Chapter 34 Awakening

The rain was still drizzling outside the mourning hall, the sky was gray, and everything around seemed to be filtered through a gray filter.

Raindrops fell along the eaves, and half of Wen Eryu's trouser legs were wet.

She looked at Shen Jize, and then carefully took his hand.

His hands were cold, and the rough calluses on his palms rubbed the tender flesh of the girl's palms.

"I don't think you're a bad person." She said with heartache.

Shen Jize's lifeless pupils suddenly contracted. He wanted to pull his hand away, but Wen Eryu held it tightly.

His stiff fingertips were gradually surrounded by warmth, and his frosted heart began to beat slowly.

"Chen Jize, I know losing Aunt Xue is a big blow to you, but we can't stay where we are. Cheer up."

Shen Jize's tightly closed lips finally loosened, his back instantly hunched over, and his nerves, which had been tense for several days, finally relaxed briefly at this moment.

"Eryu, but I'm so tired."

"When we're tired, we should just rest and not push ourselves too hard."

Shen Jize's body pressed lightly against Wen Eryu's shoulder, and the stubble on his chin brushed against her forehead.

"Um."

Wen Eryu took him to a place with few people and asked him to rest there for a while.

"I'll go check on Dada, he should be almost done eating by now."

Shen Jize nodded.

*

Wen Eryu didn't hold an umbrella and ran all the way to the store.

But when she entered the door, she did not see Dada.

She found the clerk who was counting the goods and asked, "Hello, have you seen where the little boy who was eating here just now has gone?"

The clerk stood up and adjusted his thick black-framed glasses. "I seem to remember him leaving with a long-haired woman after finishing his meal."

Upon hearing this, Wen Eryu's heart sank. "Is that woman thin and carrying a navy blue bag?"

"Yes, yes, it's her." The clerk remembered her immediately after hearing Wen Eryu's description.

"It's bad." Wen Eryu said to himself, and then rushed out of the store immediately.

She originally wanted to find Shen Jize to tell him about this, but before she reached the mourning hall, she saw Zhai Wan pulling Dada out at the door of the funeral home.

The sky was extremely dark, as if night had fallen prematurely even in the afternoon. Dark clouds hung low and rolled, occasionally ripped apart by ferocious lightning, bringing a momentary pale brightness before a rolling thunder exploded overhead.

The rain got heavier. Unlike the gentle drizzle before, the raindrops as big as beans hit the ground, the car roof, and the umbrella, making a deafening sound.

Wen Eryu shouted over there: "Dada!"

Dada turned around after hearing the sound and tried to shake off Zhai Wan's hand and run towards her.

But Zhai Wan was determined not to let her plan fail. She held onto Dada tightly, gritting her teeth and saying, "Come back here! You're not allowed to go over there. Come with Auntie. I'll take you to someplace fun."

She was surprisingly strong. She covered Dada's mouth with one hand and dragged him into the car roughly.

Dada's cries were muffled by the heavy rain and the covering hands, and the only responses to Wen Er's words were short, frightened whimpers and the violently struggling little body.

Wen Eryu didn't care about all these. She ran towards the door desperately in the heavy rain. When she saw Dada being taken into the car, her mind went blank and her body moved before her consciousness.

It was a rainy day with thick fog and low visibility. Just as Zhai Wan was about to start the car and leave, Wen Eryu appeared at the car door the next second.

She tried to open the car door, but Zhai Wan quickly locked it.

The car stopped by the roadside with the hazard lights on, and Dada kept crying and banging on the car window.

"Sister Wen, save me, Sister Wen!"

"Shut up! You're making so much noise!" Zhai Wan slapped Dada.

A red palm print instantly appeared on Dada’s little face.

"You bad woman, the police will never let you go. I want to go back, I want to go back." Dada kept repeating this sentence while crying.

Zhai Wan laughed almost crazily, "They'd have to catch me first. If you want to blame someone, blame your brother. It's his fault for not coming with me. Behave yourself. If you call me again, I'll beat you."

Dada huddled in the back seat in fear.

Wen Eryu, who was outside the car door, picked up a stone from the roadside and smashed it against the car window.

Zhai Wan lit a cigarette and cursed inwardly, "What a lunatic."

Then she stepped on the accelerator and rushed out.

Wen Eryu had not taken a few steps when she heard a hurried horn sound in her ears and she was about to turn her head.

"Bang!!!" A dull and loud crash accompanied by the harsh sound of tire friction drowned out the sound of thunder and rain.

Severe pain came from all over the body, and the source could not be identified. Warm blood mixed with cold rain flowed from the forehead and corners of the mouth.

Wen Eryu fell to the ground, his consciousness blurred, and there was sharp tinnitus in his ears.

She tried hard to focus her vision, the sting of the cold rain hitting her skin preventing her from fainting immediately.

The driver, realizing he had hit someone, got out of the car with a pale face. He took out his cell phone tremblingly and called the police.

After an unknown amount of time, Wen Eryu, who was lying on the ground, suddenly saw a figure running towards her.

But she was so sleepy that her eyelids drooped uncontrollably. At the last moment before she fainted, she seemed to hear Shen Jize calling her name.

But she seemed unable to respond to him anymore.

*

It hurts! It hurts so much!!

The dazzling white light penetrated her eyelids, bringing a burning sensation. Wen Eryu opened her eyes with difficulty, but could only see the shaking white ceiling and the blurry outline of the IV stand.

The monotonous, continuous beeping of the ECG monitor reached her ears.

A heavy, numb, dull pain spread throughout her body, especially her head, as if it had been repeatedly crushed by a heavy object.

Her throat was dry and burning, and every breath carried the cold smell of disinfectant. She tried to move her fingers, but felt weak and powerless.

A nurse appeared at the bedside, her voice a little distant: "Are you awake? How are you feeling? You still have a low-grade fever, so you need to be observed. You're pretty impressive to have survived a plane crash."

Plane crash? No... Where's the rain? Where's the car? Where's Dada?!

This thought struck Wen Eryu's chaotic consciousness like lightning.

She tried to sit up suddenly, but the dizziness and physical weakness pushed her back onto the pillow.

"Hey, what are you doing? You can't get up now. You are still on an IV." The nurse was frightened by her action and immediately walked to her side and re-examined her.

Wen Eryu lay on the hospital bed in a daze, mumbling to himself.

"Impossible...why, why would you do this to me?"

Was it all a dream?

Wen Eryu couldn't accept this fact for a moment.

She was not reborn, but survived the accident, which means that Shen Jize is now just her ex-husband.

When she thought of this, Wen Eryu had a splitting headache, but this dream was too real, so real that she thought everything had started over again.

The ward door was gently pushed open a crack, and a figure stood hesitantly at the door, not coming in immediately. The light outlined his slightly hunched figure.

Wen Liang was wearing an old shirt that had become a little pale from washing, and a thin jacket that was also half-worn and had slightly collapsed shoulders.

"Dad?" Wen Eryu tried hard to open his eyes, his voice a little weak.

"Hey, Eryu." Wen Liang controlled his emotions, "You finally woke up."

Wen Eryu nodded, and when she saw Wen Liang's face clearly, her eyes instantly turned red.

There were several deep nasolabial folds on Wen Liang's face, his eye bags were heavy, like two small burdens hanging on his head, and there were many more wrinkles at the corners of his eyes than before.

The eyes that were once sharp and confident, as if they could see through everything, have now become turbid and full of fatigue.

Wen Liang is now over fifty years old, but he is still running around outside.

He has hardly had a good night's sleep since the Wen family went bankrupt.

"I'm glad you're awake. If you want to eat something, Dad will go downstairs and buy it for you."

Wen Eryu suppressed her tears and surging sadness and tried hard to force a smile.

"I'm not hungry, Dad."

Wen Liang wanted to say something but stopped himself. He looked at the IV drip hanging next to him, which was not empty yet.

He stood up and said, "I'll go buy you some fruit. You can have a good rest."

Wen Eryu couldn't persuade him: "Okay."

After everyone left, she looked out the window and couldn't help but stare blankly.

After an unknown amount of time, there were two polite knocks on the ward door, and then it was pushed open.

A man in a well-tailored suit walked in, his face calm and his eyes sharp.

Chen De is the male protagonist's most capable and trusted assistant. His appearance is like a ray of light of reality, splitting Wen Eryu's confused and painful thoughts.

In his hands he held a folder and a receipt that looked like bills.

Chen De nodded slightly, and said in a distant but basic manner, "Miss Wen, the boss has already paid for your medical expenses. I wish you a speedy recovery."

His voice was steady, without any extra emotion, and businesslike.

These words were like a needle, piercing Wen Eryu's heart precisely.

Shen Ji Ze had solved problems and cleaned up messes for her countless times in this silent way, but she had taken it for granted before.

She didn't expect that after divorcing him, he would still come to help her.

What a stupid person.

A bitter taste rose in Wen Eryu's throat: "Chen Jize...didn't he come?"

Chen De replied calmly: "The boss is usually very busy, not everyone can see him."

He finally helped his boss vent his anger. Everyone in H City knew how bad Wen Eryu treated Shen Jize, and as a subordinate, he couldn't stand it.

Wen Eryu was stunned for a moment and smiled bitterly. She couldn't understand the meaning of Chen De's words.

She suppressed her disappointment and said politely, "Okay, thank you Assistant Chen."

Chen Deben thought Wen Eryu would argue with him, but she didn't. She seemed like a different person.

"You're welcome."

He nodded slightly, then turned and left decisively, closing the door gently.

Chen De took out his cell phone at the door of the ward and sent a message to Shen Jize.

【Boss, she's awake.】