Free Web Novel“Name?” “Lu Yibei.” “How old?” “Hmm... always eighteen.”
What does “always eighteen” mean? The doctor, who was buried in writing a medical record, paused at the words, looked up, and stared strangely at the young man opposite her.
She suppressed the doubt in her heart and said, “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on first?”
“Alright.” Lu Yibei nodded. “Actually, I just feel like there’s something wrong with my eyes. I keep seeing strange things.”
“Strange things? Do your eyes hurt?”
“They don’t hurt...”
“Do you have symptoms like itching, photophobia, or tearing?”
While the doctor asked carefully, she flipped through the medical record Lu Yibei had brought. When she saw the past medical history, she frowned slightly.
“Your medical record states that your eyes were injured in a car accident, and then you had a cornea transplant? Looking at it this way, we might need to consider post-cornea transplant complications. Have you had it checked?”
“It’s already been checked. Here are the lab results and the diagnosis report.” Lu Yibei took out the lab results and diagnosis report and handed them to the doctor with both hands.
The doctor carefully read the lab results and diagnosis report, then frowned.
From the lab results and diagnosis report, her eyes not only showed no signs of lesions but had also recovered exceptionally well. In fact, compared to all cornea transplant cases, her recovery was among the best.
“Strange, the report shows everything is normal! Why don’t you tell me specifically what strange things you’ve been seeing?”
“Do I have to say it?” Lu Yibei’s eyes darted around as she spoke, her Adam’s apple bobbing slightly, looking a bit nervous.
The doctor showed a gentle smile and reassured her, “Young man, don’t be afraid. I don’t mean anything else. This is a basic part of the consultation process, just to understand your condition.”
I’m not that scared anymore, I’m worried you’ll be scared if I tell you. Lu Yibei sighed softly, “Alright, you asked for this!”
“When I say strange things, it’s actually just that sometimes, in a flash, some indistinct shadows appear before my eyes.”
“Oh, and sometimes I also hear strange sounds...”
“What kind of shadows and sounds?” the doctor interrupted.
“Hmm... most of the shadows are blurry. I see them less during the day and more at night. If I had to describe them, it’s like seeing someone behind or beside me out of the corner of my eye, and when I turn, I see a black shadow flash by, and then it’s gone. As for the sounds...”
“Wait!”
The more the doctor listened, the more something felt off. She couldn’t help but interrupt Lu Yibei again. “Wait, from what you’re saying, it sounds a lot like... seeing ghosts?”
Lu Yibei frowned slightly and said earnestly, “Doctor, this is a hospital, and I came here to see a doctor with an attitude of trusting modern medicine. Don’t bring up superstitions; I’m very scared!”
The doctor looked a bit awkward. “Sorry, I spoke out of turn.”
It was all because of the too many urban legend circulating outside these past few years, making people constantly paranoid. Hearing her talk, she couldn’t help but associate it with those urban legend.
Thinking this, the doctor laughed at herself. “Continue. Seeing double vision is a common complication of cornea transplant surgery, but based on your lab results and diagnosis report, the probability of pathological factors is relatively low. We can’t rule out psychological and other factors.”
The so-called other factors refer to the phenomenon of optic nerve memory residue, where cornea recipients, under specific circumstances, may see images that the donor once saw. However, this phenomenon gradually disappears over time.
The doctor considered this possibility as a reason for Lu Yibei seeing strange shadows but didn’t state it explicitly, as the scientific theoretical basis for this claim was insufficient.
“If we consider the latter...” The doctor pondered for a few seconds and then pressed, “Are all the shadows you see blurry? Can you see any clearer images?”
If clearer images could be seen, then the probability of the latter two conditions causing the illness would be higher.
“I can, but is it necessary to say?” Lu Yibei hesitated. If I say it, will she kick me out like the doctor at the last hospital?
The doctor gestured for Lu Yibei to speak. “Speak freely!”
“Uh, okay, I’ll tell you then!”
Lu Yibei took a deep breath, calmed herself, and said, “I’ve seen three clear ones. The first time was one night when I was hungry and went out for skewers. At a crossroads, I saw a young girl in a beige floral dress, followed by a yellow and white Corgi as big as a family car. In a flash, she rode her dog and flew into the sky...”
“Haha!” The doctor was amused by Lu Yibei’s words, and her slightly tense mood eased a bit. “Young man, have you also heard the rumors about magical girls in our city? But those are just rumors, aren’t they?”
“Of course, I’ve heard them, but I didn’t take them seriously. What does that have to do with my eye problem?”
“Of course, it does.” The doctor smiled. “Things you often think about psychologically might affect your perception of the double images that appear before you.”
Lu Yibei, “...” She means everything I see is a figment of my imagination, right?
I’m not crazy!
“Didn’t you say you saw it three times? What about the other two?”
“The other time was five days ago when it was raining. I ran into a senior in the men’s changing room of the school bathhouse. As soon as she saw me, she turned and ran...”
“Ran into a senior in the men’s changing room...” The doctor frowned. “She must have gone into the wrong one. Think about it, if a girl accidentally goes into the wrong changing room and happens to be seen by you, she’d definitely be shy! There’s nothing wrong with her turning and running, right?”
This should be a normal reaction, right?
It seems likely that this child is experiencing incorrect perceptions due to excessive mental stress.
I knew it, where would so many strange images come from?
Emmm, have some tea, calm down.
“Of course, there’s a problem!” Lu Yibei’s voice rose a few octaves as she gestured wildly with her hands. “A head that big, it fell to the ground, and she didn’t even pick it up before she ran off. Is that not a problem?!”
“???”
The doctor imagined the scene Lu Yibei described, and a chill ran down her spine. The hand that had just picked up the teacup trembled, spilling tea and soaking her clothes.
“Then you...”
“Of course, I called the police! In that situation, how could I even think about what to choose? Any normal person would call the police, right?”
The doctor, “...” A normal person would most likely panic and run away, right?
“Then, what happened next?”
“Oh, don’t even mention it.” Lu Yibei sighed. “After the police arrived, I took them to where the senior had turned around, but where her head should have been, there was only a hair clip left. It was one of those really cute, pink hair clips with white polka dots.”
The doctor’s mouth twitched. “...” You don’t need to observe such irrelevant details so closely, hey!
“Could you have seen it wrong?”
“I also thought that was possible, but the police didn’t. They thought I had a problem and suggested I come to the hospital.”
The doctor, “...” To be honest, you do have a bit of a problem.
“The last time I saw something was just now, and this one was more thrilling! I still feel shivers thinking about it. When I entered the hospital, I saw someone muttering something. From what I heard, it sounded like he had been diagnosed with lung cancer. Then, my vision blurred for a moment, and I saw giant black tumors spouting thick smoke growing on his body. Oh, right, he was right there...”
Self-interest leads to confusion!
Hearing Lu Yibei say that there were strange things in the hospital too, the doctor immediately couldn’t sit still.
“Cough, cough, don’t say any more! Young student, this is a hospital, be serious, don’t make jokes to scare people.”
Are you crazy?! This patient is too scary!
Could there really be... in this world...
No, no, no! How is that possible!
The doctor shook her head, shaking off the thoughts that had risen in her mind.
I am a person who has received higher education, and I am a party member. I cannot be influenced by the fallacies and heresies of class enemies!
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
The doctor looked up at Lu Yibei’s face. Her expression was very serious and earnest, without the slightest hint of joking.
“Cough, cough, then you always see... see those things, aren’t you afraid?”
Lu Yibei said expressionlessly, “Afraid? How could I not be afraid! I’m scared to death!”
When Lu Yibei first started seeing those strange shadows, she was indeed very afraid, and at one point, she thought she was going crazy. However, she didn’t expect her nerves to be much tougher and more resilient than she imagined, and she still showed no signs of developing a mental illness.
At most, she occasionally saw strange shadows flash by on the street, heard glass marbles bouncing upstairs at night, heard water sounds from the bathroom in the middle of the night, or heard someone sighing while she slept, and so on... frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
It’s nothing big, just endure it!
Otherwise, what else can be done? Life must go on.
Even if you’re scared, you have to keep going.
As she spoke, Lu Yibei rolled up her sleeve, revealing her arm. “See, goosebumps all over.”
“No, is this your expression of fear?”
“Ah! This is also a disease.” Lu Yibei sighed. “You’ve seen the medical record; you should know that my eyes were injured in a car accident. If you just flip back two pages, you’ll see I have another problem.”
The doctor picked up the medical record again and flipped back two pages. When she saw the young man’s other symptom, she was stunned.
Mandibular ligament tear and dislocation causing facial muscle weakness and slow reaction?
Isn’t that facial paralysis?
No wonder her expression hasn’t changed since she walked in!
“Doctor, it’s fine if the facial paralysis can’t be cured; it doesn’t have much impact anyway. But my eyes, this problem of seeing strange things, is there still hope?”
Can’t be cured, no hope, please leave!
The doctor really wanted to give this most difficult patient she had ever met in her career a triple-threat response, but her good professional ethics wouldn’t allow her to do so.
“Haha!” The doctor still maintained a smile. “Young student, don’t worry, I’ve already understood your general condition. Since there are no pathological symptoms, then we need to consider psychological issues. How about I write you a referral to see someone upstairs?”
Skillfully passing the buck to other departments is also a necessary skill for a mature doctor.
“Are you referring to the psychiatry department?”
“Uh, yes, the psychiatry department...” The doctor’s smile stiffened. “But young student, you don’t need to worry. Mental illness is not an incurable disease. As long as there is a proper treatment plan...”
“No need.” Lu Yibei shook her head. “I just escaped from there.”
The doctor, “???”
This...
What kind of escape is this?
I believed your nonsense for so long, but you’re a mental patient, aren’t you?!
