“Is he okay?”
“I don’t know. The fever’s gone, but you brought him in a bit late. He’s still unconscious. But don’t worry—he’s out of danger. He could wake up anytime.” The blonde woman shook her head, casting a pitying glance at the person lying on the bed.
Gu Qingyuan bit her lip at those words, unable to speak. Her eyes remained fixed on the unconscious little thing, her emotions tangled.
The blonde woman sighed, her gaze involuntarily drifting down to the little thing’s calf. Knowing Gu Qingyuan, that calf was probably something she had cut off herself. How heartless! Such an adorable little poor thing—anyone would want to cherish it—but this woman didn’t spare it a shred of affection. Now that it was sick, she finally felt regret.
The blonde woman shook her head again, sympathizing with the little poor thing on the bed while resenting Gu Qingyuan’s cruelty.
“Get out!”
Gu Qingyuan shot her a glance. She disliked the look the woman had just given her even more, and more importantly, those eyes kept landing on the little thing! The little thing belonged to her—she wouldn’t allow anyone else to touch it, not even look at it!
“Fine, I’ll go.” The woman waved her hand and walked out helplessly.
Gu Qingyuan withdrew her thoughts, gazing at the little thing sleeping obediently on the bed. She couldn’t help reaching out, slowly stroking that soft face. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have slacked off. I should have brought you to the hospital sooner. I…”
There was so much Gu Qingyuan wanted to say, but for a moment she didn’t know how to say it. She had never been good with words.
“Mmm…”
Su Ling felt a ticklish sensation on his cheek in his dazed state. He instinctively reached up to scratch it, but as soon as his hand lifted, it brushed against another cold, slender hand! Startled, Su Ling’s eyes flew open, and he stared in panic at the person before him.
“Ah!” Su Ling wanted to say, “Who are you? Why are you here?” But when he opened his mouth, no sound came out.
His mind went buzz in an instant, his face full of panic and confusion. Why couldn’t he speak? He tried again and again, forcing sounds from his throat, but all that came out were faint breaths—nothing else.
He had become mute? Why?
Then a thought struck Su Ling, and he frantically looked at the person beside the bed. Who was this woman? Why had she been touching his face? Where was his elder sister? Where was his sister?
Gu Qingyuan frowned. Her instinct was to embrace the little thing. “Little thing, what’s wrong?”
But Su Ling showed resistance, pushing her away directly. Gu Qingyuan looked at herself, then at the little thing, her frown deepening. The little thing’s eyes held a stranger’s look, one she had never seen before! But that was no excuse for pushing her away! She was the little thing’s master. The little thing was just her slave—just a slave. No slave dared push away their master!
Gu Qingyuan’s eyes instantly turned cold. Her icy gaze swept over the little thing’s panicked movements, and she directly reached out, grabbing the little thing by the throat! In an instant, all resistance was gone, leaving only a pair of terrified, bewildered eyes staring blankly at her.
“Little thing, it was my fault you had a fever for so long, but that’s no reason for you to disobey!”
Gu Qingyuan stared hard at the little thing. In his eyes was nothing but fear and timidity—nothing else! It was very similar to the look in his eyes when they first met, yet different. When they first met, the little thing’s eyes were full of death wish. This time, besides fear and timidity, there was more confusion—as if he was completely lost about what had happened to him.
Su Ling stared blankly at her. What was she talking about? What “disobey”? Why should he listen to her? But why was he so confused? Gu Qingyuan couldn’t make sense of it. Unable to figure it out, she released the little thing, pulled out her phone, and called that woman over.
Before long, the blonde woman walked in with her hands in her pockets. “What’s up? Isn’t the person awake now?”
“There’s something wrong with him. Take a look.”
“What could be wrong?” The woman muttered as she approached Su Ling.
Su Ling shrank back on the bed, watching them warily—mostly watching Gu Qingyuan. That woman had been so harsh with him just now, even choking him. And this blonde woman looked foreign, but she wore a doctor’s coat. She probably wasn’t a bad person, right?
The blonde woman came to Su Ling’s side, pulled out a flashlight, and forced his eyes open to examine them. Frowning, she tightened and loosened her hold, inspecting Su Ling carefully from every angle. Just as Su Ling was starting to feel creeped out, the woman withdrew her gaze and spoke uncertainly: “Can you tell me what differences you’ve noticed?”
Gu Qingyuan paused for a moment, then pointed at Su Ling’s eyes: “The way he looks at me is off. It’s like he doesn’t recognize me.”
“If that’s the case, amnesia can’t be ruled out. We’ll need to do further tests. Take him for a brain CT first. But you should prepare yourself for the possibility that he has amnesia.”
Hearing this, Gu Qingyuan took a deep breath. She had already guessed as much, but she just couldn’t quite believe it. Now with the woman’s words, she was almost certain that the little thing had lost his memory.
Next, Gu Qingyuan took Su Ling for several more tests. At first, Su Ling was uncooperative, but after a few slaps from her, he quickly became obedient.
Su Ling sat quietly to the side, staring at his empty left leg, an indescribable ache in his heart. Where had his leg gone? He tried to ask several times, but every time he opened his mouth, no words came out. He could only futilely watch as this woman dragged him through one examination after another.
“For now, we can basically confirm it’s nerve damage that caused him to lose some memories. But it’s not irreversible. Let him rest well for a while, expose him to familiar things, and he might remember.”
Su Ling listened from the side. He had amnesia? What had happened during the time he couldn’t remember? Why was his leg missing? Why couldn’t he speak? And why was he here?
“I understand.” Gu Qingyuan said softly, stroking Su Ling’s ears, then picked him up and left the hospital.
Su Ling sat in the passenger seat, silent the entire ride, curled up tightly. Where was this woman taking him? Where was his sister? His parents? What had he been through? Why had he lost his memory?
He missed his mom and dad. He missed his sister. This woman kept bullying him, hitting him—she was no good at all.
Gu Qingyuan glanced sideways at the little thing, a possibility forming in her mind. ‘The little thing probably doesn’t know anything right now, does he?’ Since that was the case, whatever she said would be true, and he’d believe it. After all, no one else could tell him the truth.