Hospitals always have stories like this. But when Ying Qiuman glanced over at that building, he couldn’t tell whether it was the suddenly quiet atmosphere that felt eerie, the draft that had abruptly swept through the corridor, or Ye Li’s mysterious manner only that he suddenly felt the building’s shifting light and shadow made it seem as if something really was there.
“Where did you hear that?” He knew that during his sophomore year, Ye Li had signed a three-year streaming contract and would head off to various places every so often to livestream explorations.
He looked cute and gentle, but he was very bold. Ying Qiuman had watched his streams a few times, and many comments said they were quite soothing to watch.
Ying Qiuman had asked about it before out of concern, but Ye Li said it was all scripted.
Even so, the script didn’t seem to be trying to make him famous, the popularity of his streams was just average, and when he graduated next year and the contract expired, he didn’t plan to keep streaming.
“An internal forum for streamers.” Ye Li took out his phone. On it was a photo of an A4 sheet, taken in a dim setting, densely covered with a long list of precautions, each one strange, every line unsettling.
Ying Qiuman found it tiresome and was about to pull him away to keep walking, but Ye Li stopped him. “Don’t dismiss it. This was found by an independent blogger who went exploring himself. It’s said to have been secretly photographed in the first-floor lobby of that building.”
Seeing the gleam in Ye Li’s eyes, Ying Qiuman had no choice but to remind him, “Just finish your company’s scripted streams. Don’t go thinking about this kind of thing. Does this place even look like somewhere for a horror exploration?”
This place was clearly full of people… so why was that building empty?
Even if it was a VIP ward, there shouldn’t be no staff at all, right?
“Let’s go take a look, come on! Since we’re already here, aren’t you curious?” Ye Li rubbed his hands together as he looked at him, clearly itching to go explore.
In a place where wealthy people gathered, even the slightest sense of something off could be very dangerous.
Ying Qiuman didn’t know when he had become someone who worried this much unable to feel at ease, yet also too embarrassed to meddle in other people’s business.
In the end, he compromised. “Let’s deliver food to Uncle Yan first. On our way out, we’ll go take a look.” The moment Ying Qiuman finished speaking, Ye Li looked ready to jump up with excitement.
Close to nine at night, after settling Uncle Yan, the two of them headed toward that inpatient building.
Excitement flickered in Ye Li’s eyes. The phone hanging around his neck quietly began recording video. Seeing this, Ying Qiuman reminded him, “That side should be VIP wards. Be careful.”
Patient privacy was already a sensitive matter, and for those staying in VIP wards, it mattered even more.
But that didn’t seem rightwould Ye Li really be that kind of person?
The two of them wandered over to the bushes outside the first floor. There was only one nurse on duty at the nurses’ station. From a distance, the entire building looked brightly lit, but once they came around to this side, they realized that on the first floor only the nurses’ station lights were on.
Ye Li quickly came up with an excuse, pulling Ying Qiuman along as they walked in through the main entrance, asking as they went, “Is it here? Why don’t you message them again to confirm?”
Hearing them, the nurse looked up, a wary expression appearing on her face. “Hello, visits aren’t allowed here.”
“Ah, did we come to the wrong place?” Ye Li feigned surprise and walked toward the nurse. “Isn’t this Building 12?”
Ying Qiuman played along, looking at his phone as if confirming information with someone. Just as he was about to drop the act, he looked up and saw Ye Li already chatting with the nurse, a bright, friendly smile on his face.
“Miss, why are you the only one here?”
“Because there aren’t many patients here.”
Not many patients? With a whole building of rooms lit up?
“Really? From a distance it looked quite bright, so I thought we’d come take a look.” Ye Li’s hands didn’t stay idle, he casually flipped through the forms on the counter, using the conversation as cover while his phone photographed all of them.
“May I ask which department your patient is in? This is a special ward visits generally aren’t allowed.”
Having flipped through everything, and seeing that the conversation couldn’t go any further, Ye Li shot Ying Qiuman a look. Ying Qiuman caught it, glanced at his phone, and said, “We’ve got the wrong place. It’s Building 2.”
“For Building 2, please go out and walk straight along the corridor on the right. There’s also a map in the central garden,” the nurse kindly gave directions. Ye Li smiled in response and followed Ying Qiuman out.
Once they were outside, Ying Qiuman relaxed from his tense act. Seeing Ye Li scrubbing back and forth along the video timeline and taking screenshots, he asked, “Did you find anything?”
Ye Li clicked his tongue twice, lowered his voice, and read from his phone: “Visits are not allowed. Anyone who comes to visit on their own is definitely not a patient’s family member.”
It matched what the nurse had just said, and, combined with the surrounding night, it felt even more eerie.
“There’s another one.” Ye Li squinted at the screen. “If a patient is found leaving, they must be stopped immediately and reported, but staff must maintain a smile toward patients at all times.”
After reading it, Ye Li broke out in goosebumps and shivered, making Ying Qiuman feel the creeping sense of dread too.
Ying Qiuman’s gaze swept over the text, and he frowned, finding it absurd. How could a proper hospital have rules that read like a creepypasta?
He turned back to look at that building. Earlier, inside, he hadn’t carefully checked which department the ward belonged to. Borrowing Ye Li’s video, he found it on the nurse’s badge: Tongxin Hospital, Infectious Disease Special Care DepartmentVIP.
“……”
Not allowing visits without permission was out of fear of infection, visits required a doctor’s approval and proper protective measures.
Stopping and reporting patients who tried to leave was to prevent the spread of contamination.
As for maintaining a smile toward patients at all times, this was a VIP ward in a private hospital, so of course they had to keep smiling.
Ying Qiuman’s reasoning fit together logically. Just as he was about to explain it to Ye Li, he noticed Ye Li’s eyes suddenly light up as he looked at the empty corridor, clearly having hit on some new idea.
“Since we’re already here, let’s shoot some footage before we go!” Ye Li looked thrilled. “This dark, windy night is perfect!”
Ying Qiuman gave a small sigh. He’d known this day would come sooner or later.
Ever since Ye Li started running his self-media account, he would occasionally stare at him for a while and then say, “With your face, you’re perfect for this line of work!”
Whether his face was suitable or not, Ying Qiuman didn’t know, but his personality definitely wasn’t. He even balked at award ceremonies for competitions and felt uncomfortable being the center of attention.
Seeing his concern, Ye Li quickly added, “You don’t even have to show your face!”
And so, being someone who couldn’t easily turn people down, Ying Qiuman was dragged into filming a good deal of material nearby. In the end, though, the edited result was only about thirty seconds long, relying mostly on camera tricks and background music to build atmosphere, giving the feel of a tense escape.
The first twenty seconds were basically filler, but around the twenty-third second, a clear, cool voice said, “Don’t go over there.” It was rushed, without much emotion, but very pleasant to hear. Then the shot showed Ye Li turning around, another boy’s profile flashing briefly across the frame, and from far off came a sharp, eerie scream that didn’t sound human.
It was Ying Qiuman’s voice and profile, but the actual situation wasn’t anything like what Ye Li’s edit suggested.
A stray cat had run through the bushes. Ye Li had wanted to go take a look, but Ying Qiuman was worried the cat might bite, so he told him not to go over yet and said he’d feed it with a cat treat he was carrying before deciding. Who knew that in Ye Li’s hands it would turn into a classic horror-movie trailer.
Although it was only one line and a barely recognizable profile, Ying Qiuman himself thought it was acceptable. But not long after the video went up, Li Tian came looking for him.
【Where did you guys go?】
【Is Ah Li still short on people over there?】
【Starry-eyes.JPG】
Ying Qiuman looked at the messages in silence, and after a while replied: 【The hospital. Not short on people.】
He had originally thought that Li Tian, locked up in the hospital during his susceptibility period, would be at death’s door but unexpectedly he could still send messages and chat away.
How strange. Now he was even more curious. When he had time, he would definitely go review some physiology lessons, otherwise he’d always end up being led around by Xu Shuyuan.
By the time they left the hospital, it was already 10:30 p.m. The school was too far, so Ying Qiuman let Ye Li stay overnight at his rented place.
The moment the door opened and Ye Li saw the pile of food, he couldn’t help being surprised.
“Wow, your dorm was spotless, but I didn’t expect you’d secretly stash snacks?” Ye Li didn’t stand on ceremony. After getting a confirming look, he started rummaging through them.
Ying Qiuman knew Xu Shuyuan had been there. He scanned the place and checked, aside from the snacks on the table, nothing else seemed different.
“Xu Shuyuan bought them.” He’d meant to maintain his image, but the moment he said it, Ye Li paused, curled his lips, and let out an “oh ho,” then leaned over, shaking his head. “Last time I saw the two of you, I thought you were just playing house. Didn’t expect you actually have real feelings?”
To Ye Li, last time had looked like playing house?
“What do you mean, playing house?”
Ye Li raised an eyebrow and stuffed a potato chip into Ying Qiuman’s mouth. “Anyone with eyes could see you two were being overly polite. Sending flowers, giving food, like you were competing at somethingI thought you were in a contest to see who could put on the better act, completely ignoring my feelings as the audience.”
Last Christmas, Ying Qiuman had also felt that Xu Shuyuan was acting, and he’d played along. Later, he realized the only one competing was himself.
Ying Qiuman turned his face away without responding. The crushed chip stuck to his teeth, uncomfortable. It was about that time anywaytime to wash up and sleep. He still had to get up early for work tomorrow.
“Go wash up and get to bed.”
Ye Li had something stuffed in his mouth and spoke unclearly. “You go first, you go first. I’ll wash up after I finish eating.”
In the dorm, he and Jiang Ke were always the ones who dawdled the most. Ying Qiuman didn’t bother with him and went to the washroom to clean up.
However, just after he finished and came out, the sight of that big bag of snacks on the table made his stomach churn again for some reason. Even though he’d only eaten one bite of chips, he still couldn’t stop the urge to throw up.
Dinner had already been mostly digested, so there was nothing he could really bring up. Fortunately, the symptoms didn’t last long. He rinsed his mouth and brushed his teeth again.
Hearing the noise, Ye Li slipped over and leaned against the doorframe to look at him. After a while, he asked meaningfully, “Did he mark you?”
Ying Qiuman’s movements paused. Figuring this wasn’t a secret to Ye Li, he answered calmly, “I’m a beta. That kind of marking shouldn’t be possible, right?”
“Ohso he did mark you.” Ye Li crossed his arms. “Baby, do you know that when an alpha marks someone, it involves entering the reproductive cavity?”
In this world, everyone was born with that organ, though it would degenerate to different degrees depending on their secondary gender.
Whether the original body was an alpha or a beta, the chance of pregnancy was very small. Besides, it wasn’t anything like what Ye Li was imagining.
“No, it’s not that.”
“Then what is it?”
Ye Li blocked the doorway, looking like he wouldn’t give up until he got an answer. Ying Qiuman didn’t want to explain, but seeing this, he had no choice but to tell part of the truth: “My stomach has always been bad.”
Afraid Ye Li wouldn’t believe him, he handed over his medicine. The box was indeed for treating stomach problems not entirely, it was just a supplementary medication.
Ye Li examined it carefully, and finally seemed to relax, then started speaking earnestly. “I’m telling you, don’t just brush things off because you’re a beta. Even alphas can have problems, let alone betas.”
“Mm.” Now it was Ying Qiuman’s turn to be nagged, but this was how the two of them got along.
Actually, his relationship with Qiu Yuan was like this too. He would unconsciously nag others, and he himself would often be nagged in turn. While he was thinking about others, he was also being thought about. Ying Qiuman quite enjoyed this feeling.
Once it was all over, Ying Qiuman let out a breath of relief too. For once, after such a busy day, instead of falling asleep the moment he lay down, he opened an entertainment app and scrolled for a while.
The first item recommended to him was the second official teaser for “Circle”:
Against the vast backdrop of the universe, a black dot stretches out into a long line, then rotates to form a circle. The circle gradually expands, until the black dot at the center turns into an arrow that brushes past the camera and strikes the center of a stone disk, forming the shape of a sundial. Light and shadow sweep rapidly across the time markings on the sundial. Night falls, and a line of text slowly surfaces on it: “I” will descend tonight.
Finally, that line of text scatters like flowing sand, and the characters carved beneath the sand emergeCircle 2: Sundial.