Chapter 685 - 684: Waking Up

When he woke up again, Tang Yuanxiao’s face was streaked with tears, and he felt completely unmoored in time.

Tang Yuanxiao lay stiffly on the hospital bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, still unable to shake the feeling of death.

The sensation of death had been so real.

But what truly threw him into chaos were the memories of this life.

The memories of two lifetimes collided in his mind, giving him a splitting headache.

"Tang Yuanxiao, Tang Yuanxiao, can you hear me?"

A hazy voice drifted in from a distance.

"His eyes are open, but he’s not responding. It’s been several minutes, and he’s still just lying there, stiff as a board. What’s going on?"

"Tang Yuanxiao? Tang Yuanxiao, can you hear me?"

As the voices grew louder, Tang Yuanxiao suddenly let out a long breath, and his eyes flickered.

His body was no longer rigid, but he just stared blankly at the doctor, his gaze completely unfocused.

"Tang Yuanxiao? Tang Yuanxiao?" The nurse called his name twice, then looked from Tang Yuanxiao’s vacant expression to the doctor.

"Doctor, the fall didn’t... damage his brain, did it?" The hospital had seen it all—people left permanently impaired from high fevers, from falls, from being struck by something.

The brain is the most fragile organ; one wrong move and the damage is done.

The doctor observed Tang Yuanxiao and pursed his lips. "Let’s wait a little longer. It seems he hasn’t fully come around yet."

"Tang Yuanxiao? Can you hear me? Does anything hurt?"

The nurse asked several more times. Outside the room, an anxious Lin Huanzhu couldn’t bear to wait any longer and came inside.

"Doctor, what’s wrong with him?"

"He seems unresponsive. Perfect, you’re family. Come in and try talking to him. Maybe hearing your voice will get through to him."

The doctor motioned for Lin Huanzhu to come closer.

Tang Yuanxiao finally snapped out of his daze, his mind clearing. The first thing he saw was Lin Huanzhu’s concerned face.

Tang Yuanxiao stared blankly for a second, his mind slowly catching up. He opened his mouth and croaked, "Lin Huanzhu."

"Yes, yes! It’s me, Lin Huanzhu! Tang Yuanxiao, it’s me, Lin Huanzhu."

An emotional Lin Huanzhu grabbed Tang Yuanxiao’s hand and nodded vigorously, then turned to call the doctor.

"Doctor, Doctor! He’s awake!"

The doctor had already seen. He came over and leaned down slightly. "Tang Yuanxiao?"

Tang Yuanxiao hummed in acknowledgment. His head was spinning, but he did his best to stay lucid.

"Does anything hurt? Do you know where you are?" the doctor asked.

"Dizzy... headache... Hospital," Tang Yuanxiao replied quietly, his words short.

"Good. Very good. Now, try to move your hand... And your foot... Very good..."

After a brief examination, the doctor breathed a sigh of relief. "All right, everything seems fine. He’s truly awake now."

The doctor left, but Tang Yuanxiao remained on the bed, his expression dazed, as if he still hadn’t fully processed everything.

Lin Huanzhu poured a glass of water and helped Tang Yuanxiao drink. Seeing his dazed look, she rubbed her nose and tried to explain.

"You just woke up, so you’re probably feeling weak and a little out of it. Your concussion likely hasn’t healed yet, so that’s why you’re feeling unwell."

"Your colleague was looking after you at first, and then Yu Le took over. Yu Le only went home yesterday. And today... well, yesterday evening, Tang Mo came to see you, but he said he had something to do and had to leave."

Looking into Tang Yuanxiao’s eyes, Lin Huanzhu felt something was off. There was an inexplicable sense of unfamiliarity in his gaze.

Seeing the way he was staring right at her, Lin Huanzhu scratched her head. "Is my being here making you uncomfortable, or is there something you need? Should I step out for a bit?"

"I came straight here when I heard you were injured. I was so worried."

She had rushed over the moment she heard about his injury and had stayed by his side for two days, waiting for him to wake up.

Lin Huanzhu hadn’t been eating or sleeping well. Her complexion was dull and pale, and for a fleeting moment, the joy and relief in her bright eyes dimmed.

She exhaled and forced a smile. "As long as you’re awake, that’s all that matters. I’ll step out for a bit."

’As long as Tang Yuanxiao is awake, that’s all that matters,’ she thought. ’It doesn’t matter if he’s not happy to see me. He’s awake and out of danger, and that’s enough.’

Lin Huanzhu got up to leave, but Tang Yuanxiao called out to her.

"Wait." Tang Yuanxiao looked at Lin Huanzhu and said softly, "Thank you."

Lin Huanzhu’s face instantly broke into a smile. "It’s nothing. What are you thanking me for? We’re friends, aren’t we?"

A complicated look flickered in Tang Yuanxiao’s eyes. He had always known Lin Huanzhu was a wonderful woman, the best and most suitable person for him. Logically, he had always known he should cherish her and try to win her heart.

’He understood her kindness, her affection for him. When he heard the news of Su Li’s wedding, he had gone out on this assignment thinking he should finally give up hope and learn to cherish Lin Huanzhu.’

’If... If not for this injury, if he hadn’t recovered his memories from his past life, Tang Yuanxiao might have already made a different decision.’

’But there are no "ifs" in this world. He had recovered his memories.’

Tang Yuanxiao glanced at the dim, yellow lightbulb overhead and asked Lin Huanzhu.

"How... how long was I unconscious? It’s already dark out."

A flash of surprise crossed Lin Huanzhu’s face. "You’ve been unconscious... for four days."

Tang Yuanxiao’s pupils constricted. "What?"

He struggled to sit up, but couldn’t manage it.

His body was weak, his shoulder hurt, and his head throbbed. The sudden movement sent a wave of dizziness over him, and his vision blurred.

"Don’t move! You have a concussion, it hasn’t healed yet. Don’t move."

Seeing him move, Lin Huanzhu immediately rushed back to his side, pressing down on his uninjured shoulder.

Tang Yuanxiao paid her no mind, his voice urgent.

"You said I was out for four days... so what’s the date? What day of the twelfth lunar month is it?"

His question made her remember the invitation in her bag, and she immediately understood.

"It’s the... eighteenth of the twelfth lunar month. It’s one o’clock in the morning now."

Lin Huanzhu replied, glancing at her watch.

Tang Yuanxiao’s expression froze.

’The eighteenth of the twelfth lunar month... That was Su Li’s wedding day.’

’He had actually... he had been unconscious all the way until today. Until Su Li’s wedding day.’

’If he’d woken up any later, Su Li might already be married.’

’Too late. Everything was too late... For him, it was always too late.’

Tang Yuanxiao gritted his teeth and struggled to sit up. "Where is this? I have to get back to the Imperial City. I have to go see..." ’Su Li.’

’He had to see Su Li.’

Lin Huanzhu couldn’t stop him in time. With a complicated expression, she steadied him to keep him from falling.

He didn’t say the name, but she knew who he wanted to see. "Why... why do you have to go see her?"

’Seeing her won’t change anything.’

Tang Yuanxiao scrubbed a hand over his face, his eyes filled with anguish.

’How could he not go see Su Li? How could he possibly not go?’

’Su Li... Oh, Su Li...’

’His mind was filled with the image of Su Li looking at him, her face full of sorrow and hate. Those eyes of hers... they were exactly the same, from the very beginning.’

’The last time he saw Su Li before she died... her small, stooped body... she looked like a skeletal old woman he could barely recognize. The memory of him calling her "Grandma" and asking her for news of Su Li flashed through his mind again and again.’

’Grandma... he had called her Grandma. Su Li, who was so much younger than him, and he had called her Grandma.’

The pain was heart-wrenching for Tang Yuanxiao.

He had never been able to accept it, never understood Su Li’s attitude or her choices. Only now, having remembered everything from his past life, did he finally understand the grudge she held against him, and why she treated him this way.

All the signs from the past led Tang Yuanxiao to one undeniable conclusion:

Su Li also had memories of their past life.