Chapter 171: Serious Consequences
by xennovel“Doctor, I swear I’m not lying! I feel like I’m going crazy…”
In a cramped office marked “Psychological Counseling” within an old building, Li Mengmeng, looking haggard, faced the psychologist across the desk. The doctor wore a white coat and glasses. She trembled nervously. “Ever since that day, I haven’t dared to see my best friend again. I really… I feel like something’s watching me. That person… he…”
“It’s terrifying. Really, it’s terrifying.”
…
“Heh, don’t be nervous. Your situation is quite common.”
The psychologist chuckled, pushing up his glasses as he looked at the file before him. “You’re about to graduate, aren’t you?”
Li Mengmeng nodded. “Yes, but…”
“Well, there you have it…”
The psychologist smiled. “You’re graduating soon, need to find a job, maybe start a family… It’s perfectly normal to feel immense pressure. But don’t worry, there are plenty of job opportunities out there. You just need to manage your emotions better, don’t put so much stress on yourself…”
“No, that’s not it… Really…”
Li Mengmeng cut the psychologist off, biting her lip hard.
Her mind reeled with the bizarre events of the past two days.
After fleeing her friend’s house in the middle of the night, she hadn’t dared to see her again.
But the next day, her friend called as if nothing had happened, asking what was wrong and saying she wanted to visit.
Terrified, Li Mengmeng hung up. Her friend then called her parents, sounding somewhat angry.
The nightmarish memory left her drained and listless all day.
At dinner, she still had no appetite. Even the pork ribs her dad specially bought and cooked for her remained untouched.
“Oh, it’s normal for best friends to argue. But you still have to eat…”
Her dad filled a bowl to the brim and insisted on handing it to her.
“I really don’t want it. You guys eat…”
Li Mengmeng said, planning to go back to her room and lie down again.
*Clang!*
Before she could react, the bowl slammed heavily onto the dining table, splashing soup and ribs all over her.
Li Mengmeng looked up in terror to see her usually kind and smiling father staring at her with a sinister expression. He said coldly:
“Refusing me has serious consequences, you know…”
…
A cold sweat broke out on Li Mengmeng as she slid to the floor in fright.
She developed a high fever, her body aching and weak. She slept fitfully for a whole day, waking up startled several times, too afraid even to look at her dad. Thankfully, her mom took care of her, cooling her forehead with a damp towel while scolding her dad for his temper tantrum, and even cooked porridge for her.
“Why does it smell a bit… sour?”
While feeding her the porridge, her mom suddenly sniffed the air and said with a smile, “Have you not changed your clothes in days?”
Li Mengmeng then remembered she indeed hadn’t changed for two days.
Blushing furiously, she asked her mom to get her underwear.
Her mom searched the cabinet, found her underwear, and came over holding it open with both hands, smilingly offering to help her change.
“Can you step out for a moment? I’ll change myself.”
Li Mengmeng pleaded, but her mom just laughed. “What’s there to be embarrassed about in front of your own mother? Hurry up and take them off…”
The more her mom insisted, the more embarrassed Li Mengmeng felt, pushing her to leave quickly.
But while she was playfully protesting, she didn’t notice her mother’s expression had gradually darkened.
*Slap!*
Her mom suddenly threw the underwear at Li Mengmeng, then grabbed her hair forcefully, pulling her face close. Her eyes were bloodshot, filled with an indescribable mix of greed, anger, and the cruel playfulness of a cat toying with a mouse.
“Do you know…”
Her voice held a sinister chuckle. “Refusing me has very serious consequences, you know…”
In that instant, Li Mengmeng’s mind went blank, her heart almost stopping.
Seeing her mother’s grim face, she suddenly recalled the man she had rejected at the coffee shop.
Finally, a scream she could no longer hold back tore through the air.
Her dad burst through the door, only to find the overturned porridge bowl and a bewildered-looking mom.
…
…
“Doctor, please help me! My family is starting to think I’m crazy…”
“But… but I really saw it…”
…
The more Li Mengmeng thought about it, the more agitated she became, subconsciously grabbing the psychologist’s sleeve.
“Hey, hey, no need to be nervous…”
The psychologist glanced down at her hand, chuckled, and said, “I told you, you’re just under too much stress, suffering from severe nervous exhaustion. You just need some professional counseling, that’s all. How about this…”
His gaze, behind gold-rimmed glasses, landed on Li Mengmeng.
It slowly roamed downwards, scanning her figure, a faint smile appearing on his face.
“Tonight, let me treat you to dinner first, and then…”
…
“No…”
Li Mengmeng shuddered violently and snatched her hand back.
She stared at the psychologist, surprised, a bad feeling rising in her gut, though she wasn’t entirely sure.
“No?”
The psychologist calmly adjusted his white coat, his gaze slowly turning to Li Mengmeng. “Are you sure?”
“Refusing me has serious consequences, you know…”
…
“Ah…”
A scream filled with terror and despair escaped Li Mengmeng’s lips.
She bolted down the stairs, hands clamped tightly over her ears, feeling as though the entire world had gone mad.
She ran out onto the busiest street, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face.
She didn’t dare go home, nor could she contact her friend.
Panic filled her heart, but she had nowhere to go.
Through tear-blurred eyes, she saw pedestrians giving her a wide berth, looking at her as if she were a madwoman.
“Hello…”
A voice sounded behind her. It was a kind-looking little girl, watching her with concern.
Li Mengmeng felt a surge of gratitude, but then the little girl’s smile abruptly changed, becoming somewhat sinister as she looked at her.
“Now, do you understand the consequences of refusing me?”
…
“Ah… Stay away…”
Li Mengmeng screamed again, backing away relentlessly.
Just then, the movements of the people passing by her suddenly seemed strange.
Most remained indifferent, quickly skirting around her, but occasionally, someone would abruptly draw near and whisper:
“Refusing me has serious consequences, you know…”
After saying this, they would move away, but then another person would unexpectedly approach:
“Do you understand the consequences of refusing me?”
…
Li Mengmeng screamed, watching in utter breakdown as the same expression appeared on one different face after another.
Through different mouths, they spoke to her with venomous spite: “Bitch, still don’t get it?”
“You can’t refuse me. From the moment I set my sights on you, you were already mine…”
“I want you to submit to me…”
“I want you to wipe that annoying look off your face and kneel on the ground begging me…”
…
“Who are you…”
“Please, let me go…”
Li Mengmeng’s voice grew hoarse, enveloped by a dense, suffocating fear.
Her hair disheveled, her body weak, she collapsed onto the street, sobbing desperately, crying and shouting.
If sanity were a thread, hers was being frayed relentlessly, stretched to its breaking point. She couldn’t form other words, just crouched there crying, repeating over and over, “Spare me… Please, spare me…”
The surrounding pedestrians watched from afar, afraid to approach.
Only occasionally, a cold, sinister face would appear in the crowd, then quickly vanish.
Li Mengmeng’s crying weakened. Complete breakdown seemed imminent.
But just then, a hand rested on Li Mengmeng’s shoulder.
Li Mengmeng screamed in terror, falling flat on her bottom and scrambling backward as she looked at the person before her.
It was a young man sitting on a motorcycle, one leg propping it up. He looked ordinary, like any office worker you might see in this Satellite City. He watched her quietly, holding out a tissue.
Li Mengmeng, afraid of everyone now, didn’t dare go near him.
But the young man smiled. He kicked down the motorcycle’s stand, leaned over, and offered the tissue right in front of her.
“Don’t worry, I’m here to help you!”
His smile was warm as he gently reassured her, “It’s okay now.”