The Company

Chapter 61 Zoetrope

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After encountering the Black Jade Orb that inexplicably appeared in the corridor, the Doctor was plunged into complete darkness. When he regained consciousness, familiar scenes unfolded before his eyes - somewhat aged dormitory buildings, similar streets, and plane trees lining both sides of the road that nearly blocked out the sky... Wasn't this his university campus?

The roadside was filled with stalls displaying second-hand items, with both the student sellers and casual browsers being students. After observing for a while, the Doctor confirmed this was the year of his graduation, just before leaving campus...

The Doctor had dreamed since childhood of becoming a medical practitioner who saves lives and heals the wounded. He had consistently worked toward this goal, graduating from medical school with outstanding grades and having secured a hospital for his internship. Everything was progressing according to plan step by step, and the Doctor was filled with fighting spirit. Following the university's annual tradition, during the week before internships began, graduating seniors would set up stalls along a designated campus street to sell items they couldn't take with them. Textbooks, reference notes, basketballs, soccer balls, daily necessities - the variety was dazzling, attracting many junior students to hunt for treasures. From early morning, the entire street would be bustling with crowds.

The Doctor and his dormmate Chun Ge had also gathered some old belongings, symbolically pricing them at three to five yuan each. However, with so many similar competitors around, only sports equipment got snapped up quickly while other items remained largely ignored.

They weren't particularly anxious though. Having already secured their internship positions, they were more relaxed than others, which was why they'd been assigned as stall managers anyway. The money from selling second-hand items wouldn't amount to much anyway - it would just serve as funds for their dorm's farewell dinner.

Chun Ge, as if suffering from OCD, meticulously arranged every item on the plastic cloth before dusting off his hands with satisfaction. Frowning at the Doctor who was repairing an alarm clock nearby, he asked, "I heard you've settled on an internship placement? Is it the municipal hospital?"

"Pretty much confirmed. Should be finalized after the final interview next Monday." The Doctor had been so busy recently that he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow every night, only now finding time to discuss this with Chun Ge. Chun Ge wore an expression of disappointment: "Why not come with me to that place? With your grades, if you put in some effort, you should be aiming for a Tier 3 hospital."

The Doctor rolled his eyes helplessly - his friend could be somewhat naive at times. Were established Tier 3 hospitals something one could just casually intern at? His grades weren't the best in medical school, and he had no connections among hospital executives to consult or ask favors from. Like a headless fly buzzing around, he was quite fortunate to have found a Tier 2 municipal hospital willing to take him in! Besides, he still had some doubts about his own capabilities. They said competition in hospitals was particularly fierce - he wasn't sure if he could handle it. Gaining experience from a slightly lower starting point wasn't bad either; he could always climb higher when his abilities improved.

Still, he knew Chun Ge meant well, so he slowly explained what he was thinking. However, Chun Ge remained unconvinced - in his view, retreating without even trying was simply cowardice.The doctor had no strength to refute, nor did he know how. Chun Ge came from a family of medical professionals, having been immersed in that environment since childhood. He had frequented top-tier hospitals and been exposed to elite medical circles, so his mindset was naturally entirely different from that of an ordinary student. In contrast, the doctor had lost both parents and was struggling alone in this city without any support, making stability his primary concern.

With such differing perspectives, neither could convince the other, and communication became nearly impossible. The doctor knew Chun Ge genuinely wanted them to work at the same hospital, but reality was no fairy tale—how could such a wish be easily fulfilled? Patiently enduring Chun Ge’s lengthy chatter, the doctor finally couldn’t take it anymore. He set down the alarm clock he was holding and made an excuse to stroll around other stalls, leaving Chun Ge to mind their own.

Though the surroundings buzzed with noise and activity, the doctor found a sense of tranquility in it. He had initially intended to wander casually, but as he browsed, he grew increasingly engrossed, tempted to buy many items.

However, he had come here to sell old belongings, not to acquire more! Suppressing the urge to shop, he walked from one end of the street to the other and noticed a distinctive stall at the far end.

On the stall was a cardboard box labeled "Charity Sale." The vendor, a young man with a buzz cut, was explaining the situation to curious onlookers. The doctor soon learned that these items were the belongings of a medical student who had passed away—a top-performing student named Yin Han, who had died in a car accident. Rumor had it that Yin Han had already secured an internship at the same top-tier hospital where Chun Ge was headed—a true academic star, whose life was tragically cut short so young.

Yin Han’s parents, who lived in a remote mountainous area, had come to the university to complete the formalities. They took his clothes as mementos and returned home. The remaining books, textbooks, and miscellaneous items were left behind. His dormmates decided to hold a charity sale, with all proceeds to be sent to Yin Han’s parents.

The buzz-cut young man, though average in appearance, was articulate and persuasive, quickly encouraging the surrounding students to open their wallets. None of the items had fixed prices—buyers could pay whatever they felt appropriate. Medical students, accustomed even to dissecting cadavers, naturally had no qualms about handling a deceased person’s belongings.Moreover, Yin Han had been an outstanding and diligent student, his textbooks and notes were snapped up in a frenzy, and even his stationery supplies were mostly sold out. By the time the doctor squeezed through the crowd, the stall was nearly empty. Many students, even without taking anything, slipped money into the cardboard box. The doctor also pulled out his wallet and inserted a red bill. He had known Yin Han, though not well—just a nodding acquaintance—but he was willing to contribute in whatever small way he could. Perhaps the denomination he offered was too large, for as he turned to leave, the buzz-cut young man quickly stopped him, urging him to pick something from the stall to take with him.

“Consider it a keepsake. It’s not easy to have been classmates, after all.”The buzz-cut boy was indeed articulate, prompting the Doctor to glance back at the remaining items on the stall before finally picking up an old-fashioned lamp. The lamp resembled an antique oil lamp, standing less than twenty centimeters tall, made of bronze with some patina from age. It had six sides, but only one was paper-covered, while the other five were opaque black glass. Though it looked vintage, it had an electrical plug—likely broken, right?

"Wow! Great eye! This was Yin Han's favorite lamp. It's said to be a zoetrope originally meant for candles, but since open flames aren't allowed in the dorm, he modified it to use a light bulb. Supposedly, it spins automatically when plugged in," the buzz-cut boy rambled on, though he only claimed it "supposedly" spun—he'd never actually checked if it worked.

The Doctor didn't mind much; having picked it up, he felt awkward putting it back, so he had the buzz-cut boy find a plastic bag and carried it away.

When he wandered back, Chun Ge didn't bring up their earlier topic but instead teased him for buying another impractical old item, suggesting he quickly resell the zoetrope.

The Doctor refused, curious to see what the zoetrope would look like when plugged in. That night back in the dorm, he eagerly plugged it in. The zoetrope wasn't broken—it flickered to life, emitting a soft, warm yellow light that felt comforting. On the single paper-covered lampshade, a paper-cut silhouette appeared.

"Huh? What's this picture supposed to be?" Chun Ge leaned in to ask.

The paper lampshade was yellowed and wrinkled with age, but it was still clear that the paper-cut showed two people on the left and a horse departing on the right.

"Two people and a horse—serving before and behind the saddle? But the positions are all wrong!" Chun Ge quipped.

"It's not a puzzle for guessing idioms."

"... Didn't they say this lamp is a self-spinning zoetrope? Why hasn't it changed sides after so long?"

They waited in front of the zoetrope for a while, but the image never rotated, so they gave up hope. Honestly, the lamp lighting up at all had exceeded their expectations. Since the zoetrope's glow was warm and not harsh, the Doctor left it on, using it as a bedside lamp.

Chun Ge tallied the unsold old items and took his share home. With graduation approaching, the school didn't require seniors to stay on campus daily. As a local, he went home on weekends and, after saying goodbye to the Doctor, left.

After staying home for two days, Chun Ge returned to the dorm and froze upon opening the door. "Why are you still here? It's almost 11, right? Didn't you have your final interview at the city hospital today?"

The Doctor looked up, frustrated, and set the alarm clock he was holding on the table. "I thought I'd fixed this alarm clock, but it's still broken—it didn't go off this morning! I set my phone alarm too, but I didn't hear it either."

"So... you overslept?" Chun Ge asked sympathetically. "Did you call the HR department?""I already called. They said the positions are filled and told me not to come." The doctor dejectedly lowered his head. The interview had been the final round, with a seventy percent acceptance rate. He originally had a seventy percent chance of being accepted, but now because he didn't show up, he didn't even have a ten percent chance.

Chun Ge didn't know what to say either. He sat quietly with the doctor for a few minutes until his gaze fell upon the zoetrope on the table and stopped. Perhaps because the light from the zoetrope wasn't harsh, it hadn't been turned off at night. "Hey! Can this lamp really spin on its own? The paper drawings I saw before weren't like this, were they?"

The doctor glanced over listlessly and noticed that the left side of the paper drawing still showed two people, while the right side depicted two horses running backward. He didn't care whether the drawing had changed or not and sighed without much interest. "Maybe it's different? Who knows, I haven't been paying attention." Chun Ge felt that the meaning depicted in these two drawings seemed somewhat familiar, but he couldn't quite recall it at the moment. After sitting a while longer, he suddenly noticed a folder. It was the doctor's resume materials, which should have been brought to today's interview but were now lying quietly on the table due to their owner's carelessness.

"Hey, you haven't had breakfast yet, right? I'll go get you some rice bowl from the cafeteria." Chun Ge quietly picked up the folder and put it in his backpack.

"Oh, thanks. Get me the spicy chicken diced, and ask the cafeteria chef to add extra chili." Although in low spirits, when it came to food, the doctor still had quite specific demands.

"Got it, got it. Wait here!" Chun Ge picked up his bag and headed out.

These past few days had felt like a dream to the doctor. Having missed the municipal hospital interview, he had been dispirited all day, but then in the evening he received another interview notification call.

It was actually the provincial hospital that Chun Ge was going to! Chun Ge's explanation was that Yin Han, who was originally supposed to go to that hospital, had unexpectedly passed away, leaving an opening. He had used his family connections to submit the doctor's resume, but whether he could get in would still depend on the doctor's own efforts.

The doctor knew that although Chun Ge made it sound simple, he must have called in a huge favor. Thinking that he must find a way to repay this kindness in the future, the doctor accepted this timely help.

The interview went very smoothly. The doctor signed the employment contract on the spot and treated Chun Ge to a big dinner that evening. Because they were happy, they drank many beers together. When they supported each other back to the dormitory, the zoetrope on the table was lit, emitting a gentle warm light.

"Hey! This lamp is great! It can serve as a night light. When getting up at night, you won't need to turn on the bright lights that hurt your eyes." Chun Ge, drunk, sat on the chair and leaned in to look at the zoetrope, then suddenly paused. "This lamp really can spin on its own. Look, the paper drawing has changed again!"

The doctor walked over and saw that indeed another paper drawing had appeared, depicting a person falling off a horse, holding a leg that appeared dislocated. The doctor instinctively assessed: "This person's leg is probably broken, but this posture isn't right. You shouldn't hold a broken leg like that, otherwise the bones will displace and won't align to heal properly. If not handled correctly, there could be sequelae."Chun Ge rolled his eyes at this. "Alright, have you gone crazy preparing for interview questions? You can see so much in a mere paper drawing." The Doctor's drunken head was still spinning, having just managed a moment of clarity before descending back into muddled confusion. "You... take your time looking. I'm going to wash up and sleep."

But Chun Ge grew increasingly unsettled the more he pondered it. "Hey! Do you remember what the first two paper drawings depicted?"

"Two people with one horse, two people with two horses, and now this one person with one horse." The Doctor succinctly summarized each image with four characters, demonstrating his sharp focus and precision—a skill honed through extensive exam practice.

Chun Ge muttered to himself, then suddenly slapped his thigh. "This is... the old frontiersman losing his horse!"

"Exactly! The two people refer to the old frontiersman and his son. The first drawing shows the frontiersman's horse running away, the second shows the lost horse returning with a fine steed. And this current one depicts the son breaking his leg while riding that fine horse. Tsk, this zoetrope illustrates the story of 'the old frontiersman losing his horse.' Quite fitting indeed!" "Oh? You're absolutely right." The Doctor nodded. "'When the old man lost his mare, who could have guessed it was a blessing in disguise?' Fortune and misfortune are intertwined. Heh, this actually mirrors my situation these past few days! See, I missed the municipal hospital interview because my alarm clock broke, but who would've thought I'd still get into the provincial hospital!"

Chun Ge looked at the grinning Doctor with a complicated expression, feeling compelled to dampen his spirits. "If we follow this logic, then you should be heading for misfortune next." "...Are we even friends? How could you scare me like that?" The Doctor instantly sobered up halfway.

"Heh, just joking!" Chun Ge didn't take his own words seriously either. After chatting for a while longer, the two went their separate ways to wash up and sleep.

Only the zoetrope remained, casting an eerie glow in the pitch-black night.

Before the internship period began, there was still training to attend. The Doctor bought a new alarm clock to ensure he arrived early every day.

Though mentally prepared for the job's hardships, the intensity of the workload proved hard to bear. The Director overseeing them often wore an expression of frustrated disappointment, frequently shouting and scolding, driving everyone to strive harder just to earn a word of approval.

Of course, for novices, this was difficult. Yet anyone truly passionate about this profession would never let go once they experienced it.

Personally saving lives, witnessing critically ill patients recover or pass away, experiencing the struggle to snatch lives from death's grasp, receiving families' gratitude and grief—the intertwining sense of achievement and helplessness made each patient feel like a new challenge from which there was no retreat.

Among the interns, there was both competition and mutual support. The Doctor and Chun Ge still shared a dorm, urging each other awake daily to the sound of the new alarm clock before crowding onto buses to reach the hospital. The daily commute actually took over two hours round trip, leading the Doctor to consider following senior colleagues' advice to rent an apartment near the provincial hospital.However, their rest days were on rotation, so they had no concept of weekends and hadn’t found time to look for a place to live. One early morning, the Doctor shared his thoughts with Chun Ge: "Finding a place would be good—I’ve been thinking about it too. The graduation seals from various departments are almost all stamped, so by next week, I won’t need to go to school anymore." After getting off the bus, the two hurried toward the hospital entrance. Hearing the Doctor’s plan, Chun Ge nodded in agreement: "But I’ll probably just live at home, so I won’t be rooming with you, alright!"

"Fine, then I’ll find a smaller place for myself." With his plan to split the rent dashed, the Doctor had to give up the idea. Still, he knew Chun Ge had been staying in the dorm to keep him company—Chun Ge’s home was only a twenty-minute walk from the provincial hospital.

There was still some time before the hospital opened, and the only area with people was the emergency room near the entrance, which operated 24/7. As the Doctor passed by, he felt a strange sensation and glanced back, spotting a man in a black Tang suit standing in the corner. On the dark fabric, a crimson Dragon was faintly embroidered, but from that distance, the man’s face was unclear.

"What are you staring at?" Chun Ge asked, noticing the Doctor had fallen behind.

"Tsk, there’s someone over there wearing really odd clothes. Could it be a cosplayer from some club?" the Doctor quipped teasingly as he turned back.

"Where? There’s no one there!" Chun Ge peered repeatedly in the direction the Doctor had just looked, puzzled.

"...Don’t scare me." The Doctor felt a sudden chill, but when he glanced again, the corner was indeed empty. He forced a dry laugh and said, "Heh, maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me."

"Cut it out—are you telling ghost stories?" Chun Ge thought the Doctor was joking to get back at him for not sharing an apartment. After all, the guy had a track record: back when they first started anatomy class, his ghost stories were so terrifying they’d left Chun Ge with lingering fears!

The Doctor didn’t explain further; perhaps he had just imagined it. There was no time to dwell on it anyway. Once they changed into their white coats, they were plunged back into the intern hell, hustled around by the Director, running up and down floors, only catching a breath while waiting for the elevator.

After picking up the scans the Director wanted from the ultrasound department, the Doctor checked his phone for news while waiting. But after flipping through three pages, the elevator still hadn’t arrived—he realized the wait was unusually long. The elevator lobby was crowded with patients and family members complaining about the hospital’s useless elevators, with neither of the two cars descending. Some, impatient, headed to a farther elevator bank, but most stayed put. Remembering the Director’s eyes, sharper than a scalpel, the Doctor decided to take the stairs. Pushing open the stairwell door, he looked up at the seemingly endless steps and felt his legs go weak at the thought of climbing eight floors.

Still, he’d chosen this path, and even if he had to cry through it, he’d see it through. Trying to make the best of it, the Doctor started climbing, pulling out the scans from his file bag as he went, imagining what questions the Director might ask him later.With an elevator available, few people took the stairs. So when footsteps descended from above, the doctor looked up in surprise. A young man in a black Tang suit was coming down step by step. The striking black Tang suit he wore featured a dark red dragon embroidered on the right sleeve, winding its way up the fabric. The dragon’s ferocious jaws gaped toward the collar, and at first glance, the deep red frog buttons on the front closure looked like drops of blood splattered across the night. The eerie yet lifelike embroidery was so captivating that it was hard to look away, even causing one to overlook the wearer’s appearance.

The two passed each other on the stairs, one going up and the other down. By the time the Doctor came to his senses, he could only look down at the top of the other's head, watching him descend until he disappeared from sight. The Doctor stood there blankly, listening to the fading footsteps, thinking, "So there really was someone! It seems I wasn't seeing things this morning." He wondered what ailment had brought the man to the hospital and guessed that, like him, he had probably taken the stairs because the elevator was taking too long.

This was just a minor incident, easily forgotten in a moment. The Doctor faintly heard a dull thud from downstairs but didn't pay it much mind. When he finally reached the eighth floor, panting and out of breath, he received a call from Chun Ge.

"Where am I? I'm on the eighth floor! The elevator was too slow, so I took the stairs. Is the Director getting impatient waiting for the scans? I'll deliver them right away," the Doctor explained hastily, assuming Chun Ge was urging him. But Chun Ge's frantic words over the phone left the Doctor stunned: "What? You're saying the elevator just crashed? The one we always use in the east wing?"

The investigation into the elevator incident concluded quickly: the elevator had aged, and the passengers had been near the weight limit, causing the crash. Fortunately, the fall wasn't from too high up, and most passengers suffered lumbar injuries or broken legs. Since they were already in the hospital, timely treatment prevented any life-threatening injuries. The Doctor felt a wave of retrospective fear—if he hadn't taken the stairs, he would have been on that elevator.

Chun Ge also thought the Doctor had a lucky escape. The incident caused panic within the hospital, as staff relied on the elevators multiple times daily. How could they trust them now? Even after they returned to their dormitories that evening, the hospital's QQ group was still buzzing with discussions.

The Doctor decided to order some good takeout to calm his nerves, but mindful of rent, he settled for just a pizza, skipping the pasta. As soon as he hung up, he noticed Chun Ge looking pale in front of the computer.

"What's wrong? I'm the one who almost broke my legs today, not you! At worst, we can take the stairs together tomorrow!" the Doctor suggested, then grimaced. "But that means we'll have to leave ten minutes earlier."

"Didn't you say you took the stairs because the elevator was stuck for a long time today?"

"Yeah, I was afraid the Director would scold me for making him wait! But thanks to his strictness, or I would've waited for the elevator!"

"Maybe you should thank someone else."

"Huh?"

"According to the monitoring room, someone held the elevator button upstairs for a while today, preventing it from going down."

"Well... that's not too strange, right? Maybe they were waiting for a friend?"

"It was just one person, and after holding the button for several minutes, they didn't get on the elevator—they took the stairs down instead."

The Doctor suddenly recalled the young man he had passed on the stairs. He looked at Chun Ge inquiringly. "It couldn't be... that man in the black Tang suit, could it?""It's him! You actually ran into him!" Chun Ge was on the verge of collapse. "Could he be some kind of clairvoyant master?! Did he know the elevator would malfunction, so he didn't take it? Or is he a ghost who died in the hospital, lingering around and cursing the elevator motor?!"

Hospitals were never short of ghost stories, and Chun Ge had been driven nearly mad by the wild imaginations of senior doctors in the QQ group: "Quick, tell me! Did you see his face?! What did he look like?!"

"Uh... I don't think I really noticed what he looked like." The doctor scratched his head sheepishly, as his attention had been entirely focused on the man's clothing at the time. Chun Ge couldn't sit still anymore, pacing around the dorm room like a caged animal, muttering about whether it might be better to transfer to a different hospital for his internship. The doctor wasn't concerned, knowing Chun Ge well enough—despite his fears, they never interfered with his work. Otherwise, with such nerves, he would have dropped out of medical school long ago.

"Ah! This zoetrope has changed to a different image! It wasn't like this when I looked this morning!" Chun Ge, who had been pacing, suddenly made a new discovery. Ever since he grew suspicious of the zoetrope, he had been keeping a close eye on it.

The doctor followed the sound and looked over, noticing that the paper drawing on the zoetrope was much more detailed this time, with more characters and even a scene. It clearly depicted a village conscripting soldiers, with Sai Weng's son escaping conscription because his leg was broken.

"If that master hadn't pressed the elevator button, you might have broken your leg today," Chun Ge muttered to himself, piecing things together. "Could it be that this zoetrope really predicts whether upcoming events will bring fortune or misfortune?"

"You're overthinking it..." The doctor's response lacked conviction. "But isn't the story of Sai Weng's horse supposed to end here? Meaning that, in the end, it must be a good thing for me!"

"But this zoetrope has six sides..." Chun Ge said ominously.

"..." The doctor was left speechless.

Since the interns worked on a rotating schedule, the doctor's day off didn't align with Chun Ge's, so the doctor had to go apartment hunting alone.

Standing at the hospital entrance, he looked around blankly, unsure where to find a real estate agency. Almost as if possessed, he suddenly recalled Chun Ge's earlier joking speculation. According to Chun Ge's reasoning, the basis of the Sai Weng's horse story was that the outcome of one event becomes the cause of the next. The lost horse led to the arrival of a wild steed, which in turn caused Sai Weng's son to break his leg, and because of the broken leg, he escaped military service.

Following this logic, the recent events in his own life unfolded similarly: he lost his spot at the city hospital because he was late for the interview, which led to him being accepted at the provincial hospital, and because he entered the provincial hospital, he encountered the elevator accident. If that mysterious man in Tang suit hadn't pressed the elevator button, he would undoubtedly have broken his leg too.

The doctor continued his train of thought: if he had broken his leg, considering that the other elevator accident victims were now in casts with minor injuries, and given the director's iron-willed nature, he wouldn't have been allowed to rest idly. So, if he were in a wheelchair now, he certainly wouldn't choose a real estate agency too far away.The doctor found a security guard at the hospital entrance and inquired about the nearest real estate agency. Sure enough, there was one located in an alley just to the right after exiting the hospital gates. Standing across from the agency, the doctor stared at the wall of property listings plastered on the glass storefront, feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number. Recalling his earlier theory, he thought that if he were in a wheelchair, he wouldn’t be able to see the listings at the top—he should look lower down. Squatting, he scanned the listings within his line of sight and, in one corner, spotted a cheap and affordable rental.

Perfect! Saving money is always a good thing! Rubbing his hands together eagerly, the doctor concluded that such a great listing must have gone unnoticed simply because the agent had placed it in a corner. At this price, the rent he had originally planned to pay for six months would cover a full year! He immediately rushed into the agency, pointed to the listing, and insisted on viewing the property. The real estate agent seemed hesitant, but seeing the doctor’s determination, he eventually dug out the key from the very back of a drawer and took him to see the place.

The apartment was excellent—just one street away from the hospital, less than a ten-minute walk. It came fully furnished with all necessary appliances, featuring one bedroom and one living room, both facing south. The living room had even been partitioned off, complete with a bed, effectively making it a second bedroom. In the future, he could find someone to share the rent, saving even more money. The doctor’s mind buzzed with calculations, and after the viewing, he was satisfied and ready to sign the lease with the agency.

This was a steal! He wouldn’t be able to rest easy if he missed out! Noticing the doctor’s genuine intent to rent, the agent hesitated for a moment before finally speaking up, "Sir, aren’t you curious why this place is so cheap?"

"Huh? Is there a problem?" The doctor’s smile vanished as he pressed, "Unpaid utility bills? A leaky toilet? Or a terrible neighbor who blasts rock music?"

"It’s much worse than that." The agent glanced around nervously, lowering his voice as if afraid something might overhear. "This is a haunted house—someone died here, and it was a wrongful death... Several previous tenants have rented it, but they all moved out after a short time..."

"Oh, that’s nothing!" The doctor had expected some unsolvable issue and breathed a sigh of relief. As a medical professional, he had seen plenty—what was there to fear?

The agent tried repeatedly to dissuade him, but seeing the doctor’s indifference, he gave up. After all, he had done his due diligence and said all that needed to be said. Even if the commission for renting this place was small, every little bit helped!

The two returned cheerfully to the agency, signed the contract, and the doctor paid the fee, receiving the keys in return. The entire process, from viewing to signing, took less than an hour, finishing well before lunchtime.

Since he didn’t have much in his dorm anyway, and with a rare day off, the doctor figured if he didn’t move quickly, he’d have to wait until next week to settle into his new place. He headed back to the dorm to pack, bringing only the essentials for now, and planned to borrow Chun Ge’s family car the next day to move the rest. After cleaning, tidying up, and buying some daily necessities, he had nearly everything ready by the time Chun Ge got off work.

"Wow, look at you! Renting a place without even a word!" Chun Ge, having heard the news, showed up with housewarming snacks and drinks to check it out. "There’s even an extra bed! Does that mean if I work late, I can just crash here?""Deal! I won't rip you off—rent is just one breakfast per night!" the Doctor quipped. Having secured such cheap accommodation put him in high spirits. Still, he'd better not mention this was a haunted house to Chun Ge—the guy was too timid and would definitely lose sleep over it.

"Eh? Weren't you supposed to move tomorrow? Why did you bring this zoetrope over today?" Chun Ge noticed the familiar zoetrope on the kitchen counter. Upon closer inspection, he gasped sharply, "I knew it! You finding this place so quickly was too good to be true. Look—the zoetrope has already shifted to the next paper illustration!"

"I planned to use it as a nightlight." The Doctor was taken aback, having been too busy unpacking to notice. Still, he was curious about what the fifth illustration in the "Sai Weng Loses His Horse" sequence depicted, as the known fable only extended to the fourth panel. Under the warm yellow light, the zoetrope's paper illustration appeared in vivid detail, its content immediately recognizable. Sai Weng's son, having avoided conscription, remained in his hometown. Yet when war ravaged the area, all able-bodied men were drafted, leaving fields untended. Nine out of ten houses stood empty, and corpses littered the land. Both Sai Weng and his son lay starving, on the verge of death.

The Doctor and Chun Ge exchanged glances. The former forced a strained smile and said, "This... might be predicting that I'll run out of money for food after renting this place? But I can always borrow from you!"

"If only it were that simple..." Chun Ge felt an ominous premonition creeping over him.

The next day, Chun Ge borrowed his family's car to help the Doctor move everything from the dorm. Being young men without many possessions, Chun Ge noticed there was still space in the vehicle and decided to pack some of his own belongings to move along. While helping the Doctor unload at the new place, he "accidentally" carried a few of his own items inside too.

The Doctor noticed but said nothing—he'd welcome Chun Ge moving in with open arms! That way, he'd have someone to cover his breakfast expenses!

After learning how little the Doctor paid in rent, Chun Ge became convinced he'd gotten an unbelievable deal. He repeatedly asked if anything unusual had happened during his first night there. The Doctor reported nothing amiss, though he mentioned some noise from the neighboring unit around midnight. With poor sound insulation and a commercial street nearby, the roar of late-night traffic was audible, but it hadn't disturbed his sleep.

Suspicious, Chun Ge paced around the apartment inspecting it with hypercritical attention, even moving bookcases and furniture to examine every corner until satisfied.

"Hey? There's a red wire on this wall—is it a telephone line?" Chun Ge asked after shifting a single-seater sofa.

"Probably, but I have a mobile now, so no need for a landline," the Doctor replied while mopping the floor. "Let's put that sofa somewhere else—over there! No, there!"Chun Ge followed instructions but remained bothered by the abrupt red wire on the wall." His obsessive-compulsive tendencies made him want to remove it entirely. After circling the room several times, he finally settled on placing a small side table in front to conceal it.Afterwards, Chun Ge found another box of dusty books in the cabinet. To his surprise, these were all medical-related books, many of which were foreign original editions filled with notes and annotations in elegant handwriting. The title page bore the name "Li Hua."

"Must be an older female student," the Doctor thought, assuming the books belonged to a girl since guys rarely took such meticulous notes. Although the rental apartment had since been renovated with altered layouts and replaced furniture, careful attention to decorative details still revealed a touch of girlish charm.

"And a top student at that," Chun Ge remarked as he flipped through the books. Despite their age, it was clear these were cutting-edge medical materials from their time—advanced enough that even their current knowledge couldn't fully grasp them. Rather than letting them gather dust, they decided to put them to good use. After wiping the books clean, they arranged them neatly on the bookshelf.

Once settled, the Doctor hurried back to the hospital to resume work. He had only managed to get half a day off by pleading desperately with the Director. Being even a minute late would have meant facing severe consequences.

Chun Ge, who was given a spare set of keys, wasn't in a rush to leave. He pulled two books from the shelf and sat down to read. But after just a few pages, he felt the room grow unnervingly quiet.

It was an indescribable silence—something he hadn't noticed with the Doctor around, but now alone, it became unbearable. It felt like sinking into a thick liquid where nothing could be heard except his own breathing. Whether it was psychological or not, Chun Ge felt a chill down his spine, his whole body creeping with fear. Yet the apartment was near a commercial street! How could it be so silent? Not even the sound of cars!

Growing more frightened by the minute, Chun Ge immediately stood up, abandoned the books, locked the door, and left. He didn't plan to mention it to the Doctor—it seemed like he was just scaring himself, and he'd be too embarrassed to bring it up!

The day after the Doctor moved, the Director announced that they had barely passed the probation period and were officially entering their internship. The interns groaned in dismay—after all that hardship, it was still just probation? Just as they were getting used to things, they were told it was about to get even tougher?

Perhaps numbed by the constant challenges, the Doctor gritted his teeth and persevered through the exhaustion. Fortunately, with his timely move, he could leave home later and return earlier, gaining an extra two hours of sleep each day. So even with the increased workload at the hospital, he felt much better than before.

What puzzled him, though, was that Chun Ge, whose home was slightly farther away, never once suggested staying over. The Doctor invited him a few times, but when Chun Ge didn't agree, he dropped the subject. Still, the Doctor had already made up his mind: whenever Chun Ge did come to stay, he'd insist on treating him to a meal at that incredibly upscale Han Family Private Kitchen on the commercial street!Every time he passed by that antique-style entrance on his way to work, the Doctor would imagine how delicious the food inside must be, always drooling with anticipation. However, imagination is plump while reality is bony. Within a few days, he discovered the place was covered with green curtains. While eating xiaolongbao next door, he overheard neighbors gossiping that the establishment had changed owners and would no longer operate as a restaurant but as an antique shop.

What was the Boss thinking? Opening an antique shop on a commercial street full of food and entertainment? Shouldn't it be on an antique street instead?!

With his dream of lavish meals shattered, the Doctor remained in low spirits all day. To make matters worse, it was exceptionally busy—a chain collision on the highway kept them working in the emergency room until past 11 p.m. before they were relieved for a break. With no buses running at that hour, the Doctor once again invited Chun Ge to stay overnight at his place. Chun Ge hesitated briefly, but exhaustion and the thought of having to wake up early the next morning led him to agree.

The Doctor returned home, washed up hastily, and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, sleeping dreamlessly through the night.

It felt as if he had just lain down for a few minutes when someone shook him awake. Struggling to open his eyes, the Doctor saw someone sitting by his bedside. Outside the window, the sky was just beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn, and faint daylight streamed through the curtains he had forgotten to draw the night before. Backlit, the figure's face was indistinguishable, making the scene all the more eerie and frightening.

"What are you doing?!" The Doctor shivered, his imagination running wild, and he was fully awake now. Squinting, he realized it was Chun Ge, whose face was deathly pale. Only then did he remember that he had invited Chun Ge to sleep in the living room the previous night. "Th-there's... something... in the room..." Chun Ge's voice trembled as he spoke. "What kind of thing?" The Doctor picked up the glow-in-the-dark alarm clock by his bed and saw it was far from the time he had set, so he planned to pull the covers over his head and go back to sleep.

Chun Ge wouldn't let him have his way, tugging at him and starting to complain.

According to Chun Ge, he had barely slept all night, constantly feeling as if someone was watching him the moment he closed his eyes. Sharp, cutting pains had been shooting through various parts of his body. He had struggled to get up and run to the Doctor's room but couldn't wake him no matter how hard he tried. He even attempted to leave but found the door wouldn't open, and when he tried to call for help, his phone had no signal.

"I was about to break down if you didn't wake up!" Chun Ge said frantically.

In fact, he already looked like he had broken down.

The Doctor complained inwardly while comforting him, "You're overthinking it, aren't you?" Feeling uncomfortable? Maybe you didn't air out your quilt in time? I told you not to be lazy—now you probably have fleas! As for not being able to leave or having no phone signal, it's probably all in your head. You haven't been resting well lately, so you must have had sleep paralysis! Hey, even though it has such a scary name, medically it's a symptom of sleep paralysis. You're a medical student! You shouldn't believe in idealism!"

Seeing that the Doctor wouldn't believe him no matter what he said, Chun Ge got annoyed, put on his jacket and shoes, and left. Listening to the sound of the door closing outside, the Doctor lay back down to catch some more sleep, muttering to himself, "See, you could open the door and leave just fine. Really..."When the sky was fully lit and the alarm clock rang, the doctor reluctantly got out of bed. Recalling the morning's events, he decided to tease Chun Ge at work. Didn't they agree that Chun Ge would treat him to breakfast today?! Using such a cheap trick to avoid treating someone was just too low!

The doctor had gathered a whole arsenal of sarcastic remarks, only to discover upon arriving at the hospital that Chun Ge hadn't shown up for work at all. Messages went unanswered and calls went straight to voicemail, making the doctor grow somewhat concerned. By noon, unable to hold back any longer, he went to the Director's office to inquire.

"Chun Ge? He took the day off and will be back tomorrow," the Director replied, unusually amiable and beaming with uncharacteristic warmth compared to his usual stern demeanor. The doctor shuddered but pressed on, "Director, how come you approved his leave? And why do you seem so happy about it?" Shouldn't such last-minute absences be met with stern criticism?

"Do I really seem that unreasonable?" the Director snorted coldly. "Everyone encounters unexpected situations. Even doctors aren't immune to all illnesses - taking leave is perfectly normal! Besides, if someone forces themselves to work while preoccupied or unwell, they're more likely to make mistakes due to distraction. And if we make mistakes here, lives could be at stake! Understand? From now on, feel free to request leave when needed!"

The Doctor hadn't expected his casual inquiry to trigger such a lengthy lecture, and quickly responded with meek agreement.

"Of course, if someone takes too much leave trying to slack off, and their attendance record becomes unacceptable, I'd have no choice but to terminate their employment." After this combination of warning and lecturing, the Director finally let the Doctor leave. The Doctor walked away with his head hanging low. Well, if Chun Ge wasn't coming in, so be it. Since all their colleagues knew they were close friends, Chun Ge's workload had been dumped on him instead. Working double duty all day had left him feeling like he'd lost two pounds from exhaustion. He'd definitely have to make Chun Ge treat him to a lavish meal!

When the Doctor saw Chun Ge the next day, he didn't get a chance to make this demand before being dragged into a corner. Chun Ge mysteriously pressed a palm-sized wooden box into his hands.

"What's this?" The Doctor looked down to see a dusty wooden box with patches of lacquer peeling off, appearing quite worn and shabby.

"This is the real deal! I specially went back to my hometown to get this for you from the temple! Take it home and place it on the floor - it suppresses evil entities!" Chun Ge declared, thumping his chest for emphasis.

The Doctor found this utterly bizarre. Some treasure? Had Chun Ge been scammed by some monk? Just as he started to open the box to see what was inside, Chun Ge immediately pressed down on his hand.

"No! You can't look, and don't touch it carelessly!" Chun Ge hesitated for a moment before gritting his teeth. "Forget it, I'll come to your place after work and handle it myself!" With that, he snatched the wooden box back from the Doctor, clearly worried he might open it. The Doctor found this amusing but didn't think much of it.

After work, Chun Ge indeed showed up at the Doctor's apartment carrying the wooden box. Muttering mysteriously, he found a spot near the corner where the telephone line entered the wall and placed it there. Chun Ge seemed too nervous to stay even a moment longer, immediately turning around to leave. Before going, he specifically checked the zoetrope and, finding the paper scene unchanged, warned the Doctor that the misfortune hadn't passed yet and urged him to be careful. The Doctor paid little mind to this, instead staring at the wooden box in the corner for a long time. Soon enough, he found himself thinking about it during dinner, while showering, while brushing his teeth, and even while lying in bed. Well, now he couldn't sleep without knowing what was inside!

Finding an excuse to inspect everything in his apartment, the Doctor threw off his covers and went to the living room wall. After hesitating for a while, he finally opened the wooden box. Inside sat quietly a metal object that resembled a counterweight.

Curious, the Doctor picked it up and discovered it was a bronze tiger sculpture with some rust-colored patina. The tiger stood atop a mountain rock, its head raised in a roar, rendered quite vividly.

Still, no matter how he looked at it, the whole thing seemed like a scam.

The Doctor put the bronze tiger back in the box. After some thought, he decided the wooden box wasn't in the way where it was, so he left it undisturbed.As he stood up and walked toward the bedroom, he nearly tripped. Looking down, he saw it was the red telephone cord extending from the wall.

Strange. Perhaps Chun Ge had accidentally pulled it out while moving the tea table earlier. Making a mental note to cut or coil up the cord when he had time, Doctor yawned and returned to the bedroom, completely missing how the red cord moved without any breeze, swiftly retracting into the wooden box with its lid slightly ajar...

Doctor fell asleep the moment he lay down, but in his half-conscious state, he realized his body had become paralyzed! In his awareness, he could clearly recognize this as sleep paralysis – the condition he'd once teased Chun Ge about, commonly known as "ghost pressing on the bed." Yet as time passed, an inexplicable panic began to grip him.

Just as Chun Ge had described, his body began to ache rhythmically, as if someone were slicing pieces of flesh from him with a knife.

Doctor tried to get up but found his limbs powerless, unable to even sit up. He attempted to shout but no sound emerged.

He rolled his eyes, hoping to break free from the sleep paralysis by starting with his eye muscles. But when he glanced toward a corner of the room, he caught a flash of red shadow darting past.

If his eyes didn't deceive him, it was a... red Dragon?

(End of Chapter)