Chapter 6

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In the intensive care unit, the man lying on the bed slowly opened his eyes.

He was caught in a tiny trance from the whiteness that engulfed him. After a careful look around, he was certain he was lying in a hospital ward; there was a needle settled in the back of his hand, connected to a bag of fluid transporting a transparent liquid into his body, as well as colorful wires sticking onto his being, giving readings to the monitor stationed beside him.

Is he…not dead?

An Luo gently closed his eyes and slowly reopened them, only to find that nothing has changed, everything in the room still remaining the same. This wasn"t an illusion, he was indeed lying in an unfamiliar hospital ward.

He remembered the plane exploding in the air and how he should"ve been blown to ashes with it. Even if he was lucky enough to survive from that blast, falling from such a height would"ve resulted in him splatting into a puddle of blood and flesh. How could he still be alive, lying on a hospital bed?

For a while, An Luo could not comprehend his current situation. With some doubts, he moved his fingers to his chest and abruptly, a burst of intense pain hit him, the ache causing him to frown. Judging from the intensity of the sting, he seemed to have been cut by a knife. The fact that it hurt further proved this wasn"t a dream.

He stared blankly into the distance, his mind in alarms. Then, he began to accept the fact that he did not die.

He wanted to move his legs, but realized he couldn"t feel anything from below the knees.

At that moment, the ward"s door opened, and in came a young man wearing a snowy white overcoat. The man walked to him with questioning eyes, then said with a faint smile, "An Luo, you"re finally awake. Do you feel discomfort anywhere?"

The man"s smile was gentle and familiar.

-Is he asking me? An Luo"s line of sight travelled to the badge on the man"s chest. He searched his memories for the name ‘Zhou Chengping’, but nothing clicked. Feeling somewhat puzzled, An Luo asked, "Are you the doctor in charge of me?"

Zhou Chengping"s outstretched hand froze in the air.

For a long time, an awkward silence ensued. Zhou Chengping looked at the numbers on the thermometer uncertainly. "No fever, strange… You don"t remember me? I am Chengping."

An Luo shook his head. "I don"t remember."

Startled, Zhou Chengping continued to poke: "Then, do you remember what happened before?"

"I don"t remember."

"When you were kidnapped and nearly lost your life?"

"I don"t remember."

Zhou Chengping became silent, his expression heavy.

Seeming to recall something, An Luo frowned. "What about An Yang? Is he alive?"

The doctor was stunned. "Who is An Yang?"

"…" It was like a chicken talking to a duck.

An Luo eyes fluttered shut, he no longer spoke.

The other man stood rigidly in place for half a day before he rapidly turned around and walked outside, fingers dialing a number on his phone. "Professor Chen of Neurosurgery? h.e.l.lo, I"m Zhou Chengping. Is it possible for you to go to the ICU at once? My Biao Ge, An Luo, appears to have a serious problem with his memory. I don"t know if his brain suffered any damage…"

A brief moment later, a group of medical staff hurried to the ICU ward and give An Luo an emergency CT scan. Several doctors discussed the results for a long time when at last, Professor Chen came to a conclusion: "Chengping, according to the CT scan, there are no indicators showing that your Biao Ge"s brain suffered any harm."

Zhou Chengping doubted the authenticity of that statement. "Then what"s going on with his memory? He"s mentioned an An Yang I"ve never heard of."

"This… there was previously a case of a man who fell down and was comatose for a few days. When he woke up, he suddenly could speak eight different languages." He sighed. "In this world, there are actually a great number of things we are incapable of making reasonable explanations for scientifically."

Zhou Chengping stood in silence as he watched Professor Chen turned to leave. At last, he reluctantly let out a breath.

Alright. Unexplainable amnesia, huh?

He didn"t know how An Ze’s face will twist after hearing the news.

Yesterday, they had said that dying directly during surgery and going into a vegetative state were the worst possible outcomes of this ordeal. Yet now, there was suddenly the matter of amnesia… An Luo, are you playing with us?

Zhou Chengping returned to the ward and walked toward An Luo, staring at him in the eyes.

His eyes were still as clear as ever before, amber pupils pure and bright. But, they were without the usual arrogance and indifference, now crowded with only doubts and alert.

His sight was on Zhou Chengping until the later stopped by his bed, then he asked, "Have the doctors come to a conclusion?"

Oppressing his emotions, Zhou Chengping nodded his head.

An Luo calmly continued, "Dr. Zhou, can you explain my condition to me?"

Zhou Chengping hesitated before indulging, "Yesterday, when you arrived to the hospital, your heartbeat had already stopped. After 40 minutes, we were finally able to rescue you and your vital signs gradually returned to normal. Now that the critical moments have pa.s.sed, there are no dangers to your life. However, your legs temporarily won"t be able to move, still requiring further surgery."

An Luo nodded. "How serious are the injuries on my legs? I can"t feel them at all."

"That…" Looking at his bright pair of eyes clouded with mistrust, Zhou Chengping didn"t have the heart to tell the truth. "Both of your legs are fractured… the right one is relatively serious. After the surgery, it may require… a comparatively long period of time to… recover."

After a moment of silence, An Luo said, "I see. Thank you."

His expression was utterly tranquil, as if to him, this matter was of no big deal. Zhou Chengping opened his mouth, trying to comfort him, but he didn"t know what to say.

Ever since childhood, An Luo seemed to always be plagued with misfortunes, constantly struggling between the lines of life and death. They had brought him back this time, but once again, he suddenly lost his memory. It’s hard to imagine what was going through his mind. Waking up to a completely different environment with people he can"t recall, he must"ve felt at loss and helpless…

Staring at him motionless in bed with a pale complexion, Zhou Chengping could not help but feel some distressed. He gently reached out to hold his hand and whispered, "An Luo, don"t worry, I asked for the best orthopedic surgeon to treat you. It is most likely you will heal."

Quietly retreating his hand from the doctor"s fingers, An Luo faintly asked, "Where"s my family?"

Zhou Chengping hastened to explain, "Your grandfather and father stayed here for most of last night. After you were rescued, they went back home to rest. Your three younger brothers are currently tending to important matters, so they temporarily are unable to return… I"ll tell them you"ve woken up."

An Luo nodded. "Inform them of my amnesia so they can be psychologically prepared."

Zhou Chengping was frightened by his cold att.i.tude. He immersed himself in silence before reluctantly questioning, "You really… can"t remember anything?" Pause. "We grew up together, knew each other for more than a decade-I"m your cousin and best friend. My birthday is right after yours so we always celebrated them together in the past… Don"t you have any impressions, no matter how little, of these things?"

"No," was An Luo"s reply. He serenely glanced at him, saying, "Including the people you"ve talked about: my grandfather, father, brothers-I have no recollection of them whatsoever."

"…" Listening to his indifferent tone, Zhou Chengping"s chest unwillingly tightened. Is this a joke? It wasn"t easy to bring him back, he had exhausted all means to rescue him, but in the end, all that was given was the three words "I don"t remember"?

An Luo"s weary voice floated into his ears: "Dr. Zhou, I want to rest."

"Um… alright." Zhou Chengping complied, turning around to leave. When he got to the door, he couldn"t stop a glance back, and saw An Luo lightly closing his eyes.

Although he had been saved, his body was still very weak, his complexion extremely pale and his thin lips were without the crimson red. His personality was as cold as it was in the past, but at the moment, with his wrinkled brows, long eyelashes that casted a faint shadow over his cheeks, and eyes that were trying to appear brave, one could not help but feel pity and distressed for the seemingly fragile man.

He was full of injuries. His legs were forcibly broken, his memories disappeared. It was truly bad luck… But perhaps, not remembering the torment he suffered during his kidnapping can be regarded as a good thing, right?

Zhou Chengping sighed, opened the door, then gently closed it behind him.

An Luo suddenly opened his eyes.

Now that he was alone, he no longer concealed the turmoil of his heart, letting out the pain and suffering that raged inside. Contrary to the calm and indifferent facade he displayed for Zhou Chengping earlier, his face was stiff and twisted.

He thought he would die, die together with An Yang on that plane.

There was no lie in what An Yang had said; compared to pa.s.sing away due to old age and illness, dying with his brother, having their ashes mixed together, was possibly the best end to his life.

He remembered An Yang"s dying smile, that image becoming the most beautiful memory of his life. He also didn"t forget the words he ran out of time to say-Actually, I love you.

When that grim, exhausting life of his ended, although there were some regrets, all he felt was relief.

However, he didn"t expect that not only would he not die, he would carry on the memories of his previous life with him to rebirth in this unfamiliar environment.

Although he learned from Zhou Chengping"s mouth that he was still called An Luo, this An Luo’s and his background was completely different. The former An Luo only had An Yang as family, but this An Luo has a grandfather, father, and younger brothers.

An Luo looked at the needle inserted into the back of his hand and frowned.

He found this situation somewhat absurd.

How could he have been brought back? Not even his name has changed.

But… since he was already here, the only thing he can do is accept this reality.

He would not be so stupid as to kill himself and test if he can truly die. Since G.o.d had given him a second chance, he will use it wisely. At least in this life, he will not live as painfully as before.

As for An Yang… Perhaps he was already dead. Perhaps he"s been sent to another world like himself. In any case, after the plane explosion, the name of An Yang, along with the former An Luo, will forever cease to exist.

Yes, it will no longer exist.

They were once good brothers who later died together in an accident.

That was their end.

There was no longer any chance to change that reality.

There was no need to miss or long for him anymore. The name of An Yang and the previous An Luo will be pressed into the bottom of his heart, although not beautiful, will become very precious memories.

This An Luo only needs to be good and live for himself.

Chicken talking to a duck(鸡同鸭讲): (idiom) talking without communicating; people not understanding each other

T/N: I promise everything will get better. Maybe.

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