Recap
The photo showed the man and woman, with a young man in striped hospital clothes.
The man was tall, the woman strikingly beautiful. Both stood behind the youth, their hands pressing on his shoulders, pinning him in place.
The youth sat in a chair, eyes hollow, gaze unfocused, body limp like a puppet stripped of will.
The bedroom door creaked open. Shen Ji’s senses tingled, he lifted his head and saw the misfortune bound to the bed.
*Mentions of triggering self unalive content.*
_____
The young man from the photo appeared in reality, still wearing the striped hospital gown.
He was bound tightly to the bed with straps, eyes shut, eyeballs twitching restlessly beneath the lids. His face twisted in terror, as though trapped in a nightmare too dreadful to endure.
Shen Ji’s expression darkened. In the boy’s story of the couple, this youth had never been mentioned.
According to the boy, the couple had once been wealthy. After their company collapsed, drowning in debt, they fled to this apartment, hiding their names.
They blamed each other for everything. Accusations, resentment, curses, fights, hatred flew. Their glamorous facade stripped away, love turned into venomous enmity.
Once lovers, now enemies. Once building a happy home together, now bloodied and desperate to escape.
Shen Ji studied the photo of the man and woman. Back then, they were radiant, possessing everything they desired. Had they ever imagined such disgrace?
In the photo, the youth gazed outward at Shen Ji as if across time and space, exhausted, suddenly blinking at him.
Shen Ji broke into a cold sweat, quickly looking at the bound youth on the bed. His eyes remained shut, his eyes never opened.
No one else was in the room. Shen Ji left the couple’s home, unable to take the nonexistent parents*, carrying only a family portrait which might not be real.
(*Parents who are never around.)
In the stairwell, the boy stood before him, head lowered, silent.
His guilty posture seemed pitiful. But Shen Ji’s heart was stone; he refused to soften.
The boy lifted his face, expression blank yet sorrowful. “Misfortune is my only friend.”
Shen Ji faltered, feeling a fragile part of his heart collapse.
He did not lash out, but he would not let it pass. Calmly, he pointed out the truth: “You hid this from me. You broke our agreement. From now on, I will not be able to fully trust you. Do you understand the consequences?”
The boy looked up, his young face revealed a natural innocence that stirred protective instincts but Shen Ji ignored it. “The consequence is, I’ll suspect you’re lying. I won’t try as hard to find your parents. Can you accept that?”
Tears streamed silently down the boy’s face, his blank expression unchanged.
Shen Ji sat on the steps, meeting his gaze. Knowing the boy understood his mistake, he let it go, handing him the photo. “Alright. Tell me about your only friend.”
The boy blinked away tears, dazedly taking the photo. After a long pause, he sat beside Shen Ji. “I admit…I led you to the fifth floor on purpose. My parents never lived there.”
“Why?”
The boy was silent.
“Can’t say?”
Looking at the photo, he decided to confess. “I wanted you to help me see if Misfortune was dead.”
Shen Ji understood. The youth named Misfortune was the boy’s only friend. “Why don’t you visit him yourself?”
“I’m prohibited from entering.”
“Is he ill?”
“He’s dying.”
“He’s alive.”
“Physically.”
“And the rest?”
“In a state worse than death.”
“I can’t help him.”
“Neither can I.”
Sadness silenced Shen Ji.
After a while, the boy said: “That’s the only thing I hid. About my parents, I never lied.”
Shen Ji glanced at him, reassuring. “I promised to find your parents. I won’t break this promise.”
“You’re a good person.”
A child’s passing comments…Shen Ji didn’t take them to heart.
They parted at the stairwell. It was still early. The actor and the old woman were Shen Ji’s afternoon targets.
_________Triggering content ahead__________
The failed actor had no education, no credentials. He spent his life as an extra, finally landing a named role, only to break his leg in the first scene. The crew paid him off, then replaced him.
Penniless, he abandoned his dream, working at an amusement park as a clown.
But during renovations, a major accident underground halted construction. The park closed. The actor lost his job, stripped of his role as entertainer.
When Shen Ji reached his door, the actor was attempting to hang himself.
The rope dangled from the beam. Shen Ji had never seen someone attempting to hang themselves at their own doorway.
Face dark, eyes bulging, nearly strangled—until the rope snapped, dropping him to the floor before his last breath.
He fell hard, unable to rise. Shen Ji helped him up.
Shivering, the actor grinned foolishly. “Doesn’t hurt. Heh. Doesn’t hurt. You okay? I’m fine.”
In the boy’s story, the actor eventually lost his mind, becoming mentally disabled.
Picking up the broken rope, the actor scratched his head, forgetting what it was for. He ignored Shen Ji, turned around and went back into the apartment.
The small home was neat and clean. Shen Ji followed, watching him place the rope carefully in a drawer, then open the fridge, solemnly taking out two eggs to cook a meal.
___Triggering content over____
His movements were clumsy, forgetting steps, burning his fingers, salting the dish three times. The food came out scorched. Yet his knife work was swift and precise.
Shen Ji sat opposite him at the table. When he lifted his bowl, the actor paused, staring at him in confusion. Shen Ji thought he might speak—but he simply looked away and focused on devouring his food.
Immersed in his own world, he ignored Shen Ji completely. Perhaps he was the only person who exists in his world.
The hot food made Shen Ji’s stomach growl. He served himself rice, sitting face to face with the actor.
The rice was hard, the dish bitter and salty. As Shen Ji reached for a third bite, the actor slammed his bowl down.
___
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