Actions fantômes

Chapitre 21

Zhong Lei and Li Xue, as the first witnesses, gave their statements and were then left to calm down.

The police seemed very familiar with the body. After only a brief observation, they had the hospital staff lift the body onto the hearse. The hospital staff, upon seeing the body, clearly felt a great sense of relief. Two people hurried over, put the body in a special bag, placed it on a stretcher, and loaded it onto the hearse.

Just as the back door was closing, Zhong Lei heard a medical worker exhale and say:

"Finally found it!"

Chapter Ten: The Truth Approaches (Part One)

One

As Zhong Lei watched the ambulance leave the park, spewing foul fumes from its rear, its square silhouette receding into the distance, he gradually felt the world begin to blur. The surrounding scenery started to become indistinct, and finally, like a television suddenly turning off, the world went completely dark!

Li Xue saw Zhong Lei collapse to the ground and shouted loudly:

"Lei Zi! Lei Zi! What's wrong?! Ambulance! There's another patient here!"

The car, which had already started moving, stopped in the distance and began to reverse. Two police officers helped Li Xue support Zhong Lei to the car and helped him into it. Despite the medical staff's attempts to stop her, Li Xue insisted on getting into the car and stayed by Zhong Lei's side.

Yu Kai, who had been hiding in the bushes not far away, emerged from his concealed spot, his eyes fixed on the ambulance. His bright eyes gradually dimmed, and then were filled with immense disappointment.

The car drove smoothly on the highway. Zhong Lei's eyes were tightly closed, his eyeballs darting restlessly; he must be having a nightmare! Li Xue looked at the handsome face beside her, now contorted with pain, with pity. She couldn't help but reach out and touch his forehead—it was burning hot! He had a high fever! Li Xue grew even more anxious, urging the ambulance driver to hurry, constantly glancing out the window at the scenery, wondering when they would reach the hospital.

The atmosphere inside the vehicle was tense. Li Xue and a police officer supported the unconscious Zhong Lei, who sat in the left-hand row of the back compartment. Bi Bin's body lay at their feet. Two medical technicians sat opposite them, their expressions blank. They hadn't uttered a single word to Li Xue—perhaps a consequence of the nature of their work. One of them had a particularly bizarre appearance: thick, frightening eyebrows, eyes like a bull's, and dark skin; overall, he resembled Zhong Kui, the demon-hunting deity. At that moment, no one could have imagined the astonishing words this medical technician would say to Li Xue a day later.

Right, this is Bi Bin's body. She was only concerned about Zhong Lei's safety; the shock Bi Bin had given her hadn't even taken effect yet. Now Zhong Lei was on his way, and she could only wait anxiously. All the surprise from before was now swirling in Li Xue's mind. Bi Bin was her classmate, and now he was dead—that was already astonishing enough to make her speechless. But for him to rise from the bottom of the lake and drift to the shore was even more astonishing, even eerie! Thinking of this, a layer of goosebumps sprouted on Li Xue's skin like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. Although she usually enjoyed reading ghost stories, if she were to actually encounter one herself, she probably wouldn't be so interested!

Li Xue was experiencing this feeling for the first time. First times usually bring a sense of novelty, but this time it filled her with fear. She unconsciously took Zhong Lei's arm, like a wronged little girl.

The hospital was approaching; it was that municipal hospital in the suburbs again. The hospital building had come into Li Xue's view. Because the car windows were tinted, people outside couldn't see inside, and people inside saw the outside as gray. So, to Li Xue, the gray building looked like a menacing demon. As it got closer and the building grew larger, Li Xue felt a nameless fear, as if her life would be in danger if she entered this hospital!

Chapter Ten: The Truth Approaches (Part Two)

II

Someone was making a racket beside him, the annoying voice relentlessly drilling into Zhong Lei's ears, like a repulsive person waving a flag and shouting in his mind:

"You idiot! Come on, hit me! Come on! You can't hit me, can you! Come on! Moron!"

Zhong Lei, who was lying on the hospital bed with his eyes closed, suddenly began to move restlessly. The muscles in his limbs were tense and contracted, and to an outsider, it seemed that he was trying to break free from something.

Seeing Zhong Lei's violent and unusual behavior, Li Xue was so frightened that she immediately called for a doctor.

"Doctor! Doctor! There's a problem with the patient here!"

A doctor in a white coat rushed over; it was the same doctor who looked remarkably like Anthony Wong. After carefully examining the situation, his expression changed drastically, and he turned and yelled at the nurse behind him.

"What did you just inject this patient with?! You almost killed him, do you know that?!"

Upon hearing this, the young nurse began to tremble as if shedding chaff, and her reply sounded just as shaky:

"Dr...doctor, just now, the injection I gave him was the fever reducer you prepared!" After saying that, she didn't dare to look at "Huang Qiusheng" (the doctor), and lowered her head, looking pitiful. Li Xue had just wanted to grab this nurse and question her, but now, seeing her appearance, she couldn't help but soften her heart.

But Anthony Wong showed no mercy, continuing to shout at her:

"You're still shirking responsibility! With this attitude, not only will you be fired, but you'll also face legal consequences, you know that? You almost caused a medical malpractice incident, you know that!" He seemed quite angry.

Li Xue, concerned about Zhong Lei's condition, noticed his pain and asked Dr. Huang Qiusheng, "..."

"Doctor, is his condition dangerous?"

The doctor, "Anthony Wong," seemed to wake from a dream, quickly turned around, put on a forced smile, and said to Li Xue in a disgusting manner:

"Miss, your boyfriend is having a slight allergic reaction to the medication. I'll take care of it for you right now."

After saying that, she took a small bottle of unknown medicine from the nurse's tray and slowly injected it into Zhong Lei's stiff muscles with a syringe. After a while, Zhong Lei was indeed cured. His muscles slowly relaxed, and then he lay limp on the bed, his breathing became calm, and he seemed to fall into a sweet dream again.

Li Xue looked at "Anthony Wong" gratefully, hesitated for a moment, and finally said:

"Thank you, doctor!" She felt a little awkward saying thank you because the middle-aged man in the white coat in front of her seemed to be looking at her with some ill intent.

"Anthony Wong" still had that obsequious smile, nodding and saying "I'm sorry!" as he left the ward. Not long after the door closed, the sound of the nurse being scolded could be heard again.

Yu Kai, who hadn't uttered a word since entering the ward, sat beside Zhong Lei, looking at the boy with complicated emotions. He liked Li Xue, but Li Xue liked this boy in front of him. He was more handsome, had better grades, worked harder, and was better at basketball. He seemed to be better than him in everything. All of this was enough for him to be jealous of him, to hate him, and then kill him!

However, every time she manipulated those corpses to Zhong Lei's side, she would suddenly hesitate and couldn't bring herself to do it. And seeing Zhong Lei's terrified appearance, she would feel a little sorry for him. Could she really forgive him for taking away Li Xue, her childhood sweetheart, after being friends for several years?

"Alas!" Yu Kai sighed deeply in his heart.

Chapter Ten: The Truth Approaches (Part Three)

Three

After watching Zhong Lei for a moment, Li Xue noticed that Yu Kai was also intently watching Zhong Lei. She felt a warmth in her heart. Yu Kai was indeed Zhong Lei's good friend. After Zhong Lei's accident, he had been staying here with him and was so concerned about Zhong Lei's condition.

Girls are women after all, and their thoughts are always racing. Thinking of Yu Kai, she recalled the past. The first time she met Yu Kai was when her father made his first fortune and said he wanted to move to a different place. So, he bought a house in their current location and that's how she met Yu Kai, who lived across the hall.

This boy is a lively fellow. He was like that from the first day we met, and he's still the same after all these years—sometimes incredibly annoying, but sometimes I even think he's alright. Lei Zi is the same way, but he's different from Yu Kai. Yu Kai seems a bit timid and cowardly, while Lei Zi has the air of an older brother. He's always the first to appear when something happens. So, I've had a special feeling for Lei Zi since I was little. I wonder if Lei Zi feels the same way? Thinking this, two blushes rose on Li Xue's cheeks.

Suddenly, she felt a burning gaze fixed on her. Following the gaze, she saw Yu Kai staring at her, his eyes seeming to want to devour her, yet also appearing indifferent. Li Xue sensed something was wrong and quickly asked:

"Why are you pulling? Yu Kai?"

Yu Kai looked at Li Xue the same way, but with a slight smile added. He said:

"Li Xue, do you know how much I like you?" The echo of those words gently lingered around Li Xue, making her feel slightly dizzy.

"Why are you suddenly asking this?" Li Xue glanced nervously at Zhong Lei on the hospital bed and answered hastily.

"Because I like you a lot!" Yu Kai shouted, his voice like a roar, once again pounding against Li Xue's eardrums. This wasn't the usual Yu Kai! What was wrong with him?

Yu Kai suddenly smirked, a sinister smile creeping across his face. Li Xue, seeing this, couldn't help but shiver.

"Because the person I was before wasn't the real me! Today, I'm going to show you how charismatic and powerful I, Yu Kai, am, and that you'll like me, not this guy in the hospital bed!"

Although Li Xue was a straightforward girl, she could still make some sense of the situation. Yu Kai was jealous because of her relationship with Lei Zi, which meant he also liked her. However, she had known Yu Kai's intentions for a long time, and today he was insisting that she know the real him. Did he have some hidden secret? But regardless, she hoped this secret wouldn't harm Lei Zi.

A woman's intuition is always very accurate. The more Li Xue worried that Yu Kai's secret would be detrimental to Zhong Lei, the more likely her guesses were to become reality.

Yu Kai was still smiling:

"Today, there's no need for me to hide it anymore, because no one can hurt us anymore, so there's no danger in telling you."

After speaking, Yu Kai tilted his head back, took a deep breath, then lowered his head again, squinted, and asked Li Xue:

Are you afraid of me?

Li Xue was a little nervous. She nodded, then quickly shook her head.

Yu Kai smiled again.

"Okay, I'm telling you! Listen carefully! I'll only say it once!" He paused again, his expression changing to a very serious one.

“I am not an ordinary person, or rather, my whole family is not an ordinary person. This is a tradition passed down from generation to generation. We are the ones who uphold the curse!”

Seeing Yu Kai's serious expression, Li Xue couldn't hold back her laughter and burst into laughter, completely disregarding her ladylike image.

"Haha! Haha! You are, you are the one who upholds the curse! Haha! This is hilarious!"

His strong sense of self-esteem was shattered, and Yu Kai could no longer endure the years of forbearance. A deafening sound rang out:

"Shut up!"

Yu Kai suddenly stood up, pointing at Li Xue with a trembling finger.

Li Xue's laughter stopped abruptly, and a long silence followed.

4

Suddenly realizing his loss of composure, Yu Kai slowly lowered his hand, his expression relaxing slightly, and whispered:

"I'm sorry, I got a little excited."

Li Xue, who had been pampered since childhood, had never been yelled at by anyone except her parents. She looked at Yu Kai with disbelief. Yu Kai, who was usually timid and afraid of trouble, had actually broken this rule today, which was something she never expected.

Li Xue shook her head and said:

"You really showed me a different side of yourself today. You're truly extraordinary. I admire you!"

After saying that, he bent down to check on Zhong Lei's condition, ignoring Yu Kai.

Seeing Li Xue's attitude, Yu Kai thought to himself, "Since I've already said so much today, I might as well go all the way and say everything I've been holding in for so long."

"Li Xue, I'm sorry. Actually, I really like you! I did all this to tell you that I'm no worse than Zhong Lei. We've lived together since we were little, childhood sweethearts. But Zhong Lei came along and took you away from me. I've been holding onto this resentment since I was little. Can you understand?"

Li Xue didn't even look up, and said:

"I can't possibly understand that. I don't have that level of refinement. Besides, how could someone as low-quality as me be worthy of your affection?"

Hearing this, Yu Kai knew that Li Xue was angry because of his shout earlier.

"Li Xue, I really didn't mean it. Because the cowardice I showed before was all an act, not the real me. I was in a lot of pain when you laughed at me!"

Li Xue remained silent, simply gazing intently at Zhong Lei's face. Upon seeing this, Yu Kai felt another pang of sorrow, and that nameless anger surged within him again, fueling his urge to roar once more:

"Stop looking at him! I'm talking to you! Look at me!"

Li Xue turned her head, snorted coldly, and still ignored him.

Yu Kai could no longer hold back, and he shouted:

"Fine! You watch, I'll kill Zhong Lei right in front of you today! So you'll never see him again!"

Then, Yu Kai quickly took out a small pill from his underwear pocket and swiftly stuffed it into Zhong Lei's mouth.

Upon seeing this, Li Xue exclaimed in surprise:

"What are you doing?!"

Yu Kai smiled coldly and said:

"Just you wait and see! Watch how he dies."

Chapter Ten: The Truth Approaches (Part Four)