Chapter 115

Chapter 115

"Beep beep beep, command received."

Shen Muyun saw a flash of bright light before his eyes. When he awoke, his entire body ached. No one was by his hospital bed, and when he called for the system several times, there was no response.

Had the system simply vanished? He wasn’t sure, but his body truly hurt—the pain was excruciating, the discomfort overwhelming. It was almost unbearable.

"Mu Yun, are you awake?"

"Doctor! Dr. Qi! Quick! Mu Yun's awake!"

A flurry of footsteps echoed from the hallway.

Qi Beichen appeared before Shen Muyun.

"Qi Beichen, tell me, where is Lu Huainan? Where did he go?"

Qi Beichen checked the monitor beside the bed, its readings erratic. He pressed Shen Muyun’s shoulders down. "Don’t move. Your condition is unstable right now. You can’t get so agitated, understand?"

"I’m fine. Tell me, where is he?"

Shen Muyun yanked out the IV needle from his hand. The pain in his heart was unbearable—a tearing, wrenching agony that was impossible to describe. It was simply too much.

"Tell me, or I’ll go look for him myself..."

Qi Beichen tried to block him, but Shen Muyun was determined to get out of bed. The moment his feet touched the floor, his legs went numb, and he collapsed.

"Shen Muyun, I’ll be straight with you. The warehouse exploded—you saw it. They haven’t found anyone there yet, and even if they do, there’s no chance. Do you understand? Lu Huainan wanted you to go on living. Before he went in, he asked me to make sure I looked after you. I saved you. Do you understand?"

Shen Muyun froze. "What do you mean they haven’t found anyone? Does that mean there’s still hope?"

"Snap out of it! There were only ten seconds, do you hear me? He didn’t escape. He didn’t!"

Shen Muyun slumped to the floor. "No, you must be lying. I have to go find him. I have to—"

Qi Beichen swiftly administered a sedative into Shen Muyun’s thigh. Dizziness washed over him, darkness clouded his vision, and he passed out.

"Dr. Qi, this isn’t working..."

Lu Luozhi watched the unconscious Shen Muyun with red-rimmed eyes and shook her head. "He was in love with my brother. And now my brother is..."

"He’ll get through this. It just takes time."

Shen Muyun lay in bed, trapped in bizarre and vivid dreams. In his dream, he saw Lu Huainan—both as a child and after he was adopted.

He saw him skipping down the street buying candied hawthorns and plenty of sweets.

"Lu Huainan..."

Shen Muyun reached out to touch him, but in an instant, Lu Huainan vanished without a trace.

"Lu Huainan, where did you go?"

Then the scene shifted to an amusement park—the one they had promised to visit together.

"Lu Huainan, let’s not go, okay? Please!"

He could only watch as his past self and Lu Huainan happily planned which rides to try.

"Lu Huainan, you never got to ride the pirate ship with me. Why? Why won’t you stay with me anymore? Lu Huainan, tell me, do you not want to be with me?"

Lu Huainan only smiled, and then a bright white light engulfed everything.

"No, no!"

Shen Muyun jolted awake. He was still in the hospital bed, and for a moment, he felt disoriented. Wait, why was Qi Beichen in the US? Could this place be...?

"Mu Yun, you’re awake. We can’t keep sedating you—it’ll affect your brain. You need to stay conscious."

Shen Muyun stared at Qi Beichen. "Why are you in the US? Where is this place?"

Qi Beichen sighed helplessly. "I’m here for an academic exchange. I never expected to find you two in trouble, no matter where I go. There’s nothing I can do about it."

"Where is Lu Huainan? Is he still alive? Tell me!"

"Shen Muyun, you have to accept reality. He’s really gone."

Shen Muyun sat in stunned silence, looking around as if the world were spinning. It felt like all color had drained away. For a long time, he said nothing.

"Mu Yun, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell? You need to rest and recover. Lu Huainan... he wouldn’t want to see you like this."

Shen Muyun grabbed Qi Beichen’s clothes tightly. "Tell me, is none of this real? Did any of it even happen? Right now, I’m just here for a routine check-up, and he’ll be back soon, right?"

Qi Beichen checked his forehead and sat on the edge of the bed. "I know it’s hard to accept, but it’s true. He’s gone. At the warehouse... they found two bodies yesterday, burned beyond recognition. You know what that means. It’s very likely that—"

"No! You’re lying! I need to see for myself. I need to go. Lu Huainan wouldn’t leave me. He wouldn’t..."

Shen Muyun tried to get out of bed but fell, pounding on the floor and crawling forward.

"I don’t believe it! I won’t believe it! He’s fine. He has to be fine. You’re all lying to me!"

Lu Luozhi appeared at the door, tears streaming down her face as she watched Shen Muyun.

"Mu Yun, you have to accept this. My brother is really gone, and he truly wanted you to be happy."

Shen Muyun lay on the floor, feeling the coldness. Why? Why did it have to be like this? Wasn’t he supposed to be the protagonist? Could a double death really be a good ending?

His head throbbed with grief. What should he do? Where had Lu Huainan gone?

Shen Muyun leaned against the wall, tears streaming uncontrollably. "You’re all lying. He said he’d come out in ten seconds. That couldn’t have been him."

Qi Beichen and Lu Luozhi watched Shen Muyun muttering to himself, but there was little they could do except stay with him.

"Dr. Qi, how long will it take for him to improve?"

"It’s hard to say. We can only take it one step at a time. You know as well as I do that this is a matter of the heart. I know you’re grieving too, Lu Luozhi. Please accept my condolences."

Lu Luozhi pressed her lips together and looked up at Qi Beichen. "Keep an eye on him. My parents should be here soon. I never thought..."

"Yeah, I understand."

Suddenly, the sound of things being smashed came from the room. "No! How could this be? You’re all lying! Liars! It can’t be true. It just can’t! You’re all liars!"

Shen Muyun’s emotions completely shattered. "You’re all talking nonsense! How could something happen to Lu Huainan?"

With no other choice, Qi Beichen administered another sedative to Shen Muyun.

He watched as Shen Muyun fell asleep, finally allowing himself to relax.

"Brother Yun, what's wrong? Why are you here?"

In his dream, he was back at that jewelry auction.

Shen Muyun hurried over to him, "Lu Huainan, where is that gemstone? The Kashmir sapphire."

Lu Huainan pinched his cheek, "Brother Yun, there's no such thing. Are you remembering wrong? The featured item here is a gemstone, but it's not that precious. I plan to bid for it as our matching rings for the wedding..."

"Lu Huainan, our wedding? When?"

"Brother Yun, have you lost it? Next month, November 21st. Have you forgotten? Don't forget this date—it's very important."

Shen Muyun was momentarily stunned. No, the timing wasn't right. Clearly, it was already November. How could it still be...

But Shen Muyun was clinging to this reality, not wanting to wake up.

"Lu Huainan, let's just bid for it, then. We'll prepare for the wedding and the honeymoon. What do you think?"

"Brother Yun, I'm so happy to be with you."

A stabbing pain shot through Shen Muyun's heart, like a knife scraping against his heart. This can't be happening. Lu Huainan was smiling happily—nothing bad would happen. They would still be together. It had to be this way.

"Brother Yun, what's wrong? We should get going."

"Boom!"

A loud boom echoed, and the area filled with mist.

"Lu Huainan, Lu Huainan! Where are you?"

Shen Muyun frantically searched, coughing several times. "Lu Huainan, where exactly are you?"

Lu Huainan lay on the ground, drenched in blood, motionless.

Shen Muyun instantly panicked. "Lu Huainan, what's wrong? What happened to you?"

His body was already cold. No, even in a dream, it couldn't end like this. He can still be saved.

"Patient's heart rate is dropping."

Shen Muyun could hear the voices outside. His eyelids felt so heavy. Why did even the dream end like this? He didn't want to wake up. If he had chosen to stay in the Main God's space, maybe his heart wouldn't hurt so much...

"Lu Huainan, where are you..."

Shen Muyun opened his eyes to find a group of people gathered around his bedside.

He was still depressed. He was tired, couldn't bear to see so many people, and didn't want to think about so many things.

"Mu Yun, you need to take good care of yourself now."

Shen Muyun heard the words of Lu Huainan's mother.

She was a graceful and beautiful woman, but now she looked much more haggard.

"Yes, Mu Yun, you've lost so much weight you're barely recognizable."

Shen Muyun glanced at the people around him, shook his head, and tears soaked into the bedsheet.

"You all... why do you keep telling me to take care of myself? What about Lu Huainan? Where did he go? Where exactly is he? Do any of you know?"

"We..."

"Mu Yun, as Lu Huainan's father, none of us can process what happened right away. But it's already happened. We can't let you... just take care of yourself. Besides... Lu Huainan wouldn't want to see you like this."

"Everyone out! Get out! I want to be alone..."

Seeing Shen Muyun's state, no one knew what else to say.

Watching them leave, Shen Muyun thought about the dream. No, how could Lu Huainan disappear even in a dream? Or perhaps he should keep dreaming until it becomes a good dream.

It seemed like he hadn't eaten anything for several days. An IV drip was attached to him, the liquid inside was stark white. No, if this continued, he wouldn't find Lu Huainan. He definitely wasn't dead.

Shen Muyun looked at the food on the table but had no appetite. He still felt terrible, his stomach churning. If Lu Huainan were here, he would surely be scolding him again.

No, how could he be so consumed by thoughts of him?