The Real Awakening

A week had already passed by the time Ye Xiao awoke. He was shocked to discover that he was actually not dead, but rather safely lying in a hospital bed. His shoulder was bandaged, and an IV drip was connected to his arm.

He turned his gaze around to see white filling his vision: white curtains and white bedsheets. The room smelled strongly of antiseptic. The most inconceivable part was that placed on the nightstand next to the head of the bed was a…a fragrant hamburger?

He blinked hard. It really was not just him hallucinating; there actually was a hamburger there. Moreover, it was the double steak & cheese hamburger that he loved the most!

So weird…do hamburgers really just drop from the sky for no reason?

He immediately turned over and sat up. Swallowing his drool, he stared in astonishment at the suspicious hamburger. But the more he looked at it, the more his starving stomach failed his expectations by letting out a series of growls.

Eh, forget about who the hamburger belongs to. I’ll just eat it first.

Ultimately, he could not help but reach out to grab the warm hamburger, ripping apart the paper to wolf it down.

Halfway through, he suddenly heard a scoff next to his ear.

“Heh, anyone that saw your gluttony would think you were a locust in your past life.”

With a clunk, a piece of beef slid straight down his oesophagus.

“Cough cough…cough cough cough…” Ye Xiao coughed hard. “Bastard…are you trying to give me a heart attack…”

Su Mu slowly strode over from the doorway to walk up to the bed. With both hands in his pockets, he bent over at the waist to peer doubtfully at Ye Xiao, whose mouth was stuffed with food. After a moment of silence, he asked, “You recognise me?”

Ye Xiao rolled his eyes and huffed back, “Oi, Dead Fish-Eyes, don’t put your insufferable face so close to me. It’s not like I have Alzheimer’s, why wouldn’t I recognise you?”

Su Mu straightened up and furrowed his brows, a trace of astonishment flashing in his eyes.

“Oh yeah, how am I in the hospital? Did you bring me here?” Ye Xiao continued chowing down on his hamburger as he casually asked, “Um…I don’t remember anything. After that…how did we escape?”

“What do you mean how did we escape?”

“You know, from that…two-headed dog…”

“I don’t know either.”

“You don’t know?” Ye Xiao was dumbstruck.

Su Mu shrugged and lightly brushed it off. “I later lost consciousness just like you did. By the time I woke up, we were already in the hospital. I don’t know how exactly we came out from that abandoned village.”

“Huh? How could that be?” Ye Xiao blinked and asked, “Then who brought us to the hospital?”

“No idea.”

Su Mu responded curtly, then turned to walk over to the window. It was as though he was refusing to answer any other questions from Ye Xiao.

Ye Xiao stared at the other’s back, a faint, complex expression forming on his face.

After a while, he finished downing his hamburger in a few more bites. Wiping his mouth, he chuckled and commented, “By the way, you still haven’t answered my question.”

Su Mu leaned against the window without replying.

Ye Xiao thought to himself for a moment and then scratched his head as he cautiously asked, “Um…could you tell me who…exactly are you? Why do you know so many strange and bizarre things?”

Su Mu wordlessly turned around to frostily meet Ye Xiao’s eyes.

Ye Xiao shrank back and chuckled as he said, “Don’t-don’t show such a scary face. It’s fine if you don’t want to say as well. Everyone has their own—”

“That’s a question I should be asking you,” Su Mu suddenly stated

Ye Xiao froze for a second, but he immediately opened his mouth to laugh. “What-what question?”

Su Mu narrowed his eyes slightly to lock his dangerous gaze onto Ye Xiao while slowly asking, “Who…are you? Why were your past life memories not evoked despite drinking the water from the River of Memory?”

Ye Xiao blanked out for a moment. Then his smile slowly vanished.

He stared at Su Mu without uttering another word.

Su Mu quietly stared back.

In that split second, the peaceful ward was absolutely silent.

Outside the window, fine snow quietly fluttered down.

The first snowfall of the year had finally arrived.