Chapter 32: Worries

　　I heard the wail of ambulance sirens blaring from the TV.

　　Instinctively, I turned to look at the screen and realized it was the same hospital where I had visited Zhu Zhongcheng earlier today. Fire trucks were lined up behind the reporter, and firefighters were frantically working in the background.

　　In the distance, the hospital building was engulfed in flames, with the fire raging from the second floor all the way up to the fourth! My heart skipped a beat—could Zhu Zhongcheng have used the chaos to escape?

　　But then I thought, no, that’s not possible. He’s locked up on the top floor… unless… someone let him out?

　　Could someone be trying to rescue Zhu Zhongcheng? Suddenly, Professor Li’s smiling face flashed in my mind. He’s been studying Zhu Zhongcheng’s hallucinogen—could he be planning to spring him? It’s not out of the question.

　　While I was lost in thought, I felt a tug on my sleeve. “What’s wrong, Xia Ning?” Yumeng’s voice snapped me back to reality.

　　I quickly gathered myself and said, “The news is about the psychiatric hospital in H City.”

　　My words immediately drew everyone’s attention to the TV.

　　“Isn’t that the place where that lunatic is locked up?” Yumeng’s mom said.

　　“Hey, turn up the volume,” she urged Yumeng’s dad.

　　Yumeng’s dad obliged, turning up the sound.

　　“We can see the flames have already reached the fourth floor, and the fire is still spreading. Even worse, several psychiatric patients have escaped in the chaos,” the female reporter narrated, pointing to a distant figure in a hospital gown running away.

　　“Let’s hope the police can round them up before anyone gets hurt. H City People’s Television will keep you updated,” she concluded, as the camera cut to a chaotic scene on the ground.

　　On the screen, a firefighter was urgently shouting, “Move, move, move!”

　　“What a mess! The crazies are running wild!” Yumeng’s mom exclaimed.

　　“Do you think… that haunted house owner might’ve escaped too, with all this chaos?” Yumeng’s dad speculated, his eyes glued to the TV.

　　My heart started racing. If he really did get out, that would be a huge problem.

　　“I don’t think so… There should be staff specifically assigned to keep an eye on patients with a criminal past, so it shouldn’t be an issue,” Yumeng’s mom responded, trying to reassure us.

　　Her words made sense, and even though I was still uneasy, it wasn’t like I could just jump in a cab and go check on him. I figured I’d better call Wei Junliang tomorrow and find out.

　　A few minutes later, the news switched back to the studio. After a flurry of commentary, they moved on to another story.

　　With the change in topic, our interest faded, and after chatting a bit more, I quickly finished my meal.

　　Once I was done eating, I stayed put. It wouldn’t feel right to visit someone’s home and not help out, you know? I watched TV while waiting for everyone else to finish, and once they did, we all carried the dishes to the kitchen.

　　Yumeng’s mom couldn’t stop complimenting me for being so considerate.

　　Suddenly, something clicked in my mind. I pulled Yumeng into a room and shut the door behind us. Seeing me act all secretive, she teased, “What’s up? What’s up? You’re not getting all worked up, are you?” She smirked, clearly enjoying the joke.

　　Her cheeky comment threw me off—I didn’t expect such a goody-two-shoes to have this kind of humor…

　　I couldn’t help but burst out laughing, and whatever I was going to say completely slipped my mind.

　　I playfully raised my hands, pretending to grab at her chest, and laughed, “Come on, come on, I’m desperate, let me cop a feel.”

　　Amidst her shrieks, we both cracked up, getting caught up in the moment. We were goofing around until my head collided with the headboard with a loud thud, finally making us stop. My hair was a mess, and who knows where my hair tie had gone.

　　I held the back of my head, the pain nearly bringing tears to my eyes.

　　“Are you okay, Xia Ning?” she asked, worry written all over her face as she helped me up and checked my head.

　　“I’m fine, really, just need to rub it out,” I said through gritted teeth, trying to smile as I rubbed my head.

　　“I’m so sorry, Xia Ning, I didn’t mean for that to happen…” Yumeng said, her voice full of guilt.

　　“It’s alright, Yumeng. I’m not mad at you,” I reassured her, continuing to rub my head, which was already starting to feel better.Seeing that I was okay, she started laughing too.

　　“By the way, Yumeng, why were you crying when you called me yesterday?” I asked, still rubbing the back of my head.

　　As soon as I brought it up, Yumeng’s smile slowly faded, and she lowered her head.

　　“What’s wrong, Yumeng?” I asked, concerned, scooting closer to her.

　　“Xia Ning… I’ve been having nightmares every night. I keep dreaming I’m still in that place, surrounded by ghosts. No matter how hard I look, I can’t find you. I’m terrified, Xia Ning!” As she spoke, her eyes welled up with tears.

　　I gently pulled her into my arms, whispering, “Don’t worry, we’re out of there now, aren’t we?”

　　She rested her head on my shoulder, quietly sobbing. I could feel her tears soaking through my shirt.

　　“It's okay. We’ll never go back there again. It was just a nightmare,” I reassured her, gently patting her back.

　　She nodded against my shoulder, still trembling a little.

　　Around nine o’clock, Yumeng found some of her pajamas for me to wear. Since I’m much taller than her, they ended up looking a bit small on me.

　　She looked me up and down, shook her head, and then went back to the closet to pull out a pink nightgown for me.

　　After I put it on, she couldn’t stop complimenting how good it looked on me, even though it was a bit short.

　　As she got into bed, I was about to turn off the lights, but she stopped me. “Hey… Xia Ning, don’t turn off the lights!”

　　It seemed like she was really scared of the dark now. That’s fine, I thought. I got into bed beside her, staring up at the white ceiling. I’m not used to sleeping with the lights on, but I could adjust for Yumeng’s sake.

　　“Xia Ning… maybe you should just turn off the lights,” Yumeng said, looking at me.

　　“Go to sleep, I’m not that tired yet.”

　　“Oh, okay. Goodnight, Xia Ning…”

　　About ten minutes later, I heard Yumeng’s steady breathing beside me. The poor thing had finally fallen asleep.

　　I closed my eyes, thinking I’d drift off soon too. But after a while, I opened them again to check my phone. It was already ten o’clock.

　　I sighed, closed my eyes, and tried to force myself to sleep. Suddenly, Yumeng called out, “Xia Ning…”

　　I nearly jumped out of my skin. I turned to see her wide awake, staring at me with a blank, eerie expression.

　　“Yumeng, you’re awake?”

　　Before I could say more, Yumeng suddenly sat up and silently got out of bed, heading out of the room. I figured she was going to the bathroom.

　　I waited on the bed for a while, but she didn’t come back. I started to get worried. What’s taking her so long? Could she have fallen asleep in the bathroom?

　　I decided to check on her, so I got out of bed and slipped on my slippers.

　　Creak…

　　I opened the door and looked toward the bathroom. The house was pitch dark, no lights on, which struck me as strange. Why didn’t she turn on the light?

　　Not wanting to disturb Yumeng’s parents, I grabbed my phone, turned on the flashlight, and quietly made my way to the bathroom.

　　The bathroom door was ajar, and I heard some strange rustling sounds coming from inside.

　　“Yumeng?” I called out softly.

　　No answer. I took a few more steps, and when I reached the bathroom door, I heard her mother’s voice from inside: “Yumeng… be gentle, it hurts…”

　　I peeked inside with my phone’s flashlight, and the sight made my blood run cold.

　　Yumeng’s mom was lying on the bathroom floor, blood pooling beneath her, while Yumeng crouched in front of her, slowly peeling the skin off her mother’s body with a knife!!!

　　The bathroom echoed with her mother’s agonized moans!