☆ Come Find Me
Translator: InkyDragon (https://inkydragontranslation.wordpress.com)
Word count: 2,5k
Yu Xiao’s words seemed to suck all the sound from the room. An oppressive silence smothered both ends of the phone line.
Finally, the raspy voice broke through the stillness. “Wang Dong Dong (王东东: “Monarch from the East” or “Eastern King”), did you seriously bring back a lunatic?”
- (王 (Wáng): This is a common Chinese surname which means “king” or “monarch”. It is one of the most prevalent surnames in China and often symbolises power and authority.
- 东 (Dōng): means “east”. When used twice as in 东东, it can imply a doubling of the concept, suggesting “from the east” or “eastern”.
- 王东东 (Wáng Dōngdōng) could be interpreted as “Monarch from the East” or “Eastern King”)
Wang Dong Dong – known as Ah Dong – flinched at the use of his full name. He despised it, only ever offering it when absolutely necessary. Being addressed so bluntly caught him off guard.
His face flushed. “Don’t talk nonsense. Who’s the real madwoman here?”
Yu Xiao hadn’t fully thought through her hasty plan when she blurted it out. But reflecting now, it seemed the only viable option. Every other scheme had hit a dead end, but if she could truly inhabit Jiang Nan Qiao Nan Qiao’s identity, she could re-enter Time Hospital and reunite with Misty and Precious.
Back in that mind-warping purgatory, she hadn’t noticed anything amiss about Jiang Nan Qiao. But the slightest deviation in her behaviour could ripple outward, altering consequences in unknowable ways. Yu Xiao didn’t want to risk derailing events – she simply needed to reproduce that timeline exactly.
Her tone turned conciliatory. “Excuse me, miss. Do you happen to have Jiang Nan Qiao’s phone? I’d like to borrow it, just for a moment.”
The response was a decisive click as the caller hung up.
Yu Xiao looked up at Ah Dong, perplexed. “She hung up on me.”
He seemed troubled. “Jiang Nan Qiao was inseparable from that phone, same as me and Xiao Long. It’s her only keepsake, so…”
Understanding his meaning, Yu Xiao gnawed her lip anxiously. “Since you’re good friends, could you maybe persuade her? For me?”
Ah Dong looked utterly baffled. “Who said we’re friends?”
Yu Xiao blinked in confusion.
“We just know each other,” he clarified. “Run some instances together sometimes.”
“Ah.” She realised then – their relationship mirrored her own with Luo Jin and the others. Acquaintances. Occasional collaborators. Friends, but not intimately so.
“In that case, how can I get her to agree?” Yu Xiao pressed. “I really need Jiang Nan Qiao’s phone.”
Ah Dong still didn’t grasp her intentions. “Why are you so insistent about her phone specifically?”
Yu Xiao carefully explained. “Because I saw Jiang Nan Qiao at Time Hospital. If that wasn’t the real her, it means someone impersonated her identity. And that person is bound to encounter my friends…”
She detailed her reasoning, and realisation dawned on Ah Dong’s face. But then another thought struck him.
“You’re saying the outcome won’t change?”
“Exactly.” Yu Xiao nodded. “Did you see those words carved into the wall? That’s already predetermined.”
“But…” Ah Dong frowned. “I just thought of something.”
“What is it?”
He gestured between them. “You said you haven’t actually been to Time Hospital yet in our current timeline, right?”
“Right,” Yu Xiao confirmed. “Not until two more instances from now.”
“But you just posted details about Time Hospital on the forum.” Ah Dong pointed out the paradox. “So if you haven’t been there, how could you not seen that post?”
Yu Xiao froze, the realisation sinking in like an ice bath. She hadn’t considered the implications when casually posting earlier. But of course – Misty and Precious frequently browsed the Sixth Hospital forum. There was no way they could have missed that warning.
Her hands trembled as she reopened the forum app.
The post was gone. Vanished without a trace.
“How could it just disappear?”
Ah Dong knew nothing about online forums. “Is something wrong with your phone?”
“No, that post went live,” Yu Xiao insisted, searching in vain. “Even if I smash my phone, it shouldn’t affect published content.”
As she frowned over this new mystery, Ah Dong asked, “Are only patients able to post on the forum?”
“No, there are also…” Yu Xiao trailed off, finally remembering. For so long, only patients posted whatever they wished with impunity. But on the first day Sixth Hospital opened, before any residents reached Level Three clearance to contribute…
There had been a single post already on the forum.
【Regulations of the Sixth Hospital.】
The poster was an administrator – Yu Xiao finally recalled the Sixth Hospital forum had moderators overseeing it.
But she still didn’t understand. She’d shared details about other treacherous instances before with no issue. Posts like hers littered the Fourth Hospital’s forum. So why had this one disappeared into the ether?
The two puzzled over it fruitlessly. A restless idea nagged at the back of Yu Xiao’s mind – she should just call herself directly.
Not everyone got the chance to hold a conversation spanning timelines.
In the end, she dismissed the notion. No way to predict what ripples even the smallest change could unleash across the fabric of the future.
“Brother Dong,” she tried again. “Is there really no way to persuade her? What does she need? I have many talisman function cards I could offer.”
Wang Dong Dong considered. “She…is very capable. Uses more physical combat cards than me – her strength outclasses mine by far. Ordinary talismans wouldn’t tempt her.” He exhaled heavily. “If I had to guess her real need…loneliness, I’d say. She’s been alone in that ward over five years now. If it were me, I might’ve lost my mind ages ago.”
Yu Xiao’s breath caught, suddenly recalling Wide Sea and Sky. Should she send Teng Jing Zhi’s video message now?
No, she quickly realised – at this point, she didn’t actually know Wide Sea and Sky yet. And her ancient brick of a phone couldn’t handle video files anyway.
“Give me her number,” Yu Xiao said firmly, opening her contacts. “I’ll call her myself. What’s her name?”
“Yu Qing Lang (虞晴朗: “Foreseeing Bright Clarity”),” replied Ah Dong. “Her nickname is South Bank of the River (江南岸: Jiāng Nán’àn).”
- 虞 (Yú): This surname can be associated with the meaning of “foreseeing” or “concerning” as it is often related to the idea of caring for others or anticipating something.
- 晴 (Qíng): means “clear” or “sunny”. It is often used to describe weather and can imply brightness or clarity.
- 朗 (Lǎng): means “bright” or “clear”. It is frequently used to describe a clear sky or a bright, cheerful disposition.
- (虞晴朗 (Yú Qínglǎng) could be interpreted as “Foreseeing Bright Clarity”, suggesting someone who is optimistic and has a clear vision or foresight.)
**
“Ring… Ring… Ring… Ring…”
The piercing ringtone shattered the uneasy quiet of the ward – a rare occurrence. Sometimes it was like this – months, even years of silence until suddenly the calls came in a flurry, one after another.
A frail, bony hand fumbled for the phone, the caller ID displaying an unfamiliar number. After a moment’s hesitation, she answered, greeted by a clear, bright female voice:
“Hello, Sister Qing Lang? It’s Yu Xiao, from earlier…”
**
“Click…”
- (嘟 (Click…): This represents the sound of ending a phone call, similar to the English “click.”)
Wang Dong Dong’s cheek twitched, but Yu Xiao remained undeterred, redialing immediately. An eternity seemed to pass before the line crackled to life again with Yu Qing Lang’s irritated rasp.
“Any idea how annoying you are?”
“I do,” Yu Xiao played the pity card. “Believe me, I don’t want to bother you. But I have no choice. My two best friends – my lifelines – they’re still trapped in that hellish instance, waiting for me. If I can’t get back to them…” She choked back a sob. “They might wait until they starve. I can’t lose them…”
Silence hung heavy as Yu Qing Lang digested her words. Finally: “Do you know that phone is the only thing Nan Qiao left me?”
“I understand.” Yu Xiao’s voice thickened with false remorse. “And I swear, I’ll return it, safe and sound. You can ask anything of me – I’ll give you every talisman, every ability card I own…”
Veins bulged in Qing Lang’s forehead. “I don’t need any of that garbage.”
“Please, Big Sister Qing Lang…” Yu Xiao tried a different tack.
“Don’t call me that.” Yu Qing Lang’s tone was final, broaching no argument.
The line went dead. Yu Xiao and Ah Dong exhaled twin sighs of frustration. He patted her shoulder consolingly.
“Let’s regroup. Think of another angle.”
But they were fresh out of options. Even if they did manage to return to Sixth Hospital against all odds, what then? Yu Xiao cradled her head, mind racing.
Thinking took its toll – before they knew it, dinnertime had rolled around. Ah Dong fetched their meal, conflicted thoughts gnawing at him. He’d just checked – neither of them had clean towels. If Yu Xiao wanted to bathe tonight, she’d have to make do with the ones he had had.
He warred with himself. Never did Ah Dong imagine he’d agonise so intensely over something as trivial as towels.
**
What they couldn’t know was that someone else, tucked away in another ward, was similarly conflicted.
Yu Qing Lang had shut Yu Xiao down cold over the phone. But ever since angrily hanging up, she kept stealing glances at her silent mobile, somehow hoping it would ring again.
An inexplicable anger burned within her. Who did that girl think she was, giving up so easily at the first rejection? Didn’t have real friends after all if she abandoned them that readily, hmp!
**
Over their sombre dinner, Ah Dong shifted uncomfortably. “Tonight…I might have one of those dreams again. Sometimes I can’t…control myself.” His jaw tightened. “Best if I sleep in the bathroom, just to be safe.”
“How did you and Xiao Long handle it?” Yu Xiao asked tentatively.
“Similar situations.” Ah Dong let out a strained chuckle. “Relatively safer that way. But you’re different – you seem pretty normal.”
Yu Xiao’s gut twisted with guilt. This was Ah Dong’s space, his sanctuary. Yet her selfish quest had invaded it, forcing him from his own bed.
“It’s alright,” he assured her, reading her expression. “Even sleeping here doesn’t guarantee peace.”
That night, Yu Xiao’s slumber was plagued by worries. Visions of Misty and Precious waiting endlessly, withering away into husks like Zhang Qi Qi…
“I really want…to live another five hundred years…”
She woke up drenched in a cold sweat, the dream’s despair clinging like a second skin despite its irrationality.
Without fully checking the caller ID, Yu Xiao answered the ringing phone with a groggy “Hello?”
“You fell asleep?” The chilly voice on the other end dripped with disdain.
Yu Xiao paused, momentarily lost. Then recognition sank in. “Sister Nan Qiao?”
“Don’t call me that,” Jiang Nan Qiao scoffed. “Sleeping soundly while your friends’ lives hang by a thread?”
“It’s…a medical condition,” Yu Xiao lied, now fully awake. “A brain tumour – I can’t stay awake indefinitely. But Sister, why did you call? Have you reconsidered?”
An icy beat of silence. “You’re dreaming,” Jiang Nan Qiao finally said.
“Oh?” Yu Xiao rallied with forced lightness. “Bored and lonely over there? I can keep you company if you’d like, Sister.”
Over a decade of treading these haunted hospital halls, Yu Qing Lang had never encountered anyone quite like this stranger. Despite her prickly demeanour, Yu Xiao insisted on that overly familiar “Sister” address as if they were the closest of kin.
“You…” Yu Qing Lang struggled to find her footing. “Do you just call everyone ‘Sister’?”
“Men don’t like it if I do,” Yu Xiao quipped lightly.
Yu Qing Lang found herself momentarily stunned into silence. She rallied with a subject change. “How long have you been stuck in this place?”
“Since Sixth Hospital first opened – not even a year yet,” came the breezy reply. “What about you, Sister?”
“Over ten…” Yu Qing Lang caught herself, tone hardening once more. “Why should I tell you anything?”
“You’re right, my mistake.” Yu Xiao acquiesced easily enough.
It wasn’t that she was particularly good-natured. Simply that antagonising Yu Qing Lang did nothing to further her goals. Yu Xiao needed that phone – best to keep her ill-tempered keeper appeased through flattery if necessary. Loaning the device would be easier than any riskier alternative methods.
Yu Qing Lang found her thoughts drifting back to those first terrifying days at Second Hospital. What had she been like then? The memories blurred, details smudging in the recesses of her mind. All she could summon was that pervasive, gripping fear that made sleep impossible.
Yet not sleeping carried its own insidious dangers…
The swirling recollections left Yu Qing Lang’s mood muddied as stone.
“Are you still afraid now?” she asked abruptly.
“Not anymore.” Yu Xiao’s voice remained infuriatingly light. “I’ve adapted.”
“Good adaptability,” Yu Qing Lang mused. No wonder this girl ranked so highly at Sixth – her luck seemed remarkably fortuitous if she could indeed draw talismans as claimed.
Yu Xiao hesitated, fingers twitching against the phone.
Was this conversation actually going well? Could she risk circling back to that whole ‘borrowing Nan Qiao’s mobile’ thing without Yu Qing Lang hanging up on her again?
“I know your plan to impersonate Nan Qiao,” Yu Qing Lang said abruptly. “Needing her phone is just the start – you’ll have to mimic her appearance as well.”
“I’ve seen her in the instance,” Yu Xiao confirmed. “I know what she looks like.”
A sinister chuckle crackled over the line, raising the fine hairs on Yu Xiao’s nape. “If that’s truly what you want, pumpkin…maybe I could be persuaded to loan out her phone.”
Yu Xiao’s heart kicked into high gear. “Name your price.”
“Come find me,” Yu Qing Lang stated flatly. “Come to my ward, and I’ll hand it over myself.”
The line went dead. Yu Xiao stood dumbfounded for three full seconds before her gaze slid instinctively toward the door. She’d been institutionalised for so long, observing the outside world only through her sunglasses. Never once had she attempted to set foot beyond that threshold.
Even opening it a crack for meals or deliveries felt foolishly risky. But now…should she actually brave whatever hells awaited out there?
Could she possibly come back breathing?
“Abso-fucking-lutely not.” Ah Dong’s veto was immediate, voice hard as iron. “It’s far too dangerous out there.”
Yu Xiao frowned stubbornly. “I’ll just slip out for a bit to find her ward. I have plenty of ability cards and talisman skills.”
“It’s nothing like an instance,” he insisted, tone brooking no argument. “Sure, the haunts in the instances still follow a few rules. But anything slimming around beyond this door?” His nostrils flared like an irate bull’s. “Only rule they know is don’t come in here.”
Yu Xiao worried her lip. “But I have to go.”
“Then I’m calling that old crank right now and set her salty ass straight.” Ah Dong made to grab the phone.
“Don’t!” She caught his wrist. “If you anger her, she may never lend me that phone. Besides, every avenue requires me leaving this ward eventually. It’s just across to another Second Hospital ward – not that far at all.”
Seeing the resolve in her eyes, Ah Dong let out a frustrated breath. “Wait here. Let me consult some others, see if anyone has a better idea.”
Yu Xiao watched him dig out an ancient address book, dialling number after number into the dead of night.
─── ❖ ── ☆ ── ❖ ───
( )………( )
(๑✪ᆺ✪๑)
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