Chapter 36

One evening, as Chi Zhihan was returning to the small villa from work, she noticed the streets and alleys adorned with bright red decorations.

The day after tomorrow would be New Year’s Eve, and companies were gradually starting to close for the holidays.

For someone like her, the most difficult time of the year was always the New Year. These days of family reunions felt malicious to her, every minute of it an ordeal.

In previous years, she would spend New Year’s Eve at Lin Jingwu’s or Xi Qing’s house, mooching off their family dinners, then return home alone, turning the TV volume to maximum to drown out the silence as she endured the night.

This year, she had Qi Cheng.

She had asked Qi Ning about it – over the years, Qi Cheng had always spent New Year’s alone. His family would prepare a New Year’s Eve dinner and deliver it to his place, then wait outside his door for half an hour, hoping he would come out.

Of course, they had never succeeded.

So this year, the number of people spending New Year’s alone had become two.

She deliberately took a detour to the supermarket to buy two large red “福” (fortune) characters, a few strings of red firecracker-shaped decorations, and some auspicious knots.

When getting out of the car, Chi Zhihan handed a New Year’s red envelope to the usually silent driver and gave him a small auspicious knot.

The driver unexpectedly blushed and thanked her several times in heavily accented Mandarin.

This small gesture of kindness put Chi Zhihan in a good mood. As she carried her purchases toward the door while humming a tune, her phone suddenly rang. The sharp ringtone piercing the quiet surroundings of the villa made her heart skip a beat.

For some reason, she had an ominous feeling.

Fumbling to answer the call, the “福”^[1]fortune character in her hand fell to the ground. With no free hand to pick it up, she frowned, and the sense of foreboding grew stronger.

The caller was the usually calm Qi Ning, but her voice was now in complete disarray.

“Xiao Chi, are you at Qi Cheng’s place?” She didn’t even call her “Miss Chi” anymore.

“…I just arrived at the door,” Chi Zhihan’s voice unconsciously softened. She closed her eyes, feeling her heartbeat becoming irregular.

“Don’t panic, listen to me,” Qi Ning seemed to be telling herself not to panic as much as Chi Zhihan, her voice a complete mess. Chi Zhihan could only hear her taking deep breaths. “Grandpa hasn’t been well these past few days. While delirious, he had the caregiver call Qi Cheng, saying he wanted to see him one last time. The caregiver is a temporary replacement for the holidays who knows nothing about Qi Cheng’s condition, so she actually made the call.”

“The baby has meningitis. I just flew to America yesterday. Dr. Zhao and Dr. Li are at an academic conference and aren’t in the country right now. Qi Peng has had his phone off for several days, and Qi Cheng’s father… well, he’s not much help either. So right now, you’re the only one with him.”

“His heart rate and blood pressure are all at critical levels. His phone is switched off, and I’m worried he’s even changed the password. Do you still remember the admin password for the house?”

“Yes.” All of Chi Zhihan’s decorations had long since been dropped on the ground as she entered the door, her hands shaking as she input the password.

“If he has an episode, he’s most likely to be in either the closet or the studio. The studio password is the same as the admin password. Find him first and see if he’s still responsive to external stimuli.”

“The worst-case scenario is if he shows no response to external light, sound, or touch. You’re not very strong, so try to lay him flat somehow, make sure nothing is blocking his breathing, keep his airway clear, and cover him with a blanket to keep him warm. Dr. Zhao has contacted his apprentice who should be on the way now.”

“Okay.” She mistyped the password three times, feeling her back becoming damp with sweat. He had really changed the password.

“In the first drawer on the right side of the desk, there’s a white bottle with a red label containing light blue pills. If he shows even slight response, try to get him to take about three pills, and keep talking to him to prevent him from falling completely into an autistic state.”

The door opened after entering the management password, and Chi Zhihan’s legs felt weak.

“Okay.” She heard herself reply. The curtains were all drawn again, leaving the house in complete darkness, silent as a tomb.

The heating wasn’t on either, making the inside even colder than outside.

“He hasn’t turned on the heat,” Chi Zhihan frowned, her hand holding the phone starting to shake. “How long has he been having an episode?”

“Ten minutes,” Qi Ning’s voice was tearful. “Not long, it shouldn’t be long.”

“I’m adding Dr. Zhao to the call. Go find Qi Cheng first, and remember, keeping him warm is essential.” Qi Ning’s panic made Chi Zhihan feel even more guilty.

She shouldn’t have gone out today.

She didn’t need to go to the office for that last day’s attendance.

This morning when she left, he was still fine, even frowning and crunching an apple with his fork because she wouldn’t let him have egg pancakes.

He had been doing well lately, and apart from his persistent low score on the depression scale, she had almost started to think he was normal.

Obviously, others thought the same, which is why they all started focusing on their own affairs.

They, including her, were all busy with their own things.

…

“Qi Cheng?” With the phone on speaker, Chi Zhihan called out while feeling her way to the power switch.

No sound. The darkness intensified the silence, making Chi Zhihan feel like she could barely breathe.

“Turn on the lights, turn on the heat, then open all cabinet doors.” On the phone was Dr. Zhao, who they had finally contacted, his voice calm.

It was a relief – like Qi Ning, she found that the usually unreliable Dr. Zhao had become an anchor in this moment.

She turned on the power and lights. The sudden brightness made Chi Zhihan squint.

The vast space was empty.

The emptiness made her heart clench tighter.

“No one’s here.” After opening four or five cabinet doors to find them all empty, and looking up to see the studio door also open, Chi Zhihan tried to hold back but her voice still started trembling.

“Qi Cheng enters random cabinets each time. All the cabinets in this house have been specially treated, don’t panic.” Dr. Zhao’s voice was steady and powerful. “His episodes have become less frequent, and even if this is an episode, the physical impact won’t be as severe as before, and it’s only been ten minutes – he probably hasn’t completely lost his awareness of the external world.”

How could she not panic?

Before, even when something happened to Qi Cheng, they could at least see him, and Qi Ning, Qi Peng, or Dr. Zhao and Dr. Li seemed to always be available at a moment’s notice.

Now she was alone, and she couldn’t find Qi Cheng.

All four walls of this building were covered in cabinets. As she opened one empty cabinet after another, her heart began to sink.

It felt like being in a nightmare, where every door she opened wasn’t the one she wanted, yet she was surrounded by countless doors.

“Qi Cheng!” Her voice started carrying tears, Qi Ning’s breathing on the other end became heavier, and Dr. Zhao fell silent.

The heating had started to work in the house, and she was sweating profusely but had forgotten to remove her hat, scarf, and coat.

For the first time, she felt this spacious house was like a predator lying in wait, using darkness and emptiness to devour her sanity.

That sound, like someone knocking on a bedside table, was so faint that the panicked Chi Zhihan almost missed it.

Then another knock.

Chi Zhihan held her breath, only confirming she hadn’t imagined it after hearing the third knock.

“He’s responding.” Chi Zhihan was both crying and laughing. The sound was coming from the kitchen area – he wasn’t in a closet.

That cabinet was the one she had cleared out a few days ago to store dry goods, even specially lining it with soft fabric.

The cabinet was large enough to easily fit two people.

When Chi Zhihan opened the cabinet door and saw Qi Cheng curled up alone in the corner, her tears started flowing uncontrollably.

She usually despised women who would cry at the slightest problem, but now she was crying like a fool herself.

“Qi Cheng is responsive, he can see.” Forcefully sniffling, she made eye contact with the man who was curled up but still trying to lift his head. His complexion was poor, but his eyes weren’t completely unfocused.

His hand was on the edge of the cabinet, continuing to knock weakly, again and again.

But due to his weakness, the knocking sound was getting fainter and fainter.

“Can you hear me?” She was about to cry herself to death.

Qi Cheng weakly nodded.

“He can hear too.” Now she really couldn’t control herself, her heart feeling as if it had been pounded to pieces and ground to dust.

“Amitabha.” Dr. Zhao suddenly chanted Buddha’s name rather inappropriately.

Chi Zhihan suddenly found herself both sobbing and smiling. Thank goodness he could still see her, thank goodness he could still knock to alert her when she was too anxious.

Just like in the beginning, when he wouldn’t speak, and they only communicated through the bed board.

Really, thank goodness.

“Xiao Ning, go take care of your child first, I’ll handle this.” Dr. Zhao’s voice had also relaxed. “It’s fortunate the meningitis was discovered early. And you, now that you’re a mother, you shouldn’t be flying around anymore. Your burden is heavy, find more people to share it. Children grow so fast in their first three years, you’ll regret it later.”

“Mm.” Qi Ning also stopped crying, then after a pause said, “Thank you, Miss Chi.”

She was back to being Miss Chi…

Chi Zhihan couldn’t help but laugh through her tears.

“His blood pressure and heart rate are still very abnormal. Give him the medicine first. Qi Ning told you about it, right?” Dr. Zhao only sounded this reliable at times like this, his image inexplicably becoming grand.

“The light blue ones?” In her panic earlier, Chi Zhihan had used all her attention to remember the important points, and somehow hadn’t made any mistakes.

So human potential really is limitless…

“Several things – after taking the medicine, keeping warm is most important. He probably doesn’t have the strength to get out of that cabinet now, and you can’t move him, so you need to make the cabinet as warm as possible. Qi Cheng is very sensitive to cold.”

“Oh.” After getting the medicine and some warm water, Chi Zhihan habitually tripped over her own feet on the way back, but her voice was steady when she responded.

Strangely, from the moment she saw Qi Cheng, she wasn’t panicked anymore.

Except for the endless heartache, all her earlier panic had disappeared.

She was clearly the one taking care of him.

But she felt like she had taken a calming pill, completely free of panic.

“The elevated highway is terribly congested today, my apprentice should arrive in about half an hour. Can you watch him for this half an hour?” Dr. Zhao’s tone was like instructing a child, but it was indeed reassuring.

“Yes.” Chi Zhihan placed three light blue pills in her palm and crawled into the cabinet with the cup.

No matter how large the cabinet was, it was still just a cabinet. After Chi Zhihan climbed in, the two of them were inevitably pressed close together.

“Take the medicine.” She opened her palm in front of him. Chi Zhihan really wanted to touch his face but feared it would pressure him.

Qi Cheng didn’t move. He was sweating profusely, his lips turning bluish-purple.

Being tall, he was pressed against the top of the cabinet when curled up inside, unlike Chi Zhihan who could move up, down, left and right inside, agile as a monkey.

“Can I get close to him now?” Chi Zhihan checked with Dr. Zhao first.

“Of course you can. Hallucinations aren’t the issue now, we need to ensure he maintains response to the external environment. I’m worried he might deteriorate further in this half hour.” Dr. Zhao barely stopped himself from suggesting she just try hugging him to see if it would help, remembering he was still a doctor and shouldn’t say such unscientific things.

Getting permission, Chi Zhihan nimbly crawled next to Qi Cheng, pressed close against him, then started trying to put the pills into his mouth one by one.

Qi Cheng stared at her, his gaze slightly unfocused, but he could definitely see her.

His mouth didn’t move, showing no response to the medicine offered.

“Open your mouth.” Chi Zhihan opened her own mouth as she moved closer to him.

He was very cold, his whole body freezing, his cheeks feeling like ice to the touch.

“Wait a moment.” Still clutching the medicine, she ran out again, returning with a large blanket in her arms.

She nimbly wrapped the blanket around both of them, and worried about drafts, even closed one side of the cabinet door.

The cabinet became a bit darker, and Qi Cheng blinked.

“Will you open your mouth?” Chi Zhihan was extremely close, her nose almost touching his face, persistently trying to get him to take the medicine with pills and cup in hand.

He didn’t want to take it.

These pills would keep him awake for a long time after taking them.

And they had side effects—side effects related to male functions.

So even with his mind in a fog, he remembered to keep his lips tightly closed.

But Chi Zhihan was very persistent, continuously asking him to open his mouth, even unconsciously parting her own lips slightly to encourage him.

He didn’t know what he was thinking.

At the moment when his lips actually touched hers, he was probably thinking about not wanting to take the medicine, not wanting to open his mouth.

Then when he felt her warm lips, his mind just went blank with a boom.

In his ears, there was only Dr. Zhao’s frantic voice shouting: “What happened? What happened? Why did the blood pressure go down but the heart rate went up? Xiao Chi? What are you doing?!”