Chapter 596
Chapter 596
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 596
>Chapter Title: Mental Illness
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Ugh! Why won’t they let family stay with patients here? Even the public mental hospitals allow it! How come your private hospital won’t?”
Faced with this odd condition, Sun Xiaoqin was getting worked up.
“Auntie, even though it’s a private hospital, these are the hospital’s rules. I’m just a doctor—I can’t change them. If you’re not happy, you’ll have to pick another hospital.”
Seeing Sun Xiaoqin’s eyebrows shoot up as she planted her hands on her hips and took a deep breath, Li Huowang quickly stepped in to calm her down.
“Mom, Mom. Don’t do that. I’m better now. There’s no need for someone to be with me all the time. You’ve been at this for years—you must be exhausted. Go find Dad.”
“No way! You look so skinny right now. What if you go in alone and some other patient bullies you?”
“Mom, this isn’t my first time in a mental hospital. Who could bully me?”
After much pleading, Li Huowang even called Li Jiancheng to finally convince her to drop it. “You really... Just do what the doctor says. Don’t go causing trouble.”
Sun Xiaoqin set down her phone and looked at Li Huowang with reluctance. “Alright then, son. Be careful on your own. If it’s cold or hot, or if anything feels off, make sure you tell the doctor!”
“Mom, don’t worry. I’m already better. It won’t be long before I’m discharged.”
Once Sun Xiaoqin left reluctantly to pay the fees, the square-faced doctor led Li Huowang into the hospital. “Let me introduce myself. I’m Wu Cheng, a psychiatrist like Yi Donglai. I’m two years behind him, so I’m his junior. I’ve already chatted with him on WeChat about your situation before you arrived.”
“Really? That’s good.” Li Huowang felt a bit relieved. “Since you know I’m almost better, can you take these handcuffs off me?”
“Sorry, I don’t have the authority for that. I know about you, but the director doesn’t. He said personally that there can’t be any accidents with you.”
“I heard someone pressured him into admitting you in the first place. Otherwise, he didn’t even want to.”
Li Huowang glanced down at the handcuffs on his wrists. “So I have to wear these until discharge?”
“Bear with it for now. Give me some time, and I’ll explain things to him. We’re here. Classmate, you need a full-body check before going in. You know the drill, right?”
Li Huowang nodded. “I know the procedure. Let’s get started.”
To prevent mental patients from bringing in things that could harm themselves or others, everyone had to undergo a full-body search before admission.
After the check and completing all the admission paperwork, Li Huowang finally entered his room.
There was just a single bed inside. Clearly, his reputation had its perks—he even got a private room.
Exhausted from the long journey, Li Huowang hit the pillow and fell asleep instantly.
The next morning, he was woken up. After a quick wash-up, a caregiver took him around to get familiar with the hospital.
There wasn’t much to learn—mental hospitals were all pretty much the same. Li Huowang knew them well.
But what surprised him was that after breakfast and meds, he was called to sit in a circle with other patients on stools, sharing their conditions and encouraging each other.
He’d never seen this at other places. According to Wu Cheng, they were adopting advanced practices from foreign hospitals.
Li Huowang could only think, not bad for a private hospital—always full of gimmicks.
A few stools formed a small circle as the unfamiliar patients started sharing.
“I have schizophrenia, mild case. Meds keep it under control.” This came from a middle-aged woman.
“I’ve got bipolar disorder. I’m on meds too. I’m almost better.” A buzz-cut man with twitching fingers spoke up.
“Depression.” This was from a high ponytail girl whose eyes were vacant. Li Huowang spotted the scars on her wrists—her whole demeanor looked awful.
Right after the girl spoke, a woman in her forties or fifties jumped in. “Anxiety disorder. I don’t even need to be hospitalized. Sigh, my kids insisted on sending me here.”
Then it was Li Huowang’s turn. The others eyed the newcomer with curiosity.
“Me? I’m not sick. I’m better now.”
At that, some of the more familiar patients huddled together, sneaking glances at Li Huowang and whispering in surprise.
Seeing this, Li Huowang didn’t bother explaining. He wouldn’t be here long anyway—just kill time.
He glanced around and turned to the chubby kid next to him, who was absorbed in playing with his fingers. “Friend, your turn. What’s your illness?”
But the boy didn’t react at all to Li Huowang’s question. He just sniffed and kept fiddling with his fingers.
“Stop calling him. He’s autistic. He won’t respond.” The guy with mild mania said to Li Huowang.
“Autism? Why bring autism here? It’s not even the same category as us.” Li Huowang was surprised.
This congenital condition needed early intervention—sending him to a mental hospital offered no real treatment.
“Sigh, what else? They’re ashamed of having a retard at home and don’t want to deal with it. Can’t just dump him on the street—that’s illegal. So they send him here.” The anxiety patient spoke up. “Look over there. That huge fat guy with the dark spots on his face.”
Li Huowang turned to another circle nearby. “What’s he got?”
“He’s not sick. He’s intellectually disabled, moderate case. Same as that autistic kid—family didn’t want the hassle, so they dumped him here.”
“Look at these parents. This is a mental illness hospital. Should only be for psychiatric patients, right? But now they shove anything in here. Treating it like a detention center for retards and lunatics?”
“Exactly. That’s why mental illness has such a bad rep out there.”
“Isn’t this against the rules?” As Li Huowang rubbed his chin, the depressed ponytail girl spotted the shiny handcuffs on his wrists.
“Sigh, private hospital. What rules? Money’s money. Who cares if it’s against regs? You expect them to report themselves?”
“I get it, though. Having someone like that in the family... every household has its burdens. Caring for a vegetable your whole life takes so much energy.”
Just then, Wu Cheng walked over with a clipboard and pen. He took the last empty stool in the circle. “How’s everyone doing?”
Suddenly, the depressed high-ponytail girl shot to her feet, pointing at Li Huowang in terror, her voice shrill. “I know him! He’s that guy from TV, the one who rushed into the school and killed a bunch of people!”