The Truth Behind the Hallucinations

After leaving the hospital, a text notification popped up on Chu Nian’s phone.

It was the money Lu Jinnian had transferred.

He glanced at the balance and immediately transferred a portion of it to the hospital’s account.

He walked to the roadside to hail a cab.

Upon entering, he gave the address of another hospital.

As the cool air from the vents swept away the thin layer of sweat at his temples, Chu Nian leaned back against the seat and let out a long, heavy exhale.

The city scenery outside the window retreated rapidly, but he had no heart to look at it; his mind was already a tangled mess.

He had no idea when these auditory hallucinations had started, let alone how to cure himself.

These bizarre voices surrounding him were beginning to make him feel instinctively restless.

Chu Nian raised a hand to touch his forehead, his fingertips brushing against the small scar at the corner of his brow.

His movements paused as a thought occurred to him.

Could it be because of that fall?

He frowned, rubbing the site of the injury.

His temples throbbed violently, and he felt a searing headache coming on.

His expression darkened, leaving him entirely unaware of how gloomy and ominous he looked.

The driver, who had been trying to strike up a conversation, caught a glimpse of Chu Nian’s expression; his lips twitched, and he quickly shut his mouth as if afraid of inviting trouble.

[…This kid next to me looks like bad news. What if he tries to dodge the fare? Should I call the police first?]

Chu Nian stiffened.

He turned his head to look at the driver, whose forehead was covered in a thin sheen of sweat.

As if sensing Chu Nian’s gaze, the driver’s whole body shuddered.

Chu Nian: “…Sir, don’t be afraid. I will pay.”

The driver finally breathed a sigh of relief: “Okay… okay.”

The two lapsed back into silence.

The surroundings became so quiet that the only sound was the whistling of the wind outside the window.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Chu Nian paid the fare, got out, and walked inside with practiced familiarity.

This was a psychiatric hospital built in the suburbs.

Several red letters of thanks were posted on the bulletin board by the entrance.

Chu Nian glanced at them as he passed, then pushed open the heavy hospital doors.

A short walk inside revealed an open area enclosed by fences, where patients in blue-and-white striped uniforms were exercising under the supervision of nurses.

Most of them were elderly.

Some suffered from congenital conditions, while others had lost their mental faculties due to later illnesses or accidents.

Their families, unable to bear the responsibility of caring for them, had simply dumped them in this hospital.

The lucky ones might eventually be picked up; the unlucky ones would likely stay in this prison-like place until their lives came to an end.

A few expressionless patients stood by the fence, their hollow, numb eyes staring fixedly at Chu Nian.

He frowned, feeling a wave of inexplicable discomfort.

Behind the open area was the inpatient building.

Looking up, one could see that every window was bolted shut with protective bars.

Chu Nian greeted the nurse at the desk, took the key from her, and headed upstairs.

He stopped in front of a ward and looked through the small observation window on the door.

A woman lay on the only bed in the room.

Her back was to the door, and the sheet over her formed a slight curve; she was motionless, seemingly asleep.

Chu Nian inserted the key into the lock, turned the handle gently, and stepped inside, closing the door behind him with extreme care for fear of waking her.

However, as he turned around, he didn’t notice a figure creeping closer.

Almost instantly, Chu Nian felt his neck being gripped violently.

His airway was cut off, and he suddenly couldn’t breathe.

He instinctively stumbled back a few steps until his spine hit the cold wall with a painful thud.

Chu Nian gasped, looking at the woman with disheveled hair before him.

Her eyes were wide, staring at him with a gaze full of murderous intent.

“Murderer!!” she hissed in a raspy voice, the strength in her hands gradually increasing.

Chu Nian’s face turned bright red, and his vision began to flicker to black.

He grabbed the woman’s wrists, but his throat could only produce hoarse, desperate gasps.

“Why did you kill my son?!”

The woman screamed.

“Why wasn’t it you who died instead?!!”

A dull ache throbbed at the back of his head.

Chu Nian’s chest heaved violently, but drawing breath was a struggle.

The woman’s eyes were bloodshot, and her grip didn’t loosen for a second; she truly looked as if she intended to kill him.

Her eyes grew moist, and tears rolled down her cheeks.

Chu Nian looked at her, and the hands that were gripping her wrists slowly lost their strength.

He could have pushed her away.

But…

“Clang!!”

The ward door was burst open from the outside.

Several nurses and doctors rushed in, quickly restraining the out-of-control patient.

Working together, they strapped the woman to the bed.

She struggled incessantly, mouth wide as she shrieked, her body thrashing so hard the bed rattled against the floor with loud thumps.

A nurse helped Chu Nian up, her brow furrowed with concern as she asked: “Sir, are you alright?”

He raised a hand to touch his neck, which now bore two distinct red handprints.

Chu Nian coughed violently.

The previous sensation of suffocation had left his brain foggy; now that he was free, the sudden rush of fresh air into his lungs made his chest feel painfully tight.

“I’m fine,” Chu Nian answered hoarsely.

He looked toward the bed.

After being injected with a sedative, the woman gradually calmed down.

Her head slowly fell back onto the pillow, but her eyes remained fixed on Chu Nian.

“Excuse me, are you Liao Ling’s family member?” At that moment, a doctor wearing glasses approached.

Chu Nian glanced at the name tag on his chest.

“I am her new attending physician. You can call me Doctor Song.”

Doctor Song offered a faint smile, then gestured toward the hallway.

Chu Nian nodded and followed him out.

“Doctor He was transferred to another hospital last month. Before leaving, he briefed me on Liao Ling’s condition, but I have some other questions I’d like to ask you.” He led Chu Nian to a corner of the corridor.

“You should know that it’s normal for psychiatric patients to be unable to control their emotions, but Liao Ling has been very stable for the past few days. Why just now…?”

“It’s because of me,” Chu Nian said, slowly lifting his eyes to look at the man.

“I shouldn’t have come to see her. She doesn’t want to see me.”

Doctor Song raised an eyebrow, then continued:

“My question might be a bit inappropriate, but I still want to ask—who is this ‘Pei Yu’ she often mentions?”

“Her biological son. But he passed away,” Chu Nian replied. “Liao Ling is only my adoptive mother.”

A flash of surprise crossed Doctor Song’s eyes.

He looked at Chu Nian, only to find the young man’s eyes veiled with unreadable emotions.

Chu Nian’s thin lips moved slightly.

“Actually, Liao Ling is right.”

“The one who should have died was me.”

********************************************

After Lu Jinnian’s accident, Chu Nian visited him frequently.

Even though this was only because Xu Chi insisted, and Chu Nian himself was unwilling.

But he and Lu Jinnian still had a contractual relationship.

Perhaps, as Xu Chi said, in the final two months before the contract expired, he should grab as much as he could.

Anyway, Qin Ning would be back soon, and Lu Jinnian’s attention would eventually shift from him back to Qin Ning.

Chu Nian made up his mind: if he was going to be a stand-in, he would be a stand-in without feelings.

Ideally, he would pack up and leave before Lu Jinnian could dump him.

So, a few days ago, Chu Nian had asked Xu Chi to help him find someone to draft a termination agreement.

The final version was currently sitting on his phone, just waiting for the right time to be printed.

Lost in thought, the elevator arrived.

Chu Nian walked forward carrying a thermal lunch box.

Nurses on the floor were bustling about with treatment carts, and the “ding-dong” of call bells echoed in his ears.

He opened the ward door, but before he could step in, he saw the man from the rumors—the older brother who had supposedly been robbed of a lover by his younger brother.

Lu Jinchu was currently standing by Lu Jinnian’s bed.

Chu Nian’s footsteps faltered.

He turned to leave, but was unexpectedly stopped by Lu Jinnian: “Chu Nian.”

“Come in.”

Chu Nian hesitated for a few seconds, then gritted his teeth and walked to Lu Jinnian’s side.

Keeping his back to Lu Jinchu, he placed the thermal box on the cabinet and lowered his head to open the lid.

Behind him, Lu Jinchu’s gaze rested on him without any attempt at concealment.

After a moment, Lu Jinchu spoke: “And this is…?”

Lu Jinnian let out a soft chuckle, pulled Chu Nian a few steps closer to him, and forced him to turn around and face Lu Jinchu.

One of his hands rested loosely on Chu Nian’s waist as he spoke nonchalantly: “My little lover.”

Chu Nian blinked.

He hadn’t expected Lu Jinnian to do this.

Chu Nian’s gaze fell on Lu Jinchu’s face, which looked strikingly similar to his brother’s, and the other man happened to be sizing him up as well.

At the same time, he heard Lu Jinchu’s laugh.

The sound was ambiguous, but Chu Nian could feel the mockery laced within it.

“Little lover? How many ‘little lovers’ do you have that can look this similar?” Lu Jinchu snorted coldly. “Lu Jinnian, so you’re still hung up on Qin Ning.”

Lu Jinchu raised an eyebrow, arms crossed over his chest, looking back and forth between Chu Nian and his brother.

“I wonder how long this little lover of yours will stay by your side this time?”

His provocative intent was obvious.

Normally, Lu Jinnian would have exploded immediately.

Everyone knew that Lu Jinnian and Lu Jinchu had always been at odds.

As others put it, if those two were together, they would even fight over the air they breathed.

Thinking of this, Chu Nian instinctively glanced at Lu Jinnian out of the corner of his eye.

Strangely, Lu Jinnian had no reaction at all this time.

After a long silence, Lu Jinnian slowly spoke.

He curled his lips into a smile, one hand moving up Chu Nian’s waist as he turned to look at him: “Baby, what are we eating today?”

As soon as he spoke, both Chu Nian and Lu Jinchu froze.

Baby…?

Lu Jinnian called him Baby?!!

Chu Nian looked at Lu Jinnian in disbelief.

The other man blinked back at him, a piece of gauze still stuck to his face.

He reached out to take the lunch box from the cabinet, and after opening it, his brow furrowed with a glimmer of pathetic need in his eyes: “Baby, my hand can’t move. Feed me.”

He pouted, acting spoiled toward Chu Nian, and his fingers pinched the corner of Chu Nian’s shirt, giving it a gentle shake.

Chu Nian frowned, feeling a slight discomfort at his behavior.

He picked up a spoon and scooped some piping hot soup, bringing it to Lu Jinnian’s mouth.

The steaming liquid slid into his mouth, and Lu Jinnian’s expression changed.

A moment later, he spoke with a pale face: “Baby’s soup is so delicious.”

“If it’s good, drink more.” Chu Nian’s eyes curved into a smile. “Open up.”

He used the spoon to pry Lu Jinnian’s lips open.

[…Wife, are you trying to scald me to death!]

Lu Jinnian’s temple twitched.

He blinked desperately at Chu Nian, but to his surprise, Chu Nian completely ignored him and forced another mouthful of soup down his throat.

Lu Jinnian’s brows knit tightly together as the steaming liquid settled in his stomach.

[My wife must have a reason for doing this…]

His Adam’s apple bobbed.

Lu Jinnian endured the stinging pain in his mouth and turned to look at the stunned Lu Jinchu: “Qin Ning was indeed quite good, especially in bed. On that point, Brother, you should know better than I do.”

Lu Jinchu was taken aback, and his expression quickly soured.

“But for me, it hasn’t reached the point of being ‘unforgettable’.” Lu Jinnian reached out and grabbed Chu Nian’s wrist, his thumb gently stroking the pale skin.

“Right now, Chu Nian is the best.”

Then, his ink-dark pupils shifted as Lu Jinnian spoke with feigned confusion: “Why are you still standing there? Do you have no one to love you?”

Lu Jinchu stared at him in shock, his lips moving a few times, but no words came out.

He let out a “Tsk,” and turned to leave the ward.

As he passed Chu Nian, Chu Nian heard only one thing:

[…Crazy bastard.]

Once Lu Jinchu had disappeared from sight, Chu Nian set the lunch box down.

He lowered his gaze to look at Lu Jinnian.

Lu Jinnian retracted his gaze and, upon looking up, happened to lock eyes with Chu Nian.

The second their gazes met, the other man’s dark pupils trembled slightly.

The tips of Lu Jinnian’s ears turned red, and the expression on his face vanished in an instant.

He looked away: “Don’t read too much into it. I only did that to annoy Lu Jinchu and get him to leave.”

Chu Nian was stunned.

What would I be reading into?

“Also.” Lu Jinnian put on a different face, looking at Chu Nian coldly. “I won’t like you.”

Chu Nian’s temple throbbed.

Then take that hand off my waist first!

“You’d better not fall for me either.”

Chu Nian rolled his eyes internally.

[If I say it like that… he won’t be angry, right?]

He felt the hand on his waist tighten slightly.

The next second, another voice rang out.

[Tsk, how is his waist so thin?]

[I want to touch it.]