Chapter 84: Not a Dream

Chapter 84: Not a Dream

"Chu Jin—"

The man lying on the hospital bed, his brow deeply furrowed, gasped for air, torn from his slumber. Chu Jin's eyes snapped open, and he instinctively clutched his stomach, sitting bolt upright. Cold sweat beaded on his skin.

The nurse tidying up nearby jumped in surprise.

Gripping the items in her hand tightly, the nurse watched as Chu Jin, his face etched with terror, sat up abruptly as if resurrected. He stared blankly at the hospital blanket, gasping for breath.

"Dr. Chu?" the nurse asked cautiously, stepping closer. "Dr. Chu, you're awake."

Chu Jin was momentarily dazed. He lifted his head and surveyed his surroundings—the familiar furnishings left no doubt. This was the hospital.

"What did you call me?" Chu Jin frowned, turning to the nurse beside him, his mind a jumble. "Where am I?"

Seeing his confusion, the nurse, equally perplexed, replied, "Dr. Chu, did you have a nightmare? This is the hospital—the Endocrine Gland Department. You collapsed from a fever in your office last night. Don't you remember?"

Fever, fainting.

Fainting in the hospital office during his estrus cycle... He remembered now. After performing surgery last night, he hadn't had time to take his suppressants and had collapsed.

Realizing the foolishness of his earlier questions, Dr. Chu lowered his gaze, closed his eyes for a moment, and gave a light cough.

His throat was parched. "How long have I been asleep?" he asked hoarsely.

"Less than a day," the nurse replied, pouring him a cup of water. "Dr. Chu, you have no idea how much you scared your department chair when you fainted. Please stay in bed—I'll go get a doctor to check on you. Don't try to get up, okay?"

Less than a day. He had only been asleep for less than a day.

Was it all a dream? But that voice had felt so familiar.

As the door to the hospital room closed, Chu Jin's mind remained in disarray. His gaze wavered uneasily. If it was a dream, it had felt far too real. It seemed like many things had happened in the dream, but he could no longer recall the face of the person in it.

Chu Jin pressed a hand to his chest, where a faint, persistent ache lingered. It felt as if a part of his heart had been hollowed out, with no source and no outlet.

"Did the nurse say you had a nightmare?" a mocking voice came from the doorway.

Ignoring his colleague's jest, Chu Jin replied curtly, "When can I leave?"

"After a check-up, once the concentration of pheromones in your body drops to a controllable range."

He mentioned pheromones, not scent glands.

But the discomfort in the back of his neck had already vanished. Only his mind remained somewhat muddled.

"Chu Jin, you're a doctor too. You should know the consequences of long-term overuse of suppressants, right? Luckily, we caught it in time this time, or it could've been fatal."

He knew his colleague wasn't exaggerating. Using suppressants was one thing, but being treated at his own hospital was another. Now, it seemed all his colleagues would know he was a glandless Omega.

Well, it was bound to come out sooner or later. Since his colleague showed no intention of pressing the matter, Chu Jin naturally wouldn't bring it up himself.

Forced by the head of the maternity department to undergo a full check-up, Chu Jin was granted two days off.

Remembering the incident with the Alpha patient making a disturbance the night before—after all, he had performed the C-section—the diligent Dr. Chu wanted to check on the situation. But as soon as he reached the nurses' station, before he could even ask for the room number, the head nurse materialized like a ghost from behind, holding his coat. "Dr. Chu, why don't you head home early and rest?"

What was the meaning of rushing him off like this?

A trainee nurse, trailing behind the head nurse like a little tail, spoke up, "Dr. Chu, after you fainted last night, someone from higher up came to speak with the hospital administration. They said it's unacceptable that a prestigious hospital like ours can't even ensure the health of its doctors and nurses. This morning, a new shift schedule was released, and the night shifts have been rearranged."

Chu Jin didn't quite understand what she meant.

The head nurse didn't bother explaining further. Without a word, she took his white coat off him.

"She's trying to thank you," the head nurse said, handing him his coat. "Dr. Chu, what connections do you have? How come we've never heard about your connections with the hospital leadership?"

Chu Jin was taken aback, then chuckled. "Head Nurse, if I had connections, would I still just be a staff physician?"

With that, Chu Jin left, leaving the head nurse and the trainee standing there. They glanced at his retreating figure, then turned to each other in bewilderment.

"Strange, Head Nurse, am I seeing things?" the trainee nurse rubbed her eyes. "Was that really Dr. Chu, joking and teasing like that?"

The head nurse's mouth twitched. "Maybe we've seen a ghost."

Originally, he had intended to return his coat to his office, but the head nurse insisted on taking it back for him, blocking Chu Jin at the elevator entrance and only relenting after watching him leave.

Stepping out of the hospital doors, a strong sense of disorientation enveloped him. He had never imagined a day would come when he couldn't distinguish between dreams and reality. The breeze was mild, the sky clear and bright—only a little cold.

He looked up at the sky, still feeling an emptiness in his heart.

If he had to describe the dream and the person in it, it seemed like he had done something extraordinary in the dream. Chu Jin didn't want to forget, but the fragments were too scattered. If he didn't make an effort to remember them, they would slip away unnoticed.

For some inexplicable reason, Chu Jin opened the notes app on his phone, wanting to jot something down before the memories faded. He typed and deleted for a long time, feeling as though a name was on the tip of his tongue, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't recall it. In the end, he could only leave behind a single word:

Snow.

In the area where he lived—Capital T27 District—it never snowed unless the weather was extremely abnormal.

He vaguely remembered a heavy snowfall, covering the courtyard in white, followed by an endless, chill dampness. People came and went at the hospital entrance, but Chu Jin stood frozen in place, as if disconnected from the world.

He slowly raised a hand to touch his cheek, as if expecting to find tears there.

Yet... there was nothing.

Chu Jin remained silent for a long time. Just as he was about to put his phone away, an unfamiliar number called.

Due to his profession, Chu Jin's work number was public, making it easier for him to communicate with patients. So whenever an unknown number called, regardless of whether it was during work hours, Chu Jin would answer.

"Hello, who's calling please?"

"Hello, is this Dr. Chu Jin from the Obstetrics Department of Capital Central Third People's Hospital?"

"Yes, speaking. How can I help you?"

There was a pause on the other end. "Sorry to disturb you. My boss would like to meet with you. Are you available now?"

Chu Jin frowned. "May I ask who your boss is?"

*

It had been so many years since he last saw Yu Feng, yet the moment they met again, Chu Jin felt a momentary disorientation.

He stared at Yu Feng's face for a long time, the strange feeling in his heart growing stronger. Chu Jin lowered his head and took a sip of hot tea, using the gesture to mask the turmoil in his thoughts.

"Was it you who contacted the hospital leadership?" Aside from Yu Feng, he couldn't think of anyone else. "How did you know I was here? Why are you looking for me?"

The person sitting across from him was composed, entirely different from the person he had known over a decade ago.

"Are you feeling better?" Yu Feng spoke up. "I brought my private doctor with me."

Chu Jin knit his brows. "Please answer my question."

Years ago, he had fled from his engagement ceremony to Yu Feng, turning both the Yu and Chu families into laughingstocks. After leaving with Yu Feng's assistance, it became a mutual understanding between them to avoid contact. Although Chu Jin suspected they might have long known his whereabouts, as long as they didn't seek him out, it wasn't a big issue.

Yu Feng looked up, his piercing eyes and sharp brows gradually softening as he gazed unblinkingly into Chu Jin's eyes. They were still as clear, elegant, and profound as the first time they met.

Yu Feng still remembered their first encounter. Chu Jin was not yet twenty, dressed in thin clothes, standing alone in front of the archery range, drawing his bow. A light rain fell from the sky, but the wind was gentle. When he released the arrow, the target remained untouched.

As Yu Feng waited for his next shot, Chu Jin noticed someone approaching and suddenly turned around.

The defiance and wariness in his eyes were like an arrow, tempered onto it, piercing through the drizzle and hitting the bullseye.

"Chu Jin, long time no see."

People often grow tender when reminiscing about the past, and Yu Feng was no exception.

"Then I should thank you on behalf of my hospital colleagues," Chu Jin said, raising his eyes with a smile. "It has been a long time, but you shouldn't have come to disturb my life."

"Are you doing well?"

Chu Jin was taken aback. If asked before today, he might have answered without hesitation that he was doing just fine.

What was there to complain about? A stable career, personal freedom, money, and social status—he had it all. What could possibly be wrong?

Chu Jin lowered his head, the hollowed-out space in his chest aching inexplicably. He raised a hand to press against his heart. On the table in front of him, Yu Feng slid a blue velvet box toward him.

He opened the box to find a sparkling, exquisite sapphire ring inside, gleaming with brilliant colors.

"I should have given this to you over a decade ago," Yu Feng said. "I was supposed to put it on you the day you ran away. Sapphire suits you well. I came because there's something I need to tell you. Your mother reached out to me—she wants to see you..."

Chu Jin felt no ripple of emotion at Yu Feng's words. Whether out of guilt or remorse, his mother's sudden desire to find him likely meant she had finally realized the Chu family could no longer provide the protection she wanted.

Chu Jin stared transfixed at the sapphire ring on the table.

A ring...

Chu Jin never liked wearing jewelry. Aside from a watch, he owned no rings, earrings, or bracelets. Sunlight streamed through the window, reflecting off the gem's facets. A sharp pain pierced his temple, his vision blurred, and his face turned pale. Bending forward, he braced himself against the table, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

—"Give the ring back to me, thief."

Before Yu Feng could say anything else, Chu Jin suddenly sprang to his feet.

"What's wrong?" Yu Feng knit his brows.

Before the words fully left his mouth, Chu Jin's staggering figure had already disappeared through the door of the shop.

The meeting place with Yu Feng was not far from the hospital. The head nurse had just stepped out of a patient's room when she saw Dr. Chu, who had left only a short while ago, returning in a hurry.

"Hey, Dr. Chu, why are you back—"

Before the head nurse could finish her sentence, Dr. Chu rushed past her like a whirlwind. Stunned, the head nurse exchanged a puzzled glance with the junior nurse beside her. "What's going on?"

The junior nurse shook her head. "I don't know."

Was this still the same calm and refined Dr. Chu they knew?

Holding a tray, the head nurse stood at the door of Chu Jin's office and cautiously peeked inside. One glance was all it took for her to freeze in shock. She quickly regained her composure and closed the office door.

At that moment, Chu Jin's office was in complete disarray.

Every drawer and cabinet that could be opened had been flung wide. Files, suppressants, pens, cigarettes—all scattered across the floor. But the one thing Chu Jin was desperately searching for was nowhere to be found.

Sweat dripped from his forehead as if everything around him had paused, leaving him alone in his frantic search. Disregarding his appearance, he dropped to his knees, frantically sifting through the clutter, his movements wild and desperate.

Finally, behind a potted plant in the corner, Chu Jin found a wooden ring.

"A sandalwood ring," he murmured softly, with red-rimmed eyes.

So it was real after all... It wasn't a dream or an illusion.

Clutching the ring to his chest, all strength drained from him, and he finally uttered the name.

"Jin Zexu."

Author's Note:

Update.