??Chapter 249: 248. Did you also sneak in here?_1
Chapter 249: 248. Did you also sneak in here?_1
Lu Ban followed the petite nurse, first to the rest area.
“I, I’ll get you so clothes.”
The young nurse seed shy, as she glanced at Lu Ban and trotted out of the room, only returning after a while with a set of patient garb.
When Lu Ban erged after changing, the nurse handed him a wristband.
“This is a wristband that all patients have, with information like your na on it. So patients get confused and forget who they are, but yours is marked to show that you’re a visitor, so the dical staff can tell.”
Lu Ban put on the wristband and looked at himself in the patient uniform, then tousled his hair, making himself look like a real psychiatric patient.
“You do indeed look quite the part of a patient.”
The nurse smiled.
“I even added so character traits for myself, severe delusional disorder, persecutory delusions, schizophrenia, doesn’t it fit well?”
Lu Ban smiled sunny and bright.
The nurse paused.
It wasn’t because of the ntal illnesses that Lu Ban ntioned, but rather, many patients in the institution smiled like that.
Sotis, those who had lost their sense of normality due to ntal illness were free from worries and could smile such sincere smiles.
“My surna is Tao, Tao Tao. You can just call
Xiao Tao. Next, we’re going to the recreation room, where it’s mostly patients with mild conditions, like depression or autism, and those with dentia.”
The nurse led Lu Ban to the recreation room.
Though called a recreation room, it only had a ping pong table, so sofas, benches, and a television set.
The TV was showing a cody skit that wasn’t very amusing. No one was playing ping pong; everyone was seated in front of the TV, watching it.
“These patients are generally quiet and don’t really like interacting with others.”
The nurse cautioned, then led Lu Ban inside, introduced him to the others, and then stood to the side, allowing Lu Ban to mingle freely.
The patients glanced at Lu Ban, then their attention was again captured by the TV.
Lu Ban found a spot to sit down, watched the TV for a while, and then during a break, a young man approached him.
The young man looked roughly Lu Ban’s age, but his hair was thinning. He wore glasses and didn’t look like a patient; he more closely resembled a doctor.
“Did you also sneak in here?”
The young man asked.
Lu Ban’s heart skipped a beat, wondering which part of his act had given him away, when he heard the other person continue to speak.
“Don’t worry, I snuck in here too.”
He glanced at the nurse, then lowered his voice.
“I was a programr, you know, working 996, utterly exhausted. One day, when my boss asked
to overti again, I couldn’t take it anymore, and just blew up at him. After going ho, my girlfriend started mimicking soone from a stand-up cody and started boxing — I couldn’t stand it, blew up at her too, and we broke up. When I went back ho, a few nosy relatives kept nagging
every day about getting a girlfriend, finding a job, getting married, going on blind dates. I lost my patience and blew up at them too. Eventually, my parents thought I had a ntal problem and sent
here. Actually, I’m clearer-minded than all of them. Hiding here ans no overti, no nagging about blind dates, just leisurely bliss.”
He told his story with vivid energy, his eyes sparkling with excitent.
“Impressive!”
Lu Ban suddenly thought that the idea of living in a psychiatric hospital, undisturbed by the outside world and enjoying the quiet, was quite appealing.
“Patient 301, ti for your dication.”
Just then, another nurse walked in, holding a clipboard and called out.
“Yes.”
The young man beside Lu Ban responded and whispered to Lu Ban,
“I’ll go and deal with the nurses for a bit. Enjoy your ti.”
With that, the young man followed the nurse out of the ward.
After a few minutes, the young man ca back, sat down next to Lu Ban, and started watching TV again.
“Hey, you haven’t told
your na yet?”
Lu Ban patted his shoulder and asked.
But the young man looked at Lu Ban with a suspicious expression, his eyes full of confusion.
“Do we… know each other?”
“?”
Lu Ban was taken aback, then he spoke up.
“Didn’t you say you were just pretending?”
“Pretending? Huh? You actually figured it out?”
The young man leaned in, lowering his voice.
“I’ll tell you, I’m actually an alien from Canis Majoris, here to study humans. I think you’re not from this planet either. We should get along well, assist each other. Those people in white coats, they’re terrifying, vicious—you must be careful…”
He then turned his head and ntioned another scenario.
Lu Ban didn’t know which one was real?
After speaking with the young man, another patient patted Lu Ban on the shoulder.
“Did he just talk to you about so alien, sothing about 996?”
This patient was a middle-aged woman, looking kind and benevolent, not appearing to be ill.
“Yes.”
Lu Ban obediently nodded his head.
“Sigh, he used to be a writer, seems like he wrote web novels. But his work was never successful, and he would frown all day, breaking his head trying to co up with a good story. Sohow, one of his books beca popular. Yet looking at his own success, he felt this world was unreal and ended up like this. Whatever he told you, those are all settings he’s written about before.”
The woman patiently explained.
“I see.”
Creators really have it tough, Lu Ban couldn’t help but feel.
“And you?”
Lu Ban turned his gaze to the woman.
“? Oh, I don’t really have any serious issues, just can’t sleep well, insomnia, anxiety. The doctor asked
to rest more here, it’s no big deal.”
The middle-aged woman laughed.
“That’s quite good.”
Lu Ban fully agreed.
“Actually, nobody here has any major problems; it’s just that our minds can’t adjust all of a sudden. The real issue lies with society itself, sigh.”
The middle-aged woman let out a sigh.
After the sketch finished playing on the TV, many patients stood up. Two patients started playing ping pong, so continued sitting on the couch watching subsequent comrcials, and others stood up, ready to take their dication.
Lu Ban thought for a mont, planning to visit one more person before leaving, but the middle-aged woman suddenly gripped his hand tightly.
“Where are you going?”
The middle-aged woman looked sowhat panicked.
“Just walking around, having a look.”
Lu Ban found it a bit strange.
The middle-aged woman hesitated to speak and followed behind Lu Ban, watching as he approached the little nurse.
She looked at Lu Ban, then at the nurse, and after a while, finally said.
“Son, you must treat her well. Tell
if you need anything at ho, understood?”
“Alright, Mom.”
Lu Ban replied, and sent the middle-aged woman away.
Turning back, he glanced at the astonished little nurse.
“The mild cases here seem to have quite serious problems too.”
*
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