Chapter 27: Passing Grade

Chapter 27: Passing

Xie Yu stayed in the psychiatric hospital for over two months.

During this period, his emotions remained stable, and he no longer engaged in self-harm. Xu Qingshan observed carefully and concluded that Xie Yu didn’t have any major issues, but there was a minor concern.

—He would laugh for no apparent reason, seemingly at nothing.

This laughter was irregular, sometimes in the morning, sometimes in the afternoon, and the duration varied as well—sometimes an hour, sometimes half an hour. The first time Xu Qingshan witnessed it, he almost rushed in to administer a sedative to Xie Yu. However, after observing further, he realized that Xie Yu was simply laughing, and when spoken to, he responded logically and coherently, with no other abnormalities.

To be honest, Young Master Xie was handsome, and his laughter was bright and cheerful. Aside from the slightly eerie fact that he was laughing while staring at a corner, everything else was quite pleasant.

After some consideration, Xu Qingshan wrote in the medical record: "Suspected visual or auditory hallucinations due to a mental disorder, with no other obvious symptoms."

He sighed softly and shared this observation with Shen Ci, who had come to visit.

Shen Ci paused briefly, saying nothing, but Xu Qingshan tapped the table with his pen and hesitated before speaking: "Mr. Shen, you don’t need to worry. We are a professional psychiatric hospital and will provide the best treatment. Another issue is…"

"Would you like to undergo a diagnosis as well?" Xu Qingshan adjusted his glasses and smiled. "I don’t mean to offend, but your OCD appears to be quite severe."

*

In the hospital room, Xie Yu and the system were happily selecting a movie to watch.

"What should we watch today? Another action movie?"

"...Anything else? I’m bored with those."

"Comedy?"

Although the hospital room had a TV, it was an old desktop model with a 22-inch screen, smaller than Xie Yu’s computer. The screen quality was poor, the image was blurry, and the sound was rough. It paled in comparison to the system’s direct brain playback, with a 75-inch screen and lossless audio quality.

They had already watched nine "Fast & Furious" movies and six "Transformers" films. Bored with explosions, they recently decided to switch to comedies.

The system selected "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," and Xie Yu lay in bed, smiling as he watched, occasionally making dry jokes with the system, completely unaware that Xu Qingshan’s assessment of his condition was far from optimistic.

The hospital room was a private VIP suite, thanks to his donation five years ago. The interior had been fully renovated, the mattress replaced, and meals were prepared daily—though he had to receive an injection every day. With the system around, these medications had no effect, and Xie Yu was thoroughly enjoying himself, living a comfortable and leisurely life—almost as if he just needed some popcorn.

Between watching movies, he took some time to discuss scores with the system.

At this point in the story, Xie Yu’s role was nearly complete, with just a bit of wrapping up left. The score was pretty much finalized, and the system went over it with him: "Some parts of the plot are problematic, especially after returning home. You skipped a lot of lines, but the major plot points are all covered. You were pulled out of the party... well, it wasn’t Shen Ci who pulled you, and you didn’t look like a dead dog, but you were still pulled out."

"The finger—you broke it. It wasn’t Shen Ci who broke it, and it was only one finger, not ten, but you still broke it."

"The psychiatric hospital—this part fits the most. You stayed... and there’s the restraint scene, which you didn’t complete." The system tapped its nonexistent fingers. "Let’s see, the total score is 59.75. Just a little bit more."

The restraint belt referred to the scene where Shen Ci visited him, and he lay on the bed restrained, heartbroken and expressionless, symbolizing the tragic end of the villain.

So Xie Yu shamelessly approached Xu Qingshan to request a restraint belt.

As an ethical doctor, Xu Qingshan naturally wouldn’t casually give a patient a restraint belt, as it was uncomfortable. He adjusted his glasses, scrutinized Xie Yu, and frowned, "Your condition is fairly stable. Why do you need a restraint belt?"

Xie Yu thought to himself, of course, it was for that damn 0.25%, but to Xu Qingshan, he simply apologized and said, "I have violent urges when I sleep."

Xu Qingshan’s expression instantly turned serious. He looked at Xie Yu gravely, "Can you describe the feeling in detail?"

Xie Yu: "...Uh."

High school was a distant memory, and Xie Yu’s recollection of bipolar disorder had faded. He relied on the remnants of his memory to explain, "I hallucinate, feeling like there are other people in the room."

Xu Qingshan’s pen paused, drawing a long line in the medical record.

It lined up.

He quietly upped the medication dose.

That night, Xie Yu finally got his hands on the restraints he wanted.

It looked like a seatbelt, four fingers wide, tying down the limbs to limit movement. To prevent the patient from struggling wildly, it was often tied very tightly, affecting blood circulation. After a while, the limbs would become numb and sore, making it pretty uncomfortable.

All for that 0.25%.

*

Shen Ci was swamped with work, and for some reason, he always visited in the dead of night, never showing up when Xie Yu was awake, as if avoiding being noticed.

Xu Qingshan had a rough idea of the awkward relationship between the two and believed that this handsome young man wouldn’t harm his nephew. After letting Shen Ci in, he stayed out of it.

Shen Ci sat down by Xie Yu’s bedside.

He glanced over the four restraints, and he sat quietly for a long time. After a while, he hesitantly reached out and touched the strap marks.

He gently rubbed them.

Xie Yu let out a silent sigh.

Shen Ci thought he arrived late, assuming Xie Yu was already asleep. But Xie Yu now slept all day, with limited physical activity, leaving him wide awake at night. He was either talking to the system or watching movies. Every time Shen Ci came, he was wide awake.

Shen Ci came under the cover of darkness and left just as quietly, staying only for ten or twenty minutes each time, always in a hurry. The Qing Shan Psychiatric Hospital was quite far from the city, taking over half an hour to drive. With each trip, Xie Yu couldn’t help but worry that Shen Ci would get too tired and end up with dark circles.

It’d be a pity for someone so good-looking to get dark circles.

After so many visits, even someone as clueless as Xie Yu started to feel something was off.

Why was Shen Ci doing this?

Five years ago, they had a chance encounter. Although no actual harm was done, Xie Yu admitted his attitude was terrible, and he even spouted some dumb rich kid nonsense. Later, after returning to the country, Shen Ci might not have hated him to the core, but given the plot’s progression, he shouldn’t have been so... caring.

Lying in bed, Xie Yu quietly thought to himself. The system was still playing a movie, a comedy it was enjoying, trying to discuss the plot with Xie Yu. Out of nowhere, a notification popped up in the background.

"60% plot completion achieved."

At this, both the system and Xie Yu paused.

After a short pause, the system breathed a sigh of relief.

Although it was its first time guiding a host, based on the experiences of its predecessors, Xie Yu’s difficulty level was definitely among the top three. He came off as careless and indifferent on the surface, but deep down, he was more stubborn than anyone, refusing to deviate from what he believed in, leading to a messy and disorganized plot.

Fortunately, now that the dust had settled, the task was finally completed.

The system nudged its host, excitedly saying, "Host, it’s a success, you can go home!"

When Xie Yu first made the contract with it, the condition was to achieve 60% completion, and Xie Yu could return to his world.

Xie Yu, however, was slightly stunned and remained silent for a long time.

He took on the system’s task because he’d died out of the blue in his past life. Not long after his mental illness was completely cured, just as he had escaped his father’s shadow, he suddenly died. Feeling unwilling, he agreed to the system’s offer.

But truthfully, he was used to being alone, and there wasn’t really anyone he cared about in his previous life.

Later, when he arrived here and followed the plot, he did so with the mindset of a casual observer, not putting in much effort or care. His relationship with Zhou Yang was a chance encounter, with Xie Yuanshan and He Zhiyuan, it was mutual dislike from the start, with Xie Yuanhai, he was indifferent, and with Shen Ci... it was hard to say.

He had known the predetermined ending from the start, making even the process seem dull. The only thing that could be considered a personal choice was studying more during his time abroad. The school had a rigorous curriculum and high graduation requirements, but he found it fulfilling and enjoyed a university life he had never imagined in his past life.

Other than that, there’s not much worth mentioning.

But now that he’s finally reached the end, he’s feeling a bit lost.

Xie Yu closed his eyes: "If I choose to leave, what will happen here?"

Su Zhu paused for a moment: "Uh..."

It thought for a moment: "In the storyline, 'Xie Yu' isn’t dead yet. After you leave, I’ll create a 'Xie Yu' body and put him in a temporary coma. Of course, there are some scattered plots later, such as Shen Ci visiting 'Xie Yu' in the mental hospital. You can also come back to act then."

The original character is a minor supporting role in the novel, with just a few lines in the ending. He doesn’t need to return often and won’t really affect Xie Yu’s life in his world.

Xie Yu didn’t speak.

The restraints bound his limbs, leaving only his neck free to move. He slightly turned his face and looked at Shen Ci by the window.

Shen Ci had stood up at some point, his back turned as he gazed out the window, lost in thought. The curtains in the ward were not drawn, and a bright moon hung in the sky, casting a lonely light.

If this body stayed in a coma, Shen Ci would likely still visit—maybe every few days, months, or even years—but no matter how often, he’d probably feel sad each time.

Xie Yu let out a soft sigh and said, "Let’s stay for now."

The system didn’t get what he was thinking. After all that effort to reach the goal, he wasn’t ready to leave yet, but it nodded cluelessly: "Okay."

With the plot wrapped up and no system constraints, Xu Qingshan saw Xie Yu improving day by day.

Except for that one night, he never requested restraints again. Though he still stared at the corner, that eerie smile was gone.

...Turns out, they’d finished the good comedies, so the system and Xie Yu switched to dramas.

Shen Ci still dropped by occasionally, Xie Yu took his meds and watched movies as usual—everything was calm. Then, out of the blue, Xie Yuanhai—who hadn’t contacted Xie Yu in ages—called to invite him to the Xie family banquet. Shareholders and Jiangcheng’s elite would be there, and they’d discuss transferring equity.

The call came as a surprise. When Xie Yuanhai’s deep voice came through, Xie Yu thought he’d dialed the wrong number. He covered the phone and asked the system, "When did this become part of the plot?"

The system shrugged: "The plot’s done, so anything’s fair game now."

They figured that in the original plot, by this point, Shen Ci had taken control of Xie Yu’s contact info. The original character had inherited some of his father’s equity, which should’ve secured him a spot at the shareholders’ meeting. Though Xie Yuanhai had quickly maneuvered the equity away, Xie Yu’s plot had been rushed, so this part hadn’t played out yet. Inviting him now and pressuring him to sign a transfer contract made sense.

The system: "Host, are you going?"

Xie Yu: "Let’s go, I have nothing else to do."

The equity could be cashed in for a hefty sum. Whether it went toward upgrading Xu Qingshan’s hospital or straight to charity, it was better than the Xie family’s stock tanking after Xie Yuanhai’s mess and becoming worthless.

His condition was stable now, and he could’ve left, but Xu Qingshan wanted him to stay a few more days for observation, so he hadn’t checked out yet.

On the day of the banquet, he borrowed Xu Qingshan’s beat-up Santana, dug around, and found the suit at the bottom of the box—wrinkled from neglect. So he threw on some casual clothes and drove over.

The banquet was held in a high-end hotel, and the parking lot was full of luxury cars—Bentleys, Mercedes, Maseratis. Xie Yu hit the brakes, and the Santana lurched into the sea of luxury cars, coming to a clunky halt. He was calm as ever, but the security guard was freaking out.

—"Damn, bold and skilled, if it gets scratched, wouldn’t it cost a fortune?"

Xie Yu had completed his task and could leave at any time, so he didn’t care about this. He pulled out the key and went upstairs, completely ignoring the strange looks from the security guard, and asked, "Going to W Hotel, where is the elevator?"

He followed the directions to the banquet hall entrance and saw the greeter from afar. Xie Yi, Xie Yuanhai’s son, was at the door welcoming guests. He was wearing a custom-made suit, with a Swiss luxury watch on his wrist, looking radiant—now that Xie Yuanhai had taken over the company, he was the first heir, riding high.

The original character wasn’t close to this cousin, and Xie Yu didn’t even recognize him. He was purely here to get the money and have a meal, with no interest in who took over the company. He nodded in greeting and walked inside.

Xie Yi was stunned for a moment and blurted out, "You’re dressed like this?"

The venue was filled with notable figures from Jiangcheng, with ladies uniformly in high heels and evening gowns, and men in shirts, ties, and tailcoats. Xie Yu, however, shuffled in wearing sneakers, his entire outfit not exceeding three hundred yuan.

Xie Yu waved his hand dismissively, "Times are tough, not like back in the day."

Xie Yi looked at him with a puzzled look.

He knew his cousin Xie Yu was hot-tempered and hated being outshone. Now, looking so shabby, it was almost embarrassing, yet he showed no reaction?

Someone nudged him, "What are you looking at?"

Xie Yi retracted his gaze, "My cousin, a bit odd."

That person picked up a glass of wine, "Want me to check him out for you?"

Xie Yu strolled in and grabbed a seat at the edge. Everyone was mingling, and no one noticed him. The equity announcement was set for the end of the banquet, so he had to wait.

As he sipped champagne, Xie Yu asked the system, "Will Shen Ci show up?"

Strangely enough, they’d been sharing a room off and on, but they hadn’t actually met in a while. Xie Yu would take his meds and pretend to sleep, while Shen Ci would sit in silence and leave without a word. So, if Xie Yu wanted to talk to him, he had to find occasions like this banquet.

The system replied, "With the big equity changes, there’s an 87% chance he’ll come."

It curiously asked, "If you see him, what will you say? Goodbye?"

Xie Yu’s hand hesitated as he swirled his glass, then he gave a vague smile, "Maybe."

But just the thought of that ending made his heart clench and ache with an indescribable pain.

Author's note:

Xu Qingshan: His condition’s getting worse!

Xie Yu & System: Watching movies and cracking up.