Chapter 596 - Wu Cheng

Everyone in the circle jumped out of their seats and ran away from Li Huowang. No, it wasn't just them; even the patients in the other circles ran away from Li Huowang upon hearing the young woman's remark.

The atmosphere became tense, and the patients started panicking upon recognizing Li Huowang.

When Li Huowang thought the situation would spiral out of control, Wu Cheng stood up and shouted, “Everyone, calm down! It is true that Li Huowang had made many mistakes, but it was his illness' fault!”

Wu Cheng then walked up to Li Huowang and patted the latter's shoulder. "But his illness is finally under control, and he's also going to be discharged soon! You've seen the news, haven't you? Even a lunatic at his level can be treated, so what are you afraid of? Can your illness even hold a candle to his illness?"

“Everyone, you must keep looking forward. I guarantee that as long as you follow our treatment regime and take your medicine on time, you'll recover just like him! You will be able to rejoin society!”

Wu Cheng's speech was effective, as the patients calmed down and sat back down. Li Huowang had to admit that Wu Cheng had a glib tongue.

“Would you like to say a few encouraging words to them, Li Huowang? You are their model patient, after all."

Li Huowang shook his head without saying anything. He had no intention of doing something that would make him stand out here.

The confession session continued, and nothing happened except for the patients stealing glances at Li Huowang.

Li Huowang scratched his nose, realizing that he had stood out. It seemed that he would have to live like how he lived in the White Prison Tower.

However, Li Huowang didn't really mind living that way as long as he'd get discharged.

“Come here. Since you don’t know anyone here just yet, you will be assigned to this group. From now on, the members of the group must help each other out. All right, go ahead and introduce yourselves,” Wu Cheng said. He wanted the patients to work together.

“My name is Zhang Shuier; it's nice to meet you,” said the woman with anxiety.

Seeing that no one was saying anything, the man with manic syndrome said, “Wei Shili.”

Li Huowang finally learned the names of his group members. The young woman suffering from depression was Zhao Ting, while the one with schizophrenia was Wang Wangshu.

Under Wu Cheng's guidance and Li Huowang's astonished gaze, the autistic boy wrote his name on Wu Cheng's phone, who promptly showed it to everyone—Zhang Jinzhong.

“Doctor Wu, can this hospital even treat those with autism?”

Wu Cheng put the phone away and said, “This isn't treatment. I’m simply assisting him in expressing himself. People like Jinzhong suffer from disorganized thoughts and fragmented perception. In their eyes, the previous second could be the present, but the next second could be an hour later. This doesn’t mean that they don’t want to interact with others at all. They simply needed assistance to do so, and they'd be able to express themselves with the right tools."

“Is that so?” Li Huowang nodded and stared deeply at the autistic boy. He had to admit that they had it worse than him. Li Huowang’s illness was curable, but the boy had to live a life with disorganized thoughts and fragmented perception.

Under Wu Cheng’s guidance, the patients started talking about their illnesses and opening their hearts up to others. They even played some games to break the ice, and the games made Li Huowang feel embarrassed, as he thought that they were too old to play such games.

It was an old trick, but it was working. Once they were done playing, the others could finally talk casually to Li Huowang, even though they were secretly afraid of him.

An entire morning passed just like that, and soon, it was time for lunch.

Li Huowang’s condition was stable, so he could go to the canteen by himself to eat. He no longer needed people to send his meals to him.

Li Huowang had just stood up when Zhao Ting walked up to Li Huowang. She was crying as she said, “I’m really sorry... I shouldn’t have shouted at you. Now, everyone knows of your true identity, and it's all my fault. I really am so useless...”

Seeing how Zhao Ting was clenching her fists with so much strength that her nails were digging into her own flesh, Li Huowang knew that Zhao Ting's condition was serious.

People suffering from depression had a tendency to amplify their own guilt, even if the issue was trivial at most. At this rate, Zhao Ting's condition was only going to get worse.

“You're doing fine. No need to say sorry. You did the right thing by letting the others know about me so that they'll know how dangerous I am. Your shouting warned the others, so you did great. And you don't have to feel guilty at all, as you simply did the right thing, and you owe the others nothing!"

“Is that so?” Zhao Ting asked, her face softening a bit.

“Yes, so don’t think about it and eat your lunch. Take your medicine once you're done eating, and then take a nap. I think your medicine is wearing off right now.”

Li Huowang expended quite a bit of effort before he managed to send Zhao Ting away. When he turned around to leave, he saw Wu Cheng smiling at him, saying, “Not bad. Do you spend a lot of time with patients like her?”

“Sort of. Patients like her are easy pickings for bullies, so I help them from time to time,” Li Huowang said, following the other patients to the canteen.

“Bullies? What kind of hospital would allow the existence of bullies? Do they not have surveillance cameras? What hospital is so backward that they don't have surveillance cameras?”

“The bullying isn't that serious. It’s something minor like taking a bite of the patient’s meal, stealing a bag of snacks from them, and so on. They aren't serious enough to warrant the attention of the doctors. Even though everyone here is suffering from a mental illness, they can still be sorted into good apples and bad apples. I think some of them think that taking a bite of someone else's meal without being punished for it means that they're winning in life. They'll bully those with depression because those with depression often don't fight back. Ask them to bully those with manic syndrome or those suffering from schizophrenia; I guarantee you that they'd run with their tails tucked.”

Wu Cheng nodded and jotted down something in his notebook. “Thanks. Even us doctors can’t understand every single detail about our patients. I will let my superior know your thoughts.”

Wu Cheng and Li Huowang chit-chatted until they reached the canteen.

Li Huowang carried his metal tray with him to a seat. He picked up a tofu fried in scallion oil and was about to eat it when Wu Cheng's voice echoed from behind him.

"Once you're done eating, stay in your room and don’t go anywhere. Your treatment is scheduled for this afternoon.”

Treatment? I’m already cured, so what is that treatment for?

Li Huowang thought, looking confused.

Yi Donglai had told him that he only had to stay here for some time, and he'd eventually be discharged.

Why do I need more treatment when I'm already cured?