Discours étrange

Chapitre 5

I coughed, interrupting her reverie, and said, "I asked the doctor, and he said what you have... is called a paper baby."

"Paper baby? What's a paper baby?" Huang Zhi glared at me, her eyes even showing a hint of ferocity. "How could I give birth to a paper baby?"

“Paper babies are…” I suddenly stopped. I remembered that this was only what they looked like paper babies, but they couldn’t actually be explained using the medical records of paper babies.

Seeing that I couldn't continue, Huang Zhi suspected that I knew something and kept urging me to speak. I had no choice but to give a brief explanation of what paper babies were.

"Oppressed? Oppressed by what?" Huang Zhi surprisingly seized on the detail I had deliberately glossed over and pressed me for an answer.

"Yes... you were compressed by another twin fetus, but the doctor said you didn't give birth to another healthy baby, so it just looks like a paper baby."

“That’s right, that’s right, I must have given birth to another healthy child.” Huang Zhi automatically ignored the second half of my sentence and said excitedly.

"But the doctor only delivered this one deformed baby for you."

“No, there must be another one,” Huang Zhi said stubbornly. “There must be another one!” She repeated it again with an emphasis.

I began to feel that interviewing this mentally unstable patient was a mistake.

"Reporter, really, you have to believe me. I'm not lying to you, I'm definitely pregnant with a healthy baby. Otherwise, how could I have given birth to such a strange thing? Can the doctor explain it? He can't even give himself a plausible explanation!"

"There are some special cases in medicine that cannot be explained."

"No, no, listen to me. When I was pregnant again, I often felt the little one moving inside me. It wasn't my first pregnancy, I know that. This time, the baby in my belly was much more restless than when I was pregnant with Qianqian. I kept thinking, this must be a naughty boy."

"So... have you had an ultrasound?" I thought of a way to prove it.

"No, I don't want to spend that money anymore. I'm already pregnant anyway, and I'll love it whether it's a boy or a girl."

"This..." I know that when a pregnant woman feels the movements of the fetus inside her body, it is often just a misperception on her part, and it cannot be taken as conclusive evidence.

"Sister Wang, Sister Wang," Huang Zhi called to a patient in the next bed, "A few days ago, didn't I ask you to listen to my belly? You could hear the baby moving, couldn't you?"

"Ah, yes," Sister Wang replied. All the patients in the ward were listening to my conversation with Huang Zhi. Although I spoke softly, they might not have heard the whole thing, but they all knew that Huang Zhi hadn't been able to give birth to the baby.

"Did you really hear that?" I asked.

"It seems...it seems like there's some noise." When asked, Sister Wang hesitated, "But I couldn't hear it clearly, so I can't say for sure."

"Oh dear, Sister Wang, didn't you say the other day that there was quite a commotion?" Huang Zhi said anxiously.

"Well, maybe there is." In any case, Sister Wang refused to give a definitive answer. She possessed the shrewdness typical of Shanghainese, speaking ambiguously and unwilling to get involved in this potential medical dispute. Of course, it's also possible she genuinely didn't hear clearly and was merely being polite by saying a few flattering words to Huang Zhi that day.

The latter half of the interview that day became meaningless. No matter what I said, Huang Zhi stubbornly believed she was carrying a healthy child, but the doctor had taken her baby away. How could I possibly agree with her? That meant this top-tier tertiary hospital in Shanghai had brazenly taken the mother's child without any attempt at concealment. How could that be!

The doctors couldn't explain how the paper-like baby was formed, and the mother believed the hospital had stolen her child. How could I possibly write this report? I had no choice but to apologize to my informant; he was going to miss out on his bonus again.

For me, it all ended after the interview. But for Huang Zhi, she has always believed that she once had a baby. This baby squeezed and absorbed another twin brother inside her, leaving only a skin, and then disappeared into thin air. She didn't sue the hospital, but instead went insane and made countless rag dolls, as if they were her mysteriously missing child.

When I came out of Huang Zhi's house through the back door again, I was startled. There was more than just the old lady waiting at the door; there were five people, including her, all staring at me with unwavering eyes.

"How is it?" the old lady asked.

"Nobody's here." I didn't mention the refrigerator. With so many people around, I didn't want to admit I'd gone in and rummaged through things, lest I cause trouble.

“I told you, I saw her go out early yesterday morning,” said a Chinese man in a security guard uniform.

I was a little surprised that the village had hired security guards. Then I remembered that when I came in, I saw a pavilion at the entrance, but I didn't see anyone there. I wondered where he had gone to slack off.

"Early yesterday morning?" I asked him.

"Well, around five o'clock, maybe even before five. But I was a little sleepy then and didn't see clearly, so I'm not sure just now."

"Xia, you work as a security guard, how can you be sleepy during your shift, especially at night and in the early morning? There are more and more outsiders coming to the village lately..." An elderly man in his sixties was giving the security guard a safety lesson, and the guard nodded repeatedly in agreement. Seeing how readily he nodded, I suspected he was just ignoring it. But what did it have to do with me?

Huang Zhi left early yesterday morning. I guess she unplugged the refrigerator because she knew she would be gone for a while and didn't want to waste electricity. But because she was disoriented, she forgot there were still vegetables in the refrigerator, and they would spoil if it wasn't plugged in.

Where will Huang Zhi go?

Could she have gone to look for her daughter?

Perhaps the fading of love left such a clear mark on my heart that after our reunion, she was still somewhat different towards me. I shouldn't complain anymore; after all, she appeared before me, giving me at least a chance to start over.

The emotions that erupted during that crisis were swift and intense, but now I've learned to keep them inside, to let them flow gently and persistently. I have no doubt that one day I'll win her back; I'm just helping her rediscover those lost feelings.

He Xi is always very punctual, but it's already ten minutes past the agreed time. I ordered two cold dishes to eat first to fill my stomach.

Sitting at the table next to me was a young couple speaking softly. I was just putting a roasted peanut into my mouth with my chopsticks when I noticed the boy, who was always smiling and watching his partner, suddenly look away from his lover's face.

I turned my head and saw He Xi, as well as many other gazes, some furtive and some openly directed at her.

"It's rare to see you eating," I said to her with a smile.

"I just finished an autopsy and rushed over." He Xi looked up at me and said, "Do you have any tissues? I'd like to wipe my hands."

"Uh..." I was startled. "Did you finish the autopsy... and come without washing your hands?"

He Xi raised her hand to show me with a cold expression.

Her ten fingers were slender, white, and delicate. Thankfully, there was no blood or anything like that.

"Just kidding, there's a traffic jam." He Xi smiled slightly.

In the eyes of her colleagues, she was probably a woman whose eccentricity was no less than her beauty, but lately she seemed to smile at me more often.

This is a very popular Sichuan restaurant. I specifically ordered a few spicy dishes because I really enjoy seeing He Xi's face flushed and her nose glistening with sweat, which is quite different from her usual appearance.

When the dishes were served, I briefly explained Zhou Qianqian's situation.

"Okay. But we might not be able to find it."

I nodded. Since they've been missing for so long, it would indeed be very difficult if the investigation hadn't been thorough back then.

He Xi is a quiet person. When I'm with her, I have to find all sorts of topics to talk about, otherwise the conversation will become awkward. I once tried to see what would happen if the silence went on for a long time, and we ended up staring at each other for more than twenty minutes. Although she is very beautiful, I still lost the conversation because of the awkwardness. What was most disheartening was that she acted as if nothing had happened.

I've gradually figured out what topics He Xi would be interested in. After finishing telling her about Zhou Qianqian's disappearance, I turned around and told her about paper babies.

I'm used to writing down my experiences, and when I try to talk about them, I know exactly where to add suspense and suspense. Plus, the story itself was quite mysterious, so even though the dishes had been served one after another, He Xi's eating pace gradually slowed down; clearly, her attention was drawn to this bizarre tale.

"What happened to the paper baby after that?" she asked after listening.

"What happened next? I don't know, it was probably disposed of."

"Sigh, if only I could dissect it," He Xi sighed.

Chapter Four: Frozen Twins

Finding missing persons is ultimately the police's forte. Asking someone to put in a good word and get the Kunshan police to put more effort into Zhou Qianqian's disappearance is the most practical thing I can do, driven by a sense of atonement. If even the police have no leads, it's unrealistic for me to go alone, especially since I still need to go to work.

However, I didn't know anyone in the Kunshan police force, so I had to use my connections with the Shanghai police to see if we could help each other within the same system.

Speaking of which, I've dealt with many people in the Shanghai public security system, and I can count on my fingers a few of them on good terms. But this time, the person I arranged to have lunch with was a forensic doctor.

A young, beautiful, mixed-race female forensic doctor with light blue eyes; I even remember that her nationality was not Chinese.

Her name is He Xi.

Okay, I admit it, I was a bit using this as a pretext for personal gain, or rather, I was using her as a pretext to flatter someone… or maybe my real intentions weren't what they seemed. Why do I become so incoherent whenever she's mentioned?

Yes, I remember she's Swiss. A Swiss citizen of Chinese descent suddenly became a forensic pathologist in the Shanghai police system not long ago—something that would be absolutely impossible under normal circumstances. But it happened. Exceptions always come with special privileges, so even though she's only a forensic pathologist in name, it should still be possible to get through her connections to the Kunshan police.

The reason I explained all that is to show that He Xi can really help me with Zhou Qianqian's disappearance, and it's not just an excuse to pick up girls.

Isn't it great if doing one thing can achieve multiple goals? I've always been very frank; my relationship with He Xi is somewhat ambiguous. I've used the wrong idiom again; to be honest, it's a long story.

When I first met He Xi, she was a researcher at a top international medical institution. At that time, we were both caught up in a huge crisis and became partners who could rely on each other in times of trouble. That's another story, and I won't go into it here. And when the truth finally came out and the crisis was over, if we hadn't been forced to separate, I could probably call her Na Tai now.

After a period of silence, I suddenly discovered this year that she had become a forensic doctor for the Shanghai police, a discovery that filled me with overwhelming joy and astonishment. However, just like the clichés in romance novels that I hate most, something else happened to her.

It's not amnesia, but it's not far off either.

Even my friends from that bizarre experience with immortality in 2005 could imagine that if I were to reunite with He Xi one day, she would surely have been reborn. This rebirth refers not only to surviving the impossible, but also to a new life.

She hasn't forgotten me; she inherited all the memories completely. But love is not as simple as just remembering.

"Ahem, well..." I didn't expect that this was the first thing she thought of after hearing it.

"And what about the mother who gave birth?" she asked again.

"You don't still want to dissect living people, do you? She had mental problems later, and I didn't see her when I went there yesterday."

"If she hasn't given birth again in the past three years, well, an ultrasound isn't enough to tell the whole story. A transvaginal ultrasound, or even a surgical incision, would be best. It's more likely that it's not just a uterine issue; a full-body systemic examination would be necessary. If we could get her pregnant again, we could observe her clinically. Sigh, it's such a shame we didn't get to see the baby."

Although I knew He Xi was a bit strange, I was still a little dumbfounded by her string of self-talk.

"Speaking of which, I cut up a baby last week."

He Xi rarely initiates a conversation with me, but this topic...

"Tch?" I asked hesitantly.

"An autopsy of an infant corpse was performed."

Looking at the table full of steaming dishes in front of me, my appetite, like a frozen little penis, shrank smaller and smaller, until it disappeared...

"Oh." I couldn't bring myself to respond enthusiastically. "Huh? Last week? I remember you said you went to Korea last week."

"Yeah, I went to South Korea to have my child surgically removed."

"Can we not cut it...?"

He Xi glanced at me, a smile returning to her face. Was she doing it on purpose? I wondered, annoyed yet also somewhat pleased.

"You know, I am a member of the International Organization for the Study of Special Pathology."

"How did I know? When did I know?" I said, puzzled.

"Oh, I didn't tell you? Well, now you know."

What kind of organization is this?

"It is a special pathology research organization."

He Xi has once again successfully cornered me.

“We pay attention to some unusual proportions, including unnatural deaths. This is a relatively private international organization that has connections with police forces in various countries, because police are the ones most likely to discover unnatural deaths, which often causes problems for their forensic experts,” she explained briefly.

"You went to South Korea because of an unnatural death? A child?" I asked.

"It's a strange case; their forensic doctor has run into some trouble."

"So you solved it?"

“No.” He Xi shrugged. “In fact, I only found out what was really strange after I got there. It’s hard to explain.”

Her words immediately piqued my curiosity.

He Xi was originally a researcher at a top medical institution, and after the "Nascent Soul Incident," she must have acquired some special abilities. Putting aside everything else, her understanding of life has undoubtedly reached a completely new level. Judging from her current frantic cutting and slicing, it's likely that most of it is for research purposes. Even she's mentioning strange deaths—what could be the reason?