of paranoia, unable to break free.
Chen Ji had some respect for mental hospitals.
So when he saw that sketch, he suddenly felt the world becoming mysterious: "My head itches, like I'm growing a brain! Old man, did you draw this?"
"I didn't draw it, but I can take you to the person who did," the old man untied Chen Ji's restraints, and all the patients made way for them.
At the end of the passage, a young man sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly out the window.
"What's his condition?" Chen Ji asked.
"Severe delusional disorder. He always says he lives in another world, that this world is his dream. Later, he developed dissociative symptoms and became completely catatonic," the old man replied.
"When did he come in?"
"A year ago. He said you would appear today, proving he wasn't lying."
Chen Ji looked at the old man in surprise: "What's your condition? You seem very clear-headed."
"I'm not sick," the old man said.
"That's a bit of a mental patient's attitude..."
The old man was annoyed: "I'm really not sick. I just got into some trouble and hid here. If you don't believe me, ask me with a paranoia scale."
Chen Ji: "Do you like your dad or your mom?"
The old man: "I like my mom."
Chen Ji: "..."
He approached the delusional young man: "Hello?"
But the young man just stared blankly out the window in the darkness, not speaking.
The old man: "He hasn't spoken in six months."
"What's his name?"
"Li Qingniao."
Chen Ji felt a bit regretful.
He carefully examined the catatonic Li Qingniao and whispered: "Old man, did he ever mention what the world he lived in was like?"
"No," the old man shook his head.
Chen Ji asked again: "Old man, has he received any treatment since he came to the hospital? Is there any way to bring him back to consciousness?"
"Treatment? Everyone on the sixth floor is beyond treatment. Just staying alive is enough."
"Ah? No attempt to save him? What if he gets better?"
"Well, there have been cases of recovery," the old man stroked his chin.
"How did they recover?"
"There was a girl with severe depression. She lost over thirty pounds in a month. Then her dad won over twenty million in the lottery and took her home. She got better."
Ah?
Chen Ji slowly turned to look at Li Qingniao: "I'll give you twenty million too."
Li Qingniao, who had been silent for six months, suddenly spoke: "You're going to that world too."
Ah?
The old man's eyes widened.
Chen Ji quickly continued: "How do I get to that world?"
Li Qingniao fell silent again.
Chen Ji: "I'll give you another twenty million!"
Li Qingniao: "The people of the Northern Continent will handle the smuggling."
Chen Ji: "Another twenty million... What's that world like?"
Li Qingniao paused for two seconds: "You only have forty million in your account."
Chen Ji: "???"
Bro, are you faking it?
He reached out to pinch Li Qingniao's cheek, but no matter what he did, Li Qingniao didn't speak again.
The old man hunched over, hands behind his back, and asked: "Young man, why are you here?"
Chen Ji replied: "My parents passed away. I've been a bit reclusive these past six months, so my uncle and aunt sent me here."
The old man narrowed his eyes slightly: "Young man, how much inheritance did your parents leave you?"
Chen Ji: "A villa worth over twenty million, and several million in savings."
The old man pondered: "Then you should be careful with your uncle and aunt. If they apply to the court to have you declared 'incapacitated', you won't be able to keep your property."
Chen Ji's expression was lost in the darkness of the ward: "How could that be? They're my family."
The wind picked up outside, swaying the ivy.
The shadows of the leaves cast by the moonlight danced and flickered on the ground like black flames.
(End of Chapter)