The Odd One Out

Chapter 11

Summer was inexplicably concerned about this seemingly meaningless question, and to further test her suspicions, she took an hour out of her schedule planning for the day and spent an hour guarding the entrance to the neighbourhood. Well, as it turned out, for a whole hour, she didn't see a single person or car going out of the block, nor did she see even one person or car coming back from outside, even the doorman's room was always empty.

If it wasn't for the occasional car passing by on the road outside, Summer would have thought she was in some kind of no-man's land. She couldn't say how I feel at the moment, but her heart is a little fuzzy and heavy. The dead and deserted neighbourhood is like a beast hidden behind a fog, making her impervious and uneasy at the same time.

This was a matter that Summer had taken to heart as an obvious anomaly. There were still several places to go, and she had to be back before her parents finished work. Time was short and Summer didn't want to wait around all day for nothing. She had a vague hunch that no matter how long she waited here the outcome would never change.

......

The pace of the city is neither fast nor slow by any means, and every pedestrian on the road with an umbrella is in a hurry, running for their lives. Summer looked down at the map app and searched for maps and bus routes in Yulin, which is actually more convenient and time-saving to take the underground. Unfortunately, the underground was obviously "unclean", she didn't know if the ghost in her diary would come back for her, and a taxi was too expensive. To be on the safe side, it's better to take the bus, it's just a bit more hassle.

The map is stuck, with only a white sketch of the city, with the names of a few important hospitals and schools marked on it, and it's impossible to zoom in on other places. There is no detailed routeing, let alone automatic navigation and the ability to check the nearest public transport.

After changing several apps in a row, it was probably a problem with her phone and Summer gave up. There happened to be a newsstand not far from her, so she went over to look at it and saw that, apart from some books and magazines, it also sold the latest version of the city's map. Surprisingly, it had detailed information about the city's transport, including the bus and metro, for foreigners.

This is much better than a mobile phone map, so Summer paid for a copy and stood in front of the newspaper to study it.

Why did the map of the city look so strange?

If you look at one part of the map alone, you'll see that the city is a hospital in the middle of the city, and then the other buildings are centred around it, spreading outward. Then the topography of the first, second, and third rings...... is divided from it.

Despite her memory loss, Summer always felt that the city map didn't seem like it should look like this.

And the one in the very centre of the city was: the First Citizen's Hospital?

The mood at the dinner table was somewhat dull, her mother's face was stern as she ate her food without saying a word. Her father's face didn't look too good either, he looked at Summer who was burying her head in her food and wanted to say something. Summer was terrified by the look on her father's face. She had been talked to for two hours before dinner, and they hadn't said enough, so she wanted another round, right?

She couldn't take it anymore!

Summer didn't really expect her parents to react so badly to her going out alone. She knew that her parents wanted her to rest at home and not go out in the rain because she was not well enough to recover. So she didn't mention that she was going out today to avoid worrying about them, and just thought it would be good to be back early. When she got back, her parents had already come home from work and found out that she was not at home, and were waiting for her downstairs. Her parents' faces were scary, and when they saw her return in one piece, they looked relieved for a moment, followed by a storm of angry questions and a two-hour long lecture.  She was left speechless and promised to tell them in advance the next time she went out. Her parents were still not satisfied, and they wanted her to stay at home and not go anywhere.