627 Paranoia
“Are you awake? The drugs wore off so fast?” Doctor Fu walked to the bedside. He was shocked to see Han Fei awake. Compared to the doctor, the middle-aged woman reacted bigger. He rushed to Han Fei’s side and examined him. There were scratch marks on her arms. They were deep. Considering what the doctor said earlier, she quickly pulled back her arms.
“It looks like he has already calmed down.” Doctor Fu waved at the nurse. The latter removed the binding and returned Han Fei his freedom.
“Normal blood pressure. No problem with the cranial scan and MRI. We can eliminate this as a brain-injury-related pathology. It’s meaningless for him to stay here. The hospital fee is not cheap. I personally suggest you bring him home.” Doctor Fu was a kind person. He was considerate towards the doctor’s family. “Home treatment might have a better effect. After all, he will be familiar with at environment. It’ll lower his internal fear.”
“Okay. Thank you, Doctor Fu.” The middle-aged woman said.
When Han Fei heard the word, Doctor Fu, something in his mind triggered. His eyes moved to Doctor Fu. This was his first time meeting this man, but Han Fei had a feeling he wanted to kill him. The kind face would turn into a cruel face the next second. ‘He doesn’t want to save me. He wants to kill me!’ The thought appeared in his mind. Han Fei struggled to sit up in bed. He needed to leave as soon as possible.
“Bring him home and talk to him. Remember what I said and make sure he takes his medicine on time.” Doctor Fu told the middle-aged woman and left with the nurse. Han Fei’s nervousness dissipated after the doctor left the room.
“Han Fei…” The middle-aged woman sat beside the bed. She knew her son was dangerous. She was just assaulted by him not too ago, but she still chose to sit close to him.
“Han Fei?” Han Fei repeated the name. This should be his name, but other than that, he couldn’t remember anything else.
“Stay here on your own first. I’ll go complete the discharge procedure for you.” The middle-aged woman walked to the dresser and removed Han Fei’s clothes from it. “I’ll be back soon.”
The woman left. Han Fei was in the ward alone. He lowered his head and looked at his palms. The whorls of fingerprints drew him in.
“Me, Han Fei?”
A creaking sound came from above his head. Han Fei looked up, and the ceiling fan kept spinning. Han Fei stared at the fan, and his face paled. He had a feeling the fan would fall the next second. The spinning leaves would shear through his neck. His fingers froze. Han Fei moved his body. He stepped on the floor barefooted and knelt beside the bed. The fan was still spinning. The switch was far away. Han Fei kept staring at the fan, and the cold sweat poured. It was not safe just squatting there, so he moved to hide under the bed. Curling up his body, Han Fei felt unsafe being alone in the empty ward. He couldn’t remember anything. He was alone.
His breathing became rapid. The anxiety in his heart expanded. When he was about to choke on his breath, the middle-aged woman returned.
“Han Fei?” The middle-aged woman saw Han Fei. She moved the bed and helped Han Fei up from the ground. “The doctor said you’re fine. Don’t think too much. You’ll be better after getting some rest.” The middle-aged woman helped Han Fei put on his clothes. She carried Han Fei with one hand, and her other hand held a large bag containing everyday items. “Take it slow.”
The middle-aged woman accompanied Han Fei out of the ward. When they arrived on the first floor, a strange noise came from upstairs.
When they exited the hospital, the cacophony assaulted Han Fei, causing him to take several steps back.
“It’s fine. I’ll protect you.” Han Fei exited the door again with the middle-aged woman leading the way. His eyes trembled. His pupils darted around. He would tense whenever he saw something different.
“Relax.” The middle-aged woman patted Han Fei’s back. She had Han Fei take the inner lane of the pedestrian walkway.
Han Fei couldn’t remember anything, but everything around him instilled in him enormous fear. Perhaps the car would crash into him; or a car might stop, and someone would come down to kidnap him; or someone was stalking him. Every step was difficult. This strange world left for him endless fear.
“Come. Take it slow. We’re going home.” The middle-aged woman held Han Fei’s hand and accompanied him patiently. She didn’t urge him. If Han Fei failed to take a step, she would stop to wait for him. They used around 40 minutes before they arrived at a neighborhood gate.
The neighborhood was old but large. Several buildings were built close together. It felt very oppressive. Han Fei stopped before the gate. He looked at the old apartments. He felt like they would fall and bury him alive.
“Han Fei, we’re almost home.” The word, home, made Han Fei turn to look at the woman. After some hesitation, he followed the woman into the neighborhood.
“Good morning. You brought your child to work again?” The neighborhood guard was a round fatty about 30. He was very passionate and greeted everyone he saw.
“We’ve gotten off work.” The middle-aged woman smiled and led Han Fei to apartment 4.
The woman knew Han Fei didn’t take the elevator, so she used the stairwell and led Han Fei up the stairs. The chaos of the outside world faded away, and Han Fei calmed down. They walked to the ninth floor and stopped before Room 4904.
The key entered the lock. The sound of the lock turned made Han Fei uncomfortable. He looked at the room number, and he had the desire to run away.
“We’re home. Don’t just stand outside.”
“This… this is not my home.” Han Fei’s cracked lips opened, and he said in a low voice.
The middle-aged woman grabbed Han Fei’s arm lightly. She didn’t counter him. She lightly said, “Don’t think too much. You need to rest.”
Han Fei scanned the room with alertness. The small living room was filled with different furniture. Two sets of torn doll costumes were placed near the door. Someone in this house worked as a theme park actor.
“You should go to your room to rest. I’ll go make food.” The middle-aged woman closed the door. She saw Han Fei standing there like he didn’t know where his room was. “Everything will be fine. Don’t worry.”
Han Fei’s bedroom was the innermost room. It was decorated with many things. It looked unkempt. Han Fei didn’t like anyone being in his room, so after the middle-aged woman sent Han Fei in, she left. In this house, the bedroom was Han Fei’s only space. Han Fei sat on the bed numbly. Nothing gave him a sense of home. He touched the bed and saw the scripts strewn on the bed. He spread one open.
“That day, I realized the stories that I wrote would come true.
“The first story from ten years ago was the Dresser. Whenever I stood facing away from the dresser, the dresser door would open a gap. I knew someone was hiding in there.”
Han Fei immediately whipped his head around. The dresser was beside the bed. It was very close to his table. Whenever he was writing at the table, the dresser would be directly behind him. Han Fei stood up and opened the dresser. Inside were a few clothes and stacks of old books.
“Books?” Han Fei picked one up and realized it was an acting and performance book. He forgot everything, but the content of the book felt very familiar to him. “Am I an actor?” Han Fei turned to look at the doll costume beside the living room door. “A theme park cartoon actor?”
Han Fei moved the box of books out. But suddenly, the clothes in the dresser moved. Han Fei froze. He stared at the clothes. He seemed to notice something and kept retreating until his back was to the window. The room was quiet, and the clothes stopped moving. Han Fei heard the wind howling outside, so he turned around to look.
The window was quite low. The cement floor enlarged in his eyes. If someone came to push him then, he would fall and splatter on the cement ground. His breathing turned rapid as he grabbed the windowsill. The back of his hands popped with veins. This was not his first time standing here. He could remember the different falling sensation.
His body displayed different poses on the grey concrete ground. Blood spread everywhere. Then the dead body started to creak back to life!
Pain shot through his brain. Han Fei screamed, “This is not my first death!”
“Han Fei?” The woman’s voice came from the kitchen. She rushed over and quickly pulled Han Fei away from the window and closed the curtains.
“Han Fei, don’t think too much. You need to rest.”
