Chapter 37: Breaking the Ice (1/2)

If Cheng Xi could have predicted what would happen later, she probably wouldn’t have used those drawings to force Chen Jiaman’s father into action. Or, at the very least, she would have tried a gentler approach, so as to slowly uncover the past with him.

Just as the nurse had noted, Chen Jiaman was very gifted at drawing. Her drawings were filled with emotion. Cheng Xi had seen one, and just that single picture had made her feel as if her own heart had been dipped in a bitter brine.

The drawings that she had made in the darkness were filled with dark emotion. The main body of the drawing was composed of uneven, messy lines. But in the messiness, you could always see a hint of something else: anger, despair, and a sense of helplessness.

The nurses said that her drawings were likely of ghosts and malicious spirits, but Cheng Xi knew that that interpretation was false. Chen Jiaman was drawing the world as she saw it: ugly, dismal, and corrupt. Compared to a flower by the roadside, even a maggot in a coffin would be cuter.

And just as Cheng Xi knew this, so too did Chen Jiaman’s father.

After seeing those drawings, he left without saying a single word. Cheng Xi didn’t question him.

She continued to stay by Chen Jiaman’s side in the evenings and through the night, the period when she was most active. For this reason, after Cheng Xi finished her work in the clinic, she had applied for a month’s worth of night shifts that the other doctors were all too happy to hand over. Her personality was serious, and once a patient was handed over to her, she felt that she should do as much as she could to cure them.

And she hadn’t wasted her efforts in vain, because, after almost a month since Cheng Xi had started accompanying her every night, Chen Jiaman finally responded to her.

There were no signs that it would happen that day. As Cheng Xi entered, Chen Jiaman had ignored her as usual. As Cheng Xi drew and talked to her, she didn’t respond either. Honestly, Cheng Xi had become somewhat disappointed at that point, and was planning to adjust her strategy for the longer term. However, she was so tired that day that she fell asleep by a corner of the wall again. In the middle of the night, she suddenly woke up, roused by movement to her side. When she opened her eyes, she saw Chen Jiaman half-kneeling beside her. Under the dim light, her eyes gleamed bright, just like the eyes of a little animal.

And then she felt something on her neck, something very sharp. She realized that it was most likely the drawing pen that she had given to Chen Jiaman, whose nib was sharp enough to be used as a weapon.

Behind her, the door opened. The doctors and nurses on duty had realized that something was wrong and rushed in. As the door opened, light leaked into the room. However, the ones who entered were still careful enough to not rush in like a crowd of bees. The nurse on duty was the first to poke her head in, and she slowly called out, “Dr. Cheng.”

Cheng Xi wasn’t going to die from being struck by a pen; she was more scared of startling Chen Jiaman.

Seeing this, the nurse didn’t come in, but she didn’t leave either. Everyone just stood at the door and watched them alertly.

Chen Jiaman didn’t seem to notice any of the commotion at the door. She just continued to watch Cheng Xi with all her attention, the tip of her pen slowly sliding across Cheng Xi’s neck as it traced her artery up and down.

Cheng Xi was afraid even of swallowing her saliva. She looked up at her, and then softly called out her name. “Chen Jiaman.” Softly, again. “Chen Jiaman.”

The pen on Chen Jiaman’s hand finally stopped moving. She listened for a while, and then looked at her.

Cheng Xi tried very hard to relax, and made her voice as soft and warm as she possibly could. “Do you want to listen to a story? Shall I tell you a story? There was once a girl named Chen Jiaman. She was very scared of the darkness. In a pitch-black house, she yelled out, ‘Is anyone there? Please speak to me. I’m scared, and it’s too dark in here.’”

“That’s not right.” Chen Jiaman suddenly spoke up.

Cheng Xi stopped breathing. She almost thought that she had misheard, but just a moment later, she heard her say, “That’s not right, it’s a little rabbit.”

Cheng Xi smiled, and lightly replied, “Yes, I’m sorry. It’s a little rabbit. A little rabbit was scared of the dark, who yelled out in a pitch-black room……”

She retold the entire story from the very beginning. Chen Jiaman listened very attentively. The pen nib next to her throat made Cheng Xi very uncomfortable, but she didn’t move, almost as if she wasn’t cognizant of it.

After finishing the story, she asked Chen Jiaman, “This place is so dark. Are you scared?”

“No,” she said, then quietly shushed Cheng Xi. “Be softer. Don’t wake them.”

“Who?”

“Ghosts, evil. Very evil ghosts.”

“Who… are they?”