Chapter 3

Title: Dog

Translator: System Yaoi

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Please note: System kindly requests chu to read all of her translations exclusively on Second Life Translations [https://secondlifetranslations.com/novel/dog/]. Posting her works on any other website is not authorised by System.

Chapter 3

The person was a man, around thirty-six or thirty-seven years old. His hair and nails were meticulously groomed, and his clothes fit him perfectly. The shirt was neatly ironed, and his home was spotlessly clean. Sitting beside him was the psychiatrist described by Li Yonghao.

“Please have a seat,” the man said to Lu Yi and Li Yonghao. “Please have some tea. Oh, I forgot to introduce, this is Dr. Wang.”

As the man spoke, a perfectly timed smile appeared on his face. It neither seemed overly friendly nor distant, as if it had been calculated precisely.

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Nw Zk’p tygl polrv ynaspp vbl ldvkal assx yde dsvknle vbyv vblal olal yzxspv ds elnsayvkhl kvlxp kd vbl bswpl. Mbl qzssa oyp nshlale kd dlyvzu yzktdle czynj yde obkvl vkzlp, vbl vyczlp yde psqyp olal piwyal-pbyrle, yde lhld vbl nsqqll vyczl bye y nbliwlale vyczlnzsvb.

Ohld vbl oyvnblp yde oyzz nzsnjp olal piwyal-pbyrle.

Mbl qwadkvwal pllxle vs cl nwpvsx-xyel yde qkmle vs vbl taswde, wdyczl vs xshl. Mbl qswa zltp yzktdle rlaqlnvzu okvb vbl qzssa plyxp, yde vbl nsypvlap sd vbl vyczl olal xspvzu piwyal, qkvvkdt plyxzlppzu okvb vbl vyczlnzsvb ryvvlad, okvb vaynlp sq vakxxkdt yaswde vbl letlp.

Gp y alpwzv, vbl ralpldnl sq plhlayz aswde-blyele rlsrzl kd vbl assx clnyxl ryavknwzyazu lul-nyvnbkdt.

Nw Zk nswzed’v blzr cwv vbkdj, “Ebu es bwxydp byhl pwnb kaaltwzyazu pbyrle blyep?”

“Myjl uswa vkxl,” Nk Zsdtbys elnzkdle vbl vly. “El fwpv byhl y qlo iwlpvksdp, yde vbld ol’zz zlyhl—Ya. Ckd, kp vbyv uswa pwadyxl?”

“Ckd Hbys,” vbl xyd ydpolale nyzxzu, cwv bkp tygl qlzz sd Nw Zk, obs oyp scplahkdt bkp nsypvla okvb talyv kdvlalpv.

Ckd Hbys pyke, “R’x y qallzydnla zkhkdt sqq yd kdblakvydnl. R yppwxl usw’al dsv y rszknl sqqknla, pka?”

Lu Yi carefully placed the coaster back on the table, sticking it precisely to the edge of the tablecloth pattern. “Teacher,” he replied.

“Oh, I didn’t ask about your field of expertise,” Qin Zhao responded. 

Lu Yi stared at him but got distracted for a moment. Before Li Yonghao could remind him, he successfully regained his focus and said absentmindedly, “Experimental psychology.”

According to rumours, Teacher Lu, who seemed absent-minded like this, was never overwhelmed by negative student evaluations at the end of each year. It was all thanks to his open-book exams and disregard for failure rates—he never failed anyone.

Qin Zhao suddenly showed great interest, leaning forward, “Oh? Which school of thought do you belong to? I’m personally very interested in this field and have studied a lot of professional literature, especially Hu—”

“You don’t need to worry about me,” Lu Yi interrupted him. “Li Yuonghao wants to ask you some questions, just answer his questions.”

Qin Zhao paused, lowered his head, and glanced at the coaster Lu Yi had placed. He nodded politely, “Oh, I apologise. I got a bit excited. I haven’t taken my medication today, and occasionally, this happens. I apologise for any inconvenience.”

“I would like you to describe this afternoon’s events again,” Li Yonghao cleared his throat, trying to capture Qin Zhao’s attention. “Could you provide more specific details? I want to see if there’s anything we might have missed.”

He doesn’t know why, but Qin Zhao showed extraordinary interest in Lu Yi. He was like a child attracted to a beautiful toy in a shop’s window, completely ignoring Li Yonghao’s questions. It wasn’t until Li Yonghao called him for the second time and Dr. Wang gently tugged at his arm that Qin Zhao reluctantly tore his gaze away from Lu Yi. He politely adopted a listening posture, tilting his head slightly.

“Apologies?” he said.

Li Yonghao had to repeat, “I would like you to describe this afternoon’s events again.”

“Oh,” Qin Zhao thought for a moment, his gaze shifting to his wristwatch. “Alright, let me go through it in chronological order. It will be clearer that way.”

Li Yonghao took out his notebook and said, “Please.”

“At precisely one hour thirty-one minutes and three seconds this afternoon, Dr. Wang entered my ‘box.’ I prepared tea and snacks to entertain him.”

Lu Yi had been sitting listlessly on the side, but upon hearing this, he suddenly seemed to “come alive.” He took out a palm-sized notebook from his wrinkled coat pocket and a pen from his shirt pocket, focusing intently.

Lu Yi asked, “When you say ‘box,’ do you mean your yard?”

Dr. Wang explained, “The patient has mild delusional symptoms. He is extremely fascinated by a thought experiment once proposed in the scientific community—he believes that every person is a brain contained in a box, and that humans do not exist.”

“Let me interject,” Qin Zhao said, “I must clarify that I am not a delusional patient. I sought Dr. Wang’s help for my insomnia and neurasthenia. The so-called ‘box’ is a metaphor. Each of us is indeed a brain contained within a box. By stimulating the corresponding areas of the brain, one can induce an illusion of being in the real world. Our thoughts are like pre-written programs. Have you seen ‘The Matrix’? That movie is real, but unfortunately, no one believes it. People are unwilling to give up the life of the virtual world and regard logical scientific speculation as mere fantasy…”

As he went on and on like a switch had been flipped, speaking non-stop, Dr. Wang sighed and turned to Lu Yi. “Do you see it now?”

Lu Yi asked, “Are there any other symptoms?”

“Persecutory delusions,” Dr. Wang shrugged. “He believes that someone is monitoring him because he has discovered the ‘secrets of the world.’ As a result, he forces himself to live according to an extremely regulated schedule, believing that being systematic can dispel any suspicion from the ‘enemy.’ Take a look.”

Dr. Wang pointed to the wall where a timetable was posted, detailing everything from waking up, meals, and taking out the trash to watching television, all strictly scheduled.

Dr. Wang smiled wryly. “Next, he’s about to take his ‘medication’ and ‘take out the trash.'”

Qin Zhao, who had been in the middle of speaking, suddenly stopped without warning, covered his mouth, and stood up, heading towards the kitchen.

Dr. Wang said, “He’s going to take his medication. He won’t be a second late. You can still ask me questions; I was there throughout the entire time.”

Li Yonghao asked, “Neither of you ever left the house?”

Dr. Wang said, “I’ve been trying to communicate with him, but his logic is deeply ingrained, making communication difficult. Around four o’clock, a neighbour came looking for her child, and at that time, I was preparing to leave. We searched together but couldn’t find the child. I was concerned that the child might really be missing, so I suggested she call the police.”

Just as before, Li Yonghao began cross-checking some details. However, Lu Yi grew impatient and started pacing around Qin Zhao’s room, eventually reaching the balcony.

There wasn’t much on the balcony—just a low table, clean and tidy. Next to it hung a birdcage, parallel to the bottom of the cage and the table. Inside was a small, balding tiger-striped parrot, looking droopy and listless. Perhaps it was due to the owner’s neglect. Lu Yi bent down and reached out to play with the little bird, but the parrot seemed greatly startled and flapped its wings vigorously.

Lu Yi hadn’t expected the bird to be so nervous, so he retracted his finger uninterestedly. Just as he was about to carefully observe the balcony, suddenly, a hand rested on his shoulder.

Lu Yi turned around and saw Qin Zhao standing upright behind him, his eyebrows raised, and he said, “I still want to discuss your field of expertise. Don’t you think that ‘conditioned reflex’ itself serves as evidence for my ideas?”

Lu Yi stared at him for a moment before responding woodenly, “I don’t think so at all.”

Ignoring Lu Yi’s comment, Qin Zhao, who was accustomed to being ignored countless times, now experienced being ignored himself for the first time. Speaking as if to himself, he said passionately, “In fact, conditioned reflex is a program itself. Really, the inner world of a person is a series of action flows. Once you understand this, you’ll understand all the programs of the brain. For example, Mr. Zhao, my neighbour. He often goes on business trips. If I wake up early in the morning, he’ll greet me while loading his luggage into the car. I learned his secret from his flow of actions.”

Before Lu Yi could say anything, Li Yonghao’s ears, forever open to gossip and rumours, perked up sensitively. He asked, “What secret?”

“If he’s really going on a business trip, the company would arrange transportation to the airport for him since the return date is uncertain. Airport parking fees are high, or maybe he’s concerned about the odd-even licence plate restriction when he returns. So, I know that every time he takes his car with the luggage, it’s a fake business trip.” Qin Zhao smiled mysteriously. “I’ve noticed that he frequently fakes business trips, an average of once a week, especially right after he has an argument with his wife…”

Before Qin Zhao could utter the word “after,” his gaze suddenly fell upon the large clock in the room. Without any warning, he closed his mouth and, like an activated robot, ignored everyone else. He walked to the back door of the house, pushing a large wheeled trash bin, and went outside.

Dr. Wang shrugged. “Ah, it’s time for him to take out the trash. He must do it at a specific time. He can only take it to the outside of the community and has to take a long route to come back. Do you have any more questions? Once he returns, he’ll immediately move on to the next task, taking a shower. It’s getting late tonight, so I’m afraid…”

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