Chapter Twelve: Unconscious for Three Days

“Damn it! Again?!” Chen Hao shouted in righteous indignation at the very last moment, and then lost consciousness once more...

After falling into a coma, Chen Hao couldn’t see anything, but he felt as if the world was spinning around him. It was as though he’d been hurled into a massive whirlpool somewhere in the deep ocean, right at the center of it, being dragged downward by the violently swirling waters toward the dark and fathomless depths below.

To be honest, since there wasn’t the suffocating sensation of being underwater, Chen Hao actually found this endless spinning rather enjoyable. It was like that giddy, floating feeling of being drunk.

But this oddly addictive sensation didn’t last long. Soon enough, Chen Hao became aware that he was emerging from this dazed state.

The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was the dazzling white ceiling. Judging by the dead mosquito stuck to the ceiling—killed by the cigarette pack he’d once flung up there—there was no doubt this was his own bedroom.

So he was home? But how had he gotten here? He distinctly remembered passing out at the White Bone Cave-Style Cumin Grilled Salmon Restaurant. Had a colleague brought him back?

As he pondered this, Chen Hao noticed something pressing on his chest. He glanced down and saw a slender arm draped over him, with a watch on the wrist that he recognized instantly—he’d brought it back as a gift for Gu Mengyan from a trip abroad.

That meant the person lying on him could only be that girl. Sure enough, when Chen Hao turned his face to the side, he saw Gu Mengyan’s beautiful, familiar face. Had she been watching over him and fallen asleep by his bedside?

Chen Hao smiled, gently lifting her arm and laying it aside, careful not to disturb her. But almost immediately, he realized something else was off—something was pressing down on his lower abdomen.

No way, he thought. Could it be that girl... But he quickly dismissed the absurd notion—her other hand was clearly resting innocently on his leg! Could someone else be in the house?

Chen Hao turned his head to look at the other side of the bed, and what he saw made him shout at the top of his lungs, “Damn it! Bill, you bastard, what the hell are you doing here?!”

...

Chen Hao’s loud outburst startled both Gu Mengyan and Bill Andre from their sleep. Rubbing their eyes, they looked at Chen Hao in a daze.

Then Gu Mengyan’s face lit up with joy. “Oh! Chen Hao, you’re awake!”

Bill also snapped out of it and, in his usual unfiltered way, said, “Well, about time, man! I thought you were going to sleep forever—I’d already contacted the funeral home for you! Even put down a deposit. Well, that’s gone now, and knowing how stingy that funeral director is, I doubt I’ll ever get it back.”

“Damn you...” Chen Hao glared at Bill through gritted teeth. “You never have anything decent to say, do you?”

Chen Hao knew Bill was just joking. The fact that Bill was here in his bedroom meant he’d been worried, just like Gu Mengyan, and had stayed the night to look after him. Chen Hao was genuinely moved by his friend’s concern.

But Bill was different from Gu Mengyan. She was his childhood friend, practically raised by his parents—more like a half-sister than anything else. It was only natural that she’d care for him while he was unconscious.

Bill, on the other hand, was a friend Chen Hao had made after joining Illusion Corporation. Their interactions outside work were few, though they got along better than most.

So Chen Hao felt a true sense of gratitude towards Bill. “Alright, my friend, thanks for all your trouble yesterday—I won’t forget it. Now, could you please remove your hand from that sensitive spot? I know you’re into this, but I’m not!”

“Whoa, my bad!” Bill finally realized where his hand was and jerked it back, blowing on it theatrically. “Damn, that’s awkward! Way too much!”

In exasperation, Chen Hao snatched up the cigarette pack from his bedside and hurled it at Bill.

But Bill, with practiced ease, caught it one-handed, peeked inside, and grinned at Chen Hao. “Thanks, man! This’ll count as my pay for looking after you these days!”

With that, he didn’t wait for a reply, just stretched lazily and left Chen Hao’s home.

Once Bill was gone, Chen Hao turned quickly to Gu Mengyan. “What was that guy talking about? Taking care of me for days? What happened? How long was I out?”

“Don’t rush. Lie back—I need to give you a checkup first!” Ignoring Chen Hao’s protests, Gu Mengyan pressed him back onto the bed and began pulling out an assortment of medical gadgets—blood pressure monitor, thermometer, and a whole mess of household instruments. She gave Chen Hao a thorough examination from head to toe.

All the results showed that Chen Hao was in perfect health, not a single thing wrong with him. Only then did Gu Mengyan relax, though she still looked puzzled as she patted his head. “Strange. There’s nothing wrong with you—so why were you in a coma for three days?”

“What? Did you say three days?!” Chen Hao shot upright in shock. “You’re kidding, right?”

Gu Mengyan shook her head. “Why would I joke about something like that? Ever since we got home from working late last week, you went straight to bed. Before you slept, you told me not to disturb you, that you were going to be unconscious for three days, and that I should take good care of you. You even said that no matter what happened, I shouldn’t move you or take you to the hospital, that you’d wake up in three days.

I thought it was odd at the time, but after you said that, you just fell asleep and wouldn’t wake up no matter how much I called you. If you hadn’t warned me in advance, and if you hadn’t seemed otherwise normal, I’d have called an ambulance ages ago.”

“You’re saying I said all that?” Chen Hao stared at her in disbelief.

“Yes!” Gu Mengyan looked blankly at him. “You really don’t remember?”

Chen Hao shook his head repeatedly. “When did I ever say anything like that? I clearly remember that after our overtime, we went to eat at a restaurant, and then I passed out... Wait! That restaurant!”