Chapter 63: Applying for Mental Appraisal

  After arriving at the assembly hall, Tang Xiaosheng stood with other prisoners, still looking nervous and attracting unusual glances from many prisoners.

  Afterwards, the deputy warden of the detention center made a brief speech, and then all the prisoners lined up to receive their breakfast. Today was the second day of the New Year, and the breakfast was the same as yesterday - each person got a bowl of rice porridge with two large meat buns.

  Tang Xiaosheng continued to pretend to be mentally ill and did not go to get breakfast like the other prisoners, but instead crouched in a corner in a daze.

  Seeing this, the deputy director nodded to the prison guard beside him to help Tang Xiaosheng with a breakfast. The prison guard then carried a bowl of porridge and two meat buns, walked in front of him, and said: "Have your breakfast first."

  Tang Xiaosheng had no reaction, his face expressionless, just staring blankly at the floor in a daze, muttering to himself in words that nobody could understand.

  The prison guard squatted down and placed the breakfast in front of him: "This is your breakfast."

  At first, Tang Xiaosheng remained unmoved. A moment later, he saw the two large meat buns in the plate, his eyes lit up instantly, and he excitedly danced with joy, staring at the meat buns and shouting loudly: "Your grandma is huge!"

  As soon as he shouted this, almost all the prisoners turned their heads to look at him. Some shook their heads, some smiled, some shook their heads and smiled, and others had already begun to discuss it.

  "This prisoner seems to be quite ill."

  "It's indeed quite like mental illness!"

  ……

  Upon seeing this, the deputy director also let out a soft sigh and immediately contacted the doctor at the detention center. A few minutes later, the doctor arrived and gave Tang Xiaosheng a check-up.

  After more than ten minutes of careful diagnosis, the doctor's conclusion was: Tang Xiaosheng's behavior was very strange, and whether he had a mental illness or not, he didn't know.

  Because this doctor is just an ordinary surgeon, mainly responsible for treating some prisoners' minor injuries such as abrasions and bruises in the detention center, not a psychiatrist.

  Then, the deputy director instructed the prison guards in the ward to pay more attention to Tang Xiaosheng, observe and record his behavior, and then report back to him.

  After this commotion, most of the prisoners in the detention center knew that Tang Xiaosheng was a mentally ill person, which was exactly what Tang Xiaosheng had hoped to see. Because the more people who thought he was mentally ill, the more likely it would create a certain public opinion effect, and as a result, when he applied for a judicial psychiatric appraisal in the future, the possibility of his application being approved would greatly increase. This is because the procuratorate considers the behavior of prisoners in detention centers to be an important basis when reviewing applications for mental health assessments.

  After finishing breakfast, the prisoners continued to be busy, either sweeping the floor, washing dishes or wiping the floor. According to the original arrangement, Tang Xiaosheng should have gone to the toilet to clean the toilet, but he was now pretending to be mentally ill and had to pretend that he could not control his behavior, so it was impossible for him to carry out the orders of the prison guard. In addition, the deputy director had already instructed them to observe Tang Xiaosheng more closely, and had tacitly assumed that he might have mental illness, so the prison guard did not force Tang Xiaosheng to do anything.

  Tang Xiaosheng didn't have to wash the toilet, but Hu Dajiang was unlucky and had to do it himself. However, Hu Dajiang wasn't particular about such things and didn't complain, instead he pulled Tang Xiaosheng into the bathroom to chat with him.

  Tang Xiaosheng was pretending to be a mental patient, and had no time to chat with others. He sat on a toilet, looking like he was occupying the latrine without doing his business, his eyes dull and expressionless.

  Hu Dajiang came over, patted his shoulder and chuckled softly: "You're quite clever, thinking of pretending to be mentally ill to leave this place. Don't say, you're pretty convincing!" He paused for a moment, then asked, "Do you really plan on keeping up the act?"

  Tang Xiaosheng ignored him, not saying a word, and continued to put on a stupid and numb expression. Because he was no longer playing an interesting game, but gambling, with his future, even his life as the stakes. At such a moment, he couldn't be careless, and could only go all out, completely treating himself as a mentally ill person, without any relaxation.

  He didn't speak, Hu Dajiang fell silent for a moment, then said with a serious tone: "We can be considered as not unfamiliar, I'll give you some advice. Pretending to be mentally ill is not a bad idea, if it succeeds, you won't have to go to jail. However, this method is completely unreliable, and it's not possible to fool people by just pretending to be stupid or confused. When the time comes, you will be sent to a mental hospital for expert appraisal, and there is no possibility of success. If you fail, your crime will increase. You need to think carefully."

  Tang Xiaosheng remained silent.

  Hu Dajiang slowed down, knowing that he might have already made up his mind, so he said: "Well, good luck to you then!" After finishing speaking, he sighed, picked up a brush and started brushing the toilet alone.

  Hu Dajiang did the job of cleaning the toilet for three days in a row, because Tang Xiaosheng pretended to be mentally ill for the next three days.

  Every time, anyone who sees him is in a nervous state. Most of the prisoners in the detention center when referring to Tang Xiaosheng no longer call out his name or number, but directly call him "madman". They also begin to acknowledge this fact: Tang Xiaosheng indeed suffers from mental illness.

  During these three days, lawyer Zhao Weiliang visited Tang Xiaosheng twice and after seeing his abnormal mental state, he also understood how to write the application for a judicial appraisal of his mental state.

  On the afternoon of the fourth day, Tang Xiaosheng suddenly received good news: the procuratorate had agreed to conduct a judicial psychiatric appraisal on him, and he could leave the detention center tomorrow to undergo the appraisal at Jinghua City Mental Hospital.

  Upon learning the news, Tang Xiaosheng was overjoyed. This was too important for him. If the application wasn't approved, then no matter how much he pretended to be crazy in the detention center, it would all be in vain.

  Of course, he understood that the application for judicial review could be approved, and half of the credit should go to Lawyer Zhao Weiliang, because it was he who submitted the application to the procuratorate, and the application was also written by him. Tang Xiaosheng couldn't help but feel secretly lucky, and Xiao Longnv had found Lawyer Zhao Weiliang from somewhere, which really helped him a lot.

  However, Tang Xiaosheng also understands that applying for a judicial appraisal is only the first step, and whether he can pass the hospital's appraisal is a more crucial and difficult step.

  After dinner, Tang Xiaosheng returned to his cell. Tomorrow he would go to the psychiatric hospital for a mental evaluation, so he planned to rest early.

  He lay in bed for half a day, still unable to fall asleep. He was excited and also a bit nervous. After all, tomorrow's matter was of great significance to him, directly related to his future fate.

  However, not being able to sleep isn't a bad thing after all. Tomorrow is the mental evaluation, and having a slightly poor mental state not only doesn't hurt but also helps. Thinking of this, Tang Xiaosheng was also comforted by his insomnia and even felt much more at ease.

  Time is passing minute by minute and second by second, tonight seems to be particularly long. I feel like I've been lying in bed for a long time, but when I look at the time, it's just past midnight.

  He still had no intention of sleeping, he just lay quietly.

  Although he was just lying down, it wasn't easy to bear. Because his face had to maintain a stupid expression at all times, this really took effort and required special concentration, even gathering one's spirit. If he wasn't careful, if his attention wandered slightly, the expression on his face would unconsciously return to normal, and in that case, he might expose the fact that he was pretending to be mentally ill.

  Pretending to be a mentally ill person is not a temporary thing, but a long-term one. Tang Xiaosheng cannot relax for a moment, let alone slack off for a second. Although there is no one around him now, he must maintain this state. He understands that in order to pass the mental assessment tomorrow, he must completely pretend to be a mentally ill person and believe that he is indeed a mentally ill person. Only then can he possibly deceive others with his fake behavior.

  It's easy to talk about, but it's actually very difficult to do. Not to mention anything else, just keeping the mouth shape is enough to choke. Tang Xiaosheng has been crooked all day, even when eating, his mouth is still crooked, and now his chin is a bit numb. He was considering whether to let his crooked mouth rest for a while, when suddenly a sweet female voice came from outside the cell:

  "Go ahead!"