☆ I’m Back, Baby!
Translator: InkyDragon (https://inkydragontranslation.wordpress.com)
Word count: 2,6k
After a dizzy spell, Yu Xiao blinked, then blinked again. The corridor stretched before her, so familiar it could have been yesterday.
“Holy crap on a cracker!” she burst out, a grin splitting her face. “I’m back, baby!”
Six heads swivelled towards her, five pairs of eyes giving her the serious creeps. The sixth pair belonged to Yu Qing Lang, and even she looked a little weirded out.
Yu Xiao didn’t care. She launched herself at Yu Qing Lang, wrapping her arms around her neck and legs around her waist in a full-body hug. “I’m back! I’m actually back! Oh my god, Sister Lan, thank you!”
While Yu Xiao didn’t care about the others’ reactions, Yu Qing Lang did. Stiff as a nail, she stood with five pairs of eyes boring into her, she felt her cheeks heat up.
“Ahem,” she coughed, trying to pry Yu Xiao off. “Get off me before I dropkick you.”
Reluctantly, Yu Xiao unwrapped herself. But the thought of seeing Misty and Precious again, of being back at Sixth Hospital, made her want to do cartwheels.
“Sister Qing Lang,” she gushed, grabbing Yu Qing Lang’s hand, “I don’t know how to thank you enough!”
If it were anyone else, Yu Qing Lang might have told her to shut up. But this was Yu Xiao, and she was just so damn happy.
The other five, all male patients with expressions ranging from gloomy to downright sinister, watched the exchange with unnervingly intense gazes.
Yu Xiao finally registered their presence and toned down her enthusiasm a notch. “Any of you guys from Second Hospital?” she asked, a bit sheepishly.
“I am,” one of them replied, his voice rough.
“Oh, cool,” Yu Xiao said. “How come you didn’t go out with everyone else today?”
The guy’s brow furrowed. “How do you know everyone went out?”
“I was part of it too,” Yu Xiao said. “Didn’t Flying to Someone Else’s Bed clued you in?”
He didn’t answer, but a muscle in his cheek twitched. “So that’s what all that noise was,” he muttered. “Flying to Someone Else’s Bed, huh? You forgot about me…”
Yu Xiao squirmed under the sudden weight of awkwardness, realising she’d just repaid kindness with a healthy dose of ‘Nobody likes me’.
Just then, the sound of a door creaking open broke the tension. All eyes, including Yu Xiao’s, swivelled towards the entrance.
Shi Guang, with his signature silver hair and an expression as unchanging as a Renaissance painting, stood there. He pointed towards the seven doors lining the corridor.
His voice droned, devoid of warmth, “Good morning, Welcome to Time Hospital. I’m your attending doctor, Shi Guang. Time Hospital can cure anything. Everyone who comes to Time Hospital will leave with an eternal mark. Go find your own way out, each of you is a unique existence, and you’ll each have your own path.”
His monotonous speech complete, Shi Guang turned to leave.
“Hold up!” Yu Xiao called out.
All eyes were on her again as Shi Guang turned back, his pale eyes boring into hers.
“Hey, Doc,” Yu Xiao asked, “heard anything about that new inspection team they’ve got going around the hospital? Seems someone might get a failing grade for patient mistreatment!”
Shi Guang’s reaction was a masterclass in indifference. He bestowed upon her a look that screamed, “What… is this… lifeform?” before turning and sauntering away.
Yu Xiao smirked to herself. “Just you wait, Shi Guang.” Then, she turned to the other patients, their faces etched with confusion. “Don’t let Shi Guang bamboozle you. I figured out how to escape this instance. Here’s the thing, we don’t actually need everyone to pick a door…”
Shi Guang, who hadn’t gotten very far, clearly caught her words. He stopped dead in his tracks, then slowly turned his head, his gaze boring through a door directly at Yu Xiao.
Ignoring him for now, Yu Xiao finished her explanation with a flourish, “That’s the scoop on this instance. Good luck everyone, and if fate allows, we’ll meet again! Qing Lang, let’s go!”
With that, they watched as Yu Xiao and Yu Qing Lang walked hand-in-hand through a door. Silence descended once more. The patients exchanged wary glances.
“Can we trust her?” one man finally asked.
The man from Second Hospital, who had spoken earlier, nodded. “Seems legit. Didn’t you see they went through a door too?”
True, but a small problem remained. They were from five different wards…
“Maybe,” the Second Hospital man suggested, a hint of hope in his voice, “we should team up?”
**
Yu Xiao pushed open the door, revealing a bedroom so modern it wouldn’t look out of place in a furniture catalogue. She knew this room intimately; it was where she’d left her mark before, and where she’d bumped into Wang Dong Dong.
Without hesitation, she strode over to the wall and shoved the cabinet aside. There, scrawled in her own handwriting, were the words she’d left behind.
“Look!” she exclaimed, pointing excitedly at the graffiti. “That’s my handiwork!”
Yu Qing Lang gazed at the words, a flicker of sadness in her eyes. “Shouldn’t you be going?”
Yu Xiao paused, then nodded. “I’ll get in touch as soon as I’m out.”
A hint of a smile played on Yu Qing Lang’s lips, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. Seeing her new friend like this tugged at Yu Xiao’s heartstrings. She impulsively threw her arms around Yu Qing Lang.
“Chin up,” she said fiercely. “Jiang Nan Qiao would want you to. You’ll get out of here, I know it!”
Then, before she could lose her nerve, she pulled away and headed for the door. With a final glance back at Yu Qing Lang, she closed it behind her.
*Click.*
In the corridor, Shi Guang blinked, his pale eyes clouding with confusion. This patient, nicknamed “Twenty-Four Bridges,” was an enigma. She clearly knew the way out of Time Hospital, yet she’d left that room. Why?
Yu Xiao herself only knew that by taking Jiang Nan Qiao’s place, she was destined to meet Lan Jie and Xiao Zhen in Time Hospital. What she didn’t know was how many doors she’d have to open to find them. When she’d said goodbye to Yu Qing Lang, she’d been brimming with confidence. Now, after opening doors for over a day without a bite to eat, she was starting to regret her lack of planning. She really should have packed some snacks.
*Cough, cough, cough!* She’d tried to guzzle water from the bathroom tap and ended up choking on it, collapsing onto the floor in a coughing fit.
“Smooth move, Yu Xiao,” she muttered to herself, sitting on the floor and gathering her wits.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she stumbled upon the living room where she’d first encountered Jiang Nan Qiao. It dawned on her then that the Jiang Nan Qiao she’d become hadn’t been lying – she really had been opening doors for two whole days!
Ignoring the body sprawled on the living room floor, Yu Xiao collapsed onto the ground, closed her eyes, and promptly passed out.
“Hey! Is anyone there?”
The familiar voice jolted Yu Xiao awake. She shot up from the floor, a wide grin spreading across her face. She was back!
Rounding the corner, she spotted Zhou Xiao Zhen huddled by the doorway. A wave of warmth washed over her at the sight of her friend. Despite being apart for only three days, she’d missed Misty and Precious terribly.
Zhou Xiao Zhen’s eyes went wide. “Quick, come here! I’ve seen a ghost again!!”
Yu Xiao wanted to both laugh and cry. That is, until she saw Misty and…herself charging towards them, armed with props and talismans.
Seeing herself from an outsider’s perspective was a trip and a half. She knew that if she didn’t prove she was human, her past self would probably try to exorcise her.
Holding up her hands in surrender, she called out, “Whoa there! Don’t get any ideas, I’m human!”
The trio froze, exchanging bewildered glances. Yu Xiao couldn’t help but chuckle. She hadn’t realised she looked so adorable when flustered.
As they debated her human status, Yu Xiao rolled her eyes. Did they really need to overthink something so simple?
“Look,” she said, stifling a laugh, “cut to the chase. Just slap one of those talismans on me and you’ll have your answer, right?”
She extended her arm invitingly. “Go ahead, give it a try.”
Yu Xiao walked towards them, trying to keep a straight face but failing miserably.
Once she’d proven her humanity, Yu Xiao broke into a full-on giggle. “See? Told you I was human.”
Zhou Xiao Zhen stared at her, dumbfounded. “You live… *inside* this instance?”
Yu Xiao had been planning on playing it cool, but Precious’s question was too much. She burst into laughter again, launching into an elaborate story for the three. She knew them inside and out, and she knew exactly what to say to avoid suspicion.
…
Misty, always looking for opportunities, wasn’t going to let a good chance slip away.
“You’ve been here for two days? Have you found any clues on how to get out?”
Clues? It was more like she had almost completed a walkthrough. But revealing the escape plan now would be like changing the plot of a horror movie – unpredictable and potentially disastrous. It would definitely change the outcome, and she had no idea what might happen then.
Besides, her stomach was rebelling. Two and a half days with nothing but water was pushing it, even for her. “Nothing yet. I’ve been opening doors, wandering through rooms, but no clues so far.”
As she was spinning a story, Yu Xiao’s mind wandered to the leftover tomato beef soup hidden in the bedroom. It wasn’t much, but it was much better than nothing.
“Do you… do you have any food?”
They mentioned leftover tomato beef soup in the bedroom. Yu Xiao’s eyes lit up. It might just be leftover soup, but it was a feast compared to her water diet. Without hesitation, she headed straight for the bedroom. Besides, it was her own leftovers, so she had no reason to complain.
To the astonishment of the three onlookers, Yu Xiao proceeded to gulp down the cold tomato beef soup in record time. Slamming the empty pot down with a satisfied sigh, she smacked her lips and turned to find them staring at her with a mix of horror and bewilderment.
The sheer absurdity of the situation made her burst into giggles, which she quickly disguised as an embarrassed cough.
She scratched her head. “I haven’t eaten anything in two days. Just some water.”
Despite the soup break, Yu Xiao’s stomach continued to rumble. She knew that later, Misty would prepare a feast and leave a glorious bowl of egg fried rice for the next day. The key was to fast-forward to that delicious future.
But for now, she had to keep up the act, tell more lies, and go along with the others.
Finally, when the moment to disappear came, she took out a disposable dream card and headed towards the door. Behind her, another version of herself asked, “Shouldn’t you leave a phone number?”
“No need.” Yu Xiao muttered under her breath. She hadn’t even memorised Jiang Nan Qiao’s number yet. “You can’t make calls from here anyway.”
With that, the disposable dream card activated, making her invisible to the trio. They probably assumed she had simply walked out. Taking advantage of the moment, Yu Xiao darted into the wardrobe. She knew they hadn’t bothered to check it before.
Nestled among the clothes, she listened to the conversations outside. Yu Xiao hugged her stomach. Hunger was gnawing at her. If it weren’t for the energy cards keeping her going, she would have probably fainted by now.
Her thoughts wandered to Yu Qing Lang, who should have already left Time Hospital. She had promised a brand-new smartphone to each Second Hospital patient who helped. But could Lu Xu’s inventory keep up with such a promise? The worry added to her already frayed nerves.
Fatigue pulled at her, and soon, the sweet embrace of sleep offered a brief escape. When she finally woke up, a different kind of cold settled in the air, a bone-deep chill that wasn’t the fault of the dusty wardrobe.
Opening one eye, she peered through the darkness. Yup, the wardrobe might have been a temporary refuge, but a new threat loomed outside. Zhang Qi Qi’s frosty aura had seeped in, a sign that she and Ye Tao had arrived.
Yu Xiao peeked through the wardrobe’s crack, her view a jumbled mess of limbs and backsides. She could just make out Zhou Xiao Zhen and herself, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder against the wooden panels. Zhao Lan was partially visible, while Zhang Qi Qi stood beside her like a statue, radiating pure “Yin” energy.
Suddenly, Zhang Qi Qi’s head snapped up. Her eyes, now vacant and hollow, locked onto Yu Xiao through the gap, pinning her with a stare that could curdle milk. Goosebumps erupted all over Yu Xiao’s skin, but she held her ground, returning the eerie gaze with a forced calmness.
Zhang Qi Qi just stared. No blinking, no breathing, just pure, unadulterated creepiness.
A frown creased Yu Xiao’s brow. Zhang Qi Qi… was she truly beyond saving now? She resembled a ghost, a creature that might have even dabbled in the forbidden act of feasting on human flesh.
Yu Xiao’s fingers brushed against a mobile phone—Xiao Long’s phone—nestled in her pocket. This phone was the key to Ye Tao’s escape, a decision Wang Dong Dong had made, willing to offer Ye Tao a chance at life. Xiao Long had amassed a decent number of points, and with luck, Ye Tao wouldn’t need too long to accumulate enough. Yu Xiao harboured a hope that she will be able to leave this accursed place with Xiao Long’s phone.
Finally, the “before” version of herself left the room.
Yu Xiao, practically vibrating with excitement, burst out of the wardrobe. “I’m back, baby!”
As Yu Xiao disappeared into the mirror, Zhao Lan placed a comforting hand on Precious’s shoulder. What she admired most about Yu Xiao was her audacity – the courage to dream and act. Amongst them, Yu Xiao was the firecracker, always ready to explode with life.
But before their little moment of reflection could continue, a door creaked open behind them, followed by a triumphant cry.
“Freedom! Sweet, sweet oxygen! I thought I’d turn blue in there!”
Zhao Lan, Zhou Xiao Zhen, and Ye Tao froze in unison, then simultaneously jumped like startled cats whose tails had been yanked.
“What in the world?!”
Yu Xiao, now back to her usual, beaming self, spread her arms wide. “Surprise! Your girl’s back!”
“Smiley?! Is that you?!”
“Smiley? That’s a ghost, Precious! A shapeshifting fiend!”
Precious whipped out a fistful of talisman and scattered them towards Yu Xiao like a celestial maiden casting flowers.
“Holy moly! There’s been a shapeshifting ghost here the whole time!”
“Misty! The props! Where are the props?!”
“I only have the Key!! It’s for doors! Not ghost-busting!”
Yu Xiao reached out, “Guys, chill –”
Zhou Xiao Zhen, her train of thought as chaotic as ever, tossed the mahjong set. “Mahjong! Let’s play mahjong!”
Before Yu Xiao could get another word in edgewise, another flurry of talismans descended, and she found herself unceremoniously dumped on the floor alongside Zhou Xiao Zhen, Ye Tao, and a very bored looking Zhang Qi Qi.
Zhao Lan, the only one left standing, stared at the scene in bewilderment. “Precious,” she whispered, “The talismans… they’re not doing anything.”
Zhou Xiao Zhen gaped at Yu Xiao, a lone talisman clinging stubbornly to her hair. “Well, slap me sideways and call me Sally,” she breathed, “This ghost’s got game! Talismans don’t even faze her!”
─── ❖ ── ☆ ── ❖ ───
( )………( )
(๑✪ᆺ✪๑)
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