"I think I know why I'm staying in this hospital... I might have something like amnesia..."

Sitting by the window, the woman with gold-rimmed glasses wore a troubled expression.

"I can't remember my own identity, nicknames, or anything like that at all. I can't even recall my name," she rubbed her head, "but my short-term memory is quite clear. Could it be amnesia rather than forgetfulness?"

Seeing how concerned the other seemed, Jiang Lin quickly comforted her.

"Don't worry too much. As long as you take your medicine on time and seriously accept treatment, you'll eventually get better... This is a very good hospital."

As she spoke, the woman with gold-rimmed glasses nodded and immediately became more optimistic.

"That's true too. No matter what, I'm already receiving treatment now!"

"And no matter what, I'm still better off than those who are truly severe cases. At least I'm still conscious."

The woman spoke while her gaze drifted toward a young man sitting in a chair on the other side.

The youth was quite handsome with delicate features, but unfortunately his eyes were vacant and his gaze dull, making him look like a statue.

"Who is he?"

Jiang Lin was somewhat curious.

"A patient, in the room next to mine," the woman with gold-rimmed glasses said with certainty. "This guy is mentally impaired, seems like dementia or something, as if he's lost his soul."

"He doesn't react when you talk to him. He can only perform some basic movements, like walking, blinking, and such."

Hearing the description from the woman with gold-rimmed glasses, Jiang Lin felt somewhat moved.

"That sounds so pitiful..."

"Yeah, and nobody knows his name," the woman with gold-rimmed glasses scratched her head. "Unlike me who can't remember, he seems to genuinely have no name... I don't know more than that."

"Anyway, from my vague impressions, there seems to be some saying that it's caused by him being brain dead... who knows."

The more Jiang Lin listened, the more she felt a growing sense of compassion and pity in her heart.

"So young, what a shame."

"Did he suffer some kind of accident?"

She couldn't help but walk closer.

Upon closer inspection, the youth's appearance wasn't as handsome as from a distance—his facial features seemed somewhat ordinary.

But this made him appear more righteous.

"If he still had consciousness, he'd probably be a very just and brave person, right?"

For no particular reason, Jiang Lin thought this.

And just as she was staring at this young man...

He suddenly moved—his right hand that had been resting on his knee suddenly lifted up.

This startled Jiang Lin.

"Whoa!"

She instinctively stepped back, then realized this guy wasn't actually dead or a complete vegetable, so moving wasn't that strange.

And...

Jiang Lin looked at his movement.

His right hand reached toward her with a half-clenched fist, as if intending to hand her something.

Jiang Lin hesitated.

But looking at his face, she somehow felt this guy was trustworthy, so she reached out and touched the young man's hand.

Then...

Jiang Lin felt something small inside, like a vocabulary notebook.

"Huh?"

She pulled out the vocabulary notebook, and after just one glance, immediately hurriedly stuffed it into her sleeve to hide it.

Even with that fleeting glimpse, Jiang Lin recognized it...

On the "cover" of that vocabulary notebook was drawn her own doodle.

Although Jiang Lin didn't remember drawing those doodles, or even owning this notebook...

She was absolutely certain that it was definitely her own handiwork.

Doodled drawings are actually even harder to imitate than handwriting—those little habits in her brushstrokes that ordinary people wouldn't notice, she could recognize at a glance. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

And these were all recently drawn by her.

But precisely because of this, Jiang Lin felt even more flustered and uneasy.

When did she get this notebook? When did she draw these?

Why was this thing in the hands of this young man on the second floor... and why did he give it to her now?

Doctors didn't allow her to draw—Robin knew this very well. That's exactly why she had immediately instinctively hidden the notebook just now.

So...

Could this be her means of secretly drawing to relieve her depression and boredom?

Then what did returning it to her now mean?

Just as Jiang Lin was preparing to try again to get some clues from the young man before her, or communicate with him...

The young man who had just handed her the vocabulary notebook suddenly stood up and walked straight toward a hospital room.

His demeanor of ignoring everyone around him made it seem like he wouldn't be disturbed by anyone or anything. After returning to his room, he very decisively closed the door.

"Bang."

With the sound of the closing door, the young man's figure disappeared.

Completely bewildered, Jiang Lin looked back at the woman with gold-rimmed glasses. "Is he always like this?"

The woman with gold-rimmed glasses said curiously, "No... it doesn't seem so."

"Quite unusual actually—he actually responded to you! Did you say something to him?"

Jiang Lin pursed her lips.

"No, I didn't say anything."

She tightened her grip on the vocabulary notebook in her sleeve and was just about to find a place to secretly look at it when the woman with gold-rimmed glasses spoke again.

"Um... if you want to look at that thing in your sleeve, I can keep watch for you."

She leaned closer to Jiang Lin and whispered in a sneaky, lowered voice.

Jiang Lin was somewhat surprised. "You... you saw?"

"Of course I saw," the woman said helplessly. "When you walked over, I naturally watched you... and you and him weren't that far from me."

"Don't worry, I respect privacy—I only saw you take something out of his hand. I didn't see clearly what it was!"

"If you don't want me to look, I won't."

Jiang Lin looked at the woman with gold-rimmed glasses, feeling quite surprised.

"You're pretty sharp..."

"No big deal. But I actually think you don't need to be so nervous. We're in a mental hospital, not a school. It's not like anything will happen if you're in a relationship."

The woman with gold-rimmed glasses waved her hand.

Jiang Lin quickly denied it. "I just met him too... This is actually my first time seeing him, probably."

"I get it, love at first sight."

The woman with gold-rimmed glasses said with an air of importance.

Hearing the other's "misinterpreted response," Jiang Lin couldn't help but facepalm.

"That's completely not what's happening..."

"Anyway, I'd really appreciate it if you could keep watch for me."

As Jiang Lin spoke, the woman with gold-rimmed glasses nodded.

"No problem, friend!"

Having received the other's response, Jiang Lin quietly crouched by the wall, using the woman with gold-rimmed glasses' body as cover, and secretly took out the small mini notebook hidden in her sleeve.

Then, Jiang Lin opened to the first page.

On the blank paper, a sentence appeared.

"You are not in reality. This is a game!"