Love in a Mental Hospital

Chen Ke bowed her head and continued to chat, discussing with Feifei where they would go tonight.

Feifei suggested riding her little donkey to watch the sunset, then heading to the night market for seafood, and finally to the beach at night to gather around a bonfire and listen to a wandering singer.

[Feifei: Oh, did you bring flip-flops? If not, go buy some first!]

Chen Ke replied quickly, her fingers flitting like lightning.

[Wang Keke: Got them! And brought a camera too! (✿◡‿◡)]

"What's with this dude not having a car either? Though Haicheng isn't as hot as the inland, on a day like this, the only comfortable place would be soaked in the sea," she overheard Yiming saying, but was too lazy to respond.

She had grown accustomed to her boyfriend's occasional boastfulness.

"But this dude is a psychologist, in the future he's definitely gonna make big money..." Yiming rambled on, and the car drove further away up the slope.

Standing on the slope, one could see the sea; Gu Ran put his suitcase down and went crazy taking pictures.

He was filled with the desire to share, and wanted to send the photos to his parents right away, but to save on data, he decided to wait until he was somewhere with Wi-Fi.

Yeah, tomorrow he definitely had to make sure to get the Wi-Fi password for the clinic.

The house he looked for was nearby; he had chosen the location deliberately.

The landlord had already arrived, riding a small electric scooter and wearing a helmet, more cautious than most people. After all, he still had a lot of money left unspent.

Everything about the house was nice, except for the expensive rent.

"Can we make it a bit cheaper?" Gu Ran asked.

"Tch! It's not that I look down on you," the landlord felt it was tricky and a hassle.

He pondered for a moment: "Well, young man, I can't lower the price. I'm not worried about not being able to rent it out. I have another apartment down the hill, specially for renting out, and it's cheaper than this one. Want to take a look?"

"Let's take a look."

Having a look was free, he had plenty of time now, and if it didn't work out, so be it.

Without a helmet, the landlord took him down the slope on the electric scooter—clearly, the landlord didn't care much for his life or death.

The wind blew in his face, and the palm trees on both sides of the road were tall and straight, casting mottled shadows, while seagulls soared over the distant sea.

"Young man, let me tell you, in Haicheng, riding an electric bike is the most comfortable..."

If the landlord were a beautiful woman, that would be great, Gu Ran thought.

Then he wouldn't have to hold his suitcase in both hands; instead, he could hold it in one hand while wrapping the other arm around the beautiful woman's waist to keep from falling.

The landlord's rental apartment was a building. Gu Ran didn't quite understand, but it looked like one of those apartments with only a 40-year property life?

One large room, including a bedroom, living room, kitchen—the bedroom was on a warehouse-like second floor.

And there was a separate bathroom.

"What do you think? I had a cleaning company tidy it up. The bedding is new. I'll charge you 3000 a month, with a minimum lease of one year."

Gu Ran looked around and was quite pleased, but he was conflicted about the price, 3000 a month.

But he had looked at rental websites and knew that this price was on the low side. In Haicheng, places with slightly good locations cost over 4000 a month, and there were even those that were over ten thousand.

"Done!"

And just like that, the house was settled.

Everything settled, Gu Ran lay on the sofa with his eyes closed, feeling a wave of exhaustion. Once the tiredness passed, loneliness of having come alone to a strange place set in.

This loneliness was like a hand pressing him down into a water tank, making him feel slightly suffocated.

He really wanted to go back.

To give up on Haicheng and return to the familiar place, back to his parents, to work and live in a place where everyone was familiar.

This feeling was very similar to his first time staying in a dormitory in high school.

Like dark clouds covering the sun, a psychological shadow spread rapidly in his Mind World. Gu Ran opened his left eye, his eyeball rolling around in its socket, coldly observing the world.

"Don't bother me," Gu Ran didn't even open his right eye, his tone calm.

The left eyeball calmed down, the eyelids slowly closed, and the loneliness vanished as if swept away, the psychological shadow disappearing as if it were a scampering mouse.

Gu Ran knew he was different from others.

Even a psychologist who could enter other people's Mind Worlds couldn't possibly control their own inner selves. In order to prevent being infected by their patients, they would always maintain an optimistic attitude, and some even developed a playful character.

But he could.

At the same time he obtained his psychologist's qualification, he was also able to control his own psychological shadows, to some extent constraining the monsters within them.

Over the years, he had studied hard, not only to become a qualified psychologist but also to understand what was happening to him.

After so many years, he still didn't understand, but he had some guesses.

There were only two possibilities for what others couldn't do but he could.

One, he would one day rule the world.

Two, he was mentally ill.

————

"Private Diary":

August 1st, sunny, why does Chen Ke have a boyfriend? Dammit!

Alone and lonely, missing mom and dad. But as a psychologist, I know that this attachment will eventually disappear due to habit. Affection is such a fragile thing. For instance, when I learned that Chen Ke had a boyfriend, I felt regret, but now, at night, I can barely remember what she looks like, let alone care who she's with.

Can I really not rule the world? I don't want to be mentally ill.

Is there a third possibility? There must be, as long as I believe there is, yeah.