Chapter 71

Yin Mu felt like she had had a long and unreal dream. Even when she woke up and smelled the unique smell of the hospital, she was still in a daze and could not tell whether she was in reality or a dream.

The figures of Chen Qinglin and Zhong Mengyuan flashed alternately in her mind. One moment, Zhong Mengyuan was helping her tidy up her hair and saying "goodbye" to her with a smile. The next moment, Chen Qinglin ran towards her in panic, pushed her away when she was stunned, and then she felt the real pain as if a heavy object had hit her body.

Thinking of this, Yin Mu couldn't help but shiver. He wanted to get out of bed but he was too weak to do so. He had to raise his arms to support the bed and sat up with difficulty.

Just then, the door to the ward was pushed open, and a young nurse walked in. Seeing that she had actually sat up, she was horrified. She strode over and pushed her back onto the bed, preventing her from moving. "You're awake?! Don't get out of bed yet. I'll call the doctor right away!"

Soon, the doctor and the nurse rushed over. He was first shocked that Yin Mu had woken up, and then immediately began to conduct various basic examinations in an orderly manner.

Yin Mu was still a little confused about the situation. He just thought that he was sent to the hospital after being injured. He wanted to ask them where Chen Qinglin was and how he was doing, but he couldn't find the time to ask. When he was getting anxious, someone else hurried into the ward.

When he saw who it was, Yin Mu's eyes widened in shock: "Mom?"

Is she... back? And what about Zhong Mengyuan? Shouldn't she come back with her?

When Yin's mother saw Yin Mu, her eyes were red: "Xiao Mu, you finally woke up. I thought you would never wake up again..."

Yin Mu's eyes were also sore, and he called out "Mom" again, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably.

Mother Yin touched Yin Mu's face, feeling distressed, tears streaming down her face: "Your father went to the company. I called him and he will be here soon."

Yin Mu responded softly: "Yeah."

After a series of examinations, the doctor said that Yin Mu was fine and needed to stay in the hospital for a few more days for observation. As long as there was nothing abnormal, he could go home to recuperate. With proper nutrition, his body would recover soon.

Yin Mu was worried about Zhong Mengyuan, so he couldn't calm down and lie in the hospital. That day, while the nurse was away and his mother went out to buy dinner, he quietly slipped out of the hospital alone.

Maybe because she had been lying in the hospital for too long, her hands and feet had no strength and she was very tired, so she took a taxi to Zhong Mengyuan's house.

The door to Zhong Mengyuan's house was locked, but they could both come and go freely without worrying about being turned away. To make it easier for Yin Mu to remember, Zhong Mengyuan even used Yin Mu's birthday as the password for the combination lock.

When Yin Mu thought of this, he felt sad and skillfully entered the password to open the door.

The whole house was very quiet. It would be more accurate to describe it as a dead silence with no one around. Yin Mu subconsciously slowed down his footsteps and went straight to Zhong Mengyuan's bedroom.

The bedroom was very tidy, obviously having been carefully cleaned, clearly in preparation for a long journey, which was also Zhong Mengyuan's usual habit.

However, this time she went on a long journey, it was a journey for herself with an unknown outcome.

Yin Mu walked slowly to the bed and looked down at Zhong Mengyuan.

Zhong Mengyuan lay flat on the bed, her eyes quietly closed, her hands folded on her lower abdomen, her chest rising and falling naturally, looking peaceful and serene.

Yin Mu held on to a glimmer of hope that she was simply asleep, so he held his breath unconsciously, sat gently on the edge of the bed, and pushed her carefully.

No response.

Yin Mu tried hard not to cry, pushed her twice more, and called her name: "Dream is fulfilled?"

Still no response, Zhong Mengyuan neither spoke nor moved, like a cursed sleeping princess in a fairy tale.

Yin Mu didn't know what to do. She felt hopeless and helpless, and tears began to well up in her eyes. Through her tears, she suddenly noticed a piece of paper sticking out from under Zhong Mengyuan's pillow.

This was a very strange thing. Yin Mu hesitated for a while, then slowly reached out and pulled it out. When he unfolded it, he saw two pages of letter paper filled with densely written words. The first line of words was "Dear Rabbit". The handwriting was also Zhong Mengyuan's. It seemed that it was a letter written to himself.

Yin Mu understood Zhong Mengyuan. She knew that Zhong Mengyuan hated writing the most. She would even cut corners on her 800-word essays in school. So, when and with what kind of mood did she write this long letter?

Yin Mu glanced at Zhong Mengyuan, sniffed, and began to read the letter.

"Dear Rabbit, if you can see this letter, it means you should have returned home safely. I am very happy for you. I hope you can get better soon and return to your normal life, so that I can rest assured. As for me, don't worry about me, don't be sad, live a good life, maybe one day I will appear in front of you and give you a big surprise.

"When I learned that although I couldn't come back in person, I was allowed to write a letter first, I was happy and worried. I have so much to say, but you know, my Chinese has never been good, and there is no way to condense so many words into a short letter, so my writing will definitely be long-winded. Please don't despise me!

"First of all, I want to apologize to you. I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess. Even though you keep saying it's not my fault, I still blame myself. Now that you're home safely, my greatest wish is fulfilled. You may blame me for not discussing it with you, but I had no choice. Do you remember the last time you fainted? That was because we were about to have a frank meeting with Zhou Jingyu. I was so scared that I didn't dare to risk your life again. I believe if it were you, you would make the same choice as me."

When Yin Mu saw this, she realized belatedly that she had never connected her fainting with their situation at the time, but Zhong Mengyuan noticed it and deliberately pulled herself out and then sent herself back in some way.

I clearly noticed that something was wrong with Zhong Mengyuan during that time, but I only stayed at the stage of suspicion. I didn't pursue the matter relentlessly, nor did I try to do anything. I just threw all the burden to Zhong Mengyuan.

The more Yin Mu thought about it, the more guilty he felt, and the sadder he became. He could no longer hold back his tears while holding the letter.

Zhong Mengyuan wrote a lot more, and Yin Mu had no idea how he finished reading it. His tears soaked the letter paper.

At the end of the letter, Zhong Mengyuan wrote: "Oh, by the way, I also gave you a mysterious gift. When you have nothing to do, go out for a walk more often and pay more attention to the people and things around you. Good things will happen. Remember! Remember!!!"

She used three exclamation marks to express the intensity of her tone. If it were in the past, Yin Mu would have smiled knowingly, but now, she couldn't smile at all. She forced herself to pull up the corners of her mouth, which was uglier than crying.

"What a lousy gift! I just want you to come back. Come back to me as soon as possible..."

Yin Mu sat with Zhong Mengyuan in her room for a very long time. Yin's mother called her one after another, so she had to leave Zhong Mengyuan temporarily and took a taxi back to the hospital.

When Yin's mother saw her come back, she was almost crazy with anxiety and wanted to scold her. However, seeing that her eyelids were red and swollen, as if she had been crying, and her mental state was not good, and she looked distraught, she couldn't bear it anymore. She patiently asked her what happened and where she had gone.

Yin Mu didn't dare to tell the truth to Yin's mother, he just shook his head without saying a word.

Yin's mother couldn't do anything about her and let her go to bed first.

After turning off the lights at night, Yin Mu curled up in the quilt, unable to fall asleep.

Zhong Mengyuan said it so easily: let her go and live a good life, but how could he do it so easily?

"Damn Zhong Mengyuan, next time I see you, I will beat you up first." Yin Mu murmured, holding the letter from Zhong Mengyuan to his heart and closing his eyes.

Yin Mu stayed in the hospital for another two days, but couldn't bear it any longer and asked her parents to help her with the discharge procedures. After this incident, Yin's mother refused to let her live alone again, so she had to move back home to live with her parents.

From Yin's mother, she also learned more about what happened after she fell into a coma, including visits from relatives and friends.

"Let's get together someday. Should we eat at home or go out? What do you think, Xiao Mu?"

Yin Mu replied absentmindedly: "I'm fine with anything. It depends on your arrangement."

"Call Mengyuan as well. Ask her if she has time to come back."

Yin Mu's nose felt sore when he heard Zhong Mengyuan's name, and he tried hard to control his emotions: "I asked her, and she said she wouldn't be back in the short term."

Yin's mother didn't suspect anything. After all, it was she who told Yin Mu that Zhong Mengyuan had visited Yin Mu in the hospital several times, and then said that she had a temporary job transfer and might not be able to come back for a while. But she couldn't help but feel regretful: "It's been a long time since we last met. I miss her very much. I called her several times but couldn't get through. I don't know what's wrong with this child."

Of course, Yin Mu knew exactly where Zhong Mengyuan had gone, but she couldn't tell her mother directly, so she could only lie: "I miss her too, but I'm busy with work and there's nothing I can do. Let's wait for her to come back."

Mother Yin nodded and said, "Ah." Then she sighed, "You young people, you only work all day and don't even care about your health."

Yin Mu was afraid that she would keep nagging him, so he quickly said that he was tired and wanted to go back to his room to lie down.

Yin's mother's face changed and she immediately sent her back to the room. She watched her lie down on the bed before closing the door and leaving.

Yin Mu had nothing to do these days. The outline agreed with the editor could not be submitted on time due to uncontrollable factors, and he lost his job. Therefore, his daily plan was very simple. He would lie down for an afternoon, then run to Zhong Mengyuan's house to see her and stay with her for a while.

That day, she lay in bed until around five in the afternoon as usual, and then she used the excuse of going out to buy milk tea to run to Zhong Mengyuan's house again.

The weather was gloomy and it looked like it was going to rain at any moment. Yin Mu didn't have an umbrella and didn't want to get wet, so she quickened her pace after getting off the bus, wanting to get to Zhong Mengyuan's house as quickly as possible. When she reached the last intersection, she found a small group of people gathered on the side of the road, not knowing what they were looking at.

Yin Mu had no intention of watching the fun, but just as she was about to cross the road, what Zhong Mengyuan wrote in the letter suddenly popped up in her mind and stopped her in her tracks.

Mysterious gifts, go out more often, pay attention to your surroundings, and those bold exclamation points...

Yin Mu suddenly became nervous, wondering if Zhong Mengyuan had returned. But why would she appear in this way? She was clearly in her own bed.

No matter what, it’s always safer to confirm it first, Yin Mu thought so and slowly moved over.

Surrounded by a group of people was a middle-aged man pushing a scooter. In front of the scooter lay a man, face down, unable to see clearly. Judging by his clothes and hair, he looked quite young. He was motionless, and it was unclear whether he had fainted.

As if to deny Yin Mu's guess, the uncle shouted to the onlookers: "I didn't hit him. He was already lying there when I turned around. It has nothing to do with me."

A kind-hearted lady said, "No matter what, please call 120 first. It's not a good idea to leave someone lying here."

The uncle was unwilling: "It wasn't me who hit him, so if I hit him, wouldn't it be my responsibility?"

"You didn't hit it, so why are you afraid? There are surveillance cameras here. When the police investigate, won't everything be clear?"

"No, I don't want to get into trouble."

The two sides were arguing for a long time, and finally someone couldn't stand it anymore and started taking out their cell phones to make a call.

Yin Mu carefully observed the fallen man, his heart beating faster and faster. He swallowed, plucked up the courage to pass through the gap between the two people in front, walked around to the man and squatted down, stretching out his slightly trembling hand to the hair on his forehead that was blocking his face.