Chapter 28 - Abandoned Hospital (Part 12) (1/2)

After opening the medical record, the first words that Cheng Zhi Chu saw were the words “Xie Yuan Huai”. He had originally thought that it was Xie Yuan Huai’s medical records but, when he took a closer look, he saw that it was his own name written in the box where the patients name should be. The attending physician was also his doctor, Doctor Luo Wei. This was another medical record of his.

Realising that it was his own medical records, Cheng Zhi Chu was somewhat confused. Why would Xie Yuan Hai’s name appear on his medical record? What relationship does he have with this person?

And so, he started to read through the record from the very beginning.

【Medical condition description:

New symptoms have developed three months after the patient was admitted.

During the early stages of hospitalisation, the symptoms of the patients’ condition would involve him identifying another party as his lover or as someone who has a very close relationship with him. The target is not fixed, and the patient would have a tendency to choose good-looking men.

However, the patient has recently started to have an imaginary fixed target called Xie Yuan Huai.

Through investigation, Xie Yuan Huai was indeed someone who had existed. He used to be a patient at this hospital and had suffered from a congenital heart disease. When he passed away, his family refused to accept it, so they paid a lot of money for the hospital to store his body in the mortuary.

There was a nurse who took care of the patient who had also taken care of Xie Yuan Huai in the past. It is suspected that she may have spoken to the patient about Xie Yuan Huai’s matter leading to the patient generating an imaginary figure of Xie Yuan Huai and using it as a fixed target of affection.

For now, we have instructed the nurse to avoid speaking about Xie Yuan Huai’s matter in front of the patient and have advised the patient to stop responding to this illusionary figure. We hope that this can help with improving his condition.]

“……….”

In his confusion, Cheng Zhi Chu once again started to see an illusionary image. The adolescent him was sitting on the patient bed and he saw Doctor Luo come into his ward and patiently ask him a few questions.

“Zhi Chu, I am very interested in this ‘new friend’ of yours.”

Doctor Luo looked at the boy with a gentle look, like those of a kind elder. He said compassionately: “Can you tell me about him?”

“Sure, Doctor Luo.”

The slender boy wore a loose hospital gown that revealed his thin and pale wrist and ankles. He sat on the edge of the bed with his legs hanging in the air. With his hands holding onto the edge of the bed, he leaned forward slightly and his eyes curved. His eyes that reflected a hint of the sunlight looked like a pair of clear crystal stones.

“Brother Yuan Huai is a really good person……. He’s very handsome and, although he doesn’t smile much, when he smiles he looks very charming. He takes good care of me. I really like him.”

“He’s a little introverted and would always be alone. Apart from me, he doesn’t seem to have any other friends. He also doesn’t seem to like to interact with other people.”

“When I first met him, he would always tell me not to get too close to him. I would chat with him, but he rarely responded. At that time, I was quite hurt by it.”

“But I really wanted to be his friend, so I pestered him every day. Brother Yuan Huai is a very gentle person so he couldn’t bear seeing me upset and we eventually became friends. Afterwards we even……”

When he reached this point, the young boy’s face suddenly turned red. He lowered his head and fiddled with his clothes awkwardly.

Doctor Luo could get the general gist of the situation. Seeing this reaction of his, he didn’t continue to probe any further and just raised his hand to rub the top of the young boy’s head while saying: “I understand. You should go rest now. I’ll see you again another day.”

“Okay!”

The young boy nodded his head innocently.

After Doctor Luo left, the youth sat alone in the empty ward for a while. He suddenly heard the “creak” coming from the door and he looked up. When he saw the person entering, his eyes immediately brightened, and he quickly jumped off the bed to greet that person.

“Brother Yuan Huai!”

………….

“What’s written on it?”

Meng Ke saw Cheng Zhi Chu holding onto the medical record in daze and gently poked his arm with some concern.

“Ah……”

Cheng Zhi Chu woke up from his daze and quickly came back to his senses. He explained to Meng Ke: “This is another medical record of mine. It says that I started to talk about an imaginary person and that person is Xie Yuan Huai……”

Earlier in the mortuary he had already spoken about Xie Yuan Huai to the sisters and Ji Yun Xiao so Meng Ke also knew about this person called Xie Yuan Huai. The moment she heard this, her eyes widened.

“I think,” Cheng Zhi Chu stored away the medical record, “that I might have met Xie Yuan Hua’s ghost and established some sort of connection with him but the doctors probably thought that he was just something that I had conjured in my mind and he actually didn’t exist. Later………”

“Tap, tap, tap tap……………”

Suddenly, in the quiet corridor they heard something falling onto the ground. It quickly drew their attention over.

Cheng Zhi Chu looked back and saw a few glass marbles roll across the floor over to him and then stopping right next to his feet without any resistance.

“Wu?”

The bear looked down at it with curiosity and then climbed out of the pocket. After sliding down Cheng Zhi Chu’s leg, it moved to pick up the colourful glass marble before carefully giving it a sniff.

However, the moment it did this it appeared to become extremely frightened. All the hair on its body trembled and it immediately threw the glass marble far, far away. It clutched tightly onto Cheng Zhi Chu’s calf and desperately tried to hide inside his pants to hide its existence. It was scared to the point that its entire body trembled in fear.

[Xiao Chu………..]

The fleeting call was once again heard. This time, it seemed to be coming from somewhere close, as if the source of the sound was right next to them. Cheng Zhi Chu’s expression changed, and he immediately stood up. With one hand moving to put the bear inside his pocket, he used the other hand to pull at Meng Ke’s arm to urge her to run away.

Meng Ke was a little stunned. She hadn’t heard anything and didn’t understand why Cheng Zhi Chu would suddenly show this kind of reaction, but she could tell that something must have happened, so she didn’t hesitate to follow after him.

However, at this moment Cheng Zhi Chu suddenly had a strong dizzy spell. His body immediately went soft and he fainted directly to the ground.

“Ah, Cheng Zhi Chu? Cheng Zhi Chu!”

Meng Ke was shocked. She tried to shake awake the unconscious Cheng Zhi Chu. The bear inside his pocket had also climbed out and started to desperately pat his face while letting out a soft whine.

But at this moment, Cheng Zhi Chu couldn’t hear their voices at all.

His consciousness had become completely immersed in layers and layers of illusions and he could no longer wake up.

…………

“Tap, tap……tap tap tap……….”

In the beautiful and spacious hospital courtyard was a young boy in a hospital gown. The young boy panted as he chased after the glass marble rolling in front of him.

There was a slight slope in the ground and the glass marble rolled very fast. With the young boy wearing oversized slippers, he had difficulty keeping up with the marble.

Although the glass marble may look very ordinary and it didn’t seem like it was worth the effort to chase after it, to the young boy it was a good luck charm that the kind nurse sister had gifted him to wish him a speedy recovery. To him, it had a special meaning so no matter what he didn’t want to lose it.

“Clack.”

The glass marble suddenly collided against the bottom of a flower bed and stopped rolling.

The young boy rushed over and bent down to pick it up. He quickly rubbed away the dirt and confirmed that it wasn’t cracked before breathing a sigh of relief and then carefully storing it back inside his pocket.

“Huff……….”

He raised his hand to wipe away the thin layer of sweat that had formed on his forehead. His cute and charming face had become flushed and he parted his lips slightly as he gasped softly for air.

After a while, he looked up and, just as he was about to stand up, he suddenly saw a figure standing silently next to the flower bed.

“………….”

That person was standing against the light so he couldn’t clearly make out his appearance. His body was thin and slender, and he wore a pure white hospital gown. With pale and almost transparent complexion, he reached down to brush his hand against a flower. That hand of his was slender with distinct bony contours and it looked particularly delicate and beautiful.

The young boy’s gaze was attracted by that hand of his and he was suddenly curious about the other person’s appearance. He raised his hand to cover the sun in front of him and squinted while slowly standing up. Only then did he finally manage to see the other persons face.

It was a young man with a very handsome and beautiful appearance. It was to the point that it even looked a little seductive. His eyes however were cold and indifferent, like cold ice. It was clear and icy, and it even exuded a hint coldness from within. With one look, you could tell that he was someone that was difficult to approach.

His gaze swept over the young boy and he paused for a moment, but he then continued to look around as if the boy was just another part of the scenery in this hospital courtyard and was nothing special that needed his attention.

The young boy saw his face and was filled with admiration. In an instant, he felt a burst if attachment and love. He wanted to get closer to the other person and let that person fall in love with him.

“Hello……….” The young boy subconsciously grabbed onto the other persons shirt and asked both shyly and eagerly, “Are you also a patient here?”

“……………”

The handsome man’s body stiffened for a second and his eyes stopped at the boys’ hands that was grabbing onto the corner of his shirt. After a moment of silence he asked: “You can see me and can…..touch me?”

“You’re here so why can’t I see you?”

The young boy was a little confused by this question of his. But after thinking about it, this beautiful big brother is also a patient here so he probably also some special illness causing him to ask questions like that. Thinking this, he no longer found it strange.

This small question of his was tossed aside by the young boy and he continued to look at the man with eyes of curiosity.

Although he had also faintly realised that his illness may have started again, he couldn’t control himself. He just wanted to get to know this big brother and get close to him

“My name is Cheng Zhi Chu,” He started to introduce himself happily, “What about you big brother? What’s your name?”

The response was just long silence.

“……….”

The handsome and cold man lowered his eyes and looked at the young boy pulling at his hand. A small ripple passed through his calm and indifferent eyes.

He opened his mouth slightly seemingly wanting to say something, but he eventually gave up and just slowly pried away the young boys’ hands. Without saying a word, he shook his head. The rejection behind those actions of his was self-evident.

The young boy stopped and then lowered his hand with disappointment. He had an extremely hurt look.

Clearly, they had only just met but the young boy was acting like he was rejected by his beloved. In an instant, his eyes went red and he gently sniffled. Little beads of tears slowly leaked out from his eyes.

“……..Am I really that annoying?”

He asked in a soft whimper as he wiped a way his tears. He quickly turned and faced away from the man.

That’s true. Even his family doesn’t like him. Apart from the gentle Doctor Luo and the nurse sisters, who would like someone like him?

“I’m sorry. I’ll leave now. I was just picking something up……….”

“………….Xie Yuan Huai.”

Just as the boy wanted to leave, he suddenly heard the man behind him speak up.

The boy looked back with surprise. His red-tinged eyes were still stained with tears and, a little dumbfoundedly, he watched the other person slowly walk over to him. The other person stretched out his pale, jade-like fingers and used it to gently wipe away his tears.

“Xie Yuan Huai. My name.”

His voice was very clear and cold, but it also seemed to contain some warmth. Like this, he repeated himself.

…………

The young boy liked to call Xie Yuan Huai “Brother Yuan Huai.”

But every time he called Xie Yuan Huai this, he noticed that the other party would always show a strange expression.

“You don’t like me calling you this?” The boy asked him cautiously. “If you don’t like it, I…….”

“…….That’s not it. It just feels a little,” Xie Yuan Huai paused for a moment and carefully selected his words, “a little too intimate.” He then added, “But it’s up to you. I don’t have any problems with it.”

He understood. In fact, Brother Yuan Huai brother was just finding it awkward…..

The young boy rubbed his nose. He didn’t find it awkward at all and even liked that way of calling very much. Brother Yuan Huai sounded very nice to the ears and he felt that he suited that name.

He also mentioned to Xie Yuan Huai that he could call him Xiao Chu. Some of the nurse sisters here would call him that but Xie Yuan Huai had never called him this using this name. Perhaps he also found it awkward to use.

Why won’t brother Yuan Huai let them get closer……..

Even now, he didn’t know which ward brother Yuan Huai stayed in and he also never had the chance to go visit him. They basically only met at the flower bed.

Thinking this, the young boy couldn’t help but feel a little upset. He could tell that Xie Yuan Huai’s temperament was a little cold and that he didn’t like to talk much. Sometimes he would need to say ten sentences and Xie Yuan Huai may not even respond with one.

Although, Xie Yuan Huai once did say that he didn’t reply mainly when there are people around. If he was to continue talking to him, the others would think that he is strange.

The boy however didn’t understand why Xie Yuan Huai would say this, but he also didn’t care. At that time, he just smiled and said: “It doesn’t matter. Anyway, the others have already long regarded me as a strange person.”

When he finished saying this, he lowered his head and fiddled with his shirt. With a weak voice, he mumbled: “I’m originally sick, and even my parents think I’m strange, so it really doesn’t matter…….”

“You’re not strange.”

Xie Yuan Huai suddenly lifted his chin and looked at him with an extremely solemn expression. He then repeated himself with emphasis on each word.

“You’re not strange. You’re special.”

“You are a special child.”