Shen Lin pressed his slightly aching forehead. Now, not only was his mind blank, but his body also felt very tired.
After sitting in place for a while, Shen Lin reached for his glasses, put them on, carefully examined the room’s layout and furnishings, and finally stopped at the desk.
On the desk, there was a leather notebook. Shen Lin hesitated for a moment, took the notebook and flipped through it. It clearly documented what had happened in the past few days, making him understand his current situation.
However, what happened last night seemed to have disappeared without a trace. He only remembered… in his mind, a vast snowy mountain appeared, and the overly bright snowfield was blinding. He had to tie a cloth band around his eyes to navigate through the dazzling snow, making his progress in the snow difficult.
He couldn’t clearly explain where this memory came from. It was just a few vague fragments that made it difficult for him to understand the cause and effect of the situation.
Shen Lin finished reading the notebook and went out. On the way, he encountered a man.
Based on the contents of the notebook, Shen Lin quickly judged who the person was.
Zheng De yawned and said, “It’s annoying. You didn’t participate in the listening last night; you should have had a good sleep. Still hoping for some special plot twists, but it was in vain.”
Shen Lin politely greeted him, used an excuse to avoid too much conversation with Zheng De, and headed towards the empty room on the third floor.
“You don’t seem like someone with amnesia. Your teammates can’t tell at all. But with the notebook, you can understand the cause and effect, it’s too much like cheating. You’re smart enough to give people heart attacks.” The KP complained.
Shen Lin stopped and asked warily, “Who’s talking?”
KP: “…At a time like this, are you really pretending to have amnesia?!”
“It’s the KP, the master of this game,” Yan Xiu’s voice appeared around the corner. He walked up the stairs, holding breakfast in one hand, and said to Shen Lin, “Did you fall into temporary madness? Amnesia?”
Shen Lin squinted slightly at Yan Xiu, lips tensing. He was trying to identify this person based on the notebook.
Yan Xiu explained, “We’re in a game. He is the game master. The situation here should be described in your notes. We need to figure out what happened.”
Shen Lin hesitated and asked, “Are you… Yan Xiu? What’s our… relationship?” These four words were said in a vague and seemingly unwilling to admit manner.
Yan Xiu frowned, “What kind of relationship?”
Shen Lin awkwardly said, “Just that kind of relationship, a very intimate relationship. Love, lover?”
Yan Xiu suddenly understood.
He just remembered that when Shen Lin was writing the notes yesterday, he was still in a state of interpersonal dependence. Therefore, when Shen Lin mentioned him, dissatisfied with the brief and cold description, Yan Xiu, not satisfied with the few cold lines, forcibly made Shen Lin “adjust” their relationship to the most intimate one.
After careful consideration, he chose the most appropriate wording, “Sometimes.”
Shen Lin: “???” Sometimes intimate relationship? When is that? Is it only in bed?
Yan Xiu teased him, “If you’re willing, it can always be like that.”
Nonsense.
Shen Lin suddenly understood.
Don’t even think about manipulating my memory while I’m amnesic.
The two leaned against the window, having breakfast and discussing the clues obtained in the game so far.
Yan Xiu informed Shen Lin about what happened last night.
“Something happened behind that building, and I’m not sure what it is. You found scattered diaries outside,” Yan Xiu’s slender fingertips held a folded piece of paper, handing it to Shen Lin. “That monster should be a transformed human. Who was transformed, why they turned into a monster, and what their purpose is, are still unclear.”
Shen Lin took the paper, unfolded it, and said, “The monster seems to be able to absorb people’s insane consciousness. We… In the notes, it’s mentioned that the rooms he went to corresponded to patients who showed signs of improvement. Of course, it doesn’t rule out that it only suppressed the condition.”
“Why would he do this, being a monster?” Yan Xiu continued the analysis according to Shen Lin’s logic, “A monster with the ability to turn people into monsters, does he have this power without any cost?”
“How is that possible?” Shen Lin gave him a look, saying, “There’s nothing in this world that comes without a price.”
He felt that this statement sounded familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere. Temporary amnesia made him unable to recall so much. Shen Lin suppressed the strange familiarity and continued. This time, the feeling of amnesia was weird for him. The more things he encountered, the more chaotic images flooded his mind, making it difficult for him to distinguish between real memories and fantasies.
Yan Xiu said, “Your words are really familiar; I feel like I’ve heard something similar from you.”
Shen Lin: “?”
Yan Xiu remained silent for a moment and said, “It’s nothing, just a mistake in memory.”
Shen Lin stood up straight from the window, sighed deeply, and used his index finger to adjust the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose. His fair skin, almost transparent in the sunlight, with faint blue veins on the back of his hand, made him look unusually fragile, causing Yan Xiu to lose focus for a moment.
“Let’s go,” Shen Lin said. “Let’s check the empty room on the third floor. I went to the other world last night and encountered some things. Maybe going there will help me remember something.”
The yellow caution tape marked an area off-limits, and they simply lifted the tape, lowered their heads, and went in.
The room door was locked, requiring a skilled locksmith to open. Since Shen Lin couldn’t do it, he decided to temporarily give up on this lead. He knew he had one more chance to try each day, and he planned to ask Xia He to try again later; her locksmith skill points were higher.
“Xia He’s madness should be better now,” Shen Lin estimated the time and headed to the fifth floor.
Passing by the fourth floor, he suddenly remembered Xu Lu, mentioned in the notebook. After the last disturbance, there had been no news from her. Shen Lin went straight to Xu Lu’s ward on the fourth floor after going up, knocked on the door, and found Xu Lu sitting on the bed, looking out the window. She seemed like she had just woken up, with a somewhat dazed expression.
Seeing Shen Lin, Xu Lu smiled, “Doctor Shen, you’re here?”
She seemed stable, not causing much trouble these past few days. Shen Lin dragged over a stool, sat by her bedside, and asked, “How do you feel?”
“Pretty good,” Xu Lu smiled.
Shen Lin hung Wang Jing’an’s duty sign on her bed, asking, “These days, was Dr. Wang treating you?”
“Yes,” she nodded again, her expression somewhat absent-minded, not in great spirits.
Shen Lin, using medical skills, examined Xu Lu’s body, and then performed an investigation. He found a small yellow mark on the back of Xu Lu’s neck.
Bending down slightly, Shen Lin said, “Let me check. Can you turn to the side for me?”
Xu Lu obediently turned to the side. She brushed her hair aside, revealing the slender neck. The yellow mark extended from behind her ear forward, like a mask enveloping her skin, even touching her jawline.
Shen Lin retrieved a pair of forceps, disinfected them, and said softly, “Don’t move. It might hurt a bit.” He probed the object with the forceps, trying to confirm what it was. It seemed to be firmly attached to the skin, like it had grown there.
Anxiously, Xu Lu asked, “Dr. Shen, what’s happening?”
“It’s okay,” Shen Lin reassured her. “Don’t worry.”
Using medical skills, Shen Lin couldn’t identify the object. It seemed related to the mysteries contained in this world.
He helped Xu Lu straighten the bedsheet. After some thought, he asked, “Do you have a mirror?”
“Yes.” Xu Lu wanted to open a drawer, but Shen Lin stopped her. He took out a mirror from the drawer and positioned it for Xu Lu. “Can you see the yellow spot here?”
“Where?” Xu Lu twisted her body trying to see, but the yellow mask-like pattern was in a place she couldn’t reach. She touched it, and her skin was smooth, with no strange protrusions. She looked at Shen Lin in confusion, asking, “Dr. Shen, what yellow spot are you talking about?”
Shen Lin: “…”
He glanced at Yan Xiu, who nodded calmly. Shen Lin understood; this mark could only be invisible to Xu Lu herself.
Shen Lin took back the mirror and said, “It’s okay. Recently, I’ve been straining my eyes from working late.”
Xu Lu was puzzled, “Dr. Shen, take care of yourself.”
Shen Lin nodded, “Thank you. You too.” He wanted to find the source of the yellow mark from Xu Lu, so he conducted a targeted investigation of every corner of the room. Finally, he found a ring discarded in the trash can.
That ring had been cherished by Xu Lu and was hidden in the seam of her pillow until the previous night.
The diamond ring in the trash can sparkled. Xu Lu smiled and said, “Don’t take it, Dr. Shen.”
Shen Lin paused and asked, “Why?”
“I’m not getting married anymore,” Xu Lu continued to smile. “He doesn’t remember me.”
Xu Lu explained, “Yesterday, I messaged him, called him. He said he didn’t know me, asked me not to bother him anymore. All the nurses around said I didn’t have a boyfriend. Dr. Wang said I had delusional disorder. Maybe it’s true… but I still remember,” she lowered her eyelashes, a very beautiful girl with a gentle and elegant temperament like a pianist, “he said he would love me forever, like the stars in the sky, eternal, like the endless river and sea. Now, he has forgotten everything, he said he forgot everything.”
Shen Lin suddenly felt almost breathless with sadness. He looked at Xu Lu, the girl’s inner strength far exceeding her delicate appearance. She could still smile and say, “It’s okay, Dr. Shen, don’t be sad. This illness, who knows when it can be cured. Maybe he didn’t really forget, he just felt… this way is better. It won’t burden him. Thank you all for taking care of me; I know I’m causing trouble when I go mad.”
Shen Lin shook his head. He gently said, “It’s okay. Find someone else; you’re so beautiful.”
Xu Lu was amused by him, suddenly coughed a few times, and said, “Sorry, Dr. Shen, I’m a bit tired recently. I want to rest for a while.”
“Sure,” Shen Lin stood up. He looked at Xu Lu lying down.
The girl curled up in the snow-white blanket was like a feather gently falling on the snow.
She slowly closed her eyes.
Shen Lin whispered, “It will be okay; don’t be afraid.”
Quietly closing the door, he met Han Qianqiu and accidentally learned that Xia He had returned to normal. She wanted to share the information she got that night with everyone.
Seeing Shen Lin’s not-so-good expression, Han Qianqiu hesitated for a moment, then asked worriedly, “What’s wrong? Did something happen to Xu Lu?”
Shen Lin recounted Xu Lu’s situation to Han Qianqiu. Han Qianqiu widened his eyes, accurately grasping the key point of the matter, “The diamond ring is lost? Just thrown in the trash can like that? She’s really rich.”
Shen Lin: “…”
After thinking for a while, Han Qianqiu asked, “What if I use charm on that girl? Will it help her get over the heartbreak? It’s not bad! It’s just a bit ugly, very ugly. I’m very gentle, and it will be nice for her. I’m really gentle, really gentle, very ugly though.”
Shen Lin was speechless, took a breath, and said, “Charm is not used like this. Are you trying to make the girl go completely crazy?”
Yan Xiu teased, “Aren’t you trying to be Zheng De’s stepmother, the dean’s wife?”
“The dean hasn’t even seen me.” Han Qianqiu said.
“You want to meet the dean, right?” KP said, “Alright, everyone undergoes an investigation.”
After throwing the dice, the person who passed the investigation found that there was a black car parked downstairs. A sixty-year-old man with white sideburns got out of the car. He looked refined and was a gentleman.
Han Qianqiu: “… Is this the dean?”
Yan Xiu looked at Han Qianqiu with a smile that was not a smile.
Shen Lin laughed carelessly, “It’s time to show your true charm.”
