Chapter 57: Returning from a Thousand Miles, the Heartache is More Anxious than Thunder, Five Hundred Days and Nights, and a Miracle Finally Comes
In newspapers, magazines, and on television, Luo Guyun saw images of Xiao Xiangyue in Hollywood's Vanity Fair world, at the revelry of handsome men and beautiful women, interacting intimately with Miss Hepburn, dancing gracefully, and being seen together with Princess Elsa... He always felt that although Yue'er was smiling, she didn't look very happy... Over the years, he was used to judging Yue'er's happiness not by her expression but by her eyes. When Yue'er was truly happy, her smile was as bright as the stars, and it seemed as if stars were twinkling in her eyes... But in every photo and video, her eyes were filled with loneliness and alienation...
Half a year! Luo Guyun felt that half a year was the maximum he could endure... He had already planned that when the last batch of wine was stored in the cellar in winter, he would return to Yue'er and give him the wine he brewed himself.
...Who cares about the princess or the prince? If Yue'er isn't happy with them, what's the point? If Yue'er really has feelings for someone else, it's fine, but it's obvious that his heart is with him! Pushing him to someone else is cruel. Besides, he finds that he can't stand Yue'er being with anyone else! He's just a mortal, not a saint, and he's not that generous. Love is inherently selfish. He vows to take Yue'er back, not just for the rest of his life, but also for the next life, the next, and the next. He wants to keep Yue'er by his side, never to be separated...
He knew he had made a huge mistake this time! He had already made up his mind. If Yue'er didn't forgive him after returning, he would shamelessly pester her and follow her wherever she went. Or, like Yi Han said, he would kneel on the washboard for three days and three nights... In short, he couldn't live without Yue'er! No matter what means he used, he would get Yue'er back into his arms!
That day, as usual, he arrived at the tavern at dusk. Emily and her sister excitedly told him that there would be a live TV broadcast of Mr. Charade's performance tonight! Luo Guoyun was also excited, looking forward to seeing what the moon would look like today...
Around nine o'clock, Xiao Xiangyue finally took the stage. Luo Guyun stared at the screen intently. The camera first showed a panoramic view, then a close-up. Under the stage lights, the person was still as elegant as ever. The black and white TV couldn't tell the face's expression. Luo Guyun intuitively felt that something was wrong with Yue'er today... With his familiarity and understanding of Yue'er, every subtle expression and movement could not escape his eyes! When Yue'er was upset, she would unconsciously bite her lower lip. He felt that Yue'er's hands were trembling abnormally when she was rubbing the strings. She looked very weak, and she was completely forcing herself to hold on... The sound of the piano was so sad and sorrowful that it was suffocating. Sisters Emily and Aurelie could not help but sob... No! No! There must be something wrong... Luo Guyun frowned, and a foreboding premonition arose in his heart, until he saw Xiao Xiangyue collapse on the stage in front of the whole world.
Luo Guyun's head buzzed. Without wasting a second, he sprinted out of the pub, jumped into his car, and sped away. He had to get to Yue'er as fast as he could! He quickly calculated that the nearest Bordeaux airport was over 300 kilometers away. If he rushed there and boarded a plane, he wouldn't get to New York until the day after tomorrow... He immediately called the Morn Consortium headquarters to arrange for a special plane, but the round trip would take over ten hours... He was so anxious he couldn't wait even a second! He remembered there was a military base nearby, only a two-hour drive away. Lieutenant General Felix at the base was an old acquaintance of his. They seemed to have just received a batch of the most advanced supersonic Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft. However, that supersonic reconnaissance aircraft had a range of just over 3,000 kilometers. The journey to New York across the Atlantic was over 5,000 kilometers, requiring aerial refueling...
Rushing to the military base at lightning speed, Lieutenant General Felix was incredulous: "Brother, are you crazy? How could the United States allow a reconnaissance plane from France to land..." Luo Guyun was anxious: "I'll figure it out over there! We just take off, and you be the co-pilot!"
Before taking off, Luo Guoyun called the headquarters of Moren Building and asked them to inform Yi Han and relevant personnel that the supersonic reconnaissance plane he was flying would arrive in New York at three o'clock in the morning and arrange an alternative landing at a nearby airport.
The moment Xiao Xiangyue collapsed, the front row of audience members screamed and rushed onto the stage, creating chaos. Sun Mu arrived just then and rushed him to Dr. Jefferson's private hospital. His temperature was a whopping 41 degrees! A quick blood test revealed a viral infection. Sun Mu noticed a cat scratch on his shoulder and gasped...
For the first time since its construction, a supersonic reconnaissance plane from Europe landed at the Teterboro private airport in New York. Airport staff were on high alert and all civilian airliners cleared the runway.
Since Luo Guoyun left, Yi Han has spent most of his time commanding the Moren Building and rarely returns to Hong Kong. He personally rushed to the control tower to talk to him. After six months, hearing his voice again, he almost cried: "Third brother, you're finally back..."
At three o'clock in the morning, the plane landed smoothly. Luo Guoyun ordered his attendants who came to pick him up to greet Lieutenant General Felix, and without stopping for a second, he got into the supercar driven by Yi Shui himself.
It was more than 30 kilometers from the airport to the hospital, and Yi Shui drove the sports car at racing speed.
Yi Han quickly reported the situation to him: "Yue'er fainted on the stage at 9:15 and was rushed to the hospital within 20 minutes. She is currently in a coma. Preliminary examinations show sepsis caused by a viral infection. The source of the disease has been found: it is the cat that little Roy raised. According to Paul, Yue'er called him personally and requested a live broadcast. It seems... he planned and arranged everything long ago, with the goal of bringing my third brother back... There are a large number of media and fans gathered at the hospital entrance. We will enter through the back door later..."
In the VIP ward of Dr. Jefferson's private hospital, various instruments were ticking, and Xiao Xiangyue lay quietly on her back, as if she had fallen into a deep sleep.
"You... you actually pushed Yue'er to the point of self-harm! What a bastard!... Look carefully! It's winter, and Yue'er is so afraid of cats! Who else but him could have scratched such deep, bloody marks on his shoulders?" Sun Mu's face turned pale upon seeing Luo Guyun. Furious, he dragged him to the bedside. He pulled the clothes off his shoulders, revealing claw marks wrapped in white gauze.
Luo Guyun knelt on the ground, lying on Xiao Xiangyue, sobbing uncontrollably: "Yue'er... Yue'er... Brother is back..."
The man who had been in a coma opened his lips slightly, but made no sound. Luo Guyun held his hand tightly. Xiao Xiangyue's hand moved slightly, as if she wanted to shake it back, but she didn't have the strength to hold it tightly... Luo Guyun was both sad and happy: "Yue'er! Yue'er... He knows I'm back!"
The night fades and the morning comes.
Newsboys on the street called out: "Newspapers for sale! Newspapers for sale!" Mr. Charles Francis Xiangyue Xiao, the greatest musician of this century, suddenly collapsed while performing at Carnegie Hall in New York last night and is in critical condition!
Clips of Xiao Xiangyue playing the cello and collapsing were replayed on television. Fans outside the hospital spontaneously formed a heart, praying that God would not take him away. Many more people prayed at home. The song "Death" broke countless hearts. The sound of the cello was so sorrowful; it turned out to be his final song...
A week passed. Xiao Xiangyue's fever subsided, his sepsis was under control, and his vital signs gradually returned to normal, but he still hadn't woken up. To say he hadn't woken up wouldn't be accurate... He remained in the same state as the night Luo Guyun returned. He'd gently return his hand when he shook it, and his lips would part slightly when he spoke, but no sound would come out.
Relatives and friends from all over the world gathered in New York to discuss the condition with a team of experts led by Sun Mu and Dr. Jefferson every day. They were determined to find the best treatment in the world to save Xiao Xiangyue at all costs.
Dr. Jefferson sighed, "Dr. Sun is the foremost expert on infectious diseases. If he's helpless, I doubt there's anything better..."
Sun Mu frowned and said, "We have tested the cat in detail. It has received all the vaccines it needs and is not carrying any special pathogens. Why did it develop a serious infection and even sepsis in Yue'er? I think the key lies in Yue'er's sensitive constitution. The pathogen may not be a big deal to others, but it may cause serious consequences in him..."
Mrs. Daisy wiped her tears and said, "Didn't they say the sepsis caused by the infection has been brought under control? Why hasn't my brother woken up yet?"
Dr. Jefferson analyzed, "The factors that led to his inability to wake up are complex... Perhaps a congenital brain mass is compressing the brain nerves... Perhaps the neurotransmitter toxins injected at Unit 731 remain in the body, affecting brain function... Perhaps the toxins produced by the bacteria from this sepsis infection caused brain nerve damage... In short, the brain is the most complex and sophisticated instrument in the human body. Our current level of science and our understanding of the brain, like humanity's exploration of the universe, may be less than one billionth! We can't diagnose the exact cause at this time..."
Luo Gulan asked anxiously, "Then...is there no effective treatment available?"
Dr. Jefferson said, "Xiangyue has a slight reaction to external stimuli, can still swallow, and can eat liquid food, which means he is not completely comatose, but in a state of minimal consciousness. Especially when we talk to him, the brain wave monitoring is very active! Maybe he can hear us, but just can't respond... The only way now is to wait, take good care of him, and talk to him more. Maybe we can wake him up..."
Since the night he returned, Luo Guoyun had been constantly by Xiao Xiangyue's side. He washed him, fed him, talked to him... Silly Yue'er, wait a few more days, just a few more days and brother will be back... The morning I left, I said if Yue'er didn't even have the energy to eat, I'd feed you mouthful by mouthful... Now, I'm feeding you mouthful by mouthful...
Every day, she would half-hold him and carefully feed him a variety of nutritious liquid foods. Sometimes, she would simply hold it in her mouth and pass it to him mouthful by mouthful. When Luo Guyun kissed him, Xiao Xiangyue's reaction was most obvious. She would respond instinctively and even lick him with her tongue.
Dr. Jefferson analyzed that he might have tried desperately to wake up, but was unable to do so. This was because the activity of the cerebral cortex was suppressed, making it unable to respond to external stimuli.
Three months passed, and the situation did not improve.
Luo Guyun discussed with Sun Mu that Yue'er wouldn't be comfortable lying in the hospital for too long. They decided to move the necessary IV and emergency equipment to the top floor of the Moren Building and take him home for care. Home was Yue'er's preferred environment, and even if he didn't wake up, he'd definitely notice the changes, which might aid his recovery. Sun Mu agreed. They brought a professional medical team to the Moren Building to monitor and care for him at all times.
More than five hundred days passed, and Xiao Xiangyue was still sleeping.
For over a year, Luo Guoyun had always taken him with him wherever he went. Whenever he needed to be moved, he would carry him up and down himself. When the guards wanted to carry him on a stretcher, he would always say, "While I can still hold Yue'er, I must hold him more. When I'm old, I won't be able to hold him anymore."
During the winter, Luo Guyun took Xiao Xiangyue back to Yueliang Lake Villa for a two- to three-month stay to escape the cold. In New York, he attended Qin Ling's eighteenth-year-old coming-of-age ceremony. He also flew to Hong Kong to attend Yi Han's sixth marriage. Yi Han said he was marrying again to bring good luck to Yue'er, hoping to anger her enough to wake her up and scold him, his second brother, for being ridiculous...
Luo Guyun always assumed he was awake and normal, chatting with him daily about various things... Xiaoxue became the head coach of the Houston women's basketball team... Sun Xu, now thirty, had graduated with a doctorate from Harvard Business School, and she had handed over many of the Moren Group's affairs to him... Xiaoxi, a student at the New York University School of the Arts, loved performing arts... Qin Ling, having grown up with Sun Mu, had a strong interest in medicine and aspired to study medicine. He was admitted to Columbia Medical School, spending his winter and summer vacations with Sun Mu, interning in Dr. Jefferson's laboratory... Tianci was uneducated and increasingly dissolute, showing no interest in his studies. He loved racing, so she handed him the management of the F1 team... My second brother already had six wives and more than twenty children... The Moren Group's business empire was growing larger, and this year it ranked among the top ten global companies... The Yunyue Foundation had donated over 10 billion yuan to various charities, and next year it planned to help impoverished African countries establish infectious disease monitoring and prevention systems...
Luo Guoyun often told him about his days at the winery, about the Ganden family, about the sisters Emily and Aurelie... He told him that making wine was fun, and when Yue'er woke up, they would go to the winery together to make wine...
That day, Luo Guyun, like every other night, carried Xiao Xiangyue to the bathtub for a bath, wiped off the water stains, wrapped him in a soft nightgown, and carried him back to bed, hugging him and chatting ramblingly... Yue'er said that she hoped to be the most beautiful and the best in her brother's heart, and that she would bring him happiness and joy, and unconsciously wanted to hide the bad things... In fact, her brother was the same... He was afraid of getting old, and that he would not be able to hold Yue'er anymore... It would be good if Yue'er could not wake up, because then you would not see your brother getting old...
Xiao Xiangyue raised her hand, caressing his face, her lips moving slightly: "Silly...silly brother...Yue'er will also grow old. Wouldn't it be nice to let Yue'er grow old with brother?"
"Yue'er! Yue'er! Yue'er is awake!" Luo Guyun couldn't believe it.
After nearly seventeen months, a full five hundred days, Xiao Xiangyue finally awakened! This was not only a medical miracle, but also a manifestation of the people's collective prayers moving heaven. It was God's will... The world was shocked! The news dominated the media for a long time, and moon fans everywhere held grand celebrations... This event also inspired countless people with terminal illnesses or desperate situations. Hope is always there, and miracles can happen...
The second words Xiao Xiangyue said after waking up were: "I'm sorry... Brother, Yue'er was wrong..." Luo Guyun's heart was broken, his great joy turned into great sorrow, and he hugged her and cried inconsolably: "What did Yue'er do wrong? I am the one who should say sorry! When Yue'er was in a coma, what I regretted most and what I was most afraid of was that I didn't even have the chance to tell Yue'er that I was wrong..."
That day, Xiao Xiangyue deliberately scratched his shoulder with a cat's claw, thinking that playing the violin would cause pain in the wound. Others might not notice, but Luo Guyun was acutely aware of his every expression and movement. He was certain that if his brother were watching TV, seeing his pain and suffering, and hearing the heart-wrenching cry he composed with his soul, he would definitely come back on his own initiative... He also knew that he couldn't be around cats, dogs, or other animals, and thought the wound would at most become infected and inflamed, but he didn't expect the consequences to be so serious...
The third sentence Xiao Xiangyue said after waking up was: "Where is Angleburg? Yue'er wants to go there too!"
Just as Dr. Jefferson had analyzed, Xiao Xiangyue simply couldn't respond to external stimuli. He could actually hear sounds, feel touch, and changes in the environment. He knew every word Luo Guyun said to him, every hug and kiss. It was like sinking into a deep dream, struggling desperately to wake up, but unable to do so. Finally, one day, he broke free from his shackles and woke up...
Xiao Xiangyue regained consciousness in early summer. After a period of rehabilitation and nutritional supplementation, by autumn he was full of energy and had made a remarkable recovery. The effects of his long coma had largely subsided, though his muscles had atrophied to a certain extent. Sun Mu suggested that physical activity and daily exercise would be extremely beneficial.
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Luo Guoyun took Xiao Xiangyue to Bordeaux and settled down at the Anlebourg Manor.
In anticipation of Xiao Xiangyue's visit to the winery, Luo Guyun had already embarked on a massive construction project months in advance. He had built over a dozen new cabins, equipped with air conditioning and fireplaces. While the furnishings weren't lavish, they were cozy and comfortable. He had also covered slippery areas in the wine cellar with mats, smoothed the paths, and renovated the old winery. Even the outdoor areas were equipped with mosquito repellent.
When Luo Guoyun and Xiao Xiangyue appeared in Senong Town, sisters Emily and Aurelie were practically stunned! They couldn't believe their idol, the one everyone loved but only seen in the media, was actually right next to them! They couldn't believe that Mr. Andre's beloved was actually Mr. Charade!
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