I’m Face-Blind, But I Devoted Myself To Three Guys - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: “Doctor, I Might Really Be Sick”…

Because the school was a bit far from home, Qi Xu was woken up early in the morning.

Sitting at the dining table, he tried to pull up the system pop-up. The page was exactly as he remembered, and the countdown in the upper right corner was still steadily decreasing.

“…It really wasn’t a dream.”

“What wasn’t a dream?” Father Qi, sitting nearby, caught his mutterings. “Did you have a nightmare?”

Having stayed up late last night wondering where he had dropped his wallet, Qi Xu looked somewhat listless, which made Qi Yuanzhou feel uneasy.

Being suddenly told his life was ending soon and being forced to bind with three systems could certainly be classified as a nightmare, so Qi Xu didn’t deny it: “Something like that.”

“Is the pressure too much lately? Your brother said you went to the hospital yesterday. Do you want to take a leave of absence for a while and rest properly?”

Qi Xu looked at Qi Yuanzhou helplessly. He always felt his father indulged his children too much—who takes a leave of absence just for a common cold?

“Kids these days are under a lot of pressure. I heard some student in a neighboring city’s university dropped dead in their dorm from overwork.” Qi Yuanzhou recalled the gossip he’d heard from the interns at his studio and looked at his youngest son with concern.

Feeling uncomfortable under the gaze, Qi Xu thought to himself that it was indeed possible he might one day simply never wake up.

As the saying goes, “No one knows a son better than his father.” Father Qi saw he was hiding something and was about to ask when he was interrupted by another voice.

“I’m the one who’s about to drop dead.”

Ning Zhao walked out of her room with a head of messy hair. Passing the table, she casually grabbed the hard-boiled egg Qi Xu had set aside and popped it into her mouth.

One look and Qi Yuanzhou knew she had pulled another all-nighter, and he turned his attention to nagging her.

Taking advantage of his father’s diverted attention—and to prevent his sister from asking more about the hospital—Qi Xu quickly gulped down the rest of his food and made a run for it.

…

Only after getting into the car back to school did Qi Xu have time to look for those three systems that hadn’t popped up in a while.

He had worried that three systems would chatter until he developed schizophrenia, but since last night, all three had gone offline.

It was a classic case of “three monks having no water to drink.”

Fortunately, it wasn’t a total blackout. After he called out “Little 1” and “Little 2,” “Little 3” surfaced of its own accord before he could even speak:

The existence of a system consumes the host’s mental energy. Therefore, unless necessary, we choose to remain on standby.

Under normal circumstances, one system wouldn’t affect a host’s daily life, but with three stuffed in at once, even the systems couldn’t quite hold up.

Oh, so it’s to save “battery” for me.

Qi Xu blinked: So, will you guys be here forever?

The system will accompany the host until enough energy is collected to repair the small world.

The implication was that they would leave one day.

After reflecting for a moment, Qi Xu silently opened his calculator.

If he wanted to live to be a hundred, he would need to collect at least 29,200 points before the systems left.

Furthermore, if he only collected plastic bottles used by the three male leads, he would need to pick up 58,400 of them.

Setting everything else aside, fifty thousand bottles… the male leads would have to drink enough to turn into water giants.

Little 3, what should I do next? Qi Xu hoped for a clear path.

“Little 3” itself: …

Qi Xu suspected it didn’t like the name and changed it: 【Um… how about, 3-er?

…Contact the male leads, collect energy.

That’s it? Qi Xu didn’t expect the system to be so hands-off.

Good luck. Little 3 offered one last bit of “humanistic” care.

Likely to show they were still there, the other two also popped up sneakily.

Good luck~ Good luck!

“…”

Armed with the encouragement and expectations of three systems, Qi Xu haphazardly began his journey as a “simping follower.”

However, before that, he had classes to attend.

An 8:00 AM class can drain one’s soul. Even by the second period, the classroom was still deathly still. Qi Xu watched the teacher flip through the PPT slides at lightning speed and eventually gave up on taking notes.

Just as he put his pen down, the phone at the corner of the desk buzzed.

He opened it to find a text from an unknown number.

Your wallet is with me. When you’re free, come to Boyan Building, 6th Floor, Room 612 to get it.

It was an extremely cold message. The first sentence almost made Qi Xu feel like his wallet hadn’t been lost, but kidnapped.

The person on the other end seemed to realize the problem and quickly added:

I am the intern doctor who saw you yesterday. You left your wallet in the consultation room.

Still no wasted words. Reading this line, Qi Xu recalled that aloof, young psychological doctor.

That was the blunder from yesterday morning—

While waiting for his brain CT results, Qi Xu had booked a psychological evaluation.

“Based on the test results, you don’t have any psychological issues. However, the auditory hallucinations you mentioned cannot rule out mental illness or other pathological causes. It’s best to do a comprehensive physical exam.”

The middle-aged doctor sitting opposite him wore a perfectly measured smile.

His hands on the table clenched involuntarily, knuckles turning white. Qi Xu whispered to himself, “…Is there really nothing wrong with my head?”

The doctor comforted him: “Occasional auditory hallucinations are nothing to worry about. It might be due to recent high pressure or lack of sleep.”

He had just glanced at the patient’s file again. Only 20 years old, likely a student. It was currently finals week, and many people came in with academic anxiety.

Qi Xu stared at the doctor’s face and blinked. The man’s features were clear to his eyes, but his exact appearance failed to materialize in his mind.

So, for someone his age, the greatest pressure was likely trying to match the people around him with their names.

Lack of sleep was even more impossible; he usually sat down for “tea with the Sandman” by 10:30 PM, getting at least nine hours of sleep daily.

But if even the city’s most authoritative hospital couldn’t find a problem, Qi Xu couldn’t exactly insist he was crazy.

He bid the doctor goodbye and left the room.

However, as soon as he stepped out, that voice in his head rang out again: See, I told you I’m real~

Qi Xu’s footsteps faltered for a second, then he continued walking as if nothing happened.

This mechanical voice had been rambling for several days now.

Host should really sync the mission with me as soon as possible~

Qi Xu accelerated his pace with a blank expression.

Although psychological and mental illness had been ruled out, the brain CT results weren’t back yet.

He couldn’t give up on “treatment” just yet.

Host… The annoying thing started to say, then suddenly went silent like a pheasant being strangled by the neck.

After less than two seconds of silence, a mechanical voice went online again: Hello, Host!

“?” Qi Xu was a bit stunned. What was this forceful tone up to now?

Then he heard the haunting voice repeat with great offense: You’re dying!

“…”

How rude~

If the mechanical voice wasn’t so obvious, Qi Xu would have thought it was his own inner thought.

The mechanical voice continued: You almost pushed me out. Don’t you know “first come, first served”?~

Huh? What’s going on? Is there already a system in charge?

His pace slowed down involuntarily. Qi Xu tilted his head.

These two voices that had rung out, while both were stiff mechanical sounds, had slightly different timbres.

What’s the situation? Is there a mistake? This is my host~

No way, I came here based on the Main System’s command!

…

Qi Xu froze.

He hadn’t misheard. There really was another one.

The two voices began to argue in his head over who the host belonged to, but Qi Xu didn’t have time to listen.

He stopped, turned around, and hurried back.

He pushed open the consultation room door and stood there: “Doctor, there’s another one now.”

The person sitting behind the desk looked up, his gaze very detached.

Seeing the other party’s lack of reaction, Qi Xu tried to explain: “Really, they’re even fighting.”

Doctor: “…”

Qi Xu glanced outside to make sure no other patients were waiting and just walked in.

He sat back in the chair he had just occupied with practiced ease, gripped the edge of the desk with both hands, and said with extreme seriousness: “Doctor, I think I really might be sick.”

Perhaps having never seen a patient call themselves sick with such conviction and zero burden, the doctor, who had been focused on his computer, knitted his brows slightly and glanced up again.

The man who had just been wearing a smile was now unexpectedly cold.

Qi Xu felt it was strange, but fearing the other party would think he was just being difficult, he sat up straight, ready to explain.

However, before he could speak, the man opposite him handed over a cup of water.

Qi Xu followed the movement. First, his eyes caught the steaming cup—a very common disposable paper cup with the hospital logo—but his attention was quickly captured by the hand holding it.

Clean, well-proportioned, with well-defined knuckles. Faint blue veins meandered across the back of the hand, disappearing under the sleeve.

Qi Xu stared at the hand, momentarily dazed.

Why didn’t I notice during the consultation? Is the doctor’s hand this good-looking?

Lost in thought, Qi Xu instinctively reached for the cup. The other person hadn’t had time to withdraw their hand, and their fingertips touched.

Whether it was the other’s body temperature or the heat radiating from the cup, it felt a bit hot. Qi Xu’s fingers curled slightly.

Taking the cup, the warmth of its walls made him relax a little: “Doctor, I…”

“Wait a moment.” He was interrupted again as soon as he started.

As the other’s words fell, a flash of astonishment crossed Qi Xu’s eyes.

Not because of what the doctor said, but because of his voice.

It was very young.

It was not the voice of the middle-aged doctor from earlier.

Relying on years of experience with face blindness, Qi Xu realized in an instant—he had the wrong person.

Instinctively scanning the surroundings, he was certain he hadn’t entered the wrong room.

Did they switch the attending doctor?

The confusion on Qi Xu’s face was undisguised, and the young doctor looked at him with a hint of curiosity.

The two locked eyes across the desk.

Without time for deep thought, and recalling his abrupt words just now, he immediately wanted to bolt: “I’m sorry.” But before his seat could leave the chair, the door behind him was pushed open.

“Rare that there aren’t many patients today. Looks like I can get off work on time.”

Qi Xu turned toward the familiar voice and saw a man in a white coat drying his hands as he walked in, seemingly just back from the restroom.

The young doctor also looked over and called out: “Teacher.”

Qi Xu realized then that the person sitting in the attending doctor’s chair was likely the psychological doctor’s student.

The middle-aged doctor was a bit slow to notice the extra person. Seeing Qi Xu had returned, he was surprised: “Hmm? Little guy, why are you back again?”

Qi Xu glanced at the young man opposite him, his lips parting and closing without making a sound.

A moment ago, he was desperate to be diagnosed on the spot; now, he felt a late wave of embarrassment.

The psychologist thought he was worried about the third person being present. He looked at his student and explained with a smile: “This is my student. He’s very excellent. If you don’t mind, he can also assist with the diagnosis.”

As he spoke, he went behind the desk and patted the young man’s shoulder with a look of pride.

Qi Xu stared at the two—one sitting, one standing.

Both wore white coats and thin glasses. At most, the younger doctor’s hair was darker and thicker, and his facial contours were more defined.

He couldn’t be blamed for failing to distinguish them momentarily.

Qi Xu quickly accepted his mistake and the presence of another person during the consultation.

Maybe having one more doctor to help diagnose will make it more accurate.

However, he didn’t immediately explain why he had returned. Instead, he asked a question: “Doctor, can auditory hallucinations talk to each other?”

As soon as he asked this, the previously smiling doctor suddenly became serious. He leaned on the desk, his brow furrowing: “It is a possibility…” But if auditory hallucinations appeared for a long time and could even engage in dialogue, the situation was becoming tricky.

Qi Xu didn’t care about the gravity beneath the doctor’s unspoken words.

Compared to a supernatural existence that shattered his worldview, “being sick in the head” was perhaps easier to accept.

“I feel like the test results from just now might not be accurate. I want to do it again,” Qi Xu explained his purpose.

The request wasn’t too excessive; there were often patients who asked for repeat tests. Since there were no other patients at the moment, the psychologist nodded.

To give his student a chance for practical experience, he gave up the main seat and moved a stool to the side.

Already familiar with the process, Qi Xu described his symptoms again.

The young doctor listened intently, making notes on paper from time to time and asking a few questions.

Unlike his teacher, who had a smile in his eyes, the young doctor’s face was expressionless, and his voice was very flat: “What is the content of the hallucinations?”

“It said it’s a ‘system,’ and that there’s a bug in this world, so it needs me to cooperate and complete missions.” After Qi Xu finished, he scratched his cheek and inconspicuously observed the other’s expression.

Regarding his “chosen one to save the world” statement, the other party seemed to accept it well, showing no sign of anything being out of the ordinary.

For a moment, Qi Xu felt a sense of awe for the profession of a psychologist. After all, if someone sat in front of him talking about plotlines that only existed in movies or novels, he probably wouldn’t be able to stop himself from laughing.

The tip of the pen tapped the paper. The young doctor looked up at the person who had suddenly fallen silent.

Qi Xu pursed his lips and added: “It… they also said I’m about to die.”

The young doctor noticed the change in wording: “They?”

“Yes, another voice just appeared in the hallucination.”

The other didn’t say anything more and recorded the situation on paper. After understanding the general situation, he prepared several measurement forms for Qi Xu.

Qi Xu sat at the computer designated for patient assessments and found the forms were similar to the ones the middle-aged doctor had given him.

Although he had done them once, he still treated every question with caution.

During this time, the teacher and student talked occasionally. The middle-aged doctor asked some daily questions, while the young doctor gave brief responses.

His tone was so flat no emotion could be heard.

It seems his coldness isn’t selective.

The forms took over an hour to complete. Fortunately, neither of them showed any impatience.

The young doctor looked at the results and gave the same conclusion: “Your hallucinations are not caused by psychological illness.”

Upon receiving this answer, Qi Xu even felt a trace of being “unwilling.”

He lowered his eyes, biting his lip. After a long while, as if having made a decision, he looked up.

A glimmer of hope shone in his watery eyes.

And guilt.

“Doctor, can I do it one more time?”

“…” The young doctor paused. “I suggest excluding pathological causes first.”

“I’ve already checked the others. I’m very healthy,” Qi Xu explained.

Although the brain CT results weren’t out yet, he had just had a full brain exam at his family’s hospital a week ago, and everything was normal. Therefore, he believed the likelihood of a mental or psychological issue was higher.

The young doctor looked at the very certain person in front of him and then at the information he had recorded. After a few seconds of silence, he relented: “If you’re really worried, I can prescribe some suitable medicine for you. However, at the same time, you still need to undergo a more comprehensive physical exam.”

“Okay.” Having medicine to treat it was, of course, the best.

While the doctor was writing the prescription, Qi Xu realized that the hallucinations in his head had stopped at some point.

So, who won the argument in the end?

It’s me, Host~ As if hearing his thoughts, the voice bounced out again.

Qi Xu: “…”

The electronic prescription was quickly sent to his phone. Qi Xu silently read the long list of drug names and threatened: Evil spirits, begone.

It’s no use~ The mechanical voice was not threatened in the slightest. After a while, it reminded him, Also, this medicine is just a compound nutrient. He prescribed you a placebo~

His finger sliding over the screen stalled. Qi Xu stared at the drug name for a long time and finally couldn’t resist looking it up.

The result was exactly as it said.

But he had never come across this kind of knowledge before.

“…” Qi Xu looked up at the two people opposite him. “Doctor, can hallucinations have knowledge beyond my own understanding?”

“What do you mean?”

“It says this is just a nutrient—a placebo you prescribed me.”

The middle-aged doctor: “…” The young doctor: “…”

Qi Xu blinked: “…”

…

In the end, under the guidance of the two professionals, Qi Xu still didn’t get his wish to do the assessment again and had to head home with a prescription for a placebo.

When he got home, he collapsed and fell asleep immediately. When he woke up again, it was to a phone call—

“Hello, Mr. Qi Xu. I am your lead examining doctor. Your examination report is out. The situation is not good, and we may need you to come in as soon as possible for a more detailed checkup.”

Following this warning of “humanistic” bad news was another cold mechanical voice in his head:

Hello, Host. You’re dying.

Thus, Qi Xu returned to the hospital without stopping.

Without stopping, he did more detailed examinations.

Without stopping, he was diagnosed with brainstem hemorrhage.