Old Zhang's face turned pale.
Tears welled up in his eyes.
His Rolex watch was gone. It was a symbol of his status, something he'd painstakingly saved up for.
Now, the watch that represented his status had vanished.
Panic surged within him.
The man with glasses said, "If it's gone, then it must have been stolen. Just buy another one. I have plenty of good stuff here."
"I don't have any money," Old Zhang replied.
The man with glasses glanced at Old Zhang. "Why didn't you say so earlier? You've wasted my time."
He left with his painting supplies.
Lin Fan noticed Old Zhang's low spirits and patted his shoulder consolingly. "Don't worry. Maybe you dropped it somewhere. I'll help you go back and look for it."
What wonderful friendship.
Such friendship was truly precious.
If one had to find such friendship, it could only be found in Qingshan Psychiatric Hospital.
Inside Ward 666:
Lin Fan accompanied Old Zhang, turning the room upside down in their search. The Rolex was expensive, and its disappearance was unbearable for Old Zhang.
Seeing Old Zhang's tears, Lin Fan felt a pang of pain in his heart.
Old Zhang sat dejectedly on the edge of his bed, head down, picking at his fingers, listless and lost.
"Where did my watch go?"
"I spent so much money on it."
No one knew how he had acquired the watch. After getting it, Old Zhang had always been in good spirits. When he had nothing to do, he would look at his watch, lost in thought.
Night fell.
Big-Eyed Sun Neng complained. It was supposed to be Li Ang's shift tonight, but he had vanished. His phone would ring, but no one answered.
"Damn it! Where'd he go to watch his videos again?"
Sun Neng grumbled.
He knew Li Ang had a bad habit. He had an app on his phone called "AI Face Swap" and liked to swap the faces of goddesses into videos.
As for what happened afterward, it was too explicit to say outright.
One could only imagine.
Passing by Ward 666, he saw the two patients sitting on the bed inside. Lin Fan's hand rested on Old Zhang's shoulder, as if he were whispering something. He couldn't hear them, nor did he know what they were doing.
Strange.
Unable to confront them, he pretended not to see.
Midnight arrived.
The early hours of March 14th were pleasant.
Old Zhang was fast asleep, one leg draped over Li Ang. Li Ang still hadn't woken up, perhaps truly exhausted. After Old Zhang's acupuncture treatment, Li Ang's complexion had visibly improved.
Things were looking up.
Lying in bed, Lin Fan glanced at Old Zhang. Even in his sleep, Old Zhang's face still wore an expression of distress.
He got out of bed, thought for a moment, and decided to do something.
Morning:
Dawn broke, and the first rays of sunlight streamed into the room, filling the ward with light and a sense of warmth.
Lin Fan and Old Zhang woke up.
"Have some soy milk," Old Zhang said, pulling a carton from the cabinet and tossing it to Lin Fan.
"Cola."
"Sprite."
"Cheers!"
They looked at each other, raised their drinks, and drank happily.
"Old Zhang, your watch is back," Lin Fan said.
Old Zhang looked at his wrist, then exclaimed happily, "Ah! It really is back! But it feels… different somehow."
Lin Fan said, "Really? I don't see it. You must be imagining things."
At that moment:
Li Ang, awakened by the noise, slowly opened his eyes. The sunlight was a bit dazzling, and the surrounding smells seemed familiar.
Where am I?
He was disoriented.
The white ceiling suggested he was indoors.
He felt like he'd had a dream.
"You're awake?" Old Zhang asked.
Li Ang was still in a daze, sensing something was wrong but unable to pinpoint it. Then, he heard a familiar and unwelcome voice.
He slowly turned his head.
His gaze landed on the faces of Old Zhang and Lin Fan.
Lin Fan and Old Zhang smiled at him.
Li Ang's pupils dilated, his eyes widening in terror. Panic erupted within him.
"Ah!"
"Help!"
He screamed at the top of his lungs, trying to scramble away. He couldn't believe he was lying here. What had happened? Why was he in the patients' room?
What had they done to him?
Suddenly, something even more terrifying filled him with dread.
"My legs… why can't I move my legs?"
"Help!"
Lin Fan and Old Zhang exchanged puzzled looks. They didn't understand Li Ang's fear.
We didn't do anything to you.
We even helped you.
We saw you lying on the floor and were afraid you'd catch a cold, so we carried you to the bed. Old Zhang even gave you acupuncture, just in case anything was wrong.
Li Ang clutched his legs, feeling nothing.
Crippled!
My legs have been ruined by these two psychiatric patients!
His cries were loud.
The nurses and doctors outside were alarmed by the screams.
"Li Ang, what are you doing here? I've been looking for you all night," Sun Neng said, his eyes ringed with dark circles.
Seeing Li Ang lying on the patients' bed, his clothes disheveled, Sun Neng covered his mouth in shock, not daring to say more. His eyes conveyed a single thought:
Li Ang, you've been toyed with by the psychiatric patients.
Was it your idea, or had they been eyeing you for too long?
"Save me, save me!"
Li Ang sobbed like a damsel in distress, tears welling up.
Lin Fan and Old Zhang looked at him in bewilderment, then tried to explain to the nurses and doctors what had happened.
They took a step forward.
The doctors took a step back, as if saying, "Stay back, let's talk this over. No need for violence."
Someone whispered, "Go get the director. This is complicated. Only the director can rescue Li Ang. We're no match for these two."
In his office:
Director Hao sipped his tea, watching the latest drama. His gaze followed the female supporting character across the screen.
The drama was terrible, but he wouldn't be watching if it weren't for the somewhat captivating, albeit vulgar, scenes.
The phone rang.
He answered.
"Director, something's happened! Li Ang… toyed with the two patients… no… the two patients toyed with Li Ang! Come quickly, we can't handle this. Someone might get killed!"
Director Hao remained expressionless. He was used to this. Excessive emotional reactions only shortened one's lifespan.
Tranquility was the only path to longevity.