Chapter 1: The Long Slumber Ends

Chapter 1: The Long Slumber Ends ? ?

Tubes and wires snaked their way across Xin's body, connecting him to the pulsating rhythm of life-sustaining equipment. The steady symphony of beeps and hums filled the room, merging into an otherworldly melody that reverberated within his consciousness.

As he gingerly opened his eyes, a veil of confusion and disorientation shrouded his thoughts. The harsh glare of fluorescent lights pierced his vision.

A surge of panic coursed through his veins when he attempted to speak, only to be met with silence. His vocal cords betrayed him, emitting only a rasping rasp that scratched against his throat.

W-wha . . . what happened?

His parched lips struggled to form words, the muscles having forgotten to shape sounds.

With wide eyes filled with equal parts fear and curiosity, Xin gazed at his surroundings, searching for answers in the somber stillness.

He stumbled upon a familiar face. His mother.

She looked aged. Nearing her forties, her once supple face was dry. Dark bugs stretched her eyes down, and she looked thinner, pale, and sickly.

"Mm . . . mom . . ." Xin's hand reached out.

Evelyn rose, the chair scraping the floor from her haste. Her tears were falling down her cheeks as she opened the door and shouted.

"Doctor! Doctor! My son! My son has woken up!"

As Xin lay there, his consciousness gradually emerging from the depths of slumber, he found himself caught in the ebb and flow of his mother's conversation with the doctor.

Their words melded into a symphony of concern and medical jargon, yet amidst the confusion, fragments of memories began to resurface, crashing against the shores of his mind with painful intensity. It was as if each recollection carried the weight of an ocean wave, threatening to overwhelm him.

He remembered the incident that had robbed him of four precious years of his life — a simple misstep on a flight of stairs, a collision with an unyielding stone that had sent his world spiraling into darkness.

Yet, as tears welled in Xiaxia's eyes and streamed down her face, realization dawned upon Xin.

In that vulnerable moment, the barriers that had divided them melted away, and a flicker of the past rekindled within his heart.

"Y-you . . ." Xiaxia's quivering chin betrayed her attempts to contain the torrent of tears streaming down her face.

Without a moment's hesitation, she rushed to Xin's side, her anguish finding release in a forceful slap against his head.

"You IDIOT! How can you slip and fall into a comma?! I thought that you're the careful one here?!"

The room erupted in a flurry of commotion as Xin recoiled from the unexpected blow. Evelyn shot up from her seat in alarm and shouted, "Xiaxia!"

The doctor caught off guard, stood frozen in his place, his shock mirrored on his face.

Xin's lips parted his instinct to protest halted by the piercing gaze of his tearful sister. Wide-eyed, he absorbed the impact of her words, unable to look away from the depths of her sorrow. The sting of the slap was nothing compared to the anguish etched upon her face.

Struggling to wipe away her tears, Xiaxia choked on her words, "Don't you know how worried we were? You idiot. They said that you'll never wake up. They said that you're already dead, but we refuse to believe it . . . four years . . . Four years of waiting, hoping, and praying . . . You reckless fool."

Xin's heart melted. "S . . . S-so . . . rry . . ."

Xiaxia's palm swiftly connected with his head once more, the force of the slap reverberating through the room, almost rattling his skull.

"The HELL you are!"

Evelyn couldn't contain her exasperation any longer. Her voice rose in a resounding yell.

"XIAXIA!"