Zhao Xuning pushed open the door, and the scene in the ward unfolded before Xu Qingzhu's eyes. The ward was spotless, and Liang Shi was lying quietly on the bed, his long brown curly hair spread out on the pillow.
Although Liang Shi was the one who lost too much blood, her face had regained color, and she was in much better condition than Xu Qingzhu.
Her lips were a little chapped, her breathing was even, and her long eyelashes cast a shadow on her lower eyelids.
It was midday, and the early winter sun shone gently on her, like a beautiful painting with vibrant colors.
It looks incredibly healed.
Xu Qingzhu stood at the door, motionless for a long time, her expression unchanged.
Zhao Xuning had already entered the ward. She took out gloves and put them on, then put on a mask. She pulled open Liang Shi's clothes at her collarbone to check her injury. It was recovering very well and had not worsened.
There are benefits to recovering while in a coma, as it prevents the person from moving around too much.
Liang Shi lay there as if asleep.
After Zhao Xuning finished his inspection, he looked at Xu Qingzhu standing at the door. His face, hidden behind a mask, was cold, but his voice was tinged with warmth as he spoke, "Aren't you going to come in and take a look?"
Xu Qingzhu was bewildered for a moment, then walked in very carefully.
Each step was taken very lightly, for fear of disturbing the person lying in the hospital bed.
Zhao Xuning took a half step back, put his hands in his pockets, and said in a muffled voice, "You can talk to her."
Xu Qingzhu's reaction was indifferent. Her long, curled eyelashes fluttered gently a few times, like butterflies with fluttering wings. She sat alone on the chair in front of the hospital bed, lowering her eyes to look at Liang Shi.
He remained calm throughout.
But a few seconds after she sat down, tears streamed down her face and fell onto Liang Shi's hand.
Liang Shi's hand had just finished receiving an IV drip, and the nurse forgot to tuck her hand under the blanket, so all the glistening tears fell onto it, landing on the prominent veins.
Zhao Xuning and Gu Junru exchanged a glance across the distance.
No one moved.
Xu Qingzhu opened her mouth as if to speak, but then stopped.
After several attempts, she finally uttered her first question: "How long has she been unconscious?"
Her clear, cold voice was choked with sobs.
Zhao Xuning replied coldly, "Three days have passed, and a full-body examination has been conducted, with no obvious abnormalities found."
"Will she come back?" Xu Qingzhu asked.
Zhao Xuning's pupils contracted slightly, startled by her words, before he said firmly, "Yes."
But after she finished speaking, she felt a little guilty and unsure of herself.
This was Liang Shi's secret, known only to the two of them.
Zhao Xuning didn't understand why Xu Qingzhu immediately asked if Liang Shi would come back, instead of asking if he would wake up.
At the time, Zhao Xuning hadn't thought about this problem either. She tended to explain everything from a medical perspective, so she and the director worked through the night to study the reason why Liang Shi was unconscious.
I even made overseas calls to consult authorities in this field, but I didn't get any answers.
It was only when medicine could not explain it that Zhao Xuning thought of the things Liang Shi had mentioned before, but she did not believe them entirely.
Unexpectedly, Xu Qingzhu asked this question all at once.
Zhao Xuning has no way to discuss this with her right now.
After asking the question, Xu Qingzhu fell silent.
She seemed to be just looking for a point, a point where she could stand up and support herself.
After a long silence, she suddenly asked in a cold voice, "Where is Chen Liuying?"
Zhao Xuning: "Hmm?"
“Dr. Gu.” Xu Qingzhu looked up at Gu Junru and licked her lips. “I… let’s talk.”
Gu Junru was pleasantly surprised: "Okay!"
After Xu Qingzhu finished speaking, she slowly bent over.
This is a very slow motion; if it were in a movie, it would be so beautiful that it could be played on repeat multiple times.
Xu Qingzhu closed her eyes, her eyelashes trembling. She brushed the hair behind her ear, slowly bent down, and her moist lips landed on Liang Shi's hand, tears falling at the same time.
Liang Shi's fingers curled up unconsciously, then remained motionless.
After Xu Qingzhu got up, she gently stroked the back of her hand with her fingers to wipe away the tears on it.
She gritted her teeth and looked at the quiet face on the hospital bed.
The ward was so quiet that only the slowed breathing could be heard. Xu Qingzhu's fingertips landed on Liang Shi's chin, gently stroking it.
Xu Qingzhu's tears welled up in her eyes, and she opened her mouth several times but couldn't utter a single word.
After a long silence, she said in a choked voice, "Sister."
The person in the hospital bed did not respond.
Seeing that she had recovered somewhat, Zhao Xuning told Dr. Gu to wait outside.
The door was closed, isolating the gentle universe.
In this universe, there are only the two of them.
“This time.” Xu Qingzhu’s head gently landed beside her, avoiding the spot where her hand was.
Their heartbeats mingled together, and Xu Qingzhu's voice was soft and gentle: "Let me protect you."
//
When Liang Shi woke up again, it was evening. The bright and clean ward was very quiet.
When she opened her eyes, she saw a white ceiling and the pungent smell of disinfectant.
After smelling it for a while, it doesn't feel too pungent anymore.
She turned her head stiffly. In the distance, the sky was covered with orange-pink clouds that spread out continuously. The afterglow of the setting sun shone on the tall buildings of the city, making it as beautiful as an oil painting.
There was no one in the ward, and her mind finally cleared up a bit after two episodes of unconsciousness.
The scene before her was so beautiful it was as if she had stepped out of a painting; she had no idea where she was.
The Wang Jie she had seen before seemed like a dream, but reason told her that this place seemed to be where she had lived for many years.
Her throat was dry and hoarse, and she couldn't speak. Her body was so stiff that she felt pain all over her body if she moved even slightly, as if moving one part would affect the whole body.
Liang Shi struggled to raise her hand, wanting to press the call button on the side of the hospital bed, but just as she raised her hand, the ward door was pushed open, and a familiar voice rang out.
"Will Sister Liang ever wake up? I was so happy for nothing."
"He can wake up, wait a little longer."
Two voices rang out, and after a moment, the two exclaimed in surprise at the same time: "You're awake?!"
Xiao Bai ran out like a madwoman, sprinting at top speed to find Liang Shi's attending physician. Wang Zhaozhao stood there straight, adjusting her non-prescription glasses, which she wore as an accessory, after a moment.
Liang Shi and she looked at each other as if they had crossed centuries.
Liang Shi closed his eyes and a tear rolled down his cheek.
My heart was filled with mixed feelings, but I still managed a stiff smile.
Liang Shi's voice was obscure and mocking, as if it had been polished by a dull object when he spoke.
She said, "Sister Wang, I'm back."
--haven't seen you for a long time.
Wang Zhaozhao breathed a sigh of relief, "It's alright."
—It's good that you woke up.
//
The doctor gave Liang Shi a full physical examination and confirmed that there was nothing seriously wrong with her.
Even a normal person would experience some problems after lying in bed for more than three months.
Liang Shih's problem was physical stiffness, which required rehabilitation.
Rehabilitation is a rather difficult process, especially since Liang Shi found herself lying in bed for more than three months after returning home, and even her abs had disappeared. Her body was too thin, like a paper doll.
Liang Shi rehabilitates for about two hours every day. Because of his good physical condition, he doesn't need to do too many sports, but he still adds extra training for himself.
The doctor recommended about two hours, so Xiaobai would supervise her walking and doing aerobics. Before going to bed, Liang Shi would add extra exercises for herself, with planks and sit-ups being her two most frequent exercises.
She would push herself to the limit, until she was covered in sweat and so exhausted that she couldn't even think straight, before finally falling asleep in bed.
She used to sleep very well, but since waking up here, her sleep quality has plummeted.
Even though I keep pushing myself to train harder and exhaust myself, I often wake up in the middle of the night.
Upon waking, she instinctively touched the side of the bed, and then realized with a start that she had returned to this world.
There is no Xu Qingzhu in this world.
Liang Shi would stare blankly with his eyes open, or lie on his side with his head resting on his arm, his back to the window, trying to fall asleep.
But it's hard for me to fall asleep.
She often thinks of Xu Qingzhu.
Frame by frame, like playing a movie, it replays past moments in my mind.
Liang Shi had cursed that damn system countless times at night, arguing that it must have been due to a bug that sent her back to this world.
Despite her countless rants, the system never appeared.
The hundred days she experienced felt like a dream.
A beautiful dream she wove for herself.
The pipe dream will eventually end.
A few days later, Liang Shi thought to himself—it must have been a dream.
However, she secretly didn't want to categorize Xu Qingzhu as someone she met in her dream.
The vivid feeling I had when I first woke up had already vanished; the days passed by one by one, like arrows being shot through the air.