Pei Xi felt as if he had fallen into a huge, dark space, sinkingly endlessly into this space where only he existed, unable to reach the bottom.

His ears picked up a jumble of sounds. Car horns blaring; shouting and cries; footsteps coming and going; the sound of wheels rolling…..

He occasionally bumped into an invisible wall at the edge due to the inexplicable shaking. Trembling in pain, he tried to raise his hand to touch it, but his arm seemed to weigh a thousand pounds and he couldn’t lift it no matter what.

There was a faint glare shining on his eyes through a thin film, and the surroundings gradually changed from noisy to quiet.

He tried hard to follow the direction of the light source, but his body became increasingly uncontrollable, floating up and down.

What……what was this?

Dull pain emanated from everywhere in his body. He watched helplessly as the light drifted away, leaving him farther and farther. He couldn’t catch up, and could only sink deeper into the darkness.

After an unknown period of silence, his ears finally captured the sounds of the outside world again.

The sounds of doors opening, footsteps, and small conversations.

Brighter light covered his face. His eyelids were so thin that the fine blood vessels could be seen, and could not hide the subtle movements of his eyes.

His eyelashes trembled, and he slowly opened his eyes.

The pupils automatically adjusted in size as they adapted to the sunlight, until he could clearly see everything in the hospital ward.

……Hospital ward?

His mind was blank, half of his consciousness still in turmoil. For a moment, he couldn’t recall what had happened and why he was here.

A nurse happened to come in on her rounds and saw that he was awake. She quickened her pace and came to the bedside to carefully confirm his condition, then left the words “wait a moment” and turned to call the doctor.

He closed his eyes and turned his head. When he opened them again, he unexpectedly met the gaze of the person on the sofa.

The other person seemed to have just woken up, with a face full of sleepiness and depleted energy.

Pei Xi’s expression froze: “…..?”

Three minutes later.

The doctor stood at the door of the ward, explaining Pei Xi’s situation to the profusely yawning He Chuzhou.

“All of the necessary examinations have been done. It’s nothing serious, just a slight concussion that shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Looking at his physical condition alone, long-term overwork and lack of sleep have had a greater impact on his body than the car accident. He should remember to pay more attention to sleep, and balance work with rest.”

“But one thing we need to pay special attention to is that the patient’s brain was hit on a specific location. The possibility of uncontrolled side effects cannot be ruled out in the short term, and as a family member, you must be mentally prepared.”

“Uncontrolled side effects?”

He Chuzhou squinted his eyes, not understanding the meaning of this sentence: “What are uncontrolled side effects?”

The doctor gave a range of answers: “There may be drowsiness or memory impairment. We’re not sure exactly.”

He Chuzhou was baffled upon hearing this, and turned to look at the person sitting in the hospital bed.

Pei Xi had just woken up after sleeping all day and night, and the originally crisp and pressed suit had been replaced by a loose hospital gown. His hair was not as neatly combed as it usually was and his face and lips were still bloodless, giving him a pale, weak appearance.

The only thing was that the eyes that glanced over him were still lofty and contemptuous of all living beings.

Wasn’t this a good thing? Then what was wrong?

Besides, what did it have to do with him if he was truly confused? He had sent the person to the hospital and stayed with him all night, which could be considered a most benevolent and righteous act.

“Doctor, you’ve misunderstood.”

He Chuzhou retired after accomplishing a great task: “I’m just a passerby who was willing to help others, not his family. Now that he’s awake, have him contact his family later. I still have things to do, so I’ll leave first.”

After that, he concluded his farewells to the people inside and picked up his jacket, turning to leave.

The small sofa in the ward was ridiculously tiny. He was nearly 1.9 meters tall and didn’t sleep well all night. He just wanted to go back and catch up on his sleep.

The doctor was astonished, and waited until he was out of sight before clicking his tongue: “Today’s young people are truly warm-hearted, sending a stranger to the hospital and staying there for a day and a night.”

Pei Xi slowly shook his head. After a brief moment of blankness, he sorted out the turmoil and finally remembered the car accident.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he regained his senses, he heard himself saying to the doctor: “He stayed for a day and a night?”

The doctor walked into the ward: “Yes, ah. He followed the ambulance to the hospital and never left. You’ll have to thank him properly later.”

The doctor was unaware of the grudges between them that could not be explained in a few words. Pei Xi didn’t want to explain further, so he just gave a vague hum in response.

The doctor opened the medical record and repeated the medical instructions he had given He Chuzhou in more detail.

Similarly, Pei Xi didn’t think the side effects of a mild concussion could be serious. He only cared about one thing: “Can I be discharged from the hospital now?”

The doctor closed the medical record: “You can, but I suggest you stay in the hospital a few more days for observation. After all, it was your head that was hit, so you still need to pay more attention to it.”

Pei Xi felt that there was no major problem with him. He still had unfinished work, and didn’t want to waste time in the hospital.

But at present, he could clearly feel that his physical strength had not yet recovered. After much deliberation, the two parties decided to postpone the discharge until evening.

The cause of the car accident was very clear. It was due to the other driver’s misjudgment of road conditions when he forced a lane change. The other party was fully responsible.

Dong Han and the driver were more seriously injured than him and had not yet awoken. Although there were no serious problems, if they didn’t recuperate for a month or two, they probably wouldn’t be able to regain their strength.

Pei Xi would hand over subsequent matters of compensation to the lawyers later, and notified the company managers to grant Dong Han and the driver three months of paid leave. Then he logged into his mailbox on his phone and began processing important emails.

There was still some time until evening, so he couldn’t just lie down and do nothing.

Only, he had really overestimated his current state, and hadn’t read two thirds of an email before sleepiness hit him like a surging tide.

When he woke up again, it was already dark.

The streetlight outside illuminated the tops of lush trees, and the footsteps of the medical staff came and went briskly in the hallway.

There were no lights on in the ward, and with the light coming through the window, he could just barely see in the darkness.

Pei Xi opened his eyes and gazed at the ceiling. After a while, he sat up and looked around as if he had encountered something confusing and incomprehensible. His expression revealed a fragile and confused look that had never been seen on him before.

He stared at the nighttime scene outside the window for a long time and put the back of his hand against his forehead. Then he slowly reached for his cellphone on the bedside cabinet and made a call.

*

*

“He Xingxing, walk slower.”

“Slower.”

“Slow down a little more, are you trying to kill your father?”

“Tsk, don’t sniff the butts of others or you might get your head scratched.”

The border collie whined, wagging his tail as he sat and looked at the little cow on the flowerbed for a moment and then looking up at He Chuzhou. His black and white fur was shiny and smooth under the street lamp, very beautiful.

He Chuzhou crouched down with the leash and rubbed He Xingxing’s doggy head skillfully, joining him in staring at the black and white cow-patterned cat.

He Chuzhou: “Hm, you look like a couple.

He Xingxing: “Woof~”

He Chuzhou: “You really like it?”

He Xingxing: “Woof~~”

He Chuzhou: “It’s a pity, you two are a cat and a dog, and mixing species is not easy, ah.”

“Awoooo~”

He Xingxing began to howl, getting excited when he suddenly saw something. Standing on his hind legs, he took the leash from He Chuzhou’s hand and ran toward a spot nearby.

When he returned, he not only had the leash in his mouth, but also a snack bag that had been tossed away.

“Good dog. You’re worthy of being my son.”

He Chuzhou took the snack bag from the dog’s mouth and threw it into a trash can: “I’ll give you a reward later.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the phone rang.

He Chuzhou stroked He Xingxing’s ears with one hand and took out the phone with the other. When he saw the caller ID, there was a flash of surprise in his eyes.

Was this person calling at such an hour to pay back the medical expenses he had paid in advance?

He clicked to answer, but there was no activity on the other end of the phone.

He Chuzhou glanced at the screen again to make sure the call hadn’t hung up, and patiently put it back to his ear: “What is it, President Pei? Do you need advice on something that is difficult to say?”

“Chuzhou.”

At last, a cold voice came through the receiver. That one single word caused He Chuzhou to suspect that it was an auditory hallucination.

He Chuzhou: “…..What-zhou?”

“Chuzhou.”

The voice was Pei Xi’s, but the tone seemed to belong to a different person. It was no longer arrogant, and so light that it made a person’s ears soften, containing an imperceptible grievance: “It’s already dark, why haven’t you come to pick me up?”

Under the streetlamp, the little cow cat swung its tail as if about to leave. Upon seeing this, He Xingxing immediately went forward and tried to get close to it. The dog’s nose was already halfway up when he realized his father was not paying attention to him, and he looked back in confusion.

And not far away, his father was still crouching in place as if the top of his head had been struck by lightning, his face burnt on the outside and tender on the inside.

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Chapter 3 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 5