Chapter 647
Chapter 647
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 647
>Chapter Title: Mental Patient
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Hearing the voices coming from outside the door, Li Huowang abruptly shot to his feet, angrily flung the blanket aside, and stormed toward the door with a fierce glare.
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> As soon as he yanked the door open, Li Huowang saw two men in patient gowns leaning against the wall, munching on snacks while arguing animatedly.
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> One of them was a neatly combed-back man wearing plastic-framed glasses, looking all scholarly; the ravings he'd heard from inside his room earlier had come straight from this guy's mouth.
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> But Li Huowang didn't care about any of that. He just found this new guy incredibly annoying, yammering on without end.
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> "Get lost! It's only seven in the morning— what are you making a racket for!"
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> "Hey~! Don't interrupt me, comrade. Do you have any idea what I'm doing? I'm fighting for the necessary rights of our special group!"
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> Just as he opened his mouth to say more, his companion spotted the handcuffs on Li Huowang's wrists and hurriedly dragged him away.
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> Though the pair had been shooed off, Li Huowang's sleepiness was completely ruined. He sighed, turned back inside to put on his shoes.
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> He had to admit, locking a normal guy like him up with these lunatics was pure torture.
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> And with these muddled patients, he couldn't even vent his frustration—otherwise, the doctors would think he was the one having an episode, setting his discharge even further back.
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> Shoes on, Li Huowang had nothing else to do in the empty single room, so he simply headed to the cafeteria for breakfast.
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> "Sui Sui, you hungry?"
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> The mental hospital's breakfast held no surprises: steamed buns, plain rolls, and watery porridge.
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> Li Huowang grabbed his tray and ate in the corner, mentally calculating how much longer until he could get out.
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> Weili, the manic-depressive, had already been discharged. He should be next in the group.
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> Just as he was about to keep eating with nothing else going on, he suddenly felt a chill on his back.
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> Twisting around, he spotted Qian Fu—the guy with split personality disorder—staring at him from afar.
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> Seeing Qian Fu just staring without doing anything else, Li Huowang ignored him and went back to his breakfast.
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> Living in a mental hospital, stuff like this was inevitable. Best to stay calm.
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> Cameras everywhere— the guy wouldn't dare try anything outrageous.
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> As for whatever nonsense he'd spouted earlier, Li Huowang hadn't taken it to heart. Nobody pores over the ramblings of a stranger with mental illness.
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> After breakfast came the group therapy circle. Li Huowang truly saw no point in it whatsoever.
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> If mutual pep talks could cure mental illness, why bother with all the daily meds?
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> The plastic stool to Li Huowang's upper left was empty, but that didn't surprise him—Weili had mentioned she was getting discharged soon.
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> But Sister Wang's stool—the one with schizophrenia—was empty too, which puzzled him a bit.
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> "Sister Wang's gone too? Is her condition better?" Li Huowang asked the depressed girl beside him.
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> Zhao Ting shook her head, her face pale. "No, she's not better. Her husband just stopped sending money to the hospital account, so they kicked her out."
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> "I roomed with her. Sister Wang really wanted to stay—her symptoms were improving. But the doctor said the hospital isn't a charity. No money, no treatment."
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> Hearing this, Li Huowang let out a soft sigh. Outsiders thought all mental patients in asylums dreamed of bolting out the gates the moment they opened, desperate to run wild.
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> But reality was different. Any patient with even a shred of self-awareness knew they were sick and wanted to get fully cured.
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> Some even hid it from family, packing their own bags and checking in alone.
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> Only the completely uncontrollable ones got dragged in by orderlies, like in the TV dramas.
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> Mental patients were people too, no different from those with other illnesses—just sick in the head instead.
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> Compared to escaping, they preferred staying until fully healed, walking out normal and healthy.
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> But reality was harsh. Hospitals needed to make money, especially private ones. No cash, and even if doctors knew the patient wasn't stable, out you went.
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> No money meant no cure; no cure meant no income. Plenty fell into that vicious cycle, watching their condition worsen until they were total wrecks or raving madmen.
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> To spare the depressed girl more burden, Li Huowang comforted her. "Sister Wang's condition is manageable. Her schizophrenia's mild—stick to the meds, and she'll stabilize. Don't worry about her."
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> As they chatted, Li Huowang spotted Wu Cheng approaching with two new patients.
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> One was the combed-back glasses guy from his door earlier; the other a withered old man.
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> "Good morning, everyone. Our group lost two members, so we're adding these two new faces. This gentleman is Yuan Heping, and this fellow is Wang Gang. Let's give them a warm welcome."
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> A smattering of sparse applause followed. Li Huowang didn't budge, racking his brain for ways to kill this boring time.
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> As soon as the pair sat, Li Huowang noticed the glasses guy eyeing him. When he looked up, the man quickly averted his gaze.
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> "Alright then, how about you two start with some self-introductions?"
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> In Li Huowang's agonizing torment, time crawled by. It felt like a whole year before the endless group session finally wrapped.
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> He got zero help from it, save learning the new guys' diagnoses: the old man had OCD, glasses had schizophrenia. Nothing special.
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> As people stood with their stools and dispersed, Li Huowang took a deep breath and rose. This torturous morning was finally over.
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> Heading to the cafeteria with the others for lunch, a dopey man approached—the village idiot from before.
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> "Brother, here, tasty." He held out a small pack of Wangzai steamed buns.
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> Li Huowang took it, about to say thanks, when a figure darted past from the left.
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> "Watch out! They're here! Danger's closing in!" The voice whispered urgently in Li Huowang's ear before vanishing swiftly.
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> Li Huowang only caught a glimpse of the back of the guy's head, but he recognized him: Qian Fu.
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> Li Huowang frowned, standing there pondering for a moment before shaking his head and continuing to the cafeteria.