Li Huowang

"Phew, finally back." Letting out a sigh of relief, Li Huowang called out into the microphone beside his bed.

It wasn't long before his attending physician walked in through the ward door, carrying a white tablet, followed by a nurse.

"Xiao Li, how do you feel? Did the hallucination have any new changes this time?" The doctor sat down on a stool, asking in a very kind manner.

"Same environment, same things I do. Except this time, Master Lai Zitou brutally killed someone right in front of me and used them to make an alchemy pill." Li Huowang recounted everything he had seen in the hallucination in detail.

"Mm-hmm." The attending physician nodded while rapidly tapping notes on his tablet with his finger.

After thinking for a moment, Li Huowang asked hesitantly, "Doctor, what do these different hallucinations mean? What implications do they have for my inner self and psychology?"

"No, you shouldn't focus on that. You should be more concerned with the duration of each hallucination and your mental stability," the doctor shook his head, denying Li Huowang's line of thought.

"Since it's a hallucination, you must remember: it's all fake. You've already broken free from hallucinatory perceptual integration disorder. Don't fall back into it."

"As long as you follow logical thinking from that side every time you slip into a hallucination and cooperate with the hospital's treatment, you'll be cured soon enough."

Li Huowang's heart tightened at these words. This was directly related to whether he could be discharged as soon as possible; he absolutely couldn't afford to be careless.

Then the doctor didn't forget to encourage his patient.

"Actually, you're already doing much better. When you first arrived, you couldn't even tell reality from fantasy. It'll all improve from here. Keep it up."

As the two were talking, light footsteps were heard from the ward entrance.

Both looked up to see a girl wearing a high-necked black sweater secretly peeking inside.

The girl appeared to be sixteen or seventeen, right at the most beautiful, budding age.

Her skin was as white as jade, and her jet-black hair cascaded down her shoulders like a waterfall. She was as lovely as a blossoming flower.

Seeing the two young people hesitate to speak, the attending physician tactfully chuckled, gently pushed up the glasses on his nose, and turned to walk toward the door.

"I have other matters to attend to. You two go ahead. Oh, and Xiao Li, remember to take your medication on time."

As soon as the doctor left, the girl walked in. They exchanged smiles, and a sweet warmth filled Li Huowang's heart, pushing aside his concerns about his illness.

"Stop laughing. You look ugly when you laugh. See what I brought you? Review homework personally assigned by the teachers!" The girl, a hint of cunning on her face, pulled a canvas satchel from behind her back.

Hearing this, Li Huowang's face immediately fell. "Nana, we've known each other since we were kids. Is this how you repay me?"

The girl named Yang Na turned to close the door, then pulled out a small handheld game console, shaking it triumphantly. "And this too~ hehe. Be good, call me big sister, and I'll give it to you."

"Big Sis! You're my real big sister." Li Huowang excitedly rushed over and snatched the game console from her hand.

Being cooped up in a mental hospital every day was too boring. Even if you weren't crazy, it would drive you insane.

"Don't play it too much. Remember to do your homework," Yang Na said, sitting sideways on the edge of the bed, instructing Li Huowang as he turned on the device.

"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm." Li Huowang's attention was all on the console screen.

Her slender, fair fingers pinched the blue-and-white hospital gown on his body and tugged it affectionately. "Hey, don't forget what you promised me."

Li Huowang paused, looked up at her, and his face suddenly became very serious. "Yeah. We agreed. We're going to take the college entrance exam for the same university."

Yang Na blushed under his gaze, lowered her head, and her voice became as faint as a mosquito's hum. "Mm. Get better soon. I'll wait for you."

Li Huowang suddenly reached out, pulled her into his arms.

With a flushed face, Yang Na didn't struggle. She just closed her eyes and murmured softly, "Pervert."

They didn't do anything else. Just holding each other was enough to make the deeply in love couple feel incredibly happy.

After lingering for a while, Yang Na had to leave. After all, this was the most critical period of her senior year of high school, and squeezing out half a day was already precious.

Even though it was always short, for Li Huowang, this was a ray of light in his difficult days.

"I'll walk you to the hospital gate." Li Huowang, still in his blue-and-white striped hospital gown, threw off the covers and put on the hospital's white slippers.

Just as he was walking toward the door with Yang Na, he felt something was off. He was shocked to see that the mortar he had used for pounding medicine in his hallucination was sitting on the bedside table right next to him.

Li Huowang's body jolted violently, and he stumbled back two steps. But when he looked again, the mortar had turned into his lunchbox.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Seeing his startled reaction, Yang Na's face showed a hint of worry.

Seeing the concern on her face, Li Huowang immediately put on a playful grin. "Haha, got you, didn't I?"

Yang Na frowned, her cheeks puffing up in anger. She reached out and pinched the soft flesh at his waist. "How old are you? Still acting like a child, doing such childish things."

"Don't be mad. I just wanted to make you happy." Li Huowang tried to take her hand, but she shook him off.

But after a few failed attempts, their hands eventually ended up intertwined.

Other patients basking in the sun in the yard saw this scene and all wore warm, peaceful smiles. Such innocent, pure love was truly beautiful.

Though the walk was slow, they eventually reached the end. Standing at the hospital gate, Yang Na looked at Li Huowang with reluctant attachment. "I'll come see you again next week. You have to be good in there, okay?"

"Maybe you shouldn't come next week. I know your study pressure is heavy. You only have half a day off each week, and you waste it on me."

Yang Na lifted her slender calf and lightly stepped on Li Huowang's hospital slipper, her delicate brows furrowing slightly. "You slacker. Don't judge others by yourself, alright? I've never dropped out of the top three. What study pressure?"

"Ah~" Li Huowang clutched his heart, putting on a pained expression. "Right in the heart, girl."

Yang Na was tickled by his act, giggled, raised her fist, and lightly thumped him before turning and running like a deer toward the bus stop opposite the hospital.

He watched until the bus his girlfriend was on completely disappeared, then the smile gradually faded from Li Huowang's face.

Thinking back to what he had just seen, he walked to the doctor's office, filled with worry.

An hour later, lying in bed, unable to sleep, Li Huowang tossed and turned, anxiously thinking about his and Yang Na's future. On the table beside him were the new pills the doctor had prescribed for his new symptoms.

That mortar from earlier and Yang Na's smile kept alternating in his mind.

"What if my condition gets worse and I can't be discharged before the college entrance exam? Then I won't be able to go to the same university as Yang Na."

Even stuck here, Li Huowang understood the gossip outside. In the eyes of the neighbors, someone like him was nothing but a complete lunatic.

Yet the day before he was admitted, Yang Na, his childhood friend, had confessed to him. Her feelings for him were clear without words.

She was a good girl. As a man, he didn't want to let her down.

"This shouldn't be happening. I've been following the doctor's orders all this time. How could my condition be getting worse? Do I have to be transferred to another hospital? This is already the third one."

"Doctor Li should be fine, right? He's the best doctor Dad could find."

The more he thought about these annoyances, the more irritated he became. Finally, he sprang up like a carp, poured out Yang Na's books and test papers, and started studying.

He wanted to use this complex, obscure knowledge to wash away the lingering worry in his heart.

Li Huowang continued writing his homework. Writing and writing, before he knew it, the night had grown deep.

Just as he finished an English test paper, he stretched hard and massaged his throbbing temples with his fingers.

"Ha~ What time is it? Must be pretty late, right?" Li Huowang put on his slippers, ready to go to the bathroom and then come back to sleep.

As he was yawning and walking toward the door, his right hand, which had been scratching his chest, suddenly stopped. Li Huowang felt something strange on his chest.

He pulled open his collar and saw a patch of dark brown, slimy stuff stuck to his skin.

The color was somehow familiar, and a thought flashed through his mind.

Li Huowang lightly dipped his finger into it and put it in his mouth. The bitter taste with a hint of sweetness caused his pupils to contract.

This was a piece of the alchemical paste given to him by his foolish senior sister who had died in the hallucination! Something from the hallucination had appeared in reality!