Chapter 52 I Told You My Mental Illness Suddenly Got Better…

Chapter 52: I Knew There Was a Reason My Mental Illness Suddenly Improved...

Lin Jianyuan stumbled forward, disoriented.

Pei Shuo hurried after him: "Brother!"

Lin Jianyuan said: "I have something I need to take care of."

His lips were pale, and his complexion looked terrible.

Pei Shuo grabbed his arm tightly, not daring to let go, and said urgently: "Brother, what happened? Calm down, don't panic!"

Others around, seeing this, quickly gathered, expressing concern: "Yeah, Lin Jianyuan, don't rush. Tell us what happened, maybe we can help."

Lin Jianyuan’s lips twitched, then he pressed them together tightly, his mouth forming a stiff, straight line.

He said: "It’s my own personal matter. I need to go home for a while."

Everyone exchanged glances.

In fact, after hearing that phone call, everyone had pretty much guessed what was going on.

But no one knew what to do.

The situation everyone had most worried about had finally happened.

Lin Jianyuan made to leave again, but Pei Shuo held onto his arm tightly, physically blocking him.

Lin Jianyuan frowned and said: "What are you doing? Why are you stopping me?"

Pei Shuo opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say, only not daring to let go.

Qin Shi and Su Zhiwei also stepped forward.

Qin Shi said: "Lin Jianyuan, you look really pale right now. How can we feel at ease letting you go back alone?"

Su Zhiwei added: "Right. If you’re going back, let Xiao Shuo accompany you. I’ll help you ask Jiang Chen for leave."

Everyone exchanged glances, feeling that under the circumstances, this was the only option.

But Lin Jianyuan said: "I’m fine."

Pei Shuo: "Brother..."

Lin Jianyuan peeled his fingers off one by one and said calmly: "I’m fine, I’m just going home to check. If there’s any problem, I’ll go straight to... to the hospital."

Everyone fell silent.

The blow Lin Jianyuan had taken was far greater than they had imagined.

The calmer Lin Jianyuan appeared at this moment, the more worried everyone became.

Pei Shuo wanted to say something more, but Lin Jianyuan suddenly lost his patience and roared: "Let go of me! I just want to go home and take a look! What right do you have to stop me? Why won’t you let me go home?!"

This sudden shout made Pei Shuo jump.

Everyone quickly stepped forward, exchanged uncertain glances, and could only humor Lin Jianyuan.

"Alright, alright, then go back alone. Be careful on your way."

"Right, right, if anything happens, call us immediately. We've got your back."

"Bro Yuan, I still..." Pei Shuo tried to step forward again but was pulled back by Qin Shi.

Pei Shuo looked back in confusion and saw Qin Shi subtly shake her head, giving him a warning look.

Pei Shuo pursed his lips and had no choice but to give up.

"Thanks for your concern," Lin Jianyuan said softly. "I just... I really just want to go home and take a look. It’s probably nothing serious. If everything’s fine, I’ll be right back. Yeah. I’ll come back as soon as I check."

His words sounded as if he was trying to reassure himself.

"Lin Jianyuan, I believe you can get past this," Qin Shi suddenly said from behind him.

Lin Jianyuan paused.

Unconsciously, his mouth twisted into a self-mocking smile.

"Yeah."

He responded without looking back and exited the company’s main entrance.

The weather was still hot. At 10 a.m., the temperature was steadily rising.

Lin Jianyuan walked toward the subway station under the scorching sun, his fingers shaking slightly with sweat.

His sweaty fingerprints couldn’t unlock his phone.

He switched to entering the password.

The phone unlocked successfully.

But Lin Jianyuan’s fingers hovered in the air, not daring to call his roommate.

Lin Jianyuan arrived at the subway station. Cool breezes blew from the subway entrance, providing some relief to his overheated mind.

He stood at the subway entrance, threw his head back, and took a deep breath.

Then another deep breath.

He felt like someone standing on the edge of a cliff, about to push a large rock into the abyss.

At the bottom of the abyss lay himself.

"Lin Jianyuan?" Squeeze Toy said curiously. "What’s wrong with you?"

Little Stone was also worried: "Are you feeling unwell?"

Angel Eyeball: "The landlord wants to raise his rent. That must've upset Lin Jianyuan."

Maw of the Abyss: "Really that bad? How much is the increase to make him this angry?"

Lin Jianyuan ignored these voices.

With trembling fingers, he called his roommate via WeChat Voice.

The screen changed, displaying the WeChat voice call waiting interface.

Lin Jianyuan had never felt time move so slowly before.

He walked into the subway station while instinctively reaching into his pocket to feel for his squeeze toy.

His fingers touched the familiar texture—soft and pliable.

The call connected.

"Hello?"

His roommate's gentle voice came through the phone,

"What's up?"

A low rumble—

The subway pulled into the station.

Like a sledgehammer, it shattered his thoughts in an instant.

It felt as if a skylight had been cut open in the top of his head. Lin Jianyuan suddenly felt like he could breathe again.

He stood at the edge of the subway platform, slowly adjusting his breathing.

Then he murmured.

"Wife."

"Mm. I heard you. It's so noisy on your end." The roommate on the other end of the phone, with a slightly rising tone, carried a familiar amusement in his voice. "Why are you calling me all of a sudden? Did you miss me?"

Lin Jianyuan's throat worked.

"I missed you. Wife."

Lin Jianyuan's eyes burned, and he murmured hoarsely, "I missed you so much, wife."

"But you only left for work two hours ago?" His roommate laughed, amused. "How could you miss me already? Is work already making time drag like years?"

Lin Jianyuan said, "I'm coming home now."

His roommate didn't ask why he was leaving work to come home, only saying, "Okay."

His tone was bright.

As if his roommate was also looking forward to him coming home.

Lin Jianyuan hung up the call.

He swiped at his eyes roughly before stepping into the subway.

Skip—

At home.

Evil Domain looked at the man in front of him.

No. This wasn't a man.

This was no man at all.

"【Delirium】," Evil Domain said coldly. "This is my territory."

The man in front of him had pale skin and a distant gaze. His clothes were soaked, his hair stuck to his forehead, still dripping water.

He carried a strong, dizzying scent of floral water.

This was a special-administration Sobering Potion from the Bureau, designed to prevent sanity deterioration.

All heretics despised this potion.

But Lin Jianyuan liked it.

Facing Evil Domain's sharp questioning, Delirium said nothing.

He just stood dazedly at the doorway, next to the shoe cabinet, like a guest waiting for his host to bring him slippers.

"Don't force my hand," Evil Domain snarled. "Get out."

His icy tone already carried a clear threat.

Yet Delirium remained unmoved.

His gaze was empty and unfocused, his two eyeballs like decorations, unable to see anything.

Even so, he was still "looking."

He was "looking" at this house.

From the entryway to the living room, to the bathroom and kitchen.

Like a hovering spherical lamp, he randomly cast his gaze around, drifting unsteadily, but never focusing.

Until his gaze fell on Lin Jianyuan's bedroom and lingered on the partially open door.

"If you want to die, go die somewhere else!"

Evil Domain snarled in fury.

The next second, a wave of flesh-red surged.

Countless intestines like tentacles rushed toward Delirium, wrapping around his limbs, neck, and torso, wrapping him like a cocoon.

Then, with a toss—

—Wait!

Forgot to open the window!

This was his own home—he couldn't break it!!!

Trash-tossing halted.

Evil Domain carefully made his steel-hard limbs pliable again to avoid accidentally crushing the window frame.

With a sharp crack, he opened the window.

Only then did he throw the pale figure out.

—Skip.

Because the travel sequence had been skipped, when Lin Jianyuan emerged from the subway station, he felt his emotions hadn't barely settled.

He couldn't help but feel anxious, and as he got closer to home, it only intensified.

Even though he had made that call, what if that call was also fake?

What if the call log was just another hallucination his brain had filled in automatically?

What if he got home and found that his wife didn’t actually exist?

Hospitalization. What would that accomplish? Could hospitalization bring his wife back?

Could hospitalization make his wife real?!

…He should have been wary of this long ago.

Because his wife was far too unusual.

Although he had seen so many hallucinations since falling ill, only his wife appeared as a monster, and she remained a monster the entire time.

Unlike the vines growing in his eyes or the talking squeeze toy, he knew full well that those were hallucinations.

Only with his wife—from beginning to end, he believed she was human.

…He should have realized something was off long ago… It was clearly wrong from the very start…

For example, his wife never talked about school, never mentioned where he went to school or what his major was.

For example, it was like his wife’s life centered completely around him, as if nothing else existed. His wife never shared anything about his own life with him.

And the most important point—

The rent for this old dump was such a rip-off. His wife clearly was broke, so why would she choose such an expensive apartment?

He had once thought it was because of him.

Lin Jianyuan had conceitedly assumed that his wife was willing to shell out extra cash to move in because of him.

But clearly, nothing added up!

It was all just Lin Jianyuan’s self-delusion.

Every unreasonable detail was rationalized away by the powerful excuse: "I’m crazy."

It was his own desperate longing for companionship.

A longing for someone to comfort him.

A longing to slave away every day and come home to someone who would keep a light on for him and say, "You’re back."

A longing for a refuge.

A longing for a warm home.

He had no idea how deep his longing for a home was until now.

After all, he had wanted it so badly that he started seeing things.

Lin Jianyuan’s eyes grew red as he picked up his pace toward the old neighborhood.

The little hallucinations in his pocket began babbling again with phantom chatter.

"Lin Jianyuan, what’s wrong with you? You don’t look right."

"Lin Jianyuan, if something’s bothering you, can’t you tell us first? If you go home like this, the one waiting for you is going to have our heads!"

"Exactly! Wait, are you gonna cry? Don’t cry! What’s wrong with you? Talk to us!"

"Lin Jianyuan? Hey, you, can you hear us? Lin Jianyuan!"

"Lin Jianyuan!!!"

Thud!

Something heavy hit the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Lin Jianyuan jumped and reflexively took a step back.

His dissociated soul suddenly jolted back into place at that moment.

When the dust cleared.

Lin Jianyuan saw a man sitting there in a daze on the ground.

It was a man with deathly pale skin, his shirt and trousers completely soaked, his wet hair clinging to his forehead.

He looked as if he had just been pulled from a river, dripping wet and still dripping water.

Yet, the moment he saw Lin Jianyuan, he struggled to his feet from the ground.

His trembling eyes gradually steadied.

His distant, unfocused look regained its clarity.

The pale man stared fixedly at him.

His gaze enveloped Lin Jianyuan like a slick silk ribbon.

The man swayed as he rose from the ground, his lips slightly parting.

A flash of joy crossed his pale, bewildered face.

Lin Jianyuan froze.

In that moment of stunned silence, the man had already gotten up and stumbled toward him.

His pale, handsome features showed an expression of bliss.

The man’s lips parted, his Adam’s apple bobbing.

As if lost in the throes of ecstasy.

The man gazed at him dazedly and let out a hoarse, breathy sound:

"Ah…"

Lin Jianyuan: "?"

What’s wrong with this guy? He’s acting so strange.

Wait, who is this man?

He was pale, tall, and really thin.

And he appeared in our neighborhood at this exact time...

Could he be...

Is he...

—Did the shock actually cure my mental illness, allowing me to see my wife’s true appearance?!

Lin Jianyuan’s breathing quickened, his eyes widening.

His heart racing, he stepped forward, about to ask the man in front of him if he was his wife.

But out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a pink shadow.

"..."

The digestive organs floated silently in mid-air.

It made eye contact with Lin Jianyuan the moment he turned his head.

Lin Jianyuan: "?"

"Lin Jianyuan." The Digestive System’s tone was unusually deep; the anger in its voice felt unfamiliar to Lin Jianyuan.

Almost grinding its teeth, the Digestive System spoke word by word, "Lin Jianyuan, you’re not going home after work, what are you doing?!"

Wifey!

It’s wifey!

It’s his wifey!!!

So wifey is here after all!

Then everything's fine!

That weird man isn’t his wife!

He knew it—how could his mental illness suddenly be cured, making him see his wife as not his wife?

Apparently it wasn’t cured after all—he just mistook someone else, haha!

Ugh! Look at this mess!

It’s all because of his mental illness!!!

"Wifey!" Lin Jianyuan excitedly leaped, wrapping his arms tightly around his wife. "How did you know I was back? And you even came down to pick me up! It’s scorching hot outside—let’s hurry home!"

Digestive System: "?"

Digestive System: "."

The furious flesh-pink shadow vanished in an instant.

The pink offal was squeezed tightly by the human.

The pancreas, gallbladder, and intestines, which had been swollen with anger, all now softened at once.

Evil Domain hugged the human back.

His human.

His tone became gentle again.

It lifted a section of intestine to wipe his human's sweat and said, "Is it very hot out? Then should we go out for lunch? The air conditioner isn’t on at home yet."

"Sure, baby, what do you want to eat?" Lin Jianyuan’s lips curved into a smile, his eyes sparkling with joy.

Completely unaware that the bulky human-shaped trash behind him had once again been trussed up with intestines.

And thrown right out 500 miles away on the spot.