Chapter Ninety-Seven

He slapped his own face again and again to force himself fully awake. Somehow, he was holding a fruit knife, and with his face throbbing, he rushed to the bathroom to splash cold water over himself. After washing up, he stared into the mirror, and once he was certain this was not a dream, he said to the reflection, "Xiao Jian, Xiao Jian, what is wrong with you? What you just did was already strange enough. Am I trying to die?"

In the end, it did not seem like a serious matter. Xiao Jian forced himself to calm down and returned to his room, where he lay down and rested. A good sleep might erase what had just happened without a trace. What Xiao Jian needed most right now was silence, not noise. If he could settle his mind, perhaps he would even have a good dream. Yet after turning over in bed three or four times, he got up again and ran his fingers through his hair.

His hair was a mess. No matter what he did, he could not fall asleep. What else was there to do? So Xiao Jian stepped out onto the balcony and looked down at the height of the building.

Rain Star Moon rushed madly toward the hospital. Before coming, he had also sent messages to everyone else, saying that Xiao Jian had died. They did not know exactly what had happened, and could only wait until they reached the hospital to learn more.

Lin Ling arrived at the hospital even earlier than Rain Star Moon. She had not forgotten Wu Guanzhong, so her spirits were low, but upon hearing that something had happened to Xiao Jian, her nerves tightened at once, terrified that something terrible might have befallen him. She was nothing like she had been after Wu Guanzhong disappeared, when she had seemed to lose her soul.

Panting, Rain Star Moon braced himself against the wall and asked Lin Ling, "How is Xiao Jian doing?" He was worried about Xiao Jian's safety, and since Lin Ling had arrived earlier, she should know more.

Lin Ling said, "When I came, the doctor said he had fallen from the height of four floors and that it was an attempted suicide. Xiao Jian is such a kind and cheerful person, how could he ever want to kill himself?" Tears were already falling from her eyes. Xiao Jian was now the captain of the Sky-Origin Team and its pillar; without him, the whole team would be in utter turmoil.

Rain Star Moon punched the wall and said with a hint of anger, "You're right. I believe he would never commit suicide. He must have some burden he did not want to tell me, and kept it bottled up inside. We ignored Xiao Jian's feelings and cared too little about him." He blamed himself deeply, wondering why he had not noticed Xiao Jian's condition sooner, though in truth this had little to do with Rain Star Moon.

A few minutes later, everyone except Yellow Not-Plain finally arrived. When Zhang Yi saw Wang Tianqi, his attitude was the same as before: disgust. But that was exactly the kind of prank Yellow Not-Plain had planned, and Xiao Jian's condition was something he too had not anticipated. It had come so suddenly.

Xiao Jian was in surgery, and everyone waited anxiously for news. After four hours, a doctor finally emerged from the operating room. Lin Ling hurried forward and asked, "Doctor, how is Xiao Jian? We are all very worried." The others said nothing, waiting only for the doctor's answer.

The doctor shook his head. The moment everyone saw that gesture, fear began to spread through them. Was this not a death sentence for Xiao Jian? None of them believed he could die like this. But the doctor then said, "The operation was successful. However, even with success, the chance of waking up is extremely small. If he does not wake up..."

"Then he will become a vegetative patient, right?" Rain Star Moon spoke the possible outcome aloud. If Xiao Jian really became that way, he would spend the rest of his life lying in bed, waiting to die.

The doctor nodded. Whether Xiao Jian could wake would depend on his will. After the doctor left, everyone turned away and cried in secret. For the six members of the Sky-Origin Team, Xiao Jian was the support holding them up. He had always helped them before; now it was their turn to help him.

A week passed after that incident.

"Xiao Jian, you have been asleep for a whole week. Why are you still not waking up? You have already slept for so long, and we all miss you very much." The one speaking to Xiao Jian was Lin Xi Xin, also known as Little Lily. It was rather puzzling why Little Lily had come back to take care of Xiao Jian, and that story had to begin from a week earlier.

After everyone went home, Lin Zi Mo was in a very heavy mood. How could Lin Xi Xin not notice when she got home? After repeatedly asking, she learned that her sister's captain had been hospitalized and was severely injured. Lin Xi Xin wanted to see her sister's captain, and Lin Zi Mo did not refuse; she simply agreed and took her to meet Xiao Jian.

The next morning, Lin Zi Mo brought Lin Xi Xin to the ward where Xiao Jian was staying. What Lin Xi Xin had not expected was that her sister's captain was actually Xiao Jian, the very same person who had helped her before. He had even added her on WeChat afterward. Seeing Xiao Jian now, she could not bear it, and offered to take care of him.

That was how she came to know Xiao Jian's name. Rain Star Moon and Lin Ling had both thought about it for a long time. If she had experience in this area, they would no longer need to worry. When Rain Star Moon asked how her younger sister had come to know Xiao Jian, Lin Zi Mo did not know; all the answers were in Lin Xi Xin's mouth.

It had already been a week since Xiao Jian's successful surgery, and Rain Star Moon kept asking Lin Xi Xin about him. When Lin Xi Xin saw Rain Star Moon, she nearly fainted. Seeing him in person, and from so close, she almost swooned from his handsomeness. As for why she had come to care for Xiao Jian, she said it was to repay his help to her from last time.

Lin Xi Xin explained how long she had known Xiao Jian. After Rain Star Moon roughly understood the situation, he realized that a single act of kindness had indeed set a small boat of friendship afloat. This was no longer mere gratitude, but genuine feeling.

So after understanding, Rain Star Moon only smiled and left the ward. Simple thanks was too forced an explanation; perhaps it was love at first sight.

How could they possibly let Lin Xi Xin be the only one caring for Xiao Jian? The others would also take turns looking after him. The next day, Yellow Not-Plain came to care for Xiao Jian as well. First and foremost, Wang Tianqi could not be there; they still did not want to see her. Rain Star Moon understood that, since the plan had progressed to this point, it could not be exposed yet.

However, when Rain Star Moon saw Yellow Not-Plain caring for Xiao Jian, something about it felt odd. From the angle at the doorway, Yellow Not-Plain somehow looked to him like a girl. Especially in profile, there was a strange impulse stirring in Rain Star Moon. He quickly came to his senses and left. If he kept looking any longer, he might even end up with a nosebleed.

So he called Zhang Yi to ask about Yellow Not-Plain. After hearing Rain Star Moon's description, Zhang Yi on the other end of the line laughed and said, "I've only recently noticed that Yellow Not-Plain does seem very girlish sometimes. Maybe we just never paid attention to that kind of temperament in him. If he dressed as a girl, he might even charm all the shut-ins."

Zhang Yi was joking. Since they already knew Yellow Not-Plain was a girl, and Yellow Not-Plain herself still did not know it, they could keep acting until the day Yellow Not-Plain admitted it personally. Thinking of that, Zhang Yi could not help laughing out loud.

After the call ended, Rain Star Moon thought about another matter: studying abroad. Given Xiao Jian's condition, it would be better to wait until he woke up before bringing up overseas studies. For now, that matter had to be set aside.

For that entire week, Rain Star Moon never left the hospital. Aside from going home to sleep and eat, he spent the rest of his time standing guard at the entrance, preventing suspicious people from entering. He feared Xiao Jian might be in danger. Even if there was no danger, he still could not afford to let his guard down.

And so another month passed. At last, Xiao Jian woke up. The one who had been taking care of him was Lin Xi Xin.

"Ah, you're awake! Doctor! Doctor!" Lin Xi Xin ran excitedly toward the door, but she forgot the hospital rule against making too much noise and disturbing the patients' rest. Still, Xiao Jian waking up also filled Rain Star Moon with joy. Xiao Jian would not become a useless invalid.

Rain Star Moon entered the ward and sat beside Xiao Jian, asking with concern, "Are you all right? You have been asleep for more than a month."

Xiao Jian answered in a dazed voice, "I... myself... do not even know why... I could sleep... for so long." After speaking, Xiao Jian started drifting off again. Originally, Rain Star Moon had many questions he wanted to ask Xiao Jian, especially why he had jumped from the building, but since the man was clearly still not fully awake, he did not disturb him.

Waking up was a good thing, but there were also bad parts. Xiao Jian's legs, after falling from the fourth floor, could no longer move. He would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. When he was brought to the hospital a month earlier, both his feet had already turned purple, and the injuries within were beyond description. Though the doctors had done everything they could, they still could not save his legs. They said amputation was necessary.

Xiao Jian's legs were not as sturdy as ordinary people's. They were thin, with little flesh and fragile skin, so the amputation had been carried out after surgery, without Xiao Jian's consent. But his parents did not want him to suffer, and through tears they made the decision to have his legs amputated.

In truth, Xiao Jian found this to be a rather good choice. The burden on his shoulders had suddenly vanished, and he felt light as a feather. He did not care what others thought; doing what he believed was right was his choice.