“Dr. Chen, what exactly is wrong with my son?”
Outside the Huasheng Psychological Clinic, a professional woman with her long hair tied up was speaking with a psychologist in a white coat.
“Ms. Yu, based on the current situation, your son appears to have an emotional cognitive disorder.”
Yu Qingqing looked at the psychologist with confusion. “Emotional cognitive disorder?”
“Emotional cognitive disorder refers to difficulties in perceiving, recognizing, expressing, or regulating emotions.”
Yu Qingqing frowned. “He’s so young. How could he develop such a condition?”
“There are many causes for this disorder, including genetic factors, psychological factors, and environmental influences, among others.”
“How is it treated? Can it be cured?”
“Treatment is a lengthy process that requires a combination of psychological intervention, medication assistance, lifestyle adjustments, and more. As for whether it can be cured, it’s hard to say. However, if everything goes smoothly, the possibility of recovery is quite high.”
“Then I’ll be relying on your expertise, Doctor.”
…
At the funeral, Yu Qingqing, dressed in black, sat on a chair, tears streaming down her face.
Yun Huacen walked over and looked at her curiously. “Mom, why are you crying?”
Yu Qingqing pulled Yun Huacen close and said, “Grandpa has passed away. Mom is sad, so she cries. Aren’t you sad, Xiao Cen?”
Yun Huacen nodded, then shook his head. “Mom, what is sadness?”
…
At the movie theater, Yun Huacen looked at Yu Qingqing with confusion. “Mom, why are they laughing?”
“Because certain scenes in the movie make them happy, so they laugh.” Yu Qingqing looked at him expectantly. “Xiao Cen, Mom is watching the movie with you. Are you happy?”
Yun Huacen asked, puzzled, “What is happiness? Should I be happy?”
…
Yun Huacen had a long, long dream. In the dream, there was a little boy, the original owner who shared his name. Since the original owner’s birth, only a nanny had been by his side. His parents were merely titles to him. It wasn’t until he was seven years old that his busy parents finally noticed something was wrong and took him to see a psychologist. The diagnosis was an emotional cognitive disorder, simply put, he had no joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness and couldn’t empathize with anyone. He lived for twenty-eight years, and only when he developed a drug that could kill the zombie virus did he feel joy. It was the first time he had ever experienced an emotion in his life, and it was also the last.
Yun Huacen opened his eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling. It took a while for his mind to start working again, and with it came the return of pain, headache, sore throat, backache, and butt pain. It seemed like every part of him hurt.
“Meow.”
Yun Huacen turned his head to look. The cat was sitting on a chair, its dark eyes fixed on him. “I…”
As soon as he spoke, his voice was hoarse and unpleasant, and his throat hurt as if he had swallowed razor blades.
The cat raised its paw and pointed to the phone on the bedside table. Understanding, Yun Huacen picked up the phone and answered the video call. The children were sitting anxiously around the sofa when they suddenly heard the sound of the video call and all turned to look.
Yu Lei was the first to react. He walked over to the video call and said with delight, “Uncle, you’re awake?”
Yun Huacen responded with a sound of acknowledgment. “Come upstairs.”
“Alright, I’ll head right over!” Yu Lei hung up the phone and turned excitedly to the others. “Uncle woke up, he’s fine! His voice is hoarse, he must be thirsty. I’ll go take care of him.”
“Wait.” Yue Zirui stopped Yu Lei, standing up as he said, “I’ll go instead. You stay and help Qiqi prepare the food.”
“But Uncle asked me to go up.” Yu Lei hesitated, looking at Yue Zirui.
Seeing this, Sun Qi spoke up, “Xiao Lei, taking care of a patient requires a lot of attention. You’re young and might not know enough. Let A-Rui go.”
“Alright then.” Yu Lei turned to Yue Zirui, a hint of concern in his voice. “Brother Rui, Uncle is a good person. Take good care of him.”
“Don’t worry.” Yue Zirui headed upstairs.
Yun Huacen had been watching the surveillance feed and knew it was Yue Zirui coming up. He just found it odd, why would Yue Zirui take the initiative to care for him?
“What do you think he’s up to?” Yun Huacen glanced at the cat.
The cat shook its head and settled back down, looking utterly lazy.
Too weak to think much, Yun Huacen didn’t dwell on it. With the cat around, whatever Yue Zirui was scheming wouldn’t matter.
Five minutes later, the door was knocked on, followed by the sound of it opening and closing. Yun Huacen raised an eyebrow, it seemed Yue Zirui hadn’t even waited for a response.
Yue Zirui walked in and looked at the frail man on the bed. His face was pale, his lips dry and cracked, and he had visibly lost weight, looking as fragile as a candle flickering in the wind, nothing like the man he remembered.
Seeing Yue Zirui staring blankly, Yun Huacen spoke wearily, “Get me a glass of water.”
Yue Zirui snapped out of it, poured a glass of water, and handed it over.
Yun Huacen weakly propped himself up, taking small sips from the cup. His throat ached so badly he winced with every swallow, as if someone were slicing into his flesh with a blade.
Suddenly, Yue Zirui reached out. Yun Huacen was taken aback and instinctively flinched. “What are you doing?”
Yue Zirui stared at him steadily. “I just wanted to check if you still have a fever. Why so tense?”
“Have you forgotten you attacked me before?”
Yue Zirui withdrew his hand. “You were unconscious for so long. If I really wanted to do something to you, I wouldn’t have waited until now.”
“As the saying goes, ‘Guard against the harm others may do, even if you mean no harm yourself.’ Especially with past incidents.” Yun Huacen cleared his throat painfully. “My throat hurts too much to talk.”
Yue Zirui pulled up a chair and sat down. “Yesterday, I spotted a drone flying over the villa. Someone must have discovered this place.”
“A drone?” Yun Huacen frowned deeply. “What kind of drone? How long did it stay?”
“Just an ordinary one. It lingered for about fifteen minutes.”
“Go downstairs and move all the food into the basement, along with the commonly used kitchenware. Stay down there for the next couple of days and don’t come out.”
“What about you?”
“I’m a grown man, do I need you to worry about me? Hurry up.”
“In your current state, you’re worse off than a three-year-old.”
“Just go. Stop with the nonsense!”
Yue Zirui wanted to argue back, but his body moved on its own, turning toward the door. Panic surged within him as he shouted, “What… what did you do to me?”
Yun Huacen was completely baffled until he heard the sound of the door closing. Only then did he snap back to reality, turning to look at the cat and asking in confusion, “What was he talking about? What did I do to him?”
The cat stared straight at Yun Huacen with its pitch-black eyes.
Yun Huacen felt a chill run down his spine under its gaze. “Don’t look at me like that, it’s creepy!”
The cat paused for a moment, then uncontrollably turned its head away, looking elsewhere.
Yun Huacen didn’t pay it much mind. He took out his phone to check yesterday’s surveillance footage, muttering as he watched, “I forgot to ask him when he saw the drone. Being sick really messes with your head, it’s like mush.”
After a while, the uncontrollable feeling faded. The cat leaped onto the bed and began typing on the tablet.
“You just controlled me.”
Yun Huacen stared blankly at the words. He recognized every character, but together they made no sense. “What do you mean by that?”
“After you said, ‘Don’t look at me like that,’ my body suddenly lost control and turned away involuntarily.”
Yun Huacen read the message over and over before saying, “Are you saying I controlled you?”
The cat continued typing, “Remember what Yue Zirui said earlier.”
Yun Huacen nodded, then understood its implication. “He said that because I controlled him just now? How is that possible? I didn’t do anything.”
“Then let’s test it. Command me to do something.”
Yun Huacen hesitated for a moment before saying, “Then go outside.”
After waiting for a while, the cat showed no reaction. Yun Huacen let out a sigh of relief. “I told you this couldn’t happen. It must have been your imagination earlier.”
The cat frowned in thought for a moment before typing, “Be more forceful. Use a commanding tone.”
Yun Huacen reluctantly complied. “Get out of here!”
The cat moved. It jumped off the bed and headed toward the door, followed by the sound of the doorknob turning, then the opening and closing of the door.
Yun Huacen stared dumbfounded at the door, taking a long moment to snap out of it. He muttered in disbelief, “No way… is this real? How is this possible?”
The sound of the doorknob turning echoed again, and the door opened. The cat walked back in, leaped onto the bed, and typed, “You controlled me again just now.”
“Are you messing with me? How is this possible?” Yun Huacen still refused to believe it was real.
“I’m not that bored.” The cat paused briefly before typing again, “You must have gained some kind of ability, just like me.”
“You mutated because you were infected with the zombie virus. I wasn’t.” Yun Huacen retorted.
“You might have been infected too.”
“You’re saying my continuous high fever was because I was infected with the zombie virus?” Yun Huacen’s eyes widened in shock, but he quickly shook his head. “You’ve studied the zombie virus for so long, and nothing like this happened to you. Besides, I have a body temperature, a heartbeat, and my brain is functioning normally. There’s no sign of turning into a zombie at all.”
“If you don’t believe it, you can test it on someone else.”
Yun Huacen glanced at the surveillance video playing on his phone and said, “This isn’t the time to talk about this. If a drone was here, it means someone was here. The villa’s secret might not stay hidden for long.”
“I’ll handle it.” After typing the words, the cat turned and jumped off the bed.
“Be careful!” Yun Huacen couldn’t help but warn as it prepared to leave. “Mutated zombies may be rare, but they do exist. Don’t get careless and end up capsizing in a ditch.”
The cat glanced back at him before heading toward the door. Yun Huacen watched its movements through the surveillance monitor and pressed the door open button when it reached the entrance. Watching it disappear from sight, he suddenly felt useless, having to rely on a cat for protection. Recalling what had just happened, he connected the video call and summoned Yue Zirui upstairs.
As soon as Yue Zirui entered the room, Yun Huacen eagerly asked, “What did you mean by what you said earlier?”
Yue Zirui countered, “I should be asking you, what exactly did you do to me? Why did my body move out of my control?”
Hearing this, Yun Huacen’s heart raced. “Are you saying I controlled you just now?”