Chapter One: Patient
“Name?”
“Luxianbei.”
“How old are you?”
“Um… I’m eighteen.”
What does “I’m all eighteen” mean? The doctor, who was focused on writing the case report, paused and raised his head, looking at the boy across from him with a strange expression. Suppressing his curiosity, he said, “Why don’t you explain your situation first?”
“Okay.” Luxianbei nodded, “Actually, I just feel like there’s something wrong with my eyes; I keep seeing strange things.”
“Strange things? Does your eyes hurt?”
“They don’t hurt…”
“Any symptoms like itching, photophobia, or tearing?”
As the doctor asked questions carefully, he flipped through the medical records Luxianbei brought. Upon seeing the past medical history, he frowned slightly.
“Your medical records state that you were injured in a car accident which caused eye damage, and you had a corneal transplant afterward? In that case, we may need to consider the potential complications of the transplant. Have you had an examination?”
“I’ve had it done, here are the lab reports and diagnosis.” Luxianbei took out the lab report and diagnostic document, handing them to the doctor with both hands.
After carefully reviewing the lab reports and diagnosis, the doctor furrowed his brow.
From the reports, there were no signs of any pathological changes in his eyes, and they had recovered particularly well—comparable to the best cases in corneal transplant history.
“Strange, the report shows everything is normal! Why don’t you elaborate on what strange things you’ve seen?”
“Do I really have to?” Luxianbei’s eyes wandered, his Adam’s apple gently moved, showing some nervousness.
The doctor smiled gently, reassuring him, “Don’t be afraid, young man. I mean no harm; this is just the basic process to understand your condition.”
I’m not that scared anymore, I’m just worried that if I say something, you’ll get scared. Luxianbei sighed, “Alright, but you asked me to talk!”
“What I call strange things are mostly just fleeting shadows that appear occasionally when I zone out.”
“Oh, right, sometimes I also hear strange sounds…”
“What kind of shadows and sounds?” the doctor interrupted.
“Um… most of the shadows are blurry and indistinct; I see them less often during the day and more often at night. To put it bluntly, I see someone in my peripheral vision behind or beside me. When I turn around, I see a shadow flash by, and then it’s gone. As for the sounds…”
“Hold on!”
The more the doctor listened, the more he felt something was off. He couldn’t help but interrupt Luxianbei again, “Wait, the way you’re describing this… doesn’t it sound a lot like… seeing ghosts?”
Luxianbei frowned slightly, speaking earnestly, “Doctor, this is a hospital. I came here with a belief in modern medicine; don’t bring up superstitions. I’m very scared of that!”
The doctor felt a bit embarrassed, “Sorry, I misspoke.”
The prevalence of urban legends circulating in recent years made people overly superstitious. Hearing his comment inadvertently led the doctor to connect it to those legends.
Thinking about it, the doctor chuckled self-deprecatingly, “Continue, then. Seeing double vision is a common complication of corneal transplants, but based on your lab reports, the probability of pathological factors is relatively low. We can’t rule out psychological and other influences.”
The so-called other factors refer to the phenomenon of visual memory residue in the optic nerve; under certain conditions, cornea donors may see images previously seen by the donor. However, this phenomenon gradually disappears over time.
The doctor considered this possibility to explain why Luxianbei saw strange shadows but didn’t state it outright, as there is insufficient scientific theoretical support for such claims.
“If we consider the latter…” The doctor pondered for a few seconds and asked, “Are all those shadows you see indistinct? Can you see any clearer images?”
If he could see clearer images, then the latter two scenarios would have a higher probability of being the cause.
“I can see them, but is it necessary to mention it?” Luxianbei hesitated. If he said it, wouldn’t he be kicked out like the last doctor did?
The doctor gestured for Luxianbei to continue, “Feel free to speak!”
“Uh, then I’ll say it!”
Luxianbei took a deep breath to calm his emotions, “I’ve seen three relatively clear images. The first time was one night when I was hungry and went out for skewers. At a crossroads, I saw a girl in a beige floral dress with a yellow and white corgi the size of a family car. In a moment of distraction, she rode her dog and flew into the sky…”
“Hahaha!” The doctor laughed at Luxianbei’s account, and his previously tense demeanor eased slightly. “Young man, have you heard the rumors of magical girls in this city? But that’s just a rumor, isn’t it?”
“I’ve certainly heard of it, but I didn’t take it seriously. What does that have to do with my eye issue?”
“Of course, it has to do with it,” the doctor said with a smile. “Things you think about often could affect your perception of the double vision you’re experiencing.”
Luxianbei thought, “So you mean everything I see is just my imagination?”
I’m not crazy!
“You said you saw three times, what about the other two?”
“The other was five days ago when it rained. I bumped into a senior sister in the boys’ changing room at school. The moment she saw me, she turned and ran…”
“Bumping into a senior girl in the boys’ changing room…” The doctor frowned. “She must have entered the wrong room. Think about it; a girl accidentally walks into the boys’ changing room, and by chance, sees you—she would definitely be shy and run away, right?”
That seems like a normal reaction, doesn’t it?
It appears this boy is likely experiencing too much mental tension, leading to misperception.
I knew it; there couldn’t be so many strange images appearing!
EMMM, take a sip of tea to calm myself.
“Of course there’s a problem!” Luxianbei raised his voice slightly, gesturing with his hands, “That was a huge head, it fell on the ground and wasn’t picked up, and the person ran away—doesn’t that seem like a problem?!”
“??? ”
The doctor imagined the scene Luxianbei described and felt a chill down his spine. He nearly spilled his tea, making it wet his clothes.
“Then you…”
“Of course, I called the police! In that situation, would anyone even need to think about it? A normal person would definitely call the police!”
The doctor thought, “……” A normal person would likely be so panicked they’d run away, right?
“Well, what happened next?”
“Ugh, don’t mention it.” Luxianbei sighed, “After the police arrived, I took them to the spot where the senior sister ran into me, but when we got there, all that was left where her head should have been was a hairpin—one of those cute ones that are pink with white polka dots.”
The doctor twitched the corner of his mouth, “……” You don’t need to observe such trivial details so closely!
“Could you have seen it wrong?”
“I felt there was a possibility of that, but the police didn’t think so; they thought I had a problem and suggested I come to the hospital to have a look.”
The doctor thought, “……” To be honest, you do seem to have a bit of a problem.
“If I had seen it again just now, it was even more thrilling! Even now, thinking back gives me chills. When I entered the hospital, I saw someone mumbling something, and it sounded like they had been diagnosed with lung cancer. Then, I suddenly zoned out and saw a huge black tumor on them spewing thick smoke. Oh, right, they were right there…”
Concern for oneself disrupts the mind!
Hearing Luxianbei say there were strange things in the hospital too, the doctor immediately couldn’t sit still.
“Cough, cough, wait, stop talking! Young student, this is a hospital; be serious and don’t scare people with jokes.”
What the heck!? This patient is way too frightening!
Is there really something like this in the world…
No, no, no! How could this be!
The doctor shook his head, dismissing the rising thoughts in his head.
I’m an educated person, a DANG member, I can’t let the twisted reasoning of the class enemy influence my mind!
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
The doctor looked up at Luxianbei’s face, which was extremely serious and earnest, showing no signs of joking at all.
“Ahem, do you see… see those things often? Aren’t you scared?”
Luxianbei replied expressionlessly, “Scared? Of course! Why wouldn’t I be scared! I’m terrified!”
When Luxianbei first started seeing those strange shadows, he was indeed very scared and felt like he was going crazy. But he didn’t expect that his nerves were tougher and more resilient than he imagined, and he hadn’t shown any signs of mental illness up to now.
At most, he would occasionally catch a glimpse of a strange shadow passing by on the street, hear glass balls bouncing upstairs at night, or hear water sounds coming from the restroom in the middle of the night, or hear someone sighing while he was asleep…
It’s nothing major, just endure it!
What else can he do? Life has to go on.
Even if he’s scared, he has to push through.
While speaking, Luxianbei rolled up his sleeve to expose his arm, “Look, I have goosebumps all over.”
“No, is this really your scared expression?”
“Ugh! This is also an illness.” Luxianbei sighed, “Since you’ve already seen my medical case, you should know that my eyes were injured in a car accident. Just flip back two pages, and you’ll see that I have another issue.”
The doctor flipped back two pages in the case notes and was taken aback when he saw the boy’s other ailment.
“Facial muscle weakness and sluggish response due to dislocation of the jaw ligament?”
Isn’t this facial paralysis?
I wondered why he hadn’t changed his expression since he came in!
“Doctor, if you can’t treat facial paralysis, that’s fine; it doesn’t have much impact. Can you do something about the strange things my eyes see?”
If it can’t be treated, then send him away!
The doctor wanted to give this patient he encountered in his career a stern three-complaint but his professional ethics did not allow him to do so.
“Haha!” The doctor maintained his smile, “Don’t worry, young student. I have already understood your general condition. Since there are no pathological symptoms, we need to consider psychological issues. How about I write you a referral to go upstairs for a check?”
Displacing the responsibility to another department is a skill every mature doctor should possess.
“You mean to psychiatry?”
“Um, yes, it’s psychiatry…” The doctor’s smile stiffened slightly. “But don’t worry, psychological illnesses are not incurable. As long as we have a proper treatment plan…”
“No thanks.” Luxianbei shook his head, “I just escaped from there.”
The doctor, “??? ”
What… kind of escape is this?
I believed your nonsense for so long, but you’re just a mental patient, aren’t you?!
