Lu Yibei is not a mental patient, at least not for the time being.
Although he was left blind and with facial paralysis after a car accident during his graduation trip two years ago, he was very certain that his brain was intact!
However, he was still dismissed by the doctor as a mental patient, just like when he went to another hospital for a re-examination a few days ago.
He felt that the problem wasn’t his, but those doctors’.
One doctor called in a psychiatry doctor with a straitjacket at the slightest provocation!
Another one…
As a doctor educated in modern practices, after listening to the complete description of the condition, actually recommended the patient to a witch doctor?
It’s just absurd!
Just when Lu Yibei thought the witch doctor was too shady and was about to ask the doctor if he knew any priests or Taoist priests, he was kicked out…
…
With heavy steps, Lu Yibei walked away from the hospital feeling the desolation of the world.
After leaving the hospital, Lu Yibei got on a bus, found a seat by the window in the back row, slumped against the glass, and took out his phone to unlock it. He clicked on a pink app on the main screen with a side profile of a beautiful girl.
After all, in this day and age, which teenager’s phone doesn’t have a mobile game filled with enchanting beautiful girls to soothe their restless youth?
Lu Yibei had one too, and it was a love, combat, tower defense, and card collection game called “Love and Magic Girls”!
Whenever he felt down, just a look at the smile of the magical girl Bai Xiaohua would make him feel completely healed.
He opened the app, and with a burst of dynamic music and explosive cutscenes, a blonde magical girl in a magenta rose-patterned dress appeared on the phone screen and smiled at Lu Yibei.
“Hello, Captain, welcome back! What do you want to do today?”
“Hey! Why are you touching me? Do you want to get beaten up?!”
“Go to hell! Pervert!”
…
Listening to the sweet voice of the magical girl uttering expletives, there was no change in expression on Lu Yibei’s face, but a warmth rose in his heart.
Indeed!
In this cold world, only Bai Xiaohua could bring a bit of warmth!
In Lu Yibei’s heart, this was no longer just a mobile game but a gateway to another world, a world that had taught him many life lessons.
Face challenges with boldness, smoke, drink, cuss, have ambiguous relationships with mysterious beauties…
These behaviors were not feasible in the real world!
The bus set off from the bus stop in front of the suburban hospital, stopping and starting as it traversed nearly half the city. The streets outside the window became increasingly bustling.
Lu Yibei was lost in the world of his mobile game. Time slipped by unnoticed, and almost an hour had passed before he realized it.
When he finally looked up, he was surprised to find that the bus had unknowingly come to a halt by the roadside. The passengers were all gone, and the empty bus seemed unnaturally elongated. The doors were closed shut.
From the familiar high-rise buildings and streets outside, this seemed to be near Mudan Street, still five or six stops away from where he needed to get off.
Lu Yibei scanned the bus and found the driver reclining in his seat with his eyes closed. He walked over, tapped him on the shoulder, and asked, “Excuse me, sir, but could you tell me if this bus is…”
“Holy crap!?”
The driver was completely taken aback. He hadn’t expected anyone to still be on the bus. He jumped and sat up straight, looking at Lu Yibei with visible irritation in his eyes.
“You, how did you get on? Who let you on?”
“Uh…” Lu Yibei explained, “I’m a passenger. I’ve been on since the starting stop!”
The driver, who had forgotten to check if any passengers were still on board, was momentarily stunned, then turned to scold Lu Yibei. “What are you doing on the bus? Didn’t you hear the announcement to get off? We’re not going anywhere today!”
Lu Yibei was puzzled. “Not going anywhere? Why? Is the bus broken?”
The driver impatiently pointed toward the windshield. “There was a big accident up ahead. Several cars crashed into each other, and part of the overpass collapsed. How do you expect us to go? I suggest you get off and find another way home. It’s getting dark soon!”
Lu Yibei glanced at the electronic clock on the dashboard, frowning slightly.
The time was 5:08 PM.
Yes, it was almost dark. He needed to get home quickly!
Lu Yibei got off the bus, took a moment to orient himself, then walked straight in the direction of his home.
It was just after five o’clock, but the sky was already beginning to darken. The twilight cast a thin, blood-red gauze over the streets.
The streets were somewhat crowded with people coming and going, yet there was an inexplicable quietness. Strangers moved in silence, heads down, moving forward without a word. Even when their eyes occasionally met, there was a palpable wariness in their gazes.
Lu Yibei didn’t find this eerie atmosphere strange. Ever since the sun entered a “temporary” phase of diminished activity five years ago, leading to shorter days and longer nights, hauntings had thrived like weeds after a rain, flourishing under the extended darkness.
In such times, learning to be alone had become a mandatory lesson for everyone.
In this environment, where it seemed like an invisible barrier stood between each person, the old song playing in the background felt particularly out of place, almost jarring.
“Looking at flowers in the mist, gazing at the moon in the water, can you distinguish this unpredictable world~♪
…
Borrow me a pair of discerning eyes~♪
Let me see the turmoil clearly, distinctly, and truly~♪
…”
Like most people on the street, Lu Yibei walked in silence. The soothing and ethereal melody captured his attention. He paused for a moment, then looked in the direction of the music. At the slightly secluded alley entrance, in front of a Cafe, he saw “Mr. Rabbit.”
A comically dressed mascot costume, a portable speaker playing music, and brightly colored leaflets handed out to passersby.
The standard trifecta of a leaflet distributor.
This particular distributor was wearing an oversized, cumbersome black suit, exaggerated red shoes, and a massive white rabbit headgear.
The headgear was exquisitely crafted, with every strand of fur looking incredibly lifelike, as if an actual rabbit’s head had been magnified several times and placed atop the person’s own head.
Mr. Rabbit enthusiastically handed out flyers to the passersby.
Most people walked past him, indifferent, as if they didn’t see Mr. Rabbit at all, ignoring the flyers being thrust at them. Even if someone occasionally took a flyer, they would quickly crumple it up and toss it into the trash.
Lu Yibei studied the lifeless eyes of the white rabbit headgear and the forced, stiff smile. Suddenly, his eyes began to feel dry and itchy.
Just as he was about to divert his gaze and walk away, Mr. Rabbit seemed to notice his attention and looked directly at him, eagerly waving.
“Me?” Lu Yibei pointed at his own nose.
Mr. Rabbit seemed to get even more excited when Lu Yibei responded. He kept furiously waving and nodding his head so vigorously it seemed like he might fling it off at any moment.
Mr. Rabbit’s gloved hands moved with a peculiar rhythm, emanating a strange allure. Lu Yibei found himself irresistibly drawn closer.
His mind felt foggy, and his vision became blurry.
Whether it was a trick of his mind or not, the smile on Mr. Rabbit’s face seemed to grow even more intense.
Numbly, Lu Yibei walked up to Mr. Rabbit. Just as he reached out to take the flyer, his eyes suddenly burned, as if something was igniting within his eyeballs.
The intense discomfort jolted him back to his senses. He stopped about a meter away from Mr. Rabbit, stared blankly at him for a moment or two, and then made a sharp ninety-degree turn, striding away purposefully.
Not interested. Nope, not today!
He was out of there.