Going up the stairs, I met no one else, and could only hear the footsteps of three people echoing in the empty stairs.
After arriving on the second floor, what came into view was a long, quiet corridor, where no one could be seen.
The tile floor under your feet is clean and shiny, like a continuous mirror that reflects the faces of the people who step on it.
There is an incandescent lamp hanging down at intervals in the corridor, and the halo of the light falls on the ground, illuminating oval-shaped light spots.
It would have been scary to visit a place like this late at night; luckily they were traveling together.
The young people soon arrived at the entrance of the ward.
Yan Jingxing, as the representative of the three, stepped forward and knocked on the door.
"Who is it? Please come in."
The familiar voice of the former head teacher came from inside. Compared to the energetic impression she had left on Yan Jingxing in class, Teacher Gao's answer now seemed a bit more tired and weak.
However, her tone was quite calm and rational, not like she was unable to communicate... The scene where Teacher Gao went crazy at the cram school that day left a deep impression on him.
Pushing the door open and walking into the ward, Yan Jingxing saw a middle-aged woman wearing a blue hospital gown sitting on a white bed, staring blankly at the green potted plant in the corner of the room.
The curtains were not completely closed, and one could see the night flowing like clouds outside the glass. The wind flowed in quietly, blowing the sheets and potted plant leaves.
Teacher Gao heard the movement behind him, turned his head and saw the faces of the boys and girls, and suddenly showed a surprised look.
"Yan Jingxing, Ji Chunzao? Why are you two here? And..."
She hesitated.
Although Miss Xie is not a student in the class she teaches, she is a member of the cram school, and Teacher Gao can't run the cram school without her help. It can be said that among the teachers and students present, On the contrary, her relationship with Yuzhi is closer than that of the two students.
Yuzhi. What are you..."
"We heard about Teacher Gao, so we came to visit you."
Xie Yuzhi took a step forward and explained calmly.
"Really, that's right." Teacher Gao nodded, showing a smile of relief and surprise, "Thank you."
Yan Jingxing placed the fruit basket in his hand on the cabinet next to him. There was an old radio next to it.
Teacher Gao looked at the faces of the young people one by one. Then, she seemed to have thought of a new question, and couldn't help but asked in confusion:
"You are not in the same class, how come you are together?"
"Because we are friends and have common interests."
"Oh, that's it. We have common interests. That's good, that's good... This is what young people should do..."
Teacher Gao's voice gradually dropped, and she seemed to have suddenly lost interest in the conversation. The smile just disappeared from the face of the middle-aged woman, and she turned her head again and continued to look at the potted plants blankly.
The young people looked at each other.
While Xie Yuzhi was talking with Teacher Gao, Yan Jingxing grabbed the curly-haired girl's sleeve, pulled her aside, and asked in a low voice:
"Did you feel it?"
"Well, yes, the hairless one is lurking inside her body." Ji Chunzao nodded slightly, "But I still feel a little strange."
"What's wrong?"
"There's not enough."
Ji Chunzao analyzed it seriously.
"Jing Xing, do you remember how many hairless ones we saw coming out of that bald man's body that day?"
"How do I remember this..." Yan Jingxing thought for a while, "About a dozen?"
"Yes, at least there are more than ten. But right now, there is only one lurking in Teacher Gao's body."
"Um……"
Yan Jingxing looked at Teacher Gao on the hospital bed and whispered:
"Only one? Is this why her mental state is relatively stable now?"
"That's unknown."
"Even if this is the case, the brain damage caused by the Hairless Man is still irreversible... This may be the reason why Teacher Gao is depressed now."
On the other side of the room, Miss Xie moved a stool to sit in front of the hospital bed and began to ask Teacher Gao about his experience during this time.
"Has anyone come to visit you recently?"
"You mean in school? No, whether it's a teacher or a student."
Teacher Gao smiled bitterly.
"I guess the school leaders are keeping it a secret. Many people don't know what's wrong with me, let alone that I'm in a mental hospital. As for my family, let alone... My husband wants me to stay there forever. In the hospital."
Because she had communicated with Xie Yuzhi more than once, Teacher Gao also knew that this child was very precocious, so her attitude was less like that of a student and more like that of an adult.
"Teacher Gao, do you still remember what happened that day?"
After hearing this question, the woman's expression suddenly became stiff. But facing Xie Yuzhi's serious eyes, she opened her mouth and finally answered.
"I...I can't remember a little bit..."
Teacher Gao raised his hand in pain and supported his forehead.
"My mental state at the time was very strange. I didn't lose my memory. I knew what I was doing and remembered many things...but I always felt like I had become another person. I was very emotional and my blood rushed to my head. It was as if I had escaped It’s like being restrained, and you will do things you couldn’t even think of before…”
"'Why do you want to hurt your students?' Everyone is asking me the same question, whether it's the police or the doctor. But I really don't know. I never want to hurt anyone. I occasionally feel that teaching The students are very tired, and some of the disobedient ones are really annoying and noisy, but I just think about it..."
Teacher Gao grabbed his messy dry hair and looked at the girl sitting beside the hospital bed with eyes that seemed to be pleading.
"Yuzhi, you know I'm not this kind of person, right? Although I haven't been in a good mood due to family reasons during this period of time, it's impossible for me to--"
"Yeah, I don't want to believe it either."
Xie Yuzhi sighed softly and showed some sympathy towards the woman on the hospital bed.
"Teacher Gao, I was a witness that day and saw you commit those horrific and cruel acts, so I have to believe some things even if I don't want to believe them."
Upon hearing this answer, the middle-aged woman's expression became more bitter.
"However, I do have concerns about certain things. Maybe I can find a way to solve them, but I need your cooperation, teacher."
"……solve?"
Teacher Gao looked at her blankly.
"Yes. Under the premise that it is difficult to trace the source and the status quo has not changed, we can only think that the situation has not been resolved, right? Can you guarantee that there will not be a next time, or do you really hope that the situation of that day will happen again? Hurting others again, being treated like a lunatic again?”
"me……"
Xie Yuzhi said word by word, calmly observing that the other person's expression turned pale little by little.
Of course she would not tell the truth right away and tell Teacher Gao that there is an alien bug hidden in her body, which causes your brain to be damaged and insane. The result would definitely be that he is regarded as mentally ill.
Therefore, she chose to be vague and focus on "similar things may happen again." In this way, Teacher Gao's attention was focused on what she was most afraid of and worried about happening.
Looking at Teacher Gao's expression, it was obvious that he was completely panicked. Seeing that the time was ripe, Xie Yuzhi took the time to ask the questions she wanted:
"I want to ask you something. Do you think you are really mentally ill?"
Teacher Gao pursed his lips and answered in a very uncertain tone:
“…After I was taken to the police station by the police, several doctors came over to examine me and asked me a bunch of questions. Later they diagnosed me as possibly having dissociative personality disorder, which means ‘schizophrenia’. "
"After I was sent to the hospital, they originally planned to send me to another building. But maybe they thought I was more honest, so I was later placed in a general inpatient building..."
"Wait, what did you just say? There is another building in this hospital? Is it different from this one?"
Teacher Gao shook his head, with a confused expression on his face as well.
"I don't know much about it, but from what the doctors here say, it seems that mentally ill patients who have committed crimes brought from the city and nearby village police stations are usually sent to that place."
"In other words, that's where criminal suspects with mental illness are housed?"
For some reason, Xie Yuzhi always felt a little nervous when this topic was brought up.
It stands to reason that this is the responsibility of this mental hospital. She already knew it before coming here... Maybe it was because of the ghost stories she heard Chunzao tell in the car?
"Yes, I thought so too, so I was very scared at the time and didn't want to be sent there." Teacher Gao said a little thankfully, "Fortunately, it didn't happen later. It seemed that the place was being renovated and maintained, and the patients were all occupied. Plus I behaved very obediently, so in the end I was allowed to stay here temporarily.”
"Well, I understand. Teacher, please get back to the topic. Do you think you have any mental problems?"
"...I don't understand it myself."
The middle-aged woman continued to shake her head.
"But the doctor said that, maybe I am. I also told him that no one in my family has a history of this problem, and they have always been fine before. However, the doctor said that even for a completely normal ordinary person, After experiencing a period of mental depression, a breakdown will also occur...so I may really be schizophrenic."
"In that case, do you want to try my method?"
"What?"
"It's just a kind of psychological therapy. My dad has a special psychological counselor. I heard that he came back from studying abroad and he is very good. He taught me some methods to relieve mental stress. Teacher, if you don't mind, I can try it. Give it a try.”
Miss Xie came right out of her mouth. It can be said that she lied without making a draft.
"Don't worry, it won't hurt. This method is equivalent to hypnotherapy without any drugs or equipment. In the final analysis, you just relax and listen to me. If you feel uncomfortable or feel uncomfortable, just tell me directly. , you don’t have to answer questions you don’t want to answer.”
Teacher Gao agreed without hesitating for too long.
Because she was a familiar student, she had a high degree of trust; and she didn't think Xie Yuzhi would do anything bad to her. She was already facing this situation now, so what couldn't she try?
In fact, Teacher Gao also vaguely noticed that something was wrong with her mental state. She seemed to have lost her enthusiasm for most things in this world, but there was nothing she could do about it.
"Okay, now, please lie down. You can use a pillow and adjust your body to the most comfortable position..."
Xie Yuzhi began to guide the middle-aged woman to lie down, while the girl's tone became extremely soft.
"Please close your eyes. As soon as you close your eyes, you will begin to relax..."
As she spoke, she walked to the radio, adjusted several channels, and found a channel that was playing a soft and soothing serenade.
"From now on, you will find that your heart has become very peaceful, as if you have entered another wonderful world, far away from the world. You will only hear my voice and the music on the radio, and no other external noises. Interfering with you. Even if you hear a sudden noise, not only will you not be disturbed, but you will enter a deeper and more comfortable dream..."
Yan Jingxing stood aside.
As he watched, his mouth slowly began to open, almost to the point of being so surprised that he couldn't close it.
He originally just wanted to watch what Xie Yuzhi was planning to do. He also knew that he was talking about "psychotherapy" and the like to make Teacher Gao close his eyes so that the other party would not notice his little actions. He was still thinking about it. I admire the eldest lady's wit.
Unexpectedly, looking at this...
——So you really know how to do it? !
