Chapter 268: Good to see you again
Xiang Wei said, “I have also given this good news to Liu Hai. Your family must be coming here as well.”
Jinhai asked, “Uncle Xiang, if you don’t mind, can we come with you?”
The Xiang couple got silent.
Will it be too much pressure for Huian if she saw Jinhai and Nana together? After all, she hated her.
Nana understood their concern. “It’s alright, Uncle and Aunt. Jinhai can come with you. I will stay outside.”
They felt sorry for her. But they couldn’t let her meet Huian until they were sure that it was fine to do so. After almost seven months, she finally woke up. What if seeing Nana again had a negative impact on her emotionally?
Nana’s pregnancy was also visible now. It would definitely hurt Huian to remember everything and how she was carrying Jinhai’s child.
Xiang Wei patted her head. “We are sorry, dear. But I’m glad that you understand.”
Nana smiled and shook her head.
Jinhai put his hand on her shoulder. “I will not take much time. Until then, Jing and the twins will accompany you.”
“En. Don’t worry about me.”
—
The four of them reached outside Huian’s ward to find the doctor coming out.
Xiang, Wei eagerly asked. “Doctor! How is my daughter now? You said that she is out of her vegetative state. Is she fine? Can we meet her?”
The doctor replied. “Mr. and Mrs. Xiang. Yes, it is good news that Miss Xiang Huian is awake now. We have examined her vitals and conducted some tests. But there are two problems.”
Jinhai slowly squinted his eyes.
“Problems? What? Isn’t she okay?” Xiang Wei nervously asked.
Xiang Qingge was getting anxious.
“Yes. Physically, Miss Xiang has not recovered. The fall from the balcony has injured her spinal cord and her bones. Additionally, she was in an unconscious state, lying on the bed for the past seven months, so naturally, her body has become stiff due to lack of regular movement. She will need to do a lot of physiotherapy exercises to be able to stand and walk again. She is going to have to use a wheelchair for some time and constant support to supervise her.”
The Xiang couple and Nana nodded. There was a problem, but thankfully a solution was also present.
Xiang Qingge asked. “And the second?”
The doctor hesitated. “Well…when we checking her condition, we asked her some questions about how she was feeling overall. But she wasn’t able to respond, as in talk.”
They widened their eyes in shock. “W-what? Huian cannot speak?”
Jinhai tilted his head as he carefully listened to him.
The doctor sighed. “For now. The lack of ability to talk seems more psychological rather than physical. Miss Xiang also seemed nervous and afraid. But I’m sure it must be because she just woke up, and all the memories must be bombarding her mind and confusing her.”
“So, what should we do?” Xiang Wei asked.
“Wei.” Liu Hai called him. The Liu family also arrived, rushing towards them.
Grandma Liu and Liu Chunhua immediately went to Xiang Qingge’s side and hugged her.
“I’m so happy to know that Huian is awake now.” Liu Chunhua nodded. Grandma Liu patted her head. “Yes, dear. God has finally listened to our prayers. Now, Huian will be fine in no time.” Xiang Qingge nodded, her eyes misty with tears. She felt a lot better with their heartfelt words.
Jing and the twins went over to Nana’s side, who was sitting on the bench while Liu Hai was with Xiang Wei. They got to know about Huian’s condition.
All this while, Jinhai was simply standing aside with not even a single expression on his face.
The doctor said, “We will monitor Miss Xiang’s condition. As her memories settle down and she becomes stable, she might be able to talk again. But we cannot guarantee it. Such big accidents are more prone to leave a mental scar, and it may take time to come out of it. You just have to support her and be patient.”
They nodded.
Xiang Wei said, “Understood, doctor. We will do as you say. Can we meet her?”
He nodded. “Yes, you can.”
—
Apart from Nana, Jing, and the twins, Xiang Wei, Xiang Qingge, and the Liu family entered Huian’s ward.
Huian laid on the bed with her eyes closed. The external scars on her body were already healed. Her left side had all the instruments and machines to monitor her health. The saline and other medicinal bottles hung above at her side, inserting its liquid in her body through the needles that were pinched in the back of her hand.
Xiang Qingge burst into tears. She quickly went to her side and started patting her head.
“Huian dear…Open your eyes. It’s your Mom.”
Xiang Wei also sat beside her and softly held her right hand.
The lines on Huian’s forehead creased slightly as she heard someone speak. She slowly opened her eyes and saw her mother and father worriedly looking at her.
Tears filled her eyes. She tried to call out to them, but she couldn’t. Her voice didn’t come out.
Xiang Qingge shook her head. “No dear, it’s okay. Don’t stress out to speak. You can just nod your head.”
Huian bit her lower lip and nodded but even that took a lot of strength.
Xiang Wei was ecstatic to see his daughter awake again. Only he knew how they spent their last seven months in agony and how they waited every moment for this good news.
“You cannot imagine how happy we are, Huian. You really scared us there.”
Huian looked at her parents, who seemed so haggard and tired. The pain and sadness of the last seven months was clearly etched onto their faces. There were faint lines of dark circles under their eyes that told her that they might not have had a proper sleep in a long time.
Those eyes red in tears and their tired expressions made Huian realize how foolish she was in trying to threaten them with her life. She was their only daughter, and they loved her so much and cared for her like a princess.
She couldn’t even imagine what suffering they would have gone through if she had really died that night.
How could I do that to Mom and Dad? I was so stupid. How could I hurt them like this?
As she thought about the possibility of her dying, giving her parents the sadness of losing their child for the rest of their life, tears gushed out, making the pillow wet.
“Huian! Don’t cry, dear. Everything is alright now. The doctor said that soon, you could come back home. Isn’t that great news?”
Huian blinked her eyes in agreement.
Liu Chunhua and Grandma Liu came forward. Liu Hai smiled at her. “We are so glad that you are awake.”
Grandma, Mom, Dad…
It felt so long. Huian got emotional, recognizing the familiar faces who didn’t love her any less than her parents.
She unconsciously tried to move but couldn’t. It hurt her to move her body.
Liu Chunhua said, “The doctor said that it would take a while before you could stand.”
Huian remembered. The doctor had told her about her condition after her checkup.
Xiang Wei said, “Yes, but worry not because I will hire the best doctor for you.”
Huian faintly smiled. Even after how she treated them and said that she hated them, they behaved as if nothing had happened.
Then from the corner of her eye, she saw a tall figure. He took a few steps towards her, and his face came in full view.
How could Huian not recognize him?
She froze. The color quickly drained from her face.
That night…his sinister smile…his last words replayed in her mind. Her heart drummed so loudly in her chest as if it would come out right at any moment. Her ears were ringing with his voice that had unfeelingly said those words to her.
‘Does this exact situation remind you of something?’
‘How does it feel to be…’
‘Goodbye…my ex-wife.’
It wasn’t even noticeable, but her body was slightly trembling as she faced the man who pushed her off the balcony that night and because of whom she woke up seven months later. The searing pain that she felt when her body hit the ground was still vivid in her mind.
She couldn’t move, yet she felt paralyzed the moment her eyes met his gaze. Sheer terror sucked the very breath from her mouth. Sweat trickled down her forehead.
The man she loved right from her childhood until that night, who she desperately chased after for so many years, suddenly seemed like a stranger to her.
That moment, meeting him again, she didn’t feel any love for him.
It was pure fear.
Jinhai stood at the side of a bed, facing her. He tilted his head like he always did when something amused him.
The corner of his lips curled into a smile.
“Good to see you again, Huian.”