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墨書 Inktalez
I leaned against the cold wall, my legs trembling in fear as I felt as if my throat was stuffed with cotton, rendering me unable to move or scream.
At that moment, I heard a flurry of footsteps and shouts coming from upstairs. "Meng Qi! Meng Qi! Where did you run off to?"
The woman who looked like a ghost suddenly stopped her actions upon hearing the calls, standing frozen in place. Just then, a middle-aged man rushed down the stairs and embraced her tightly. He quickly noticed me, nearly scared to death, and hurriedly apologized.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to frighten you! This is my daughter; she... she has a mental illness..."
It finally dawned on me that this deranged woman was the one suffering from a mental disorder upstairs! My fear was instantly replaced by a surge of anger.
Shaking with rage, I couldn't help but shout, "Are you trying to kill someone? If she's sick, get her treatment! People with mental illnesses should be in psychiatric hospitals!"
At that moment, another woman who looked to be in her fifties came rushing down. Ignoring the middle-aged couple who were still mumbling apologies, I quickly grabbed my phone and dialed 110. The police arrived shortly thereafter.
I thought this would finally resolve the issue, but the unfolding situation left me deeply disappointed.
The young officer who answered the call looked at me helplessly. "Sir, it's difficult for us to handle this situation directly. Unless she poses a threat to others, we can't forcibly take her to the hospital."
I stared at him in disbelief. "Isn't this considered a threat? I almost had a heart attack from fright!"
"I understand your feelings," the young officer replied, "but from a legal standpoint, no substantial harm has been done. We can only mediate as best we can."
So there I stood, watching helplessly as the mentally ill woman was supported by her parents back home. This was it? Is this how the law protects us law-abiding citizens?
I pulled out my phone and snapped a side photo of the family before returning home with a profound sense of powerlessness, staring blankly at my phone which had a corner smashed in.
No way could I let this go unaddressed. Who knows when this mentally ill person might come at me with a knife? That would indeed be substantial harm, but since she is deemed incapable of full responsibility, she wouldn't face real jail time—just hospitalization. In the end, I'd be the one suffering!
Since neither the police nor the property management were taking action, I decided to let public opinion weigh in on this matter. I wanted everyone to know that not just me, but anyone could have hidden ticking time bombs around them that could harm innocent people at any moment!
I opened my computer and typed out an article titled "Mentally Ill Offenders Don't Serve Time—Only Hospitalized: Who Ensures Community Safety?" In the article, I recounted my experience and included the photo I had just taken. Although it didn't capture their faces directly, you could still see the profiles of the mentally ill girl and her parents clearly. Then I listed several cases of crimes committed by mentally ill individuals and concluded with a series of rhetorical questions:
"With mentally ill patients lacking community oversight for so long, do we really have to wait for tragedy to strike before we take action? Are the rights of mentally ill individuals more important than the safety of ordinary lives?"
Finally, I posted the article on Weibo using my account under the name Heartfelt Citizen Xin Fangfang.
Early the next morning, I contacted several influential friends in the media at Port City and continued to use the ID "Heartfelt Citizen Xin Fangfang" to publish this article on multiple public accounts.
For the entire day, I kept refreshing the reading counts and comments across various platforms. Unfortunately, the response was lukewarm, with only a few scattered likes and comments. However, as a seasoned new media professional, I knew exactly how to make a topic explode in popularity.
Before leaving work on Friday, I reached out to some familiar sources for online engagement. My company had a decent reputation in the industry, so I could leverage that to ask for help in boosting traffic.
After one night, the situation indeed changed. My editor friend brother Xun from the public account "Port City as Home" called me, "Wow, Old Fang, do you know you’ve gone viral?! Your post about mental illness was shared by a Big V, and the comments section is blowing up!"
I quickly opened Weibo and saw that my post had indeed been shared by a legal expert with millions of followers, accompanied by the caption: "Thought-provoking: How do we balance the rights of mental patients with the safety of ordinary people?"
I began to read through the comments section carefully:
"Da Mo Gu Yan: Exactly! Why should mental patients escape legal consequences if they harm others?"
"Old Gui Bu Ping: I suggest strict control over mental patients and regular mandatory check-ups!"
"Concerned Yet Confused: There’s a mental patient living near me who talks to himself all day; it’s terrifying! I firmly support centralized management!"
"Rational Thinker: Don’t incite hatred against vulnerable groups. Mental patients are people too; we can’t strip them of their freedom. But social safety is also crucial; it’s a dilemma."
"Medical Expert Liu: There are many types of mental illnesses with varying severity. We can’t generalize; decisions about hospitalization should be based on specific circumstances."
Seeing this, I frowned; the voices in the comments were too rational and not conducive to escalating the topic.
I quickly logged into a secondary account and replied to a comment:
"@Fang Yuan Zhi Jian: Ha! These professionals speak so lightly. What if a mental patient goes on a rampage? Who will take responsibility then?"
Then, I followed up with another secondary account:
"@Justice Messenger: Exactly! Didn’t the news report a murder case involving a mental patient recently? They’re talking about patient rights while victims' right to life isn’t even guaranteed! Human lives are at stake!"
The comments section erupted into heated debate, just as I wanted. The more controversy there was, the hotter the topic became.
Leaning back in my chair, I watched as comments continued to flood in and shares skyrocketed, feeling a surge of satisfaction as my lips curled into an involuntary smile.
An hour later, the topic Should Mental Patients Be Hospitalized appeared at number 15 on Weibo's local trending list.
Taking advantage of the current buzz around this topic, I directly shared it in the Community Group and left a comment below the link:
"Neighbors, I hope everyone can pay attention to this matter. This mentally unstable person lives right above me, and she runs around with her hair all disheveled in the middle of the night. I almost had a heart attack from being scared! The more I think about it, the more terrified I become!"
Many people in the Community Group had seen the Weibo Trending Topics post. When I previously complained in the group, no one said a word, but now, influenced by the trending topic, they were starting to stir. A lot of them began tagging the property manager to vent their frustrations and lodge complaints.
I set down my phone, which was slightly warm from use, intending to take a break and order some takeout. Suddenly, my phone started vibrating wildly.
Furrowing my brow, I unlocked the screen and found a flood of unread messages pouring in:
"Wow, Old Fang, check out Weibo Trending Topics! Someone dropped a bombshell in your post!"
"Bro, your Mental Illness Neighbor is something else!"
…
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