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墨書 Inktalez
Xiao Mei sat beside Shui Su, who lay weak and pale on the bed, a sight he rarely encountered. In his memories, Shui Su had always been strong, standing behind him to resolve all problems, always considerate of his feelings even in moments of tenderness. The only time he had seen him like this was when he was a child, injured and unconscious in bed; such a situation had never occurred in all these years.
They knew that Bunan intended to investigate using this method, so they naturally agreed to go along with it. Shui Su's presence was prearranged, and they decided to make slight use of their good friend to draw out the entities on the fourth floor, allowing them to devise subsequent plans.
While discussing the investigation strategy, Shui Su confidently assured that he could protect Song Bunan and ensure his safety. Under pressure and persuasion, he vowed to be extremely cautious. However, on the very first day of action, he returned injured. If it hadn't been for Exquisite Nectar coming to Bunan's aid, calling an ambulance might have been too late.
Xiao Mei loved him deeply; upon seeing him hurt, his first reaction was anger—anger at the person who had been careless. But seeing Shui Su's pitiful state filled him with only heartache, storing away his anger to unleash it later when he recovered.
Xiao Mei crawled under the covers and held the unconscious man close, planting a kiss on his forehead. Perhaps the movement was too abrupt, waking Shui Su, who then kissed Xiao Mei's forehead in return as they embraced. Shui Su whispered an apology in his ear, assuring him it was unintentional.
"If there's a next time, I'll personally deal with you," Xiao Mei said, fear of loss gripping him. At that moment, he realized he was trembling; after making his threat, he cautiously nestled into Shui Su's arms, greedily absorbing his warmth for comfort.
They were not worried about anything happening while they slept. After sharing a goodnight kiss, they slowly drifted off. Before falling asleep, Xiao Mei told Shui Su that once they returned home, he would grab Bunan and ask if he had successfully started dating.
When the four gathered in the morning, none of them looked well. Xiao Mei and Xin Yi were concerned about the patient, both sporting dark circles under their eyes. Shui Su resembled a beautiful but sickly figure; his pallor and weakness gave him an unusual allure. As for Song Bunan, he had turned completely mute, despair written all over his face.
His breakfast consisted of a bowl of plain rice porridge with no sugar at all. He cast a longing glance at Xiao Mei's bowl of beef noodles and felt like crying. Shui Su fared slightly better; besides the porridge, he had an egg. When Xin Yi expressed curiosity about Shui Su's sudden weakness, Xiao Mei explained that he had a bad stomach.
"How can someone so young have stomach issues?" Xin Yi questioned but respected it nonetheless and broke off a piece of bread to add to Bunan's porridge. He had already made arrangements with the hospital; starting today, Song Bunan would stay with him in the outpatient department.
"How did you two become so close?" Xiao Mei scrutinized Song Bunan with a piercing gaze that felt like laser beams cutting through him. He lowered his head to avoid eye contact, trying to bury himself in his bowl as if pretending to be invisible. Xin Yi remained calm and handed over a peeled egg before replying coolly, "We've always been good."
In response, Xiao Mei raised two fingers in a gesture that conveyed his true feelings toward Xin Yi—the youngest among them expressing disdain for the couple. Shui Su reached out to stop him and smiled at Xin Yi softly, saying quietly, "That's good."
Song Bunan chewed through his breakfast like it was wax; not only were there physical factors at play but also magical ones. Under Xiao Mei's sharp gaze, he remained silent and eventually dragged Xin Yi away from the scene in haste. He really wasn't ready for everyone to know about his relationship with Xin Yi; it seemed everyone already did.
Back against familiar walls, Song Bunan curled up into a ball; his throat felt as if it were swallowing razor blades—every swallow sent pain shooting through him. Xin Yi didn’t hand him the notebook but magically produced a blanket instead and told him just to sit quietly.
"I'm just having throat pain; it won't affect my notes," Song Bunan insisted earnestly. Xin Yi did not agree; he firmly refused and then immersed himself in work without looking back at him. Bored out of his mind, Song Bunan pulled out his phone and suddenly realized he hadn’t replied to Lin Ling’s message.
That boastful message left him utterly confused again; the feeling of frustration from yesterday returned as he sighed heavily while gripping his phone tightly—his brows furrowed enough to crush a fly between them.
"What's wrong?" Xin Yi asked softly. Song Bunan noticed that he hadn't taken his eyes off the computer, but the tone of his voice clearly indicated he was inquiring about his well-being. Unsure whether to share the matter, he hesitated for a long time before finally handing over his phone.
The man clearly didn't understand what was being conveyed, looking at him with a complex expression before turning to glance at the young girl. Since this morning, she had completely ignored them, her face tense as she continued typing away on the computer without pause.
Neither of them could respond to the message, so Xin Yi simply returned the phone and said calmly, "Don't reply." Not knowing what else to say, Song Bunan silently agreed with this approach.
Compared to the desolate scene from yesterday afternoon, today was bustling with activity. Patients and their families filled the area, ensuring that every doctor had someone sitting in front of them. People were even knocking on doors asking if anyone was free to help next door.
Xin Yi was too busy to take notes, so he handed his notebook to Song Bunan. They worked in perfect harmony—one spoke while the other wrote. Unable to speak, Song Bunan silently gave Xin Yi a thumbs-up in admiration for how smoothly he adapted to this role.
Through their notes, Song Bunan confirmed his observations about the patients' symptoms. Most of those who had previously been treated and discharged from New Life Hospital showed similar conditions upon re-admission. Their thoughts were disorganized, making it difficult for them to think clearly; their words seemed like nonsensical ramblings yet followed a certain pattern.
For instance, there were frequent statements like "I feel like I'm a mushroom, a tree, grass, or a stone." The patients appeared to live in a shared forest, possessing a complete ecosystem of their own, yet devoid of animals—only occasionally did a vague presence appear.
This presence took on the role of a gardener, providing them with essential supplies for survival. According to the patients' accounts, he was always watering them. This notion had also surfaced among those who enjoyed chatting with Song Bunan; some even expressed fear of the gardener and attributed it to their own disobedience.
Alongside mentions of the gardener was the word "East." What lay there was no secret to Song Bunan; the nightmare's controller must be one of the doctors at this hospital and had treated nearly all the patients, playing a significant role in extracting and refilling their souls.
Xin Yi had also noticed similar issues. Since he began interacting with patients or their families, many described nearly identical conditions; their descriptions seemed almost templated.
Taking advantage of a break to use the restroom, he pulled Song Bunan outside and found an empty spot where they confirmed there were no cameras before sharing his findings. The mute individual had already prepared a note on his phone; upon reading it, he realized that Song Bunan's observations were even more detailed than his own.
"I'm glad that thanks to the Jiang family's technology support, they haven't succeeded in monitoring my phone," Song Bunan wrote in his notes. "After adding Lin Ling, my phone alerted me that something was trying to invade but got blocked. So now I basically avoid using software for these discussions for safety."
"Understood," Xin Yi replied as they checked the time and headed back together. A few offices along their path had open doors, and the doctors inside looked at them strangely from time to time. Surprisingly, several young nurses were discussing Shui Su's apparent weakness today.
Their words were filled with compliments about his sickly beauty; one even expressed concern with an exaggerated sigh while saying something quite shocking. For instance, Song Bunan distinctly heard one girl helping out in Shui Su's office say to her colleague: "Doctor Jiang looks so weak it makes you want to push him down onto a hospital bed and tie him up..."
He didn't catch the rest as Xin Yi pulled him away.
"It seems everyone's aesthetic is quite unified at this moment," Song Bunan messaged Xin Yi once seated again, attaching an expressionless emoji. Xin Yi chuckled upon seeing it and shot him a fond glance before whispering in a voice only they could hear, "I won't be unified."
So you really know how to flirt, Xin Yi! Song Bunan's heart raced as he suddenly realized he had been ensnared by this person's special treatment from the very beginning. Reflecting on their initial encounters and the dynamics during their collaboration, he recognized that as his feelings for Xin Yi grew, this person had already begun to exhibit his unique behavior.
He sent back a shy emoji to express his current feelings.
Of course, break time always flew by quickly. As new patients entered the consultation room, Xin Yi instantly switched back to work mode. Song Bunan followed his gaze, intending to continue piecing together the story and clues, but upon seeing the newcomer, he couldn't help but gasp in surprise.
"Clatter." What was handed over wasn't a medical record but a large bag of snacks. Facing the puzzled looks from the doctors around them, the newcomer confidently sat down on a chair, removed his glasses, and looked at both of them with an extremely arrogant gaze, a playful smile curling at the corners of his mouth.
"Who are you...?" Xin Yi felt a flicker of familiarity with this person.
The newcomer pulled out a medical record from his pocket; the most recent treatment date was a month ago, and the patient's name was quite peculiar—only two characters: Qian Gu. Xin Yi looked closely at this person and didn't believe he was the patient mentioned in the record.
"Is Qian Gu not here?" Xin Yi asked directly. The other party sat up casually, speaking in a flippant tone, "Who said the patient has to come in person? He's at my mom's making dumplings; just sign it off for me. It's just a prescription."
Xin Yi glanced at the other doctors, and unusually, the two in front nodded in agreement. He then turned to look at Song Bunan, only to find him avoiding eye contact, his face flushed with embarrassment as he turned away from the newcomer.
"By the way, I'm Nurse Liu Xing's brother. I heard he came here for an exchange program, so I brought some snacks." The man stood up without saying much more to Song Bunan and took the signed medical record, deliberately ruffling Song Bunan's hair as he passed by.
"Remember to come over for dinner during your break; my mom misses you," he said before turning and leaving without giving Song Bunan a chance to respond. Xin Yi picked up the bag of snacks from the table and noticed a new message on his phone.
Song Bunan said that the person just now was Ming Hua.
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