Chapter Sixty-Nine: Estrangement

In recent days, the headlines have been dominated by the field of artificial intelligence, but the focus hasn't been on technological breakthroughs—instead, it’s been a string of incidents. It began with a leading domestic tech firm, Youkang, whose chief technologist was attacked in his own home; days later, the founder and president of another tech company, Houyi, was discovered to have vanished without a trace. When the police searched his house, they found a couple who had been missing for some time—the husband was a former employee of Central Tech—thus bringing the third domestic AI giant into the scandal.

That was all the official information the police released, but the AI community was already in turmoil, and the shockwaves quickly rippled outward. Rumors erupted like a volcano, exposing onlookers to a spectacle of intrigue—leaks, poaching, corporate espionage, and even a few salacious tales, all more thrilling than any business drama.

Shengyao scrolled through the latest news, not quite finishing before an incoming call notification filled his phone’s screen. He answered as he walked.

“Hey, Xiao Sheng.” On the other end, Tong Bin’s voice sounded weary, struggling for cheer.

“Hello. I was just reading the news…” Shengyao tried to sound calm, responding casually.

“Yeah… it’s gotten out of control…” Tong Bin sighed. “I just got home from giving another statement to the police. It’s the third time now…” He sounded resigned.

Shengyao asked a few gentle questions, encouraging Tong Bin to continue. Tong Bin clearly wanted someone to talk to. His relationship with his parents had always been distant, and even if they’d been closer, he wouldn’t want to burden them with this. Besides family, he had few friends. The one friend he was close to, Kong Yajie, was the main subject of the case—and she was married. As for colleagues, even those not directly involved in the incidents were on edge; at work, they exchanged only furtive glances, too nervous to discuss anything openly, while after hours, anonymous chat groups buzzed with wild rumors, some true, some false. Tong Bin was never the sociable type and hadn’t forged close relationships at work, but after years in the industry and with so many old classmates, he was at least a quiet observer in these circles. He’d heard plenty of gossip, but as someone tangentially involved, he dared not say much, for fear of letting something slip.

Thus, Shengyao, with whom he’d grown closer lately, was now his only confidant. He’d even become accustomed to seeking Shengyao out for a chat.

“…Zheng Yichao still hasn’t been found, but… I only learned today that the people they found at his place… they were dead…” Tong Bin’s voice trembled. “They starved to death.”

Shengyao stopped in his tracks.

“I heard they’d already been bitten, scratched, and injured by something while still alive, then Zheng Yichao locked them in the house. When he disappeared… they just…” Tong Bin paused. “I never imagined Zheng Yichao was capable of such a thing.”

But Shengyao wasn’t listening to the rest of Tong Bin’s words. He was lost in thought.

When he came back to himself, Tong Bin was already onto another topic: “…There were rumors in our field that Zheng Yichao used some underhanded tactics… but no one had any proof. Now it’s all come to light. I heard the police even found Lin Jun—oh, you don’t know him. Lin Jun was in our year, a top student, only surpassed by Zheng Yichao in junior year. Back then, Lin Jun couldn’t accept it; others even suspected Zheng Yichao of cheating…”

Tong Bin rambled on, and Shengyao pieced together the narrative:

Unlike Zheng Yichao, who’d stayed in the country and built his career from scratch, or Gao Yan, who had always planned to return after going abroad, Lin Jun had emigrated directly, reinvented himself, and never spoke of his university days, cutting all ties back home. If not for the foreign company he now worked for aiming to enter the domestic market—and specifically wanting Lin Jun, as a fellow Chinese, to head the project—he might never have reconnected with anyone back home. Lin Jun apparently intended to take revenge on Zheng Yichao, partly out of personal vendetta, partly for work.

“…Lin Jun privately sought out that couple, probably with that in mind. Zheng Yichao went completely mad… I never thought…” Tong Bin kept trailing off, furious, shocked, and, above all, frightened in hindsight.

“You don’t remember anything?” Shengyao interrupted, cutting through Tong Bin’s anxious, relieved monologue.

“What? Oh… yeah. Neither Xiaoya, her husband, nor I remember anything. None of us recall Zheng Yichao ever visiting Xiaoya’s place. The security guards in her building don’t remember anything either, can’t explain why the cameras were turned off. Maybe Zheng Yichao tampered with the system, hacked the surveillance. Maybe he used drugs… who knows. And it was pouring rain that night—otherwise, someone in the complex might have noticed. The surrounding area was still under construction, the subway not yet finished, so there were no cameras there either.” Tong Bin sighed helplessly.

Shengyao felt a momentary relief, then the weight returned.

Zheng Yichao’s madness was laced with a certain caution. He seemed like a deranged killer, but from his repeated escapes, one could glimpse cowardice, even timidity, in him.

Shengyao recalled the monstrous form Zheng Yichao had taken.

Perhaps, it was not Zheng Yichao who was truly mad.

His thoughts turned to Liu Yu—how Liu Yu had stood there, unmoving, while the grotesque mass attacked Yu Guangchun. There was a certain similarity in the way Zheng Yichao behaved.

Teetering between frenzy and calm, between monster and man…

Shengyao exchanged a few more words with Tong Bin, offered some comfort, then ended the call.

He had arrived at the door of the Monster Clinic.

Standing before the glass door, Shengyao couldn’t help but recall that stormy night, when he and Bai Xiao had gazed at each other through the glass.

He steadied himself and pushed the door open.

“You’re here.” Bai Xiao was in the kitchen, rinsing rice for dinner. She turned her head and greeted him with a gentle smile.

“Yeah. I bought some cooked dishes.” Shengyao smiled too, stepping forward to help with dinner.

He never mentioned that night, nor the aftermath of Tong Bin’s ordeal. Watching Bai Xiao wash and chop vegetables, he quietly fetched the tableware from the cupboard.

As the oil in the pan heated up and the vegetables hit the wok with a sizzle, Shengyao’s mind wandered.

Tong Bin’s words echoed in his ears.

That couple had starved to death in Zheng Yichao’s house… Zheng Yichao had attacked them, but hadn’t killed them outright. Their deaths were because… because Zheng Yichao never returned… and the reason Zheng Yichao didn’t return was because…

Shengyao’s hand trembled.

He remembered that noisy couple. In the dim stairwell of the hotel, he’d heard the woman’s startled voice; at the banquet hall, he’d glimpsed the husband darting about.

With the memory came the image of Zheng Yichao, once elegant and composed, quickly replaced by the monstrous being he became.

Whatever had happened to Zheng Yichao was now dissolved in the downpour of that night, along with his death.

The only thing Shengyao could be sure of was that he’d misunderstood Zheng Yichao, and Zheng Yichao had misunderstood him. Had he not mistaken Tong Bin for the “patient” and spent so much time and effort on him; had Zheng Yichao not suspected Lin Jun was his “patient,” returning for revenge; had things not spiraled so far… But no, things had already reached that point long before.

The rumors from Tong Bin, combined with the abnormal abilities Shengyao had witnessed in Zheng Yichao, made it easy to imagine what he’d done with those monstrous powers.

The thick medical file at the doctor’s office also proved how far gone Zheng Yichao was.

If Shengyao hadn’t intervened, Zheng Yichao would have ended up on this path sooner or later.

But… that was just “sooner or later”—a self-comforting rationalization.

Shengyao watched Bai Xiao’s busy back intently, emotions surging within him.

What about his own “sooner or later” with Bai Xiao? Would they live to old age in peace, like Mao Mao, or spiral into madness like Zheng Yichao? Was Mao Mao truly living quietly with Lu Meimei to the end? Was the coincidence of those two apartment owners as innocent as his investigation suggested, or did Mao Mao possess some strange ability that made everything seem coincidental? Just as Zheng Yichao had erased the memories of Kong Yajie and her husband and Tong Bin, perhaps Mao Mao too…

Lost in thought, Shengyao suddenly felt a tremendous force strike.

There was no pain, but his body was propelled backward uncontrollably. Or rather, the world rushed away from him, his body left behind, unable to keep up as he was expelled from the clinic.

In a flash, Shengyao found the world around him had changed. He hadn’t even seen how he’d been pushed out, but now he stood in the street, facing an unfamiliar wall.

He was startled, but regained his composure quickly.

Though it was his first time experiencing something like this, he had been through similar things before.

A thought flashed through his mind: Another patient had entered the clinic.

The doctor must be protecting the patient’s privacy, so when a new patient arrived, he was ejected.

Come to think of it, he had never discussed Zheng Yichao’s case with the doctor.

He always felt the doctor wouldn’t be interested, and deep down, he didn’t want to talk about Zheng Yichao’s death—not inside the clinic, at least. Otherwise, he would always remember Bai Xiao standing behind the glass that night.

And besides… having one patient kill another—surely that wouldn’t please the doctor.

Shengyao’s thoughts drifted. Not even two minutes had passed before the glass doors of the Monster Clinic reappeared before him.

So soon?

He looked around, but saw no one new on the street.

Perhaps the patient hadn’t exited “here”…

Instinctively, Shengyao reached for his phone to check his location, but stopped himself.

He reentered the clinic and found Bai Xiao missing from the kitchen.

The wok was still sizzling on the stove, a faint burnt smell just beginning to rise.

Shengyao turned off the gas and looked toward the patient room.

Bai Xiao was indeed sitting on the hospital bed, looking dazed, lost, and deeply unsettled.

Shengyao could easily read her thoughts.

“Shengsheng, what’s wrong?” he asked gently, approaching her. “Was there a patient just now?”

Bai Xiao jumped, startled, then tried to compose herself and forced a smile. “No. Well… maybe. I only saw their back.”

“What kind of person? Were they frightening?” Shengyao thought of Mao Mao in monster form, and of Zheng Yichao who had died by his hand.

Neither time had Bai Xiao been so shaken.

She shook her head evasively. “I was just… startled. You disappeared so suddenly—I thought something happened to you. But it’s fine. Oh! My food!” She broke off, exclaiming, and hurried past Shengyao back to the kitchen.

Shengyao frowned at her retreating figure, pensive. His gaze drifted toward the consulting room.

A sense of unease drove him to approach.

From the kitchen came the clatter of utensils, hurried and chaotic—Bai Xiao was clearly flustered.

He quickened his pace to the consulting room door, but then stopped.

Should he just be honest with Bai Xiao?

Would letting misunderstandings fester only make things spiral out of control, as with Zheng Yichao?

He turned to look at the kitchen.

Bai Xiao hadn’t emerged, and the kitchen had gone quiet. It was as if she was waiting for Shengyao to decide.

This… wasn’t like her at all.

A glimmer of realization flashed in Shengyao’s eyes.

Creak—

The door before him swung open by itself.

The doctor appeared in the doorway, frowning, impatience clear on his face.

Shengyao hesitated.

“What is it?” the doctor asked, holding the door wider and returning to sit behind his desk.

He sat down and began writing in the open medical file before him.

Shengyao’s eyes followed the movement, catching a glimpse of the handwriting. There was no patient name, only a hospital emergency room bed number in the address field.

The first two characters of the hospital’s name were “Longcheng,” a famous tourist city in the country.

That seemed… off…

Was it a dying patient, in the midst of resuscitation, who’d found the clinic?

Shengyao couldn’t help but recall the car accident that had taken Bai Xiao away.

If only he’d known of the Monster Clinic then…

Why hadn’t he known? How did patients find the clinic at all?

Fate?

Coincidence?

Or was the doctor selecting his patients?

Shengyao considered all the possibilities, only snapping out of it when he felt the doctor’s cool blue gaze settle on him.

“I… Do you know about Zheng Yichao?” Shengyao blurted out.

The doctor’s ten nails whispered among themselves, their laughter, sobbing, and curses tinged with sadness.

Shengyao clenched his jaw, his heart pounding.

The doctor’s cold blue eyes flicked back to the medical file. “Close the door on your way out.”

That was a refusal.

Shengyao said nothing, quietly pulling the door shut.

From the kitchen came the sounds of activity.

He slowly made his way back to the kitchen.

“What did you say to the doctor? Is he joining us for dinner?” Bai Xiao asked lightly, plating the cooked food.

“No. He’s not,” Shengyao replied.

“Then it’s just the two of us.” Bai Xiao tilted her head with a smile. “Hand me that large plate, will you?” She turned back to the stove.

Clearly, she didn’t want to discuss what had just happened.

Just as they’d never spoken about that stormy night.

He hadn’t even entered the clinic that day, and Bai Xiao hadn’t called out to him.

Shengyao realized a gulf had opened between them.

It hadn’t sprung up overnight.

Since Bai Xiao’s return, their relationship had changed… Once, there’d been nothing they couldn’t say to each other, no secrets at all.

Now everything was different… and could never be the same.

A complicated emotion flooded Shengyao’s heart—sorrow, resignation, the urge to cry and laugh all at once—just like the doctor’s ten nails.

“Shengyao.” With her back to him, Bai Xiao suddenly spoke. “Darling…”

“Yes?” Shengyao’s heart tightened.

“That patient, earlier…” Bai Xiao said with difficulty, “You should go and see them.”

Shengyao froze.

“After dinner, go and check on them.” Bai Xiao hung her head, fiddling with the spatula.

Shengyao was silent for a long time before finally replying, “Alright.”