Chapter 188
Chapter 188
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 188
>Chapter Title: Facing
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“Birthday gift? Sure, what gift do you want?” Li Huowang asked softly toward the head of the bed with a smile.
He remembered that he had indeed promised Yang Na a birthday gift that day.
Yang Na’s voice fell silent for a moment before she spoke cautiously. “Huowang, I... I hope that when your condition stabilizes a bit and there’s a holiday, you can come pick me up at my school gate. I told them I have a boyfriend and that he’s really handsome, but my roommates just won’t believe me.”
“I even showed them our photo, but they claimed it was photoshopped. Sigh, those three crazy women.”
When his condition stabilizes a bit? A trace of bitterness welled up in Li Huowang’s heart at those words.
This hallucination was far too logical, to the point where it felt no different from reality. But no matter how real it seemed, this was still just a hallucination.
“Alright.” Li Huowang rarely lied.
“Mm! They’ll be so jealous of those single dogs then!”
With that, a chill settled between them.
“Are you doing okay?” Yang Na’s question left Li Huowang at a loss for how to respond.
Recalling everything that had happened before, he couldn’t bring himself to say he was good. “I’m managing.”
Yang Na’s voice grew quieter, laced with a hint of grievance. “Huowang, I like you. I really, really like you. But this kind of liking needs both of us to maintain it.”
“If it’s just me holding on alone, I’m really afraid I won’t be able to keep it up one day... just like my parents. They were so loving when I was little, but in the end, they grew to hate each other.”
Li Huowang took a deep breath and said “okay” once more.
But this time, Yang Na wasn’t having it. “Li Huowang! Be serious with me! Don’t just keep saying ‘okay’—you need to take action!”
“Auntie says you’re really resistant to seeing doctors. That won’t do!”
“I know you better than anyone. You bottle everything up inside! Are you avoiding something again? You were so stubborn as a kid, and you’re still the same now!”
“I know things are tough for you right now. You’ve got a serious illness, but if you’re sick, you need to get treatment.”
“Only then can you show me you mean it, that you’re working as hard as I am. Otherwise, I’ll feel uneasy. I’ll start overthinking, wondering if you’re planning to abandon me again.”
Hearing this, Li Huowang clenched his fists tight. “Nana, I promise you, I’ll never give up on you. Even if... even if...”
“Even if what?”
“Even if you’re a hallucination.” Li Huowang kept those words buried deep inside.
“Even if my illness never gets better, as long as you keep holding on, I absolutely won’t give up.”
With Li Huowang’s firm promise, Yang Na’s voice regained its previous energy. She started chatting with him about funny stories from her new school.
They talked like this for half an hour, until Nurse Wang reminded him, and they finally hung up reluctantly.
Lying on the bed, Li Huowang let out a deep sigh. He knew things in the hallucination weren’t set in stone. But faced with Yang Na’s birthday wish, he truly didn’t know what to do.
After what happened last time, the hospital wouldn’t even dream of letting him out temporarily, let alone unbinding him without layers of approvals.
Forget Yang Na’s university being out of town—even if it were local, he couldn’t go.
“You were chatting with her so normally. How about trying a doctor’s consultation today?”
Hearing Nurse Wang’s words, Li Huowang irritably turned his head away.
“Hey, little brother, I got a bit moved listening to that. For such a great girl, you can’t let her down. Don’t give up on treatment.”
“This is the patient’s private business, okay? Are we even that close?” Li Huowang was thoroughly annoyed right now.
“You might not know me well, but I know you inside out. Bathing you, changing your catheter, emptying bedpans—it’s all us taking care of that. Honestly, I’m not even this devoted to my own mom.”
“But you’re pretty low-maintenance. No need to flip you over. Young folks have good bodies—lying there so long and no bedsores. Bed 19’s a mess, though; has to be turned every few hours.”
Maybe it was her personality, but Nurse Wang loved chatting with him. Her constant chatter only added to Li Huowang’s irritation.
“I’m tired. Can I rest for a bit?”
“Whoa, little brother, you’re practically glued to the bed, and you still get tired? Tired of lying down? Chat with me a little. This hospital’s so cold-blooded—no phones allowed in the duty room. If it weren’t for the good pay and full benefits, I’d have quit ages ago.”
“Little brother, you really won’t let the doctor check you? What if your Yang Na finds out—how do you think she’d feel?”
Those words made Li Huowang’s expression turn slightly grave. “Fine, have the doctor come.”
Even if it was a hallucination, he didn’t want to make Yang Na sad.
“Oh, forgot to mention—it’s Sunday today. Doctor Hou’s off. Tomorrow work for you?”
“Are you messing with me?” Li Huowang was starting to dislike this Nurse Wang.
“Hey, how could I mess with you? Your mom’s so fierce—who’d dare mess with her precious son? I don’t want her complaints. Doctor Hou’s really not here. Tomorrow, tomorrow—I’ll definitely pass it on.”
“By the way, you working tomorrow? Doctors say your condition’s super rare. They even want to name the illness after you.”
Li Huowang shut his eyes in speechless exasperation, not wanting to listen anymore.
Amid her endless chatter, Li Huowang drifted off into a hazy sleep.
When he woke again, he found himself back on the wooden bed, chains binding his body, a quilt draped over him. He let out a breath of relief.
Li Huowang looked at Bai Lingmiao beside him, her features gradually overlapping with Yang Na’s.
A hallucination was still a hallucination. After going through one, he knew the only thing worth cherishing had to be reality.
As he watched, a thought flashed through Li Huowang’s mind.
“Yang Na thinks that way... Does Bai Lingmiao feel the same?”
Under his gaze, Bai Lingmiao’s long white lashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes.
Seeing the clarity return to Li Huowang’s eyes, Bai Lingmiao smiled faintly. “Senior Brother Li, it’s only the fourth watch now. I’ll undo the chains—you sleep a bit more.”
With that, she lifted the quilt and busied herself over his body.
Looking at the face so close before him, Li Huowang suddenly asked, “Today... were you really envious of that bride?”
Bai Lingmiao’s face flushed. Though shy, she didn’t feign denial. “Yeah, really envious.”
“Senior Brother Li, when we get home... you’ll marry me, right? You won’t mind me?”
Hearing this, Li Huowang leaned forward slightly and lightly pecked her soft lips.
Bai Lingmiao was clearly startled by his action, frozen in place, utterly at a loss.
Li Huowang sat up and pulled her into the warm quilt. That day, Li Huowang rose very late.
(End of chapter)