Chapter Seventy-Two: The Terrible Nightmare

I gazed with a trace of helplessness at Su Xuefei, who wore an utterly serious expression. Her idea was to use these phonetic exercises to awaken my memories. While this sounded simple enough in theory, it was exceptionally difficult to put into practice. Right now, I was like an infant who had not yet learned to speak—no, perhaps even worse off than an infant. However, seeing how enthusiastic the Goddess Su was, I couldn't bear to dampen her spirits. Besides, deep down, I still held a faint, slender glimmer of hope.

Shortly after, Goddess Su crept closer to my side, signaling me to scoot further toward the back of the bed. I shifted backward somewhat stiffly. Su Xuefei smoothly seated herself right in front of me, facing me directly. The sheer proximity of her made my heart race and my face flush yet again. My gaze kept involuntarily drifting toward her chest, while my mind relentlessly berated myself. What on earth was wrong with me? Could it be that I, Yang Chen, had always been such a shameless and brazen person?

Just as my thoughts were running wild, a pair of soft, delicate hands gently rested upon my shoulders. I raised my head in a start to meet Goddess Su's lovely eyes. "Yang Chen, you have to believe in me, and you have to believe in yourself. You will definitely recover."

Seeing her looking so full of confidence, a wave of inexplicable sorrow washed over me. Was it truly that important whether I could speak in the future? Or perhaps... everyone cared about whether I was disabled or not...

Picking up my phone, I typed: "What if I stay like this for the rest of my life?"

Glancing at my phone screen, a flicker of sadness crossed Su Xuefei's eyes. She immediately leaned forward, gently embracing me, and whispered softly, "It doesn't matter."

My rigid body trembled slightly. Her words were like a cup of water laced with rock sugar poured into the withered fields of my heart—icy yet sweet. Overcome by impulse, I wrapped my arms around her in return, feeling the warmth and softness of her body alongside the turbulent waves of emotion rolling within her.

After we parted, I typed on my phone once more: "Why do you want me to speak so badly? None of this is your fault. Why are you trying this hard..."

This time, Goddess Su merely glanced at the phone screen before reaching out to gently cover the text with her hand. She murmured quietly, "Because you're my boyfriend... And also... I haven't heard you sing yet..."

Hearing Su Xuefei say this, I lowered my head. To be completely honest with my own conscience, I didn't actually feel romantic love for Su Xuefei at this moment. Our relationship was just like those portrayed in movies and television shows—we were soulmates of the opposite sex. I had no idea what kind of spell had possessed me back then for me to agree to be her boyfriend. I was such a complete jerk. But if I tried to make amends now, would it still be not too late?

"Don't worry. Even if you truly can't speak ever again, I will never leave you or forsake you. Don't be sad anymore, okay?" Su Xuefei smiled gently as she looked at my sorrowful expression. Yet she had no inkling of my true thoughts, mistakenly believing that I was grieving over my condition.

The hand holding my phone kept trembling, yet I could never bring myself to press down and send those few words. Even though my heart constantly yearned for Luo Qing, I had no justification to use such a cruel reality to hurt a girl who had just been jumping for joy—a girl willing to promise me a future.

"Alright, stop overthinking things. Let's make the most of our time and practice." Goddess Su reached out, took my phone, and placed it on the bedside table. Then, letting out a long sigh, she said to me, "Let's start from the very basics. Let's practice pronunciation using single-syllable words."

I nodded to show I understood. Pulling myself together, I watched her intently as her lovely lips slowly shifted into different mouth shapes.

"Ooh..." Goddess Su pronounced softly.

I mimicked her mouth shape and tried to make the sound, only to discover there wasn't even the slightest hint of a voice—it was completely just exhaled air.

I felt somewhat deflated, while Goddess Su seemed to be pondering which steps might have gone wrong. Afterward, she offered me words of encouragement and had me try mimicking her appearance a few more times, yet it still ended in failure.

Discouraged, I leaned back against the wall. Looking at the electronic clock on the wall, I saw that the time was fast approaching a new day. Having lost all inclination to continue wasting hours, I gently patted Goddess Su's shoulder, shaking my head to signal her not to mind and to get some rest early.

Su Xuefei, however, clearly cared deeply about the fact that these few practice sessions had yielded zero results. Pouting with displeasure, she checked the time, but ultimately behaved herself, crawling back to her own bed, lying down, and pulling the blanket over herself.

Seeing her look of disappointment naturally didn't feel good in my heart. Lying in bed, I grabbed my phone and sent her a text message: "Don't dwell on it. We'll figure out a way eventually, step by step." Although I knew the hope of recovery was exceedingly slim, I couldn't let my own issues drag down her quality of life.

Su Xuefei's phone chimed, and she saw my text message. I could then see her lying on her side, facing away from me, tapping characters into her phone.

"Believe in me, and believe in yourself even more," Su Xuefei replied.

I smiled bitterly to myself. That girl Su Xuefei was exceptionally stubborn when it came to things she set her mind on doing—the type who, once she made up her mind, would see it through to the end no matter how hard you tried to pull her back.

I simply replied with an "hmm," then put down the phone, turned off the lights, and prepared to sleep.

The room plunged into pitch darkness, but Goddess Su was still fumbling with her phone, playing with heaven knows what. I finally concluded that Goddess Su could indeed be just like a child sometimes, always needing to fiddle with her phone before going to sleep.

Perhaps afraid of disturbing my rest, Goddess Su covered her upper body with the blanket, and the glow of the phone screen vanished into the dark.

By this time, my sleepiness was overwhelming. With my eyes closed, I drifted off into dreamland shortly after.

In my dream, I returned once more to my familiar hometown, sitting in my room plastered all over with cartoon stickers. As the clock chimed, fireworks outside the window gradually began to streak into the sky, bursting into one vibrant, brilliant flower after another in the dark night—bright and exceedingly beautiful.

"Yang Chen, dinner is ready!" My mother's voice drifted in through the door. After calling back in acknowledgment, I walked into the kitchen.

The kitchen table was laden with the home-cooked dishes I loved, and my parents were already seated around the table, ready to eat. As I pulled out a chair and sat down, just as I was about to eat, my mother's voice sounded once again: "Don't just stuff your own face. Serve some food to your wife."

Hearing her say this, I noticed for the first time that seated beside me was a woman with long hair. She was dressed entirely in white, looking remarkably like a female ghost from a movie. Yet for some reason, I didn't feel a shred of fear; instead, I felt she was extremely familiar and close to me.

I nodded in assent, picking up my chopsticks to put food into the woman's bowl beside me. Seeing this, my mother looked utterly delighted and said, "Girl, from now on we are a family. You and Yang Chen need to live a good life together. If this little scoundrel ever dares to bully you, just tell me, and I'll deal with him."

I chuckled and replied, "As if I would..."

Upon hearing my mother's words, the long-haired woman beside me covered her mouth with a slight laugh, then nodded lightly as if consenting.

I turned my head to the side, wanting to mutter a few complaints to her, but discovered that the woman's figure was nowhere to be seen. Shocked, I looked toward my parents, only to find that the spacious house now contained nobody except myself. Gazing out the window bathed in moonlight, I tried to get up, but found I couldn't move at all. By chance, I realized I was no longer sitting on the stool by the dining table, but rather on a small wooden bed.

"Yang Chen..."

I jerked my head around to discover that a woman was now lying right beside me on the bed. Although she was covered by a blanket, I could tell she wasn't the same person as before, because her hair wasn't that long, and her figure was slightly petite.

"Xiao... Xiaoxin." I couldn't clearly make out the face of the woman before me, and could only judge by her figure.

"Yang Chen, I miss you." The woman's voice reached my ears, but it sounded terribly blurred—familiar, yet impossible to identify.

I bent forward, reaching out to gently grasp the blanket covering her, and slowly pulled it back. The woman's body gradually revealed itself before my eyes. As the blanket was completely pulled away, I was left utterly dumbfounded. What on earth was this...

Before I could recover my wits, the woman lying on her side beside me suddenly turned her head to look at me. Startled, my eyes snapped open as I bolted upright into a sitting position.

"What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"

I was breathing heavily, taking large gasps of air, and nodded, only to realize something seemed amiss. I slowly raised my head, and what greeted my vision was none other than Luo Qing. She still had those golden, voluminous wavy curls, and her pretty face appeared somewhat haggard. At this moment, she was seated right in front of me, reaching out to touch my cheek.

"Luo Qing." My mind felt as though it were wrapped in a thick fog, and my vision was somewhat hazy. Seeing Luo Qing sitting before me, I was momentarily at a loss for what to do.

"When are you going to come and save me..." Luo Qing's voice was utterly detached, yet I could detect the disappointment originating from the depths of her heart.

"What's wrong with you?" Hearing her words, I anxiously blurted out the question.

"When are you going to come..." Luo Qing muttered to herself as if she hadn't heard a word I said. Then, she stood up and walked away in the opposite direction.

"Don't go!" I shouted at her loudly. Yet Luo Qing acted as though she couldn't hear me at all, walking step by step farther away until she vanished.

I wanted to get up and give chase, but discovered my body was utterly incapable of movement. The sensation was just like back then—powerless, yet desperate to struggle.

"Yang Chen." Surprised, I turned my head, only to discover that Luo Qing was actually sitting right beside me at that very moment, gazing at me with a smile. Yet this smile filled me with a sense of dread and aversion.

"Who are you?" Subconsciously, I tried to push her away, but still couldn't muster an ounce of strength.

"I'm Luo Qing, you idiot." Luo Qing gently stroked my cheek with her hand. Her fingers were ice-cold, pressing against my face and making my heart race.

"You're not." For reasons unknown, a sudden burst of strength returned to my body. I knocked her hand away and stared at her angrily.

"Oh?" Luo Qing looked at me with an ambiguous smile. Her fair, delicate finger pointed in another direction. "If I'm not, then she is."

I looked in the direction she was pointing and instantly froze into a daze... Standing before my eyes were two identical Luo Quings. At that moment, they were gazing fixedly at me without moving an inch. Within their gazes lay disappointment, dejection, and a certain indescribable, lingering attachment...

"How can this be..." Terrified, I scooted backward. Meanwhile, the Luo Qing who had been sitting by my side climbed onto the bed, pressed down on top of me, locked her eyes onto mine at point-blank range, and sneered, "Useless trash."