"Phew, I've finally returned," Li Huowang sighed in relief before calling out into the microphone installed at the headboard.
A few moments passed before his attending physician entered the room, holding a white tablet. The physician was accompanied by a nurse.
"How are you feeling, Little Li? Any changes in the hallucinations?" The doctor sat on a stool and asked in a kind voice.
"In the hallucination, I was stuck in the same place and doing the same thing as last time. However, this time, that bald master cruelly killed a person right in front of me and attempted to use her body parts to refine a pill," Li Huowang described his hallucinations in detail.
"Mm-hmm." The attending physician nodded, taking notes on the tablet.
Li Huowang thought for a moment and hesitated before asking, "Doctor, what do you mean when you say a different hallucination? How does it reflect my psychological and subconscious status? Does all of it mean something?"
"No, you don't need to worry about such things. It's much more important to take note of how long your hallucinations last, as well as your mental stability," the doctor shook his head and avoided the question.
"Since this is a hallucination, you must always remember that it's not real. You've already recovered from your psychosensory disorder, so you must not regress. Every time you enter a hallucination, you must follow the logic of that world. With the help of our treatment, you should recover soon."
Li Huowang's heart pounded upon hearing this. This was the key to being discharged from the hospital, so he could not afford to be careless.
Meanwhile, the doctor did not forget to cheer his patient up.
"Actually, you've already recovered quite a lot. When you were admitted, you couldn't even differentiate between the real world and your hallucinations. You're on track to recovery, so keep it up. Keep fighting!"
While the two of them were conversing, the soft sound of footsteps echoed from the direction of the door.
Both of them turned at the same time and saw a girl peeking into the room. She was wearing a black turtleneck.
She looked to be sixteen or seventeen, an age where she was like a flower ready to blossom.
Her skin was white as jade, her straight black hair covering her shoulders like a dark waterfall. She looked as pretty as a flower in bloom.
Both teenagers wanted to say something, but no words came out.
Meanwhile, the doctor chuckled; he knew what was going on and so he just adjusted his glasses and promptly left the room.
"I still have something to do, so I'll leave the two of you alone. Oh right, don't forget to take your medicine on time, Little Li."
As soon as the doctor left, the young girl walked into the room. Both of them smiled at each other as Li Huowang felt a warm feeling in his heart. All his concerns about his illness were quickly forgotten.
"Stop smiling. You look ugly when you smile like that. I brought you a little something... It's the homework assigned to us by our dear teacher!" The girl smiled slyly, revealing a sling bag made from cloth behind her.
Seeing this, Li Huowang's smile disappeared immediately. "Nana, we're childhood friends! Is this how you're going to repay me?"
Yang Na turned around and closed the door before taking out a portable game console and waving it in front of him cheekily. "Of course, there's also this! Call me big sister, and I'll give it to you! Hehe~"
"Big Sis! My dear sister! You are my one and only big sister." Li Huowang excitedly ran up to her and took the gaming console from her hand.
He was bored out of his mind staying in this psychiatric hospital. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he might go crazy from boredom.
"Don't play too much and make sure to do your homework." Yang Na sat beside the bed and reminded Li Huowang.
"Yeah, yeah," said Li Huowang, fully concentrating on the flashing screen.
Her white, slender fingers tugged at his blue and white hospital gown as she said, "Hey, don't forget about our promise."
Li Huowang momentarily paused his game and looked up at her. His face was filled with determination as he said, "Yeah, we promised each other that we'd enter the same university."
Seeing him staring at her with such determination, Yang Na lowered her head shyly, and her voice became as soft as a mosquito as she said, "Okay. Please recover soon. I'll be waiting for you."
Li Huowang suddenly pulled her into his embrace.
Her face turned red, but she didn't stop him. She just closed her eyes and whispered 'pervert' under her breath.
Both of them didn't move. They were already content even if all they got to do was just hug like this.
After they had spent some time together, Yang Na had to leave. She was now in her third year of high school, a very important year in her life. It was a luxury to free up half a day from her schedule.
While her visits were short, Li Huowang always appreciated them. To him, she was a ray of sunlight in his miserable life.
"Let me send you out." Li Huowang stood up from his bed, still in his blue and white hospital gown, and wore the white sandals prepared for him by the hospital.
Just as he walked her to the door, he felt that something was wrong. He noticed a mortar on the table beside his bed.
Li Huowang took two steps back in surprise. When he checked again, he saw that the mortar had transformed into his meal box.
"Are you okay?" Seeing how startled he was, Yang Na started getting concerned.
Seeing her worried face, Li Huowang grinned mischievously. "Haha! Fooled you! Were you scared?"
Yang Na puffed out her cheeks in anger and pinched his waist. "You're already so old yet still like to act like a child. To think you'd pull a childish prank like this."
"Wait, don't be mad. I was just trying to cheer you up." He tried to grab her hands, but she easily shook him off.
After multiple attempts, he finally succeeded in grabbing her hands.
When the other patients who were sunbathing in the courtyard saw them, they grinned. Ah, how good it must be to be young and in love~
They walked quite slowly but still arrived at the entrance soon enough.
Standing at the entrance, Yang Na turned and looked at him reluctantly. "I'll come back again next week, so please be well."
"No, you don't need to come. I know you must be under immense stress with all the studying you have to do right now. You only have half a day off every week. Don't waste it on me."
Yang Na raised her foot and gently stepped on Li Huowang's sandal, her lashes fluttering gently as she blinked.
"You dummy. Don't try to make it sound like I can't handle it. I've never dropped from the top three spots in our class, so I've never had any stress."
"Aaa~" Li Huowang held his chest, showing a pained expression. "Such harsh words, my lady."
Yang Na chuckled and lightly punched him before leaving the hospital. She then walked toward the bus station just across from the hospital.
Li Huowang stood at the entrance of the hospital until she got on the bus and disappeared from his view. Slowly, the smile on his face faded.
He was concerned about what he had just seen, and so he quickly went to the doctor's office.
An hour later, Li Huowang was tossing and turning in his bed. He was worried about his future with Yang Na.
A new set of medications had been prescribed to him and was now placed on his table.
The mortar he had seen, as well as Yang Na's smile, were constantly on his mind.
What if my illness worsens? What if I'm not discharged before the National Higher Education Entrance Examination? Then I won't be able to enter the same university as Yang Na.
Even though he was stuck in the hospital, he still knew about the rumors. In the eyes of the people outside, he was nothing but a crazy man.
To think that his childhood friend, Yang Na, would confess to him a day before he was admitted to the hospital, despite knowing something was wrong with him.
Yang Na is an amazing girl, so as a man, I must not let her down.
This can't be right. I've been following the doctor's orders, so why have my hallucinations been getting worse? Should I transfer to another hospital? But this is already my third one.
There should be nothing wrong with Doctor Li's treatment. Dad told me he was the best.
All these thoughts continued to plague his mind until he finally gave up on thinking and sat up.
He took out the textbooks and exercise books Yang Na had delivered to him and started studying. He wanted to use complex theorems to drown out his ever-growing thoughts.
Late into the night, he started completing his homework.
After finishing a mock exam sheet for English, he stretched his back and rubbed his temples.
"Yawn~ What time is it? It should be pretty late." Li Huowang wore his slippers before heading to the toilet. He needed to sleep soon.
Just as he walked toward the toilet, yawning and scratching his chest, his right hand felt something weird and paused.
He looked down at his gown and saw something black and sticky stuck to his chest.
That color looked quite familiar.
Suddenly, a thought flashed across his mind.
He touched the object and licked his finger. A bitter taste accompanied by a hint of sweetness caused his pupils to shrink in surprise.
This was the piece of candy that the mentally challenged disciple had given to him!
An object that should have only existed in his hallucination had appeared in reality!