Chapter 3
When Xie Yiyi heard the news that Yoda had woken up, she was in the ward, watching her husband and the doctor confirm the surgery time.
Always afraid of pain, she had decided on a C-section from the very beginning of her pregnancy. Watching her husband ask the doctor questions one by one about the pre-operative consent form, Xie Yiyi felt reassured and entrusted everything to him. If it weren't for her protruding belly, she would feel so relaxed that it seemed like she wasn't the one about to give birth.
Upon seeing the message that Yoda had woken up, Xie Yiyi couldn't believe it. Her hands began to tremble uncontrollably. Barely managing to steady herself, she made a phone call to confirm; Yoda really had woken up.
Xie Yiyi felt like she was floating on air, so excited she didn't know what to say. Her husband, after signing the papers, saw the ecstatic expression on Xie Yiyi's face. "Yiyi, what's wrong?"
Xie Yiyi grabbed his hand immediately. "He's awake, he's awake, Yoda is awake."
The husband's hand was gripped so tightly it hurt, but he didn't dare disturb his wife who was caught up in her emotions. Worried that she was about to give birth, he helped Xie Yiyi sit down slowly.
"Be careful, don't get too excited."
Completely ignoring her husband's cautious expression, Xie Yiyi straightened up and said, "I'm going to take a look."
The husband could only agree, saying, "Okay, okay, let me put your shoes on for you."
As soon as she finished putting on one of the panties, Xie Yiyi couldn't help but stand up. Before she could even finish putting on the other panty, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her stomach.
I tried to endure the pain and go see Yoda in her ward. But after only a few steps, the pain got even worse.
Xie Yiyi's husband, seeing his wife trying to walk out despite her severe abdominal pain, was terrified, barely managing to stay conscious: "My God, what's wrong with you? You're about to give birth, and you're still running around like that."
Amidst the pain, Xie Yiyi shouted, "I'll go check and be right back. It's in the ward next door. I'll just take a look and come right back."
Xie Yiyi's husband completely ignored his wife's calls. While holding Xie Yiyi back as she tried to walk out, he shouted, and in his frantic efforts, he still remembered to press the call button on the hospital bed.
"Doctor, doctor! Come quick, my wife is about to give birth."
The doctor told Xie Yiyi to lie back so they could examine her. Xie Yiyi tried hard to control her increasingly unrestrained expressions due to the pain. She thought she could just bear it and go to the ward when the pain subsided. But then she heard the doctor take off his gloves and announce, "Get ready, she's going into labor."
Xie Yiyi frowned: "Wasn't it a C-section?"
While quickly preparing, the doctor explained, "Your cervix is dilating too fast; you've already entered labor. I've examined your pelvis, and it's perfectly capable of allowing you to try for a vaginal delivery."
Despite being in excruciating pain, Xie Yiyi still tried to wave her hand, saying, "I'm afraid of pain, I want a C-section."
Xie Yiyi's husband hesitated as well, "Doctor, we've already scheduled a C-section, can't we really wait a little longer?"
The doctor frowned. "Are you kidding me? You can already see the baby's head, and you're still waiting? What are you waiting for in this precipitous labor? Get to the delivery room right now."
Upon hearing this, Xie Yiyi's husband screamed in alarm, "Ah! My God! What! Quick, quick, quick, quick!" His voice, distorted by a series of changes in tone, sounded like he was playing a clapper.
Xie Yiyi felt waves of pain intensifying. She had originally opted for a cesarean section because she was afraid of the pain, but she didn't expect it to be even more painful than she had imagined.
Every second the pain struck left me with no energy to think about anything else, and I entered the delivery room in a daze. In the end, all I saw was my husband anxiously leaning against the door outside the operating room.
By the time she realized how painful it would be, it was too late for regrets, and no one asked her if she wanted to regret it. The doctors around her kept encouraging her, reassuring her that natural childbirth resulted in a better recovery and that she would be able to walk the next day.
With things having come to this point, she gritted her teeth amidst the doctor's encouragement, "You're about to give birth, hang in there!" She thought, "I'm going to give birth, baby, come out quickly." With each inhale and exhale, her facial expression gradually became ferocious, but she didn't care.
Little did he know that right next door, less than a hundred meters away, Xie Yiyi was experiencing the most painful moment of her life.
Yoda woke up and looked curiously at his mother beside him, who was both crying and laughing. Wondering what had happened, he wanted to say something, but then felt extremely sleepy and tired, and fell into a deep sleep again.
Seeing Yoda, who had been able to talk to those around him, suddenly fall asleep as if he had lost power, the group panicked and couldn't help but shout, "What happened? He was just awake, and now he's passed out again."
Thankfully, the doctor checked her over and everything was normal. "She slept for so long, and her bodily functions hadn't recovered yet. It's already quite good that she's been awake for so long. Now she's asleep again. In the early recovery period, all functions need to recover slowly, just like a child. So don't worry. As long as the equipment doesn't alarm, she's healthy. Her family just needs to take good care of her."
The group finally breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at Yoda, who was sleeping as before, but this time everyone's hearts were no longer filled with despair hidden beneath a calm surface, but rather with hope.
After giving birth, Xie Yiyi finally received her husband's permission. He, who usually obeyed Xie Yiyi's arrangements, was unusually firm this time. He insisted that Xie Yiyi be able to get out of bed before allowing her to come to see Yoda in a wheelchair.
Yoda, who had been waking up intermittently, lay in the hospital bed and looked at Xie Yiyi, who was a little chubby, and couldn't help but say, "What delicious food have you been eating behind my back? Why do you look so chubby?"
As she spoke, she couldn't help but reach out to show off, "Look how thin I am now. I suddenly became so slender. I only slept for a few days, and when I woke up, I had inexplicably lost weight."
Xie Yiyi couldn't help but laugh as she looked at Yoda, who was just as lively as she remembered. "What are you so smug about? I'm fat because I just gave birth. Once the swelling goes down in a few days, I'll lose weight immediately. You're so thin now. You can't even walk. Hurry up and gain some weight. I'll give you all the fat I have."
Yoda pouted, "No way! Are you kidding me? You're having a baby, don't make fun of me."
Xie Yiyi looked at Shi Xing, who had just returned from the doctor's.
It dawned on her that no one had had a chance to tell her yet. She couldn't help but say, "Really, I just gave birth right next to you." Then she showed Yoda the photos of her baby on her phone.
Yoda stared in disbelief at the photo of Xie Yiyi looking lovingly at the tiny baby beside her. Comparing the child to Xie Yiyi, he realized that although the baby was small, it was obvious at a glance that it was her own. The baby's expression—one eye open, one eye closed, glancing sideways—was a miniature version of Xie Yiyi.
"How did you have a baby so quickly? When did you get pregnant? I can't believe you actually gave birth to a child."
Xie Yiyi proudly said under Yoda's incredulous gaze, "What do you mean fast? It's been 7 years already."
Yoda exclaimed in disbelief, "Seven years? What seven years? Have I been lying down for seven years? How could I have slept for so many years?"
It seems that there was too much information, which suddenly overwhelmed my already slow-moving brain.
Yoda suddenly felt dizzy, and images from the past began to flash through his mind. He then remembered being hit by a lamp when he ran out. Thinking carefully about the red marks he thought were rust, he wondered if they were actually his own blood.
Even though he had been in a coma for so many years, Yoda still couldn't believe it. Seven years! Seven years! How could a person lie in a hospital bed for seven years? Lost in these thoughts, he drifted back to sleep.
Xie Yiyi watched as Yoda's head went limp and he fainted, and she was anxious but couldn't stand up. Only after hearing from the people around her that this was a normal symptom during the recovery period did she feel relieved and give up struggling.
Upon waking up again, Yoda quickly accepted the fact that he had indeed been lying in bed for seven years.
As she gradually recovered, she exclaimed in amazement, never expecting that she could wake up after sleeping for seven years. After the examination, she looked at the doctor and her mother and said, "Although the patient is awake, as you know, after so many years, her body is still very weak, and recovery is a long process. You can relax and take good care of her. It's very rare for a patient who has been lying down for so long to be in this condition."
Yoda looked at his thin limbs and felt no other wounds besides weakness.
"How have you been through these past seven years?"
Mom smiled and said, "Shixing, we hired a caregiver for you. They take very good care of you every day, and to prevent you from getting too tired, they even have them take turns caring for you. We come to see you whenever we have time. Who doesn't put their heart into it?"
Yoda then realized that he hadn't seen Shi Xing since the chaos of his recent awakening ended.
The next moment, Shi Xing appeared before her. He was clean and tidy, just like the person she remembered, but when he looked away, there was a hint of indifference in his eyes.
Looking at Shi Xing, Yoda couldn't help but ask, "You must have had a tough time all these years, facing someone who is lying in a hospital bed and doesn't respond at all."
Looking back, was it hard work? I can't remember anymore.
The first year's prayer was for Yoda to wake up quickly;
The second year, various methods were tried without success;
Each year brought a little more disappointment, but I refused to give up.
Everyone awaited an unknown outcome: life or death. As the days passed, the hope of waking up grew increasingly slim. The possibility of the other outcome became more likely.
Shi Xing should not allow himself to think about other possibilities, but focus all his energy on his work. Every bit of effort and every bit of income could bring Yoda one step closer to waking up. With this in mind, he kept moving forward with his head down.
Yoda listened with heartache to Shi Xing's emotionless words, but Shi Xing truly felt no sadness, because he hadn't even realized how much time had passed. Seven years is a long time, but if you work hard every day during those seven years, it will pass quickly.
If Yoda hadn't returned, he would continue to bury himself in life. After all, waiting had numbed him to the point where he could no longer feel the pain. What he feared more than waiting was not having the chance to wait at all.
Looking into Yoda's heartbroken eyes, Shi Xing sincerely said, "Don't think I'm having a hard time. Every time I feel sad about life, I come to the hospital and stay with you. It reminds me of the times we used to have. It has become a habit of mine, a habit that makes me feel comfortable. I'm not waiting with a painful heart; I'm waiting with the feeling of living with you."
Rather than waiting in vain, he cherished every day he spent with Yoda, even when Yoda was asleep, as the most important day of his life, because he was afraid that one day he would not even be able to wait anymore, and he dared not even think about the pain that would be so intense.
Looking at the conscious Yoda before him, Shi Xing smiled and said, "You've woken up, which is lucky enough and enough to make up for all my waiting."
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