This World Has Gone Crazy

Qi Le happily went to visit the Taoist priest. As usual, the man sat with a calm face, but when he saw Qi Le coming in, he froze. “Can I help you?”

“It’s no big deal…” Qi Le looked at him. “Can you help me get a sleeping pill?”

The Taoist priest thought for a moment and offered, “I’ll make you a Taoist talisman so that you can sleep soundly. It’s only 10 yuan. do you want it?”

“…” Qi Le said, “Don't try to deceive me at this sort of time, thank you! Where are your juniors? Ask them to get you a sleeping pill before evening, and I’ll give you 10 yuan, ok?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to help,” said the Taoist priest. “They went to complete the discharge formalities for me. They want to have lunch together to celebrate me being discharged.”

Qi Le, “……”

God has forsaken me ah… Qi Le paced back and forth. He was just about to ask the man's juniors to get him a pill when he heard some noise from the door. He turned back to find that two nurses had stepped inside the ward, behaving as if they were sneaking around. It was the two nurses who had invited the Taoist priest. “See for yourself, There really isn't a talisman here. No wonder accidents keep happening to the patients in this room…”

The other nurse felt around the doorframe and looked at Qi Le, who stared back innocently, “I'm not the one who threw it away.”

The nurse didn't reply him, comforting her colleague instead, “It’s okay, I’ll find another master soon. We'll buy a few more…”

Qi Le looked at the Taoist priest, who kept a close eye on those two. The Taoist priest took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Qi Le’s eyes shone brightly, thinking to himself, Taoist priest, you've persevered through it. He was about to applaud when he saw that the man opened his eyes again, his gaze filled with tenacity. Then, he got up, went to the door and looked at them calmly, “I can draw these talismans too. I'll charge you 10 yuan only. Do you want them?”

Qi Le, “……”

The two nurses looked at him and turned away.

Taoist priest, “……”

The Taoist priest quietly returned to his bed and sat down, looking solemn, “Retribution ah.”

“…” Qi Le said, “Um… Let’s talk about the sleeping pill instead!”

“Every medicine has its side effects,” the Taoist urged. “I’ll give you a talisman at the price of five yuan.”

Qi Le took a deep breath and tried to communicate with the man, but he heard someone approaching. Then, someone appeared in his line of sight. “I’m coming, I’m coming, I’m coming…” The doctor took out a small notebook, his eyes flashing. “Can you draw talismans? I heard that you are an atheist, how did this suddenly happen? Do you really think you're still the old you? Or maybe you’ve switched another soul entirely?”

Taoist priest, “……”

Qi Le, “……”

“Relax, let’s have a good chat.”

“I've lost my memory.”

Qi Le blinked and lunged towards the doctor. “Doctor, I have decided to tell you everything I know, but I have a small condition.”

The doctor looked at him immediately and said, “Speak!”

“I can’t sleep at night, can you give me a sleeping pill? Oh, don’t let my family know about this. They don't allow me to take this stuff. After a good night's sleep tonight, I'll tell you everything I know.”

The doctor didn't even have to consider before he replied, “Deal!”

Taoist priest, “……”

Qi Le was satisfied with the outcome and walked back slowly. Gu Bai, who had just returned from the cafeteria, glanced at him. “Why are you so happy?”

“Well, it’s natural to be happy after you meet your friends.” Qi Le and Gu Bai went back to the ward and had lunch. The day was passed in silence. It wasn't until evening when Gu Bai left to buy food again that he saw the doctor come in, “Why did you switch wards? I've been looking for you for a long time.”

Qi Le’s eyes shone with anticipation. “Where's the medicine?”

“Here, this is imported. You'll feel sleepy after five minutes.”

“Great! I’ll see you tomorrow then!”

The doctor left the ward and met the little nurse in the corridor, casually chatting with her. “Oh, I dropped by to deliver some medicine to the patient. He said he had insomnia. Alas, it's actually a psychological problem. I gave him a vitamin pill and tricked him into believing it was a sleeping pill. He'll surely have a good night's sleep after taking it…”

“Mmm, you're right.”

Qi Le, who was completely unaware of the truth, crushed the imported sleeping pill into a fine powder, wrapped it in paper, put it away properly, and pretended nothing had happened. Gu Bai came back soon and the two of them finished up dinner leisurely. Qi Le kept an eye on the time. Seeing that it was already dark outside, he walked to Gu Bai, his expression turning dark, “I suddenly remembered something and want to talk to Ning Xiao. Can I have him accompany me tonight?”

Gu Bai subconsciously asked, “Will he come?”

Qi Le asked, “If he is willing, will you agree?”

Gu Bai originally wanted to make him wait till he was discharged but it wasn’t for him to say anything. Besides, he didn’t believe Ning Xiao would actually come so he nodded in agreement. Qi Le happily made a phone call. Ning Xiao, on the other side of the line, was silent for a moment. “I remember you said yesterday that we would have nothing to do with each other in the future."

“Don’t sound as if we had a relationship before. I want to have a chat with you. Do you dare? If you don’t have the guts, just say so. I’ll hang up right away.”

Ning Xiao was shocked by his attitude and said coldly, “Mmm, I’ll go. I want to see what you have to say.”

Qi Le instantly relaxed and reported his success to Gu Bai. The latter found it hard to believe him and didn't leave until he saw Ning Xiao. Just to be safe, he confiscated all of Qi Le's clothes and left him with only a medical gown. He didn’t believe that the man could still escape like that.

Ning Xiao folded his arms and asked, “What should we talk about?”

“Let me think about it.” Qi Le ran to the window to look outside. He watched as Gu Bai disappeared into the distance under the illumination of the street lights. Only then did he turn back his sight. Back facing Ning Xiao, he poured a glass of hot water, emptied all the medicine into it, stirred it with glee and said, “Let’s start talking.”

Since you're here for the entire night, Baby Face would definitely not be in the apartment tonight, so no one will get in my way. After I knock you unconscious, I'll strip your clothes and put them on. The apartment will be left to myself! I can do whatever you want then!

The more he thought about his plan, the happier Qi Le was. He smiled naughtily at Ning Xiao, “Hehe.”

Ning Xiao, “…”

~~~

P.S. I forgot to mention yesterday that updates will be around midnight (or later… basically as soon as I’m done with work) instead of the usual time because I’m still working overtime. Goodnight!