Chapter 281: Break

Chapter 281: Break

“I know my physique is not the best, but I don’t have any mental illnesses.” The middle-aged woman shook her head.

“Do you still remember the phone ringtone? Situ An hasn’t returned. I have looked around the apartment. It was in your imagination.” Xuan Wen’s tone became severe.

“Imagination?” The middle-aged woman was uncertain.

“It’s a very simple observation. Since your son loves you so much, why would he purposely hide from you?”

“Yes. Situ An will never not answer my call.” The middle-aged woman was in pain. “But...”

“These are some records and pictures I found at Uncle Zhang’s home. Most of them are related to you. Your condition is worsening. If this continues, you might never see your son again.” Xuan Wen took out a lot of black-and-white pictures. Everything taken inside the home was devoid of colours. The neighbours, plants and even the sun were startlingly pale. The middle-aged woman flipped through the diary. Every page had an entry related to the middle-aged woman. The words were unsettling.

“No! These cannot be real!” The middle-aged woman was shaken. Xuan Wen continued to expand the ‘cracks’. When the woman flipped through the fake diary, Xuan Wen reached her hand into her pocket and dialled Situ An’s number. The familiar ringtone rang in the corridor. The memories danced on the melody. Various words flashed in the woman’s eyes. She lifted her head in confusion.

“It’s my son! I can hear his phone ringing!” The middle-aged woman closed the diary. She wanted to rush out but was held back by Xuan Wen.

“Auntie, please be mindful! You didn’t even call Situ An. Why would his phone ring?”

The middle-aged woman paused and stood in the living room, holding the diary and pictures. “Yes. Why did it ring? Is it my imagination? Can you not hear it? It’s just outside!”

“Calm down!” Xuan Wen removed the ring from her finger. She circled her strand of hair through it. She had the woman focus on the swinging ring. The ringtone faded away slowly until it disappeared fully.

“That was very sudden. Did you remember something when you read the diary?” Xuan Wen helped the woman to the couch. She poured the woman a glass of water.

The ringtone was just around the corner. Situ An’s mother chased after it. The scale in her heart had been tipped over, and she ignored Situ An’s warning. She ran out of the home and the corridor!

She entered the yard and ran through the twisting canopy. The ringtone from her memory was before her, but she couldn’t catch up to it.

She ran to the gate until she saw someone standing in the shadows.

“Situ An! Is that you? Are you finally home?”

The ringtone disappeared. The middle-aged woman ignored her wounded leg and walked into the shadow.

“Auntie, someone ran across the street earlier.” Gao Ming pointed across the street. “It happened a few seconds ago.”

Standing in the shadow where the sun couldn’t reach, behind Situ An’s mother was the complex that represented home. The four buildings made her look so small.

With heavy gasps of air, the middle-aged woman looked across the street. She took steps towards it.

When she left the shadow of the apartment building, some kind of shackles were broken. She saw the shape of the hospital beside the street. Something scary was happening inside the hospital.

The inconspicuous screams echoed everywhere. The whole world was painted a thin layer of red.

“Is this where Situ An works?”