The situation with "hibernation" was growing increasingly troubling.
The earliest patients had woken up after three to five days. Then it became seven to ten days. Now several patients still hadn't opened their eyes after more than ten days. There weren't many of them, but once word spread, the atmosphere throughout Jiangcheng changed.
The team of experts had gone silent. Before, they would occasionally come out with a few words like "research is ongoing" or "please rest assured." Now they couldn't even be bothered with that nonsense. Everyone knew that no news meant no progress.
But life had to go on. The markets still opened, food deliveries still arrived, and supermarket shelves stayed stocked. There were just fewer people on the streets and more shuttered shops. In a word-deserted. In two-an economic slump. It wasn't the peaceful quiet of a tranquil life. It was the quiet of everyone waiting for the other shoe to drop.
The first thing Wang Xiaoliang did every morning when he woke up was make phone calls.
He had to. Unless he called everyone, he felt terribly uneasy.
Since a conversation with Wei Zijin couldn't be wrapped up in a few words, he called Huang Xueli first.
The call connected after two rings, and Huang Xueli's voice came through. "Xiaoliang, we're doing fine."
Wang Xiaoliang paused, then laughed. "Oh, 'we'? That 'we' sounds really nice."
Huang Xueli laughed too. "It really is."
Wang Xiaoliang didn't ask any more questions. That was enough.
Next, he called Xiao Mo.
The moment the call connected, Xiao Mo spoke. "Xiaoliang, there was something I wanted to talk to you about."
"Go ahead, Brother."
"Nuomi might seem like she can accept anything, all easygoing, but she's actually a purist when it comes to relationships. There aren't many people she accepts. You're