Chapter 322 Mother Wakes Up

Chapter 322: Mother Awakens

When Su Bai was a child, whenever business at his mother's shop wasn't too busy, she would always hold him, sitting at the shop's entrance, watching the endless stream of people and vehicles pass by. In those days, his mother would often hum soft, melodic tunes with a smile, gently tickling Su Bai's tiny hand to make him giggle.

In Su Bai's memory, his mother, Lin Wan, was the most beautiful proprietress on that commercial street and the gentlest soul in the world. When she smiled, even without elaborate makeup, she was, in Su Bai's eyes, the epitome of beauty.

When did such a mother begin to show the first signs of age?

When did weariness begin to shadow her smile?

Why did her once raven-black hair turn prematurely gray in her early forties?

When did such a radiant mother start to dim? And when did the mother who always faced everything with a smile begin to hide in corners, secretly wiping away tears?

Su Bai sat by his mother's bedside, gently holding Lin Wan's hand, waiting anxiously alongside the attending nurse.

Under the hopeful gazes of those around her, Lin Wan, who had been in a deep coma for a very long time, actually uttered some indistinct sounds, then slowly opened her eyes.

Su Bai held his breath, watching his mother struggle to open her eyes, only for them to close again the next second, as if in discomfort. Coupled with her mumbled words and fingers attempting to move, Lin Wan at that moment was like someone who had long been separated from her body and suddenly returned, experiencing profound disorientation.

Nevertheless, the unfolding events were enough to fill Su Bai with immense joy. Though both he and the nurse were excited, they weren't impatient for Lin Wan to fully open her eyes and instantly recover. They understood clearly how challenging it was for a long-term comatose patient like Lin Wan to regain consciousness, and they could well anticipate the arduous journey of recovery ahead.

The highly experienced nurse had even advised Su Bai that a patient comatose for such an extended period, even upon waking, wouldn't immediately open their eyes and speak. Everything had to progress slowly; even a slight improvement in the patient's condition each day was cause for celebration.

Recalling this, Su Bai gently squeezed his mother Lin Wan's palm, just as she used to do when holding him as a child.

In that very next second, Su Bai felt his mother's fingers curl, attempting to grasp his own.

Despite enduring countless horrors in the nightmare world, despite maintaining composure even in the direst of circumstances, and despite having grown numb to so much, Su Bai found himself unable to hold back his emotions at this moment.

In his previous life, Su Bai had completely lost his mother, Lin Wan, and there was nothing he could do. For a long time, he had believed such a scene would only exist in his dreams. Yet now, he could genuinely feel his mother's warmth and even see her hand clasping his once more.

"Mom, you're truly incredible."

Su Bai had never encountered other humans with "damaged souls," but from Xiao Wu's troubled expression earlier, he sensed it was no simple matter—perhaps even a fatal condition for ordinary people.

Yet Lin Wan had awakened without Su Bai or Xiao Wu finding a cure. It was truly astonishing and wonderfully surprising.

Su Bai felt his mother's fingers brush against his once more, as if in response to his words.

From that day on, Su Bai took a leave of absence from school and remained constantly by his mother Lin Wan's side. As time passed, both Su Bai and the nurse observed Lin Wan's visible improvement. However, "soul" damage was not something easily cured.

With her "damaged soul," Lin Wan would only awaken two or three times a day, each period of consciousness lasting merely five or six minutes before she would drift back into a coma. This didn't overly surprise Su Bai.

Su Bai simply stayed by her bedside. Each time he sensed his mother was awake, even if she couldn't open her eyes or speak, he would hold her hand and talk about recent events.

Since he couldn't mention the nightmare world to his mother, and unwilling to bring up that scoundrel Su Xuan before she fully recovered, he confined their conversations to school happenings, local news in Honghuai City, and occasionally, popular TV dramas.

Even if each conversation lasted only five minutes, Su Bai felt transported back to his childhood, when he would babble endlessly to his mother. Back then, little Su Bai could barely articulate words, and his chatter was often nonsensical, yet his mother always listened patiently. When he tired himself out and grew sleepy, she would pick him up as always, humming a gentle lullaby while softly caressing his plump little hands.

Under the diligent care of Su Bai and the nurse, his mother Lin Wan's grip regained strength, no longer as weak as before. Her once indistinct voice gradually yielded some clear words. When she occasionally opened her eyes, though still weary, she would earnestly search for Su Bai's figure by her bedside.

About a week later, although the duration of Lin Wan's conscious periods hadn't lengthened, when she held Su Bai's hand, she could look at him and slowly utter a word or two in a weak voice—

"Tired..."

"...Not tired?"

Hearing his mother Lin Wan's effortful inquiry, Su Bai, who had battled for survival in the nightmare world for so many years, was momentarily stunned. Having done everything to survive the nightmare game, Su Bai had grown accustomed to a life where each morning he awoke, his sole concern was whether he was still alive. It seemed an eternity since he had last asked himself if he was tired.

Those around him would certainly not care about such a trivial matter.

But his mother would.

"Not tired," Su Bai said, holding his mother's hand, shaking his head with a faint smile.

He felt an urge to cry, yet it seemed he had long forgotten how to shed tears.

Moreover, if Su Bai, when he first entered the nightmare world in his previous life, had known that merely surviving would allow him to see his mother again, then no matter what horrors unfolded in that world, he would never have felt tired.

...

Although his mother Lin Wan's total conscious time each day amounted to only about ten minutes, and she mostly remained in a coma due to her "soul" damage, Lin Wan gradually adapted to the light upon opening her eyes. She also slowly regained her ability to speak, able to respond to Su Bai's chatter with her gaze and questions.

About half a month later, seeing his mother, who could now smile and talk to him each time she awoke, though her spirit was far diminished compared to before the accident, Su Bai hesitated but couldn't help asking, "Mom, I've found some leads on Su Xuan. Should we..."

But before Su Bai could finish, Lin Wan, lying in bed, looked puzzled and countered—

"Su Xuan... who is that?"