Chapter 34

Chapter 34: Brain Freeze

Cen Zheng looked up as Lin Jianyuan called his “roommate” into the office.

“Dr. Cen says he has something to discuss with you… I’m not sure what it is. Have you eaten?”

A faint smile played at the corners of Lin Jianyuan’s mouth, his eyes bright.

It was the kind of look you gave a close friend—Cen Zheng could see how completely at ease Lin Jianyuan was.

But there was one problem.

The friend he was greeting was thin air.

He even pulled out a chair for the air, inviting it to sit across from him.

Cen Zheng couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

Then he addressed the air, “Hello. Here’s the thing—Lin Jianyuan’s condition has changed a bit lately…”

As an experienced psychiatrist, Cen Zheng knew exactly how to talk to “imaginary friends.”

He didn’t need to know what the imaginary friend said—he just had to keep the conversation moving, vague and open-ended.

Cen Zheng calmly explained the hospital rules to the “roommate,” not raising a single suspicion in Lin Jianyuan.

Once he’d finished the check-up, Cen Zheng handed Lin Jianyuan his admission slip.

Lin Jianyuan took it. “Thank you, Dr. Cen. Will you still be in charge of me while I’m here?”

“Yes,” Cen Zheng said after a moment. “The ward here is pretty strict, and it’s your first time. I’m almost done with clinic hours anyway. Why don’t you wait outside for me—half an hour or so? Then we’ll go to the ward together.”

Cen Zheng really didn’t trust him to check in alone.

Lin Jianyuan looked surprised. “Oh? No need, really—I can go by myself.”

Before Cen Zheng could reply, Lin Jianyuan caught on. “Ah, you’re worried I’ll run off halfway, so you want to escort me yourself?”

Cen Zheng couldn’t help but laugh. “You saw right through me.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere. I could use a break, honestly.” Lin Jianyuan grinned and waved it off. “Besides, my roommate’s here to keep an eye on me. If I’m not cured, he won’t let me go home.”

He glanced at the empty air beside him.

Whatever his “roommate” said, it made Lin Jianyuan’s smile bloom even wider, laughter shining in his eyes.

Cen Zheng watched him, then a thought struck him.

Roommate—male.

Was Lin Jianyuan gay?

Suddenly, Cen Zheng got it. He remembered how people online were calling their partners “roommates” these days.

Well, well. So that’s the kind of “roommate” this is.

It’s one thing to be best buds with the air, but dating it?

Even worse.

After leaving the office, Lin Jianyuan and his “roommate” headed to the lobby to check in at the front desk.

He swiped his insurance card and turned to his roommate. “Why don’t you head back? Don’t you have class tonight?”

His roommate replied, “Nope. Don’t want to go.”

Lin Jianyuan was about to feel touched, but realized his roommate’s attention was completely elsewhere.

His roommate kept looking around, voice bubbling with excitement, like a kid at the zoo for the first time.

Lin Jianyuan rolled his eyes. “Fine, fine. Want to take a tour of the ward, is that it?”

His roommate grinned. “Sure!”

“I wasn’t inviting you!” Lin Jianyuan laughed, bumping him with his shoulder.

“Oh, you weren’t?” His roommate dodged and bumped him back, mimicking his tone.

They jostled each other in front of the window, and Lin Jianyuan felt his mood lift.

“To be honest, I’m kind of curious what the psych ward looks like too…” Lin Jianyuan muttered.

He suddenly noticed the cashier behind the window shooting him a complicated look.

Embarrassment crept in. He was almost thirty—why was he so happy about being admitted?

His roommate was in his early twenties, still a kid at heart. But why couldn’t he act his age? This was a hospital, not a playground.

He straightened up, meaning to tell his roommate to act serious too—no need to get beaten up by other patients.

But his roommate suddenly said, “I need to grab something to eat. The more I look around, the hungrier I get.”

“Get back here!” Lin Jianyuan grabbed his roommate, tucking a big mass of intestines under his arm. “Don’t wander off, or I’ll lose you!”

“I can come find you,” his roommate replied.

“You’ve never been here either, you don’t know the way. Enough—let’s check out the cafeteria together later… Wait, do psych ward patients even get to go to the cafeteria?”

Lin Jianyuan grumbled as they horsed around, drifting off down the hall.

The cashier watched this patient chatting and laughing with thin air. It was obvious what was going on.

He couldn’t help but feel a pang of emotion.

There’s one good thing about mental illness—you can bring yourself to the hospital, and you’re never alone.

At least you’re not lonely.

As it turned out, psych wards really were different from other hospitals.

Once you checked in, it was like sinking into the deep sea. Forget eating out—ordering takeout was a hassle, too.

Every floor and hallway had access control, but it wasn’t like those asylums in the movies—everyone’s condition was different.

Patients with milder symptoms weren’t watched as closely. Most doors in the mild ward stayed open, and patients could move around pretty freely.

Lin Jianyuan was assigned to the mild ward. Seeing how relaxed the environment was, he let out a sigh of relief.

His room was a triple. Two other patients were already there.

Lin Jianyuan got the middle bed. On his left was a boy, maybe ten or so; on his right, a middle-aged man.

Unlike what he’d imagined, both seemed friendly. As soon as Lin Jianyuan came in, they greeted him warmly, asking about his story.

He told them his situation, and they shared theirs just as openly.

The older man was a regular here, in and out for years. The boy, like Lin Jianyuan, was a first-timer and still getting used to things.

After chatting, Lin Jianyuan immediately understood why he’d been put in this room.

Both his roommates were here because of hallucinations, too.

Misery loves company. After swapping stories, Lin Jianyuan felt much closer to them.

Time flew by. When Lin Jianyuan came back to himself, dusk had fallen.

The sky glowed orange with sunset, warm light pouring through the window. The only flaw was that the windows couldn’t open all the way—just a narrow crack.

That wasn’t what Lin Jianyuan had expected.

He’d thought the windows would have bars.

Turns out, the mild ward was pretty decent. A few days here wouldn’t be so bad.

As for the severe ward, he didn’t even want to think about it. Even if the rooms were nice, the patients would be terrifying.

It wasn’t fair, but even a psych patient could be scared of other psych patients.

By hospital rules, inpatients couldn’t leave at will. Meals were brought to their beds by orderlies.

The food wasn’t bad. As Lin Jianyuan ate, he messaged his roommate:

“Where are you?”

No reply.

He was about to call when someone else called him.

It was Qin Shi.

Lin Jianyuan answered, and Qin Shi’s anxious voice came through. “How’s it going? What did the doctor say?”

Lin Jianyuan gave a quick summary, then asked, “What about Pei Shuo?”

“Pei Shuo just woke up, but he’s still out of it. The ER ran a ton of tests, found nothing. The doctor says he needs to stay for observation.”

Lin Jianyuan nodded. “What about his family? Did you tell them?”

Qin Shi sighed. “Yeah, but they’re all in City Z. It’s a four-hour flight, and there aren’t any tickets. By train, it’d take over twenty hours…”

“That’s too much,” Lin Jianyuan said quickly. “Tell them not to rush. Wait for a flight tomorrow.”

“That’s what I told them too… We’ll take turns staying with him for now.”

Guilt pricked at Lin Jianyuan.

He was Pei Shuo’s supervisor—he should be the one at the hospital.

But he was stuck here himself.

He opened his mouth, but couldn’t find the words. He scratched his head instead.

Qin Shi seemed to sense it and changed the subject. “By the way, which room are you in?”

“I’m fine, really. Just take care of Pei Shuo.”

Qin Shi laughed. “We’re already downstairs at the ward! Don’t be dramatic—tell us your floor and bed number!”

Warmth flooded Lin Jianyuan’s chest.

Soon, Qin Shi arrived with a group of colleagues, fruit in hand.

Since this was the mild ward, visitors were allowed. If it were the severe ward, they wouldn’t have gotten in.

Lin Jianyuan glanced around—Su Zhiwei wasn’t there. He was probably with Pei Shuo.

Everyone chatted and joked, telling Lin Jianyuan to get some rest.

“Listen, Jiang Chen was just trash-talking you, saying it was one thing for Pei Shuo to faint, but you taking sick leave too—he wasn’t the one who passed out! But the moment you sent your hospital admission slip, he shut right up.”

“I can imagine.” Lin Jianyuan nodded. “What about Yu Xiuli?”

“She had nothing to say either. What’s she going to do, drag you out of the psych ward and back to work?”

Everyone burst out laughing.

Lin Jianyuan laughed with them.

For some reason, hearing about those two idiots didn’t make him angry anymore.

Maybe because he cared more about his own health now.

After a round of laughter, it was time for his colleagues to leave.

Once they left, the room fell quiet again. Lin Jianyuan noticed one roommate playing games, the other scrolling through short videos.

Both wore headphones—probably to block out the noise.

Lin Jianyuan quickly apologized to them.

The boy pulled off his headphones and grinned. “It’s fine, I wasn’t blocking you out. I’m just on voice chat with my team.”

The older man added, “Same here. I’m listening to an audiobook. Didn’t want to bother you, so I kept it on headphones. Haha.”

Lin Jianyuan thought, I really lucked out.

How did he get so lucky, ending up with two saints for roommates?

For some reason, Lin Jianyuan suddenly thought of his “roommate.”

He checked his phone—still no reply. He frowned.

Where had his roommate gone? Why hadn’t he answered?

…Wait, that didn’t make sense. His roommate didn’t owe him an update.

They were just roommates!

Lin Jianyuan shook his head, amused at himself.

A nurse came by with the meds. Lin Jianyuan took his pills, felt drowsy, pulled the curtain, and lay down to sleep.

The night meds must have had a sedative—soon, snores rose from both sides of his bed.

Lin Jianyuan drifted off.

He didn’t know how much time had passed. Half-asleep, he felt something cool and soft under his hand.

The sensation startled him, but it was oddly familiar.

He forced his heavy eyelids open, trying to see in the dark.

There, nestled in his arms, was a huge mass of pale pink digestive system, its throat draped over his arm.

Lin Jianyuan’s brain froze.

On reflex, he grabbed his roommate’s intestines and hauled them up.