The next morning, according to plan, Yuanyuan was to be taken to the "Star Benefit Station Children's Rehabilitation Center," an autism intervention institution founded by Teacher Jiang, to undergo hypnosis to awaken his deeper memories.
Fang Rui, Mu Mian, and Zhang arrived at the institution early to wait for them.
"Mu Mian, did you often visit places like this when you were young?" Zhang asked curiously while looking around. This was his first time seeing so many children with autism.
Zhang had thought all autistic children were gentle and lovable like Mu Mian, but reality was different. Some autistic children could be aggressive, hitting others without reason, and forcefully throwing toys when angry.
Mu Mian shook her head, "I didn't like going out when I was little. My father would bring therapists to our home. I met many therapists. Most of them were noisy and boring. After I grew up, my sister would often take me to various therapy centers and support groups, saying I might make friends that way. But it didn't work."
Mu Mian's tone was calm, but Fang Rui could hear the sadness in her voice. He remembered when he first met Mu Mian, she had said, "I'm troublesome, I don't have any friends." The Mu Mian back then must have really wanted to have friends.
"But now I have many friends," Mu Mian said with a hint of pride.
"Yes, quite a few. Four of them, and I'm number four," Zhang teased.
"..."
After about ten minutes, two staff members from Star Home and the acting director Li Min arrived with Yuanyuan.
They let Yuanyuan sit in the rest area to play with toys while he adjusted to the unfamiliar environment. Yuanyuan seemed very familiar with the surroundings and showed no signs of discomfort. He sat obediently on the stool and skillfully began playing with the Lego toys on the floor.
Mu Mian pretended to build Legos with Yuanyuan while secretly examining his arms. Earlier in the cabinet, it had been too dark, and she had only felt unusual needle marks on his hands.
Both of Yuanyuan's hands had needle marks on the back, which appeared to be from blood drawing needles based on the wounds.
There were also needle marks on the inside of his wrists, likely from arterial blood draws.
There were many needle marks, and the wounds were fresh.
Why were they collecting Yuanyuan's blood? And judging from the number of needle marks, Yuanyuan must have been having blood drawn frequently. Otherwise, there would be no need to alternate between both hands.
Mu Mian shared this discovery with Fang Rui and Zhang.
Fang Rui analyzed: "In Yuanyuan's drawings, there were many needles pointing at him. Could those be blood drawing needles? He's had blood drawn so frequently that he exaggerated the blood drawing scenes in his drawings."
"That explains the third drawing too. The round beads might be pills. Could Yuanyuan be forced to take medicine every day? He hates taking medicine, so he drew the people forcing him as monsters," Zhang analyzed. "But how do we explain the coffin? Why would Yuanyuan be locked in a coffin?"
Mu Mian thought for a moment and said, "When getting an MRI, you need to be pushed into an oval-shaped enclosed chamber. Could that oval-shaped cabinet be the MRI chamber? So Yuanyuan wasn't locked in a cabinet, but was getting an MRI scan."
If viewed in a medical context, all three drawings made sense. Yuanyuan hadn't been abused; he just misinterpreted medical examinations and treatments as abuse.
"But Yuanyuan doesn't seem to have any physical illness, so why would he need injections and medicine?" Zhang wondered.
Fang Rui asked one of the staff members.
"Director Zhang said Yuanyuan was a bit anemic, so she took him to the hospital for a check-up. The doctor said the problem was serious, that Yuanyuan had anemia. Director Zhang was very concerned about this and often took Yuanyuan for follow-up visits..."
"If Yuanyuan really has anemia, why would doctors draw his blood so frequently? Aren't they worried about making his condition worse?" Zhang questioned. "And why would anemia require an MRI?"
"That's how hospitals are. They do all sorts of tests, necessary or not. Medical insurance doesn't cover these examinations, so hospitals just make excuses to do as many tests as they can. They're always trying to squeeze money out of common people." This staff member had lost a son to leukemia and had spent several years in hospitals with him, so she harbored resentment toward hospitals.
Zhang nodded in agreement. He remembered when he was hospitalized for his leg injury, he had undergone numerous tests - blood work, CT scans, everything. He had wondered at the time why he needed CT scans of his leg and head when he hadn't suffered any fall injuries.
When the Star Home staff went to accompany Yuanyuan, Mu Mian whispered, "Yuanyuan's complexion is very rosy. He doesn't look like someone with anemia. They're lying."
Fang Rui thought about Jiang Yun again. She reportedly had a biological son who had never been seen in public. He had heard rumors that her son wasn't quite normal, which was why Jiang Yun kept him hidden. Could her son be autistic like Mu Mian?
The Jiang family owned many medical enterprises. Could she have made some deal with Director Zhang to use the children at Star Home for drug experiments?
Teacher Jiang took Yuanyuan into the therapy room, while the others went to the observation room next door, watching through one-way glass.
Yuanyuan's case was special. He couldn't express himself verbally, but fortunately, he was very good at drawing and could express his thoughts and emotional experiences through lines and colors.
Teacher Jiang handed Yuanyuan a piece of white paper and a box of colored pencils. "Yuanyuan, I'm going to ask you some questions in a moment. Can you answer Teacher Jiang using the pencils?" she asked.
Yuanyuan nodded obediently.
"That day you saw Director Mom lying on the ground, right? Do you remember what she looked like?"
Yuanyuan picked up a black pencil and first drew a person lying on the ground. The clothes and hair were simple sketches without detail, but the face was drawn very meticulously, down to individual eyelashes. The smiling face was instantly recognizable as the deceased Director Zhang.
"What else did you see?"
Yuanyuan took out a red pencil from the box and drew a large red mushroom above Director Zhang's head. It was enormous, even bigger than Director Zhang herself.
Using the black pencil again, he drew a window in the upper left corner with many rain streaks.
"Where were you, Yuanyuan?"
Yuanyuan used the black pencil to draw a little boy next to Director Zhang, then used a silver-gray pencil to draw a magic wand.
"Yuanyuan, where did that mushroom come from?" Teacher Jiang asked gently.
Yuanyuan pointed to the floor, indicating it grew from the ground.
"Yuanyuan, where did your magic wand come from?"
"Magic wand... do you want to see my magic wand?" Yuanyuan suddenly spoke, pronouncing each word slowly.
Yuanyuan looked up at Teacher Jiang. His face was pale, his pupils very dark, and when he stared directly at someone, his appearance was frightening.
"Yuanyuan, you can speak?" Teacher Jiang said joyfully. "It seems the treatment is working."
Yuanyuan tilted his head and showed an eerie smile.
The next moment, Teacher Jiang felt a sharp pain in her chest. She instinctively touched it and found her hand covered in blood. Looking down, she saw a small knife stuck in her chest.
In that instant, Yuanyuan had somehow produced a sharp knife and forcefully stabbed it into her chest.
