Chapter 36
Han Meng woke up to a familiar smell of disinfectant.
The first thing I saw was blinding white, the ceiling light shone with a cold light, and the regular, monotonous beeping of the electrocardiogram monitor filled my ears.
She sat up abruptly, staring incredulously at her blue and white striped hospital gown and the IV catheter inserted into the back of her hand.
A hospital? A modern hospital?!
Wasn't she at home, cuddling her young daughter for a nap, with the sound of rain pattering outside the window?
"Mengmeng! You're awake?!" A female voice, filled with surprise and choked with sobs, rang out from beside her.
Han Meng turned her head sharply and saw the face she had longed for countless days and nights, the face etched deep in her soul...
It was her mother, wearing the familiar navy blue cardigan, with deep crow's feet around her eyes, looking at her with teary eyes.
"Mom..." The word came out in a hoarse voice, carrying a weakness that even she herself was unfamiliar with.
This wasn't the voice she'd been using for years, with its soft, Wu dialect accent; this was her original voice, the voice of the 21st century.
"It's good that you're awake, it's good that you're awake!" The mother rushed over and tightly grasped her other hand, which wasn't on an IV drip. The warm touch felt so real. "You silly child, how could you just faint while walking down the street? The doctor said it was due to overexertion and low blood sugar. Your father and I were terrified! You were unconscious for a whole day and night!"
Her father, his eyes red, came over, his weathered face filled with lingering fear and relief: "It's good that you're awake, it's good that you're awake... No matter how busy you are at work, you must take care of yourself, silly girl."
Seeing her parents' genuinely worried faces and listening to their endless words of concern, Han Meng's tears burst forth unexpectedly.
She was finally reunited with her parents.
But……
Is it a dream? If it is a dream, why does it feel so real? Those decades in the Republic of China era, the time I spent with Lu Jinxian, raising children, building a business, and experiencing turmoil... were all those unforgettable memories just a dream?
"Don't cry, don't cry, you'll be alright once you wake up." Her mother hurriedly wiped away her tears.
Just then, the ward door was pushed open, and her best friend Lin Xiaowei rushed in carrying a bag of fruit. Seeing Han Meng sitting there, she breathed a dramatic sigh of relief: "My dear Miss Han! You're finally awake! If you hadn't woken up, I would have thought you had traveled to some parallel world to enjoy a life of luxury!"
Traveling to...parallel worlds...
These two words were like a key, instantly unlocking the floodgates of Han Meng's memory. It wasn't a dream! It was a real life that had actually happened!
She instinctively touched her neck, but it was empty. The white jade safety buckle that Lu Jinxian had personally placed on her neck after she gave birth to her son was gone.
She remembered him saying, "May my wife be safe and sound forever."
Her heart suddenly felt as if a piece had been hollowed out, and the pain was so intense that she could hardly breathe.
"What's wrong, Mengmeng? Is there anything else that's bothering you?" Her parents and best friend noticed something was wrong with her and asked anxiously.
Han Meng shook her head vigorously, forcibly suppressing the surging bitterness, and forced a pale smile: "No... I just woke up and I'm a little weak." She needed time to process this sudden change.
At her parents' insistence, she was hospitalized for another day for observation.
During this time, she confirmed the date via her mobile phone. She had been "in a coma" for a day and a night, and in that world of the Republic of China, she truly spent several years.
The disorientation of time and space made her dizzy.
After being discharged from the hospital and returning home, I looked at the familiar yet slightly unfamiliar room. My postgraduate entrance exam study materials were still spread out on the desk, and the computer screen was stuck on a practice test interface...
Everything reminded her that this was the world she had lived in for over twenty years, a world with her beloved parents, caring friends, and unfinished studies and career.
However, her heart remained in that war-torn world, with the man with deep eyes who would say "Let's go together" to her, and with the child who was just learning to speak and would softly call her "Mother".
She became much quieter. Her parents assumed she was just recovering from a serious illness and was weak, so they tried all sorts of ways to make her nourishing soups.
Her best friend, Lin Xiaowei, keenly noticed her difference.
“Mengmeng, you seem… a little different.” Lin Xiaowei tilted her head and looked her over. “I can’t quite put my finger on it, but you seem… more composed, and your eyes seem to hold a lot more stories.” She joked, “Could it be like in those novels, where your soul wanders into the void while you’re unconscious?”
Han Meng simply smiled faintly and did not answer.
How could she tell others that her soul had indeed gone to another time and space, experienced a love-hate relationship, and now returned with a deep longing in her bones?
She tried to reintegrate into modern life, but found it difficult.
Looking at the hurried crowds in the subway, she would think of the rickshaws and shouts on the streets of the Republic of China era; seeing a traditional Chinese medicine shop, she would think of the fragrance of medicine wafting from "Xinglinchun" and Chen Miaoyin's earnest face; even seeing pear blossoms would remind her of the few pear trees that Lu Jinxian planted for her in the courtyard of her home in the southwest, which bloomed like snow and clouds.
Longing is a stubborn ailment, incurable.
She began frantically researching historical materials from the Republican era, searching for any clues that might be related to "Han Meng", "Lu Jinxian", and "Xinglin Chun".
However, history is vast and complex, and individual traces are insignificant; she gained nothing.
Until one day, she walked into an antique shop as if by some strange twist of fate.
The shop is furnished in a rustic style, and the air is filled with the scent of old objects.
Her gaze drifted aimlessly over the porcelain, jade, and wood carvings on the display shelf... Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks.
In an inconspicuous corner, a jade pendant lay quietly.
The jade pendant was pure white, made of the finest mutton fat jade, and was polished into the shape of a tiger. There was a natural small black dot in the tiger's eye.
It was exactly the same as the first piece of jade she bought in that antique shop during the Republic of China era, as she remembered it!
Even the position of that tiny black dot that serves as the tiger's eye is exactly the same!
Her heart stopped abruptly, and she picked up the jade with trembling hands.
The cool touch spread along her fingertips, strangely soothing the turmoil in her heart. Beneath the jade pendant lay a small, yellowed card, on which were written in delicate calligraphy:
"Seeing jade is like meeting a friend."
May you be well and happy in your distant land.
— Jinxian
With a loud bang, it felt as if something had exploded in my mind.
Jin Xian! It's Lu Jin Xian! He...he knew? He knew she would come here? Or rather, he was trying to use this method to transcend time and space and convey his message?
Tears instantly blurred my vision.
She clutched the jade pendant tightly in her hand; the cool jade seemed to still retain the warmth and endless longing from another time and space.
He was not just a dream to her. Their love truly existed in the gap between two different times and spaces, with this piece of jade serving as both a token and a bridge.
“Boss, this piece of jade…” she asked, her voice choked with emotion.
The shop owner was a kind-looking old man. He looked at the jade in her hand and smiled, "Young lady, you have a good eye. This jade is quite old. I acquired it many years ago, but no one has shown interest in it until now. If you like it, please give me a reasonable price and take it."
Han Meng bought it almost without hesitation. She put the jade pendant close to her body; the cool touch against her chest strangely gave her wandering, aimless soul an anchor.
Emerging from the antique shop, she found herself bathed in the bright sunshine, surrounded by bustling traffic and vibrant noise. Standing on the crowded street, gazing at the familiar yet unfamiliar modern metropolis, she touched the jade pendant at her chest. The immense emptiness and bewilderment within her seemed to be somewhat filled.
She still misses everything about the Republic of China era, a longing that aches to the core.
But at this moment, she knew that it wasn't a mirage, nor was it just her own delusion. In that distant time and space, someone else was also thinking of her, and in this almost miraculous way, was telling her—he existed, their love existed.
She took a deep breath, raised her head, and her gaze gradually became firm.
She has loving parents and friends in the modern world, who are the roots she can never sever.
During the Republic of China era, she had her beloved husband and children, which was another refuge for her soul.
She had no choice, nor could she abandon either side.
But at least, the existence of this jade pendant lets her know that she is not alone in carrying this memory and love that transcends time and space.
Perhaps this is the wonder of life. She is destined to carry two heavy loves, and continue her journey through two different times and spaces.
She will take good care of her modern parents, complete her studies, and manage her life. At the same time, she will keep that era of the Republic of China deep in the softest corner of her heart, spending a lifetime reminiscing and remembering it.
Because love transcends time and space.
Wherever she is, she is Han Meng, Han Meng who is deeply loved by two worlds.
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