Chapter 125: Fall in Love, and the Whole World Becomes My Rival in Love (25)
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The sky had cleared, and Bai Yao’s vacation was just around the corner.
She had only just finished work. Standing in the corridor, she gazed at the sunlight beyond the window and guessed that, as long as it did not rain again, the road down the mountain should be clear.
Someone had been watching her for quite some time.
Bai Yao looked over and offered a professional smile. “Miss Hao, is there something you need?”
Hao Meili looked utterly worn out. Ever since the old man had jumped from the building, she had scarcely slept. Whenever she closed her eyes, all she could see was the old man’s gruesome death.
She knew about the legend and was convinced that she had been cursed. In three days, she would die—unless she killed someone within those three days. But she did not have the nerve to murder anyone.
By all rights, Bai Yao had been cursed as well, so something should have happened to her by now. Yet she was still standing there, perfectly fine.
Could it be…
Hao Meili glanced around. Seeing that no one else was nearby, she stepped closer and asked in a low voice, “Did you kill someone?”
Surprise flashed in Bai Yao’s eyes. “No.”
Hao Meili thought it over carefully. There had been no news of anyone dying recently, so Bai Yao clearly could not have killed anyone. That only made the mystery more incomprehensible.
“How did you break the curse, then?” Hao Meili asked.
“What curse?”
“You know—the one. You witnessed the previous cursed person die. If you didn’t kill someone, you were supposed to die within three days too. But you’re standing here perfectly well, without a scratch on you.”
Bai Yao sighed. “Miss Hao, we live in an age that believes in science. Curses are nothing but superstition.”
“But… but…” Still shaken, Hao Meili said, “You saw it with your own eyes. That patient smiled as he killed himself right in front of you.”
“You said it yourself—he was a patient. You must know that most of the patients in our hospital have mental disorders. A mentally ill patient doing something irrational is hardly unusual.”
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Hao Meili found herself unable to refute that. Then she remembered the old man who had come to the hospital with her. “But the old man with the cane wasn’t a patient. Yet he still jumped from the building in such a bizarre way.”
Bai Yao lowered her voice and said mysteriously, “Actually, I’ve always suspected that old man was a cultist.”
Hao Meili shuddered. “A cultist?”
“Yes.” Bai Yao spoke with great seriousness. “A colleague once told me that Lanshan used to be a gathering place for cult organizations. They believed in all sorts of strange things. For instance, by worshiping an evil deity, they believed they could attain immortality. Not long ago, I discovered that the old man had been wandering all over our hospital, searching for some so-called method of eternal life.”
Hao Meili covered her mouth in astonishment. “That really happened?”
Bai Yao nodded. “People who devote themselves to cults often become deranged because of their so-called faith. Haven’t there been reports of such things before? Someone poisoned their entire family, or set themselves on fire, simply because they believed that after death they would ascend to heaven and become divine beings.”
Bai Yao stroked her chin, wisdom gleaming in her eyes. “So I suspect that the old man died that way because he had been brainwashed by a cult as well. He believed that doing so would grant him eternal life.”
Only then did Hao Meili realize that there might be such an explanation behind everything. Her thoughts were in turmoil, and for a moment she no longer knew whether to believe in the curse.
Just then, a man’s voice rang out. “Nurse Bai’s reasoning isn’t without merit. Things like that really have happened over the years.”
Hao Meili raised her head and saw a young man.
Zhou An must have been listening for some time. Unable to restrain himself, he said, “Three years ago, I reported on a case in which a woman poisoned the food and killed her husband and child because she believed it would allow the whole family to ascend to heaven and gain eternal life.”
Zhou An took out his phone, tapped the screen several times, and showed it to Bai Yao and Hao Meili. “I looked into it. The old man who died used to stay at Lanshan Hospital. Back then, the authorities were investigating a cult, but a fire suddenly broke out and destroyed all the old records. The old man was here at the time.”
On Zhou An’s phone was an old photograph. Two rows of doctors in white coats stood in the picture. The male doctor at the far left of the back row was the old man in his youth.
“I suspect that he had something to do with that fire,” Zhou An said.
Hao Meili was astonished. “So he used to be a doctor here?”
Zhou An nodded. “After leaving the hospital, he went into business. Two years ago, he was diagnosed with a terminal illness. I imagine he came back this time because, just as Nurse Bai said, he was desperate to find a way to achieve immortality.”
Everything finally made sense.
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Hao Meili let out a sigh of relief. “What a relief. I thought there really was a demonic curse. Turns out it was just a bunch of sick people going mad here.”
“Look at me,” Bai Yao said. “I’m still alive and well. Demonic curses don’t exist. They’re nothing more than rumors that frighten people.”
Hao Meili suddenly felt completely unburdened. The shadow of death that had loomed over her vanished without a trace, and she felt certain she would sleep soundly that night.
Zhou An’s professional instincts took over again. As he typed into the notes app on his phone, he muttered, “I have to report this. We need to dispel feudal superstition. Even the eldest daughter of the Hao family was caught up in it and firmly believed in the curse. Clearly, there’s still a long way to go before we can eradicate superstition…”
Hao Meili shot him a fierce glare. “Don’t you dare write me into it!”
Zhou An had hardly ever interacted with women. When Hao Meili shouted at him, he trembled, but managed to say calmly, “I’m merely reporting the facts.”
“If you dare include me,” Hao Meili warned, “your newspaper can look forward to going bankrupt!”
Zhou An fell silent.
He had forgotten that she was an extravagantly spoiled heiress with terrifying wealth.
Beyond the corridor window, a white-haired youth crouched in the shadows of the bushes, staring fixedly at the girl in the white uniform inside.
No matter which angle he looked from, his Yao Yao was beautiful.
Fu Huai cupped his face in his hands and could not help giggling. He looked exactly like a perverted stalker.
Huo Mingyuan had once again lost sight of Huo Ruanruan. While searching for her, he unexpectedly spotted the back of the young man. That clean, beautiful white hair reminded him of the strikingly handsome youth he had seen while getting off the bus earlier.
He suddenly remembered that the young man had clearly arrived with them at the time. Yet during the period that followed, he had vanished as though he had never existed.
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