After hanging up, Chen Ge followed Inspector Lee's suggestion and logged onto the website. He searched for half an hour before he found Wang Xin's name; the person who had adopted her was a Madam Gu.
After clicking on Madam Gu's profile, he realized that she had posted many threads on the forum requesting for help. Chen Ge just wanted to know a bit more about this Madam Gu, but as he studied her threads, his expression changed.
Wang Xin seemed to have fallen victim to some kind of psychological illness and Madam Gu had gone about asking for professional help. In the end, it was a doctor with the surname Gao who had come to her aid.
This Doctor Gao's resume was printed clearly on his profile: Senior psychologist, tenured lecturer at Jiujiang Medical University.
Could there really be such a coincidence? Chen Ge hesitated for a moment before giving Gao Ru Xue's father a call.
"Hello?"
"Doctor Gao, I'm Gao Ru Xue's friend. We discussed a boy's condition last night."
"Has the boy's conditions stabilized?"
"I'm not sure about that, but I'm calling because of another case today." Chen Ge thought about it and decided honesty was the best policy. "Have you treated a girl by the name of Wang Xin?"
Doctor Gao was surprised. "How do you know about that?"
"I know the reason behind Wang Xin's psychological problem, and I can save her. Can you please give me her address?"
"You can save her?" Doctor Gao denied his demand immediately. "I'm sorry, but I cannot give away my patient's information."
"Doctor Gao, Wang Xin is in very deep pain. As her attending physician, you have to know how much suffering she is in. She must be tormented by fear and nightmares. Can't you give me a chance, please?"
Doctor Gao was silent for a very long time before sighing. "How about this? I will accompany you. We will meet at the gate to Fang Hwa residential area."
"Okay, see you there!" This was the best result Chen Ge could get.
Forty minutes later, Chen Ge finally met Gao Ru Xue's father in person. He was a middle-aged man with a fit physique and plenty of charm. After a simple introduction, Doctor Gao led him to one of the large buildings.
"Can you really solve Wang Xin's issues?" Doctor Gao was most concerned about this.
"I know the reason to her sickness, so I have fifty percent confidence that I can solve it."
"That is more than enough; she's also a special patient. The anti-depressants and medicine aren't working so well, but I simply couldn't find any other symptoms in her."
The pair rode the elevator until the 14th floor. One of the doors was opened. Doctor Gao had called the patient's family before they arrived.
After severing the call with Inspector Lee, Chen Ge wasted no time, his fingers already navigating the glowing screen of his phone as he followed the officer's cryptic lead to the adoption website, a digital archive that promised to hold the key to locating Wang Xin, the sole survivor of Mu Yang High School's tragic first cohort and the linchpin to fulfilling the Pen Spirit's elusive wish. Settling onto a bench at the edge of the park, where the evening's twilight cast long shadows across the pavement, he logged into the site with a focused intensity, his eyes scanning the interface with the precision of a hunter tracking elusive prey, the faint hum of departing park-goers fading into a distant murmur as he immersed himself in the task. After nearly thirty minutes of relentless searching—sifting through outdated profiles, fragmented records, and the occasional dead-end link—he finally unearthed a reference to Wang Xin's name, a fleeting entry buried in the site's labyrinthine depths, her adoption tied to a woman named Madam Gu, whose profile emerged like a beacon amid the digital fog, offering Chen Ge the first tangible thread to pursue in his quest to bridge the spectral and the living.
Intrigued, Chen Ge clicked into Madam Gu's profile, expecting a sparse outline of bureaucratic details, but what he found instead was a sprawling tapestry of desperate pleas woven across the forum's threads, each post a raw outpouring of a caregiver's anguish, seeking aid for a child ensnared by unseen torments. The threads revealed a woman grappling with forces beyond her ken, her words saturated with a mix of maternal devotion and mounting despair as she sought professional intervention for Wang Xin's deteriorating condition, the posts painting a vivid portrait of a young girl haunted by shadows that no ordinary remedy could dispel. As Chen Ge scrolled deeper, his expression shifted from curiosity to grim recognition, the weight of the Pen Spirit's influence crystallizing in his mind; Wang Xin's plight was no mere coincidence but a direct echo of the spectral trauma that tethered her to the events at Mu Yang High School, her psychological unraveling a mirror to the restless spirits that lingered in the scenario's haunted halls, their unresolved grievances manifesting in her fractured psyche.
The forum threads chronicled Madam Gu's exhaustive search for solutions, her appeals growing more urgent with each unanswered post until a single name emerged as a lifeline: Doctor Gao, a senior psychologist whose intervention had offered a glimmer of hope amid the darkness. Chen Ge's pulse quickened as he clicked into the doctor's profile, where a meticulously curated resume laid bare his credentials—a tenured lecturer at Jiujiang Medical University, with decades of expertise in unraveling the mind's deepest knots, his reputation a bulwark of authority in the field of psychological care. The coincidence struck Chen Ge like a spark in a powder keg, the name Gao igniting a connection to Gao Ru Xue, a friend whose father he had consulted just the previous night about an unrelated case, the synchronicity too precise to dismiss as mere chance, as if the threads of fate were weaving themselves around his mission with deliberate intent, guiding him toward a convergence of past and present that held the key to Wang Xin's salvation—and the Pen Spirit's wish.
Could there really be such a coincidence? Chen Ge hesitated, his thumb hovering over the call button as he weighed the improbability of the connection, his mind racing through the permutations of chance versus destiny, the black phone's spectral imperatives whispering at the edges of his thoughts like an unseen chorus urging him forward. With a steadying breath, he dialed Doctor Gao's number, the line connecting with a crisp clarity that belied the weight of the conversation to come. "Hello?" the doctor's voice answered, steady but tinged with the weariness of a man accustomed to late-night crises, his tone a blend of professional reserve and cautious curiosity, as if bracing for another of Chen Ge's unpredictable entreaties.
"Doctor Gao, I'm Gao Ru Xue's friend. We discussed a boy's condition last night," Chen Ge began, grounding the conversation in their prior exchange to establish a foundation of trust, his words measured to ease the doctor into the delicate terrain of his request. "Has the boy's condition stabilized?" Gao inquired, his concern immediate and genuine, the question a reflection of his dedication to his patients, even those introduced through Chen Ge's unorthodox channels. "I'm not sure about that, but I'm calling because of another case today," Chen Ge replied, pausing to gather his thoughts before opting for candor, knowing that half-truths would only erode the doctor's confidence. "Have you treated a girl by the name of Wang Xin?" he asked, the name dropping into the conversation like a stone into still water, its ripples carrying the weight of spectral significance that Chen Ge alone could fully grasp.
Doctor Gao's sharp intake of breath was audible through the line, a momentary crack in his professional veneer. "How do you know about that?" he demanded, his surprise laced with a defensive edge, the question a shield raised against the intrusion into a patient's guarded history, his role as Wang Xin's physician binding him to a code of confidentiality that Chen Ge's inquiry now threatened to breach. "I know the reason behind Wang Xin's psychological problem, and I can save her. Can you please give me her address?" Chen Ge pressed, his voice steady but infused with a quiet urgency, the claim bold yet tempered by the sincerity of his mission, his confidence rooted in the spectral insights gleaned from the Pen Spirit's manifestations, which pointed to a trauma intertwined with the school's tragic past, a puzzle he alone was positioned to solve.
"You can save her?" Doctor Gao's skepticism was palpable, his tone hardening as he deflected the request with clinical finality. "I'm sorry, but I cannot give away my patient's information," he stated, the refusal a fortress of ethical resolve, his duty to protect Wang Xin's privacy overriding Chen Ge's impassioned plea, the doctor's silence a wall that seemed impenetrable in the face of bureaucratic and moral constraints. Undeterred, Chen Ge leaned into his argument, his voice softening with empathy to bridge the gap. "Doctor Gao, Wang Xin is in very deep pain. As her attending physician, you have to know how much suffering she is in. She must be tormented by fear and nightmares. Can't you give me a chance, please?" he implored, painting a vivid picture of Wang Xin's torment—haunted by visions that no medication could quell, her nights likely plagued by the spectral echoes of Mu Yang High School, the Pen Spirit's grief manifesting as relentless nightmares that only a resolution of her friend's wish could hope to silence.
Doctor Gao fell silent, the pause stretching into a contemplative void that seemed to span eternities, the weight of Chen Ge's words wrestling with his professional instincts until a heavy sigh broke the tension, signaling a reluctant concession. "How about this? I will accompany you. We will meet at the gate to Fang Hwa residential area," he proposed, the compromise a delicate balance between duty and curiosity, his willingness to escort Chen Ge a testament to the trust their prior interactions had fostered, tempered by the need to safeguard his patient's welfare while exploring the possibility that Chen Ge's unorthodox insight might hold the key to her recovery. "Okay, see you there!" Chen Ge agreed, his voice bright with gratitude, recognizing the offer as the best outcome he could have secured, a collaborative path that preserved Gao's ethical boundaries while advancing his mission to reach Wang Xin and fulfill the Pen Spirit's spectral mandate.
Forty minutes later, as the city's skyline surrendered to the deepening hues of dusk, Chen Ge arrived at the gates of Fang Hwa residential area, a sprawling complex of high-rises that loomed against the twilight like sentinels of urban life, their windows glinting with the last vestiges of daylight. There, he met Doctor Gao in person for the first time—a middle-aged man whose fit physique and understated charm belied the weight of his profession, his neatly pressed attire and steady gaze exuding a quiet authority tempered by a warmth that spoke of genuine care for those under his charge. After a brief exchange of introductions, their handshake a bridge between their disparate worlds, Gao led the way toward one of the towering buildings, his stride purposeful yet tinged with a cautious deliberation, as if weighing the implications of bringing Chen Ge into such a sensitive encounter, the gravity of their mission hanging unspoken between them.
"Can you really solve Wang Xin's issues?" Doctor Gao asked, his voice low and earnest, cutting through the hum of evening traffic as they approached the building's entrance, his concern for his patient overriding all else, the question a final probe to gauge Chen Ge's confidence against the backdrop of Wang Xin's complex case, her symptoms a labyrinth that had confounded conventional treatment. "I know the reason for her sickness, so I have fifty percent confidence that I can solve it," Chen Ge replied, his tone measured but resolute, the admission a calculated balance of candor and caution, rooted in his understanding of the Pen Spirit's influence and its ties to Wang Xin's trauma, a supernatural etiology that he believed could be addressed by confronting the spectral wish head-on, though he withheld the otherworldly details to preserve Gao's trust in his rationality.
"That is more than enough; she's also a special patient. The anti-depressants and medicine aren't working so well, but I simply couldn't find any other symptoms in her," Gao admitted, his voice tinged with professional frustration, revealing the limits of his expertise in the face of Wang Xin's enigmatic condition, her symptoms defying the diagnostic frameworks that had served him in countless other cases, her nightmares and fears a puzzle that resisted pharmaceutical solutions, hinting at a deeper, perhaps spectral, root that Chen Ge's insight might illuminate. The pair ascended in the elevator, the hum of its machinery a counterpoint to their shared silence, until they reached the 14th floor, where one of the apartment doors stood ajar, its openness a sign that Doctor Gao had coordinated with Wang Xin's family in advance, the threshold a portal to the final stage of Chen Ge's mission, where the living and the dead would converge in a delicate dance to heal a wound that spanned both worlds.