Waking Up

"Hiss~"

When Lu Yan woke up, he tried to make a sound, but all he could hear was a broken bellows-like wheezing.

With each breath, my lungs felt like they were filled with iron filings, burning with pain.

He struggled to open his eyes; his vision was blurred after the long darkness, and his image overlapped several times before he could make out what was in front of him.

The ceiling was white, and there was a faint smell of disinfectant in the air.

Beneath me was a soft yet supportive mattress, and the rhythmic, monotonous "drip... drip..." sound echoed in my ears.

Is this a hospital?

Lu Yan tried to turn his neck, but found that even this simple movement caused him pain all over his body.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of his arm, which should have been perfectly intact but was now wrapped in thick white gauze like a mummy. Only the back of his hand was exposed, with an IV tube inserted, and clear liquid was slowly flowing into his veins through the drip.

A transparent, fogging mask covered his face, and the moist white vapor condensed into tiny water droplets on the mask, blurring most of his face.

"Hmm..."

The faint sounds were exceptionally clear in the quiet ward.

The figure sleeping soundly beside the bed, head buried in the arms, suddenly trembled.

Her smooth hair was slightly disheveled, and the girl, who was always impeccably groomed, looked somewhat haggard.

Aemeath raised her head, her brilliant golden star-like eyes bloodshot, her eye sockets swollen and red, clearly from not having closed her eyes for a long time or from crying too many times.

When her gaze met Lu Yan's slightly unfocused but definitely open eyes, the air seemed to freeze for a moment.

"A-Yan?!" Aemeath screamed, her voice trembling with sobs and unbelievable ecstasy.

She stood up almost immediately, her movement so forceful that it knocked over the folding chair next to her with a loud crash.

"A-Yan! You're awake! You're really awake... Doctor! Doctor!"

She frantically pressed the call button by the bedside while reaching out her fair hand to touch Lu Yan's face, but stopped abruptly in mid-air.

She looked at the bloody streaks on Lu Yan's face that even gauze couldn't cover, and her hands trembled like a leaf.

"A-Yan... how are you feeling? Where does it hurt? Don't move, please don't move."

Lu Yan looked at Aemeath in front of him.

She was wearing a simple white sweatshirt, and her usually smiling face was now filled with vulnerability and relief at surviving the ordeal.

Through the fogged mask, Lu Yan's voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible. "... What... happened? How... did I become like this?"

Aemeath heard his voice, tears welled up in her eyes again. She forced herself not to wail, sobbing as she sat back down on the edge of the bed. She carefully took his hand that wasn't intubated, only to find that it was also wrapped in gauze, and she could only gently rest her hand on it.

"You still ask what happened..." Aemeath choked up, her voice faltering, "May 21st... that night, we were both sleeping at home. But in the middle of the night, I suddenly felt you in my arms... you were trembling."

Her body trembled slightly, as if recalling that nightmarish night.

"I wanted to see what was wrong, and then... I saw that your skin was cracked all over, like shattered porcelain, and then there was blood... the blood wouldn't stop."

"You were covered in blood. I was terrified, A-Yan, I really thought you were going to shatter..."

Lu Yan was deeply shocked.

The price they had paid had, in full, been reflected back onto their physical bodies in the real world.

I thought only the soul would be hurt.

"How long... have I been asleep?" Lu Yan asked with difficulty, each word causing the cracks in his chest to ache.

Aemeath raised her hand and wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, saying with a hint of heartache and reproach, "It's been half a month... a full fifteen days."

"You remained unconscious. The doctors said all your vital signs were completely out of control, and you had extensive, unexplained lacerations in your internal organs and subcutaneous tissue. You were in the ICU for three days and three nights before being transferred to this private room."

"I don't even know how I got through these days..."

Aemeath looked at Lu Yan, her eyes filled with lingering fear.

Looking at her haggard appearance, Lu Yan felt a pang of guilt.

In his attempt to rewrite the past, he trapped himself in a dead end, forgetting that there was someone in this world who loved him dearly and was watching over him.

But if she didn't change the past, she wouldn't be here now.

"You've had a tough time these past few days..." Lu Yan said softly.

"What's so hard about it?!"

As if a switch had been flipped, Aemeath's tears fell even more fiercely. She leaned down, carefully approaching Lu Yan, and sobbed as she said:

"You worried me to death... A-Yan, do you know you almost died?"

"I'll do anything to wake you up. And please, never scare me like that again, understand?"

She dared not think about how she would survive in this world if Lu Yan had really had an accident that night.

Lu Yan laboriously raised his hand, which was wrapped in gauze, and moved it slowly, little by little, until it finally landed gently on the top of Aemeath's pink hair.

A realistic touch, a warm temperature.

This is the Aemeath to save in his dream.

He was able to care for his Aemeath in the sunlight, in a hospital ward in a modern city.

"I won't scare you anymore... I promise."

Lu Yan forced a smile, though the gesture stung the wounds on his face. "I'm... back, aren't I?"

"You still dare to talk back!" Aemeath raised her head, her eyes red, and glared at him. Then she immediately softened and gently adjusted the angle of his fogging mask.

"Are you thirsty? The doctor said you can only drink a little warm water since you're awake. I'll go get you some."

Aemeath got up to pour water.

Lu Yan lay on the bed, quietly watching her busy figure.

Sunlight streamed in through the gaps in the curtains of the hospital room, casting a golden glow that was warm and peaceful.

He could feel his body reorganizing.

Although his whole body ached and he couldn't move, looking at the living, breathing Aemeath who hadn't turned into an electronic ghost, Lu Yan felt...

It was all worth it!

"A-Yan, the water's here, it's a bit hot, let me blow on it first."

Aemeath sat on the edge of the bed, scooped up a little warm water with a small spoon, tested the temperature on her own lips first, and then carefully brought it to Lu Yan's lips.

Her gaze was focused and gentle, as if she were holding the most precious thing in the world.

At this moment, there was no disaster, no sacrifice in the ward.

Only two people, bound together by cause and effect, have truly grasped each other's essence.

"Drink slowly..." Aemeath whispered, a glimmer of light finally returning to her beautiful eyes.

Lu Yan drank some warm water and felt the burning sensation in his throat subside a little.