"What on earth is going on?!"
The memories suddenly surfacing in my mind left me disoriented. It was as if something I firmly believed in was destroyed overnight, and for a moment, I didn't know which was real and which was fake.
"You have memories of Pan Lili now, right? One day she suddenly disappeared after arriving on the island. It was only much later that we found her body in a valley."
"Her death was horrific, covered in claw marks from wild animals. Most bizarrely, her clothes were gone, and she lay naked in the valley."
Lu Ziye calmly and dispassionately described Pan Lili's demise. As he spoke, the image of Pan Lili in my memory became more vivid. In a daze, I almost saw the deceased Pan Li.
Yes, he was right. It was true, Pan Lili should have died long ago!
However…
"What nonsense are you spouting? I just saw you return to the camp and flirting with Pan Lili!"
"If Pan Lili died long ago, how could she have appeared at the camp!"
I shouted at Lu Ziye in an agitated state. I had seen it with my own eyes just moments ago, a living, breathing person!
"What are you talking about! What you saw just now was clearly Luo Yaqin. Besides, if it were really Pan Lili, would she be speaking to me so gently and affectionately!"
Luo Yaqin? Pan Lili?
I froze. I was all too familiar with the story of Lu Ziye and his brother. The dramatic breakup between them was something all of us colleagues had witnessed.
No man would forgive a girlfriend who betrayed him, let alone a vengeful person like Lu Ziye!
If Pan Lili had been standing there, they would have been lucky not to fight, let alone be joking and flirting.
Could it be that I was mistaken, and Pan Lili had indeed died long ago?
Seeing me staring at him blankly, a certain unreadable emotion flickered in Lu Ziye's eyes.
"This state of yours has been going on for a long time, and honestly, it worries me."
"It seems Pan Lili's death hit you hard. Ever since you buried her yourself, you've become extremely irritable, sometimes even talking to yourself in the air. I've seen all of this, but I didn't know how to bring it up."
What did Lu Ziye mean by this?
Did I have a mental illness?
"No, I'm not crazy! I'm perfectly normal!"
I muttered to myself, but my earlier conviction had clearly wavered.
"You're right, you're not crazy. Strictly speaking, you've developed schizophrenia due to excessive stress and Pan Lili's death."
I suddenly turned around to find Luo Yaqin, who had silently appeared beside me at some point.
Seeing my disbelieving gaze, she pushed up her glasses, her demeanor that of a professional doctor.
"Don't doubt it. You've probably forgotten, but I gave you a mental health assessment on a certain day before. I didn't tell you the results, but in fact, the conclusion was that you've developed severe schizophrenia and are even experiencing hallucinations."
Are they ganging up to trick me?
Or were they telling the truth, and I really had schizophrenia?
"No, it's impossible… How could I have a mental illness!"
I desperately tried to recall the memories of Pan Lili in my mind. One moment she was living with everyone at the camp, the next, it was the horrifyingly mutilated corpse in the valley.
The two sets of memories intertwined and overlapped in my mind. A sharp pain struck me, forcing me to clutch my head and cry out loudly.
"Stop thinking about it! Your current state is very bad. Don't dwell on it any longer!"
Seeing my pathetic state, Luo Yaqin seemed to feel a pang of sympathy. She walked over and gently reminded me.
"It's better to endure a short pain than a long one!"
Lu Ziye let out an uncalled-for remark from the side, his words carrying a sarcastic tone.
Damn it, who are you talking about!
Just as I was lost in the confusion caused by the clashing memories, Lu Ziye's words made me snap my head up, staring at him with bloodshot eyes.
"Whether I'm schizophrenic or not right now, I'll ask you one thing: what did you mean when you said I miscalculated?"
Lu Ziye looked at me indifferently, his eyes glinting with a thought-provoking glint.
"You said there were seven people. Who were they?"
Even though the headache hadn't subsided, I quickly rattled off the names of the survivors.
"Lu Ziye, Shangguan Yao, Luo Yaqin, Guan Hai'er, Pan Lili, Li Degui, and me."
Lu Ziye looked at me, and a slow smile spread across his lips.
"And who are you?"
"Nonsense! Of course I'm…"
Huh?
Who am I?