Xiao Cheng was completely bewildered as the wooden door slammed shut in front of her, a scene that seemed vaguely familiar. Turning around, she saw Fang He right behind her.
He didn't know what method he used, but the gardener couldn't open the door immediately. He could only stand outside in a fit of impotent rage, pounding on the door with a loud bang: "Come out! You think you can avoid treatment like this?!"
Xiao Cheng: "..." This scene suddenly felt even more familiar.
"You weren't bitten by any bugs, were you?" Fang He's expression was somewhat indistinct in the darkness. "Why did you come here alone?"
"It's a long story, anyway... wait, how did you find us? Shouldn't it be nighttime outside?" Xiao Cheng noticed the blind spot. "How did you open the ward door?"
“It was daytime, the insects were gone, and I found this tunnel in the black flower bushes,” Fang He explained. “This door won’t hold us off for long, let’s go out first.”
"How do we get out?" Xiao Cheng thought Fang He had already found the passage, so she opened her eyes wide and looked around.
Unexpectedly, he blurted out in a serious tone, "We'll fight our way out through the door."
Xiao Cheng hesitated, then said, "The gardener is outside, there are bugs, and you're injured." This isn't about fighting them off; it's about delivering food.
“It’s okay, I’m not myself now, I’m Mario now.” Fang He said this with conviction.
Xiao Cheng: "...Are you having an episode?"
“Of course, don’t forget my medical records. As long as I imagine myself as Mario, I am Mario,” Fang He said confidently.
Xiao Cheng asked sincerely, "Why does it have to be Mario?"
"Because of you." In the darkness, Fang He's voice sounded particularly deep, suddenly hitting Xiao Cheng's ears and making her heart race.
Before she could say anything, Fang He added, "Because you are a mushroom."
Xiao Cheng: "..." To hell with blushing and heart-pounding.
"And you're not an ordinary mushroom, you're a mushroom from Mario, scientifically known as the fly worm mushroom!" Fang He's state visibly became excited.
Xiao Cheng's lips twitched: "Fang He, are you not quite right? You know you're about to ruin your persona."
The gardener's knocking gradually subsided, and against the backdrop of silence, Xiao Cheng could hear her own heartbeat, the gardener's rapid breathing outside the door, and the hissing of insects.
wrong.
She suddenly looked at Fang He in front of her; his figure was almost blending into the darkness, his outline blurred.
"What's wrong?" Fang He asked quietly. "Is there something you want to say?"
Xiao Cheng did not answer. She listened carefully, but still could not hear Fang He's heartbeat or breathing.
He is not Fang He.
This thing doesn't belong to Fang He.
"You found out?" He let out a helpless sigh, slowly leaning down to completely trap Xiao Cheng between himself and the door panel.
Suddenly, a pale green fluorescence appeared on "his" face, and his features began to distort and deform. Then, "he" opened his mouth wide and wide until the corners of his mouth split open, and finally, half of his face was flipped backward.
A smaller head emerged from the gaping maw, resembling a gardener, but with complete eyes.
The head grinned maliciously, revealing a mouthful of shark teeth: "I'm going to eat you."
It aimed at Xiao Cheng's shoulder, pounced on him, and then bit down hard.
Xiao Cheng suddenly woke up, covered in cold sweat, and hurriedly touched her shoulder.
It doesn't hurt, there's no injury, and my ankle has really recovered.
She breathed a slight sigh of relief, and then realized that she was lying in the patch of black flowers.
Fang He was squatting not far away with his back to her, seemingly digging for something. Hearing her get up, he turned around, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Awake?"
Xiao Cheng stared at him for a long time, then asked with lingering fear, "You're not Mario, are you?"
Fang He: "...No."
"That's good." Xiao Cheng breathed a long sigh of relief. "After all, I'm not a poisonous fly snake worm."
Fang He was silent for a while, then patted the dirt off his hands, got up and walked to her. He used the back of his hand to check her forehead temperature: "You don't have a fever, why are you talking nonsense?"
Xiao Cheng sneered: "Because of you."
After listening to her recount what happened last night, Fang He frowned and fell into deep thought, unsure if it was a dream: "This is the second time already. There are no coincidences or chances in this instance."
"So?" Xiao Cheng looked at him expectantly.
"So, you're not really having a relapse, are you?"
Xiao Cheng noticed the undisguised smile in his eyes and instantly flew into a rage: "I'm talking to you about serious matters, are you joking with me?!"
"No, I'm just worried that your young and fragile heart will be traumatized," Fang He said seriously.
Xiao Cheng: "...It's not that fragile."
"Let's get down to business. Based on your two experiences, the clues are now quite clear," Fang He steered the conversation back on track.
Xiao Cheng looked completely bewildered: "Is it clear?"
“Let’s look at the people who are out in the open first,” Fang He explained. “First, the dean, who is also the gardener. He is very confident in his medical skills, and he has indeed cured many mental patients.”
"Second, the patients—not considering us for now, but those patients whose files you've seen. They received treatment, were discharged, seemingly cured, but ultimately died by suicide."
"Third, the gardener, the florist treated him like his dog and probably burned his eyes out. Obviously, the florist hated him."
“So those patients’ suicides were very likely caused by the gardener!” Xiao Cheng quickly understood Fang He’s meaning. “When the patients were discharged from the hospital, their condition was indeed under control, but later, because of the gardener, their condition relapsed, or for some other reason, they ultimately chose to commit suicide.”
"So, in the eyes of the gardener, the gardener is a desecration of his treatment results, and is unforgivable." Fang He nodded, bending down to pick up a large bunch of things from the hole he had just dug.
Dozens of bloodstained metal dog tags clattered together, making a crisp, clanging sound.
Fang He calmly concluded, "I think I know what the truth he wants is."
"Then hurry and find the gardener! Where is he?"
"Hospital ward".
Xiao Cheng looked completely bewildered: "What about the other players?"
"Why do you think the bugs aren't here?" Fang He countered.
Xiao Cheng: "..." Why didn't you say so earlier if the situation was so urgent!
“It wasn’t that urgent,” Fang He explained. “The gardener suddenly appeared around noon and said that the patient’s treatment was about to end. I used you as leverage to buy two hours of time, and the three of them stayed in the ward as hostages.”
"Using me to threaten him?" Xiao Cheng felt a faint sense of disorientation, as if she were seeing a mouse acting as a bridesmaid for a cat.
"Anyway, I carried you out, and to be honest, I really felt like Mario at that moment."
Xiao Cheng: "..." Just say what you want to say, why are you using such a lame joke?
“Then I dug this up under the black flower, and then you woke up.” Fang He waved the dog tag in his hand. “At first I didn’t understand what was different about you from us, but now I understand.”
“It’s an act. You’ve never truly identified with this hospital in your actions. So Xiao Cheng, you are the only outlier here who needs treatment.”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
