Chapter 148: She’s back

Lyca woke up from her aching head. She frowned, her hand immediately tried to massage her temples as she tried to sit. Then she paused, eyes widened when she realized something. She was currently in a soft bed! 

The sound of the soft refrain of an acoustic guitar immediately attracted her attention. She stilled on the bed, eyes closed as she let out a sigh of relief. She was back. She should be.

The guitar continued, and it didn't take her a second to guess that it was Shen Qui. Though, he wasn't singing along with it. He continued strumming, its sound effortlessly filled the room. It was soothing and hypnotic, and she missed it. Slowly, she opened her eyes as she turned towards her right. Just as she expected, Shen Qui was there. Sitting with his back on her. Engrossed in his own music, Shen Qui was facing the fireplace with his eyes close.

For a few seconds, she stared at his shadowed face. The dimly lit room together with the sound of the guitar made her eyes sparkled with tears. Her frowning brows slowly relaxed as she chose to keep quiet and listen.

She's back. 

Lyca closed her eyes as tears trickled down the side of her face. Memories of what happened in that world surge inside her. Then she shook it out of her head and turned towards Shen Qui. The past— her past doesn't matter anymore.

"Hey."

Shen Qui opened his eyes when he heard Lyca's soft voice. He had dreamed of her calling out to him, he had dreamed of her asking him to come with her. And it always ended up with him waking up, calling out to her name. 

"Hey."

This time, Shen Qui froze. Frowning, he pressed his lips together. Had he finally lost it? Had he finally become insane?

"Hey… Qui'er."

Shen Qui's head turned towards Lyca as fast as a heartbeat. Then his eyes widened as his gaze turned unfocused. He had dreamed of something like this before. He shook his head and stared at Lyca again before he carefully placed his guitar against the wall and pinched the back of his palms. 

Was this another dream? He couldn't help but ask himself. However, this all stopped when he felt her touch him. His eyes flew open as he stood, almost in a panic.

Lyca was standing in front of him! She was… awake and smiling at him. He gulped, his world stopped when Lyca held his face. She lifted her head and met his eyes. 

"You— " he stuttered.

"This is not a dream." A dimpled smile lingered on her lips before her hand trailed towards his hair. It has gotten longer, the lines on his face had become more pronounced as a stubble silently grew on his chin. She didn't miss the dark circles under his eyes and… and the tears pooling in his…

Lyca's thoughts were interrupted when he suddenly pulled her for a hug. His arms were tight around her as if he was afraid that she would disappear the moment he loosened his hug. She felt him trembled and sobbed. Lyca immediately hugged him back. She wrapped her arms around him as tightly as she could.

Who would have thought that she would actually miss this bloke? She chewed on her lip as she tried to stop the sobs from leaving her lips. That would be embarrassing, she thought. Her efforts were futile. It all came crashing down when she heard him let out another sob. She felt his shoulders tremble as his hug became tighter. 

"I can't…" she patted his back. "I can't breath…" These words seemed to wake him up as he pulled away and held her two arms before he started kissing her head then her forehead, down to her cheek and nose then, to her chin and jaw. "Hey, " she uttered, smiling.

"You are awake." He stated as he wiped his tears and once again pulled away to stare at her face.

"I am awake."

"You were sleeping for too long." He didn't let go of her arms. It made her wonder if he was still afraid that this was all a dream. 

"How long?"

"Three years."

"What did you say?"

"Three years. You slept for three years." Once again, he pulled her in his arms. "Come… sit. Do you want to eat something? Let me get you something. What do you want to eat? Chicken and burgers? I can make you some pizza and tea. Maybe some porridge first? Right the Doctor said that — You haven't eaten any solids for too long you might have— "

"Wait." She stared at Shen Qui that was sitting on the bed with her. He had actually let her lie back down as if… "What happened to me?" Why was he treating her as if she got sick?

Shen Qui pursed his lips. "I think you needed to eat before asking such questions. Let me get you some porridge first. Then we can talk." He left the room without saying another word. Seeing Shen Qui close the door behind him, Lyca's face immediately turned ugly. Three years? She had been sleeping for three years? She was clearly on that side for days! It wasn't even a month! It was days, not months, and certainly not three years!

Why would she sleep her for three years? When Shen Qui came back, Lyca was still in a daze.

"Here… let me…" he said as he held the spoon in front of her mouth. She wanted to tell him that she could feed herself, but the look on his face was enough for her to stop all the words that she wanted to say. She silently opened her mouth and ate the porridge that he prepared for her. 

"How did you make porridge so quickly?" she asked.

"I make one every day," he smiled. "The doctor said it would be good to feed you something like this when you wake up. So… I make one every day so I can feed you anytime you wake up."