TN: Extra chapter because of “Taureine’s” donation. (ᗒᗨᗕ)
The woman’s response filled the boy’s eyes with a glimmer of hope. Though he was young, he could already understand what the adults were talking about. He couldn’t help but look at Xu Yintang, much like a puppy begging for food.
At this moment, Xu Yintang’s figure in the boy’s eyes suddenly became tall and filled with a sense of security, like a superhero protecting the weak in a story, rescuing him from the clutches of a terrifying villain.
If one were to describe his state academically, Stockholm Syndrome might be an appropriate expression.
Xu Yintang sighed with helplessness. He often saw this kind of expression on the faces of new children that his mother brought back. Of course, he had encountered various complex emotions in the children – some who resented him, some who were disgusted, and some who even had the courage to try and escape with him, swearing to share their parents with their “brother Tangtang.”
The face of that child who was overly friendly with him had faded from his memory, and his memory had never been very good. He often forgot many things, but for some reason, he could always vividly recall that child’s voice, lively and sunny like a little sun.
Perhaps it was because he first learned about the concept of the “outside,” and understood that everything in the hospital, which he considered normal, was “abnormal.” It was from that child that he began to hear endless stories and babble.
Past memories flashed through his mind, quickly fragmented and separated into meaningless pieces by the buzzing of electricity. Xu Yintang skillfully buried and cleaned up things that he shouldn’t remember. He became the obedient good child, as he always was, to his mother.
The young boy, homesick and eager to leave this frightening place, naturally wished to leave this place in the next second. However, Xu Yintang wasn’t in a hurry to leave. He spent half an hour visiting to ensure he didn’t leave too hastily, as his mother would surely scold him the next time he visited.
If possible, Xu Yintang wanted to come in to avoid this situation because his mother was truly frightening when she got angry. Three caregivers might not be able to restrain her.
Of course, when she wasn’t angry, she was a more loving and caring mother than anyone else. The woman spoke in a soft and caring tone, inquiring about Xu Yintang’s daily life and whether he was eating well. She worried about his relationships with neighbors, always expressing dissatisfaction with every one of them. She was afraid that her child might make bad friends or be mistreated somewhere she couldn’t see.
“I’ve been eating well, and the bed is very comfortable. Everyone here is kind,” Xu Yintang replied, resting on the woman’s lap as she used her fingertips to groom his hair. He allowed her to pamper him, and his voice was cheerful, like that of a young child.
These questions had been asked countless times, and the woman’s memory was even worse than his. It always seemed as if Xu Yintang had just moved into the second ward recently when he had actually moved there when he was still a child.
“That’s good.” The woman’s face relaxed slightly, and she seemed a bit more at ease. She reminded him, “If anything is not good, you must tell Mom. Mom will ask the doctor to change it for you.”
As she spoke, her tone was not that of a patient in a weak position. Xu Yintang just smiled and nodded, promising, “Mom is the best.”
With a childish and playful expression, a light and cheerful tone, and a gaze filled with dependence and affection that looked up from top to bottom, Xu Yintang might have been naturally suited to survive in this place. He seemed to know instinctively how to disguise his malice, how to please and satisfy his mother, who should never be disobeyed.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Therefore, there was no need for new children here.
Xu Yintang affectionately chatted with his mother for a long time, until there were two knocks at the door from the outside.
“Knock, knock.”
It was a caregiver knocking on the door, reminding the people inside that visiting time had come to an end.
“Is it time to go…” The woman reluctantly grabbed the hem of Xu Yintang’s clothes, trying to make him stay a little longer.
“Yeah, I’ll come back tomorrow,” Xu Yintang bent down and hugged her. He then beckoned to the boy who was sitting beside, “I’ll take him with me on my way out. Mom promise that you won’t bring any other children here anymore, okay?”
The woman glanced at Xu Yintang and then at the boy, biting her lip in hesitation. She could now tell that this Tangtang wasn’t her Tangtang, but the agony of waiting alone in her room for Xu Yintang’s visits made her nod in agreement with Xu Yintang’s suggestion.
“It’s okay. I’ll always be with Mom, and I won’t run away like the others,” Xu Yintang extended his pinky finger, “Shall we pinky promise on it?”
“Always, always by my side…”
Xu Yintang knew too well where the woman’s weakness lay. She extended her slender pinky finger to hook onto Xu Yintang’s finger and repeatedly confirmed with him, “You won’t leave for real?”
“Really,” Xu Yintang gently shook their linked pinky fingers, “I swear, I’ll never change until the end.”
Outside the door, a caregiver knocked on the door again, more urgently this time, urging the people inside to leave quickly. Staying in the room beyond the visiting hours would result in the caregivers forcibly removing the person from the room, and if luck wasn’t on their side, they might bump into other patients coming out for fresh air.
Patients in the third ward weren’t as friendly and reasonable as those in the second ward. While it didn’t matter to Xu Yintang himself, it was better to keep the child quiet.
Xu Yintang lifted the boy, who looked around nervously, watching the woman’s expression with apprehension, and avoiding the dark, menacing caregiver. The dark, gloomy corridor only added to his fear. He couldn’t even bring himself to take a deep breath in this atmosphere.
Xu Yintang gently patted his back and walked closely behind the caregiver leading the way. The structure of the third ward was too complex, and it underwent internal renovations from time to time. Only the caregivers knew the layout well. When he was a child, he often got lost here and was chased around by patients.
As they left the main building of the ward, Xu Yintang could clearly feel the boy he was carrying take a deep breath. The air outside felt fresher than in the building. Xu Yintang walked him to the edge of a small garden between the two wards, and there was a small gate between the high railings that led to the outside.
Xu Yintang put the boy down and pointed to the gate. “Can you go through the door by yourself?”
The boy looked at the door, then at Xu Yintang, and nodded vigorously. His legs were in pain as soon as they touched the ground, and he found it difficult to stand. However, he had an inexplicable intuition at this moment, knowing that he could only rely on himself to get out. He endured the pain, suppressed his tears, and said softly, “I… I can walk.”
“If you can’t walk, crawl if you have to,” Xu Yintang wiped away his tears and pushed him towards the direction of the small gate. “Hurry home, your mom is definitely waiting for you.”
The boy, pushed forward by Xu Yintang, felt that the small gate leading to the outside was so close yet so far, as if he could cross it in one step, but also as if he couldn’t get there no matter how hard he tried. As he walked, he couldn’t help but turn his head to look behind, seeking some support. However, the thick fog had obscured his vision. He widened his eyes, desperately scanning the surroundings, only to realize that everything was white and empty. He was all alone.
Exhaustion and weariness flooded his consciousness, and slowly, he knew nothing.
After missing for nearly two weeks, the Zhou family in Huai City finally found their precious little son.
The child came back on his own, found in a coma in the small garden where he had disappeared, frightening the other children who were playing there.
When the police asked him if he remembered his experiences while missing, he just shook his head blankly. He didn’t remember running away from home in a fit of anger with his mom, and he didn’t even know where he had gone after crawling into the bushes in the garden.
In his memory, those several dark, old buildings, the tall and terrifying caregivers, and the very last image – the gentle smile from the young man with black hair waving goodbye to him, all became too blurred to distinguish, like colors that had been washed away by water.
It sounded like someone was whispering in his ear, distant like in a dream.
“Don’t come here again.”
“Forget everything about this place.”
“Wait!”
*Thud.*
The silent room suddenly made a muffled sound as someone fell off the bed, and a small night light turned on. The black cat, sleeping at the foot of the bed, half-opened its eyes and yawned, looking at the man sitting on the floor, complaining, “It’s not even a full moon yet, and you’re making a commotion. Can you let people sleep in the middle of the night?”
When the cat spoke, it had the clear and lively voice of a young boy. Its amber cat eyes were filled with annoyance. “Wake up! Snap out of it! Shi Yuebai, stop daydreaming!”
It called out loudly, but Shi Yuebai seemed to still be lost in his thoughts. He turned to the cat, muttering to himself in a low voice, “He appeared… just now, I dreamt…”
His eyes had amber pupils, just like the black cat’s, and under the dim light, they shimmered with a strange, cold, and inhuman charm, almost otherworldly.
The black cat was not pleased and growled at him, jumping up and landing a heavy pat with its paw on Shi Yuebai’s face. “Can’t you have some backbone?”
“It was just a dream! I couldn’t even see his face clearly!”
It swore, based on its vast experience of observing people! That person was definitely a short, skinny, dirty, and absolutely ugly human cub!
The great game god, Blueon, who could command the wind and rain and was awe-inspiringly cool in-game, turned into this disoriented and pitiful figure with just a single dream! Shi Yuebai, who would face an evil god with unwavering determination!
The more the black cat thought about it, the angrier it became. It felt like its lifetime of prestige couldn’t afford this person. It was so angry that it opened its mouth and bit down on the tip of Shi Yuebai’s tail, which had unconsciously risen and was swaying.
You were shaken to the point where even your tail was exposed! Shi Yuebai, you’re a disgrace to witches!
Author’s Note –
Shi Yuebai who was on standby in the background is finally online.
Let’s give him a warm welcome!
Fans of golden pupils, please maintain your enthusiasm.
I really love those bright, hot, and dazzling golden eyes.
The vertical pupils are even better and more alluring, hshshs.
I bet they look particularly beautiful when crying! [thumbs up]
The ML is finally making an appearance! o(≧∇≦o)
ouuu so hed a witch with a cat familiar?? Is that why he has a tail and Im gonna assume cat ears too?? this is so cute :3
Thank you for the chapters! ❤
👏👏👏👏👏welcome little Shi
….is the hospital actually a instance?!?!?! WAIT IS THE ML A KID??? OR A GROWN MAN???? WAS THAT A FLASH BACK??? I’m so confused but I also understand? 😭
Didn’t mean to reply to you
And the plot thickens
Making it harder to understand
No really, I can’t see😂
+1 too thick😭 but I’m still here for it😍
Ooh, what kind of hospital is it really? It sounds like outsiders can’t even locate it
+1 very mysterious😥
+2
Omg so XYT really does live in some game instance kind of world!
Neko-boy ML??
Thank you for your translation 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃
👏👏👏👏👏welcome little Shi
I very much agree with the author’s note! Good taste! 👍
Waiiitttt so the game boss was not the ml??? I’m so confused
Strangely odd and getting weirder…lmao. Just my kind of story… Thanks for the translation 🤣❤️🤣❤️
Is this all in MC’s inner world? Is this a HE novel?
You are brave to ask this question… The author’s version of HE and our own possibly won’t match.
Genuinely creative story here.
is this the happy child that he saved? how old was mc when he saved them? it seems he’s been saving kids for so many years… very piteful life… QAQ
THE MYSTERIES ONLY INCREASE!!!! So someone actually got it right when they said the MC was an NPC from an instance…..wow….bro…the more I find out, the more I want to cry for him. I thought ML would be that god….. anyway.