When she opened her eyes, she saw a ceiling she seemed never to have seen before.
Luo Xian lay on the hospital bed, listening to the monotonous sounds of the equipment around her as she stared blankly at everything unfamiliar.
When she instinctively breathed in, she could no longer feel the pain she had grown used to. The suffocation and torment, like a fish stranded on shore or a bird falling into the sea, had vanished at some unknown point.
As though they had drifted away in a long dream.
Then, in the reflection of the glass by her bedside, she saw an unfamiliar version of herself.
The restlessness and darkness were gone from her scarlet eyes. That hungry, greedy self seemed to have disappeared, yet for one fleeting moment, she felt that another self might still be there.
Looking back at her from within the reflection.
So serene.
The Little Mermaid had stepped onto land, yet the reflection she left in the sea was still herself. Having abandoned her former freedom, she felt such loneliness instead.
After learning the nature of her own existence, she found herself even less able to endure the longing in her heart...
"What a mess you are, Luo Xian," she murmured softly.
If only she could see him.
At the very first instant she opened her eyes...
The thought that came to her upon waking was something straight out of a Fairy Tale.
Then, she heard the door open.
From the bathroom of the suite.
"Ah, did I miss it?"
Huai Shi came out carrying a vase he had refilled with water, along with the flowers he had brought to visit her. He could not help sighing regretfully. "The Continuance Institute told me you were about to wake up. I was hoping you'd see