As night approached, all the "patients" had finished their dinner in the cafeteria and were gradually making their way back to their wards. Under the oppressive atmosphere, everyone seemed gloomy—except for one exception.
No. 05 and No. 03 exchanged glances before blocking Xia Miao's path on the way back to the wards.
No. 05 asked, "Did you see the gate key?"
Xia Miao was still munching on half a cucumber in her hand. At the question, she casually replied, "Yeah, I saw it."
No. 03 couldn’t contain her excitement. "So you took the key!?"
Xia Miao shook her head. "Nope."
No. 03 froze for a moment. "Why didn’t you take it when you saw it?"
Xia Miao shot back bluntly, "Why should I?"
No. 03 found it hard to comprehend. "Don’t you want to escape this hellhole?"
"Nope."
The moment Xia Miao uttered those words, No. 03 and No. 05’s expressions blanked, taking a moment to regain their composure and voices.
No. 05 was incredulous. "You actually don’t want to leave!?"
Xia Miao glanced at her. "What’s wrong with that?"
No. 03 declared, "You must be insane!"
Indeed, being locked up in this cursed place for too long could drive even the sanest person mad. If not for insanity, they couldn’t fathom why Xia Miao would foolishly claim she didn’t want to leave.
No. 05’s expression darkened, her anger even fiercer than No. 03’s. After all, stealing the key was a high-risk endeavor, and opportunities were rare. Xia Miao was the only one in a long time who had such a perfect chance to take it.
She had even planned how to evade the patrolling nurses and escape once they got the key.
But Xia Miao had squandered this golden opportunity, dashing No. 05’s hopes.
"You have no idea how many people you’ve doomed!"
Xia Miao remained unshaken, her tone calm in the face of No. 05’s accusation. "I haven’t stabbed anyone or poisoned anyone. How have I doomed anyone?"
These women who had cornered Xia Miao were the same as always—acting as if everyone’s lives depended on her, as if she were born to take risks for them all.
If Xia Miao refused to cooperate, she was branded selfish and cruel.
"The general affairs office won’t have anyone on duty these few days. If you’re so desperate for the key—and so righteous, kind-hearted, and considerate of others—why don’t you go get it yourselves?" Xia Miao smiled. "After all, you’re such good people. Surely you can’t bear to see others disappointed, right?"
No. 03 and No. 05’s expressions shifted, but neither responded immediately.
Xia Miao took another bite of her cucumber and swaggered off.
No. 03 turned to No. 05. "What do we do now?"
Since No. 05 had been the one to propose stealing the key, No. 03 instinctively looked to her for guidance.
No. 05 was still seething at Xia Miao. Her refusal to cooperate left No. 05 unsure whether Xia Miao was hopelessly stupid or secretly scheming. Either way, Xia Miao was clearly of no use to them now.
After considering Xia Miao’s words, No. 05 said, "If what she just said is true—that the general affairs office is unguarded—then this is still a good opportunity for us."
No. 03’s eyes lit up. "You mean… we could still sneak in and take the key?"
No. 05 nodded. "Our chance to escape this hellhole depends on this."
Xia Miao was No. 09, and Duan Shou was No. 08. Their wards were next to each other, making them neighbors.
As Duan Shou was about to enter his room, he spotted Xia Miao strolling leisurely toward hers. He always had a strange feeling about her—Xia Miao seemed like a genuine lunatic at times, yet oddly normal at others. He couldn’t help wondering if she was actually a sage disguised as a fool.
But regardless, being friendly couldn’t hurt.
"Hey, No. 09!" Duan Shou stopped Xia Miao before she entered her room. "I spent the whole day gathering intel and learned a lot."
Xia Miao gave an indifferent "Oh."
Duan Shou continued, "I heard the hospital gate is the only exit, but you need a key to open it. The key’s kept in the general affairs office, but it’s not easy to get."
Xia Miao perked up slightly. "How so?"
"There’s something guarding the general affairs office. If it catches someone trying to steal the key, it’ll eat them alive!"
Xia Miao widened her eyes. "That terrifying?"
Duan Shou nodded. "That’s why the key’s so hard to get."
"But what if the guard isn’t there?"
Duan Shou paused. "That… seems impossible? If the guard’s really gone, it’d be a golden opportunity—but when does luck like that ever happen?"
Lowering his voice, he added, "I also heard people here like tricking newcomers into stealing the key—basically sending them to their deaths. Don’t fall for it."
Xia Miao nodded. "Got it. Thanks for the warning."
Duan Shou was naturally talkative, and in this godforsaken place, no one else would listen to him. Now that Xia Miao was willing to humor him, his words spilled out nonstop.
"Oh, and the hills behind the hospital are covered in man-eating flowers. At night, they come alive and devour prey. If you ever see them, stay far away."
Xia Miao gasped, covering her mouth and nodding vigorously. "If I see those flowers, I’ll run the other way!"
A patrolling staff member ordered the patients to return to their rooms, forcing the chatty Duan Shou to swallow the rest of his words and reluctantly part ways with Xia Miao.
Once inside her room, Xia Miao closed the door, glanced around, and picked up a plastic water bottle. She filled it with water and placed it on the table near the window. Then, from her pocket, she pulled out a large red flower and stuck it into the bottle.
After a full day, the vibrant red bloom showed no signs of wilting, its petals as lively as ever.
The rich crimson resembled the eyes of a young man.
A moment later, she remembered that the general affairs office had temporarily become her flower storage. Thinking of those women, she wondered—would they actually go there to steal the key?
She hoped they’d be careful not to trample her flowers if they did.
In high spirits, Xia Miao hummed a tune as she washed up. By 10 p.m., the lights went out. She climbed into bed, pulled the covers over herself, and quickly drifted off to sleep.
The red flower slowly turned, its face now directed toward the bed. In the next instant, its petals unfurled, revealing hundreds of tiny, jagged fangs.
Its stem stretched, the crimson bloom creeping toward the sleeping figure—only for a pale hand to suddenly seize its "neck" mid-motion.
The flower thrashed, lifting its head.
The crimson-robed, white-haired youth raised a finger to his lips, "Shh—"
