Chapter 3 Amnesia Plus Blindness

Chapter 3: Blind and Forgetful

Before entering the ward, Chi Suiyong grabbed Chu Yan's chart and skimmed it.

Male patient, 26 years old, preliminary diagnosis of trauma to the occipital and temporal lobes of the brain, temporary blindness and retrograde amnesia.

Chi Suiyong briefly put himself in Chu Yan's shoes—being blind, stuck in a strange place, totally insecure, and getting poked and prodded. And with the mind of a four-year-old? Most adults couldn't handle it either.

Like being tossed into outer space—you know your name, but you've got zero context to figure out where you came from.

Chi Suiyong glanced again at Chu Yan in the corner. He'd pulled off his coat and shoved it into Chu Yan's hands because he'd noticed his own smell seemed to chill Chu Yan out. So he used it like a security blanket to soothe Chu Yan to sleep in his absence. And the fact that Chu Yan woke up still gripping it proved him right.

Chu Yan was now in a transitional object attachment stage—meaning his mental age was around four years old.

This meant that he had just abandoned a child who had instantly become attached to him.

Cue a quick guilt trip for Chi Suiyong.

So when he looked at Chu Yan again, his eyes got even softer.

Chi Suiyong cleared his throat and then walked slowly into the room, as if the earlier minor incident had never happened. He spoke softly, “Chu Yan, I’m back.”

That soft call instantly turned the scary chaos into a safe zone. Chu Yan shot up and started fumbling toward the voice.

With a shaky voice still thick from crying, he wailed, “Yong Yong, where'd you go?”

Afraid any little sound might freak Chu Yan out, Chi Suiyong just hopped over the bed rail into the corner, catching the hand that was groping in mid-air. “Figured you'd wake up hungry, so I swung by the cafeteria. But there were too many options and I didn't know what you like, so I came right back.”

“You were gone forever…”

“Mm… it's just way far.”

Chi Suiyong sat him down and brushed the hair off his face. His delicate features were totally exposed, and the childish pout on that gorgeous, grown-up face made a hot, weird contrast.

Seeing him like this, Chi Suiyong couldn't picture what he was like before.

“You hungry?”

That was exactly what Chu Yan wanted to hear. He moved closer to Chi Suiyong, nodded, then lifted the hem of his shirt, patted his stomach, and said, “Starving. Totally flat.”

Chi Suiyong followed the motion and saw his abs—neat rows like bricks, perfectly lined up.

Yeah, kids prefer showing over telling.

Chi Suiyong pulled his shirt down. “Don't catch cold,” he said, then continued, “So what d'you wanna eat? The braised ribs with taro look great today, and there's shrimp egg custard. Veggies—what kind you want?”

“No greens.”

“No way! Your hair's so pretty—without veggies it'll go all yellow and ugly.”

At that, Chu Yan touched his hair thoughtfully. “Fine, one veggie.”

Chi Suiyong noticed that this crazy-hot guy was not only not resistant to his own belongings, but even developed a protective attitude toward them because of his words. He made a quick assessment: he was a total narcissist before the accident.

Since he was stuck here, he bossed around the people waiting outside. “Director Xing, can you have someone grab some food from the cafeteria?”

Director Xing, who had heard everything from the doorway, replied, “I'll go myself.”

The moment he spoke, Chu Yan got tense again.

That guy had been yapping in his ear for days—when he was already losing it, it made him even more pissed. “Who's that?”

“Him? He's your doctor.”

Chu Yan looked confused. “Am I sick?”

“Yes, you're in the hospital now.”

Chu Yan turned his head in a half-circle, blinking hard. “Why's this hospital so dark? When's it gonna get bright?”

“It's daytime. Your eyes are just injured, that's why it's dark.”

Chu Yan grew scared. “Am I blind now?”

“Nah, it's like a curtain over your eyes. When we take it off and open the window, you'll see again.”

Thinking that the person treating him might come near again, Chu Yan resisted, “I don't want him to open it. I want you to.”

“But Chu Yan, this thing's too heavy. I can't lift it by myself, so we need that doctor's help.”

Only then did Chu Yan realize he was really sick. He didn't wanna act bratty in front of this person, so he gave in. “Fine, as long as you're here, I'll let him treat me.”

“Good boy. Mm… your hair's messy. Let me comb it so we can eat.”

“Okay.”

Yong Yong's voice was super gentle, but he sucked at combing—yanked his hair a few times. But Chu Yan could take it, so he didn't even whimper.

His face and neck felt way cleaner. Chu Yan raised his hand to feel his hair, and found it was in a high ponytail, but bumpy and not smooth at all.

But these were minor issues.

Soon, Chu Yan smelled the aroma of food.

He couldn't remember the last time he had eaten.

There was a sound not far away, and his hand was taken by the other person, leading him forward a short distance as the smell of food grew stronger.

“Here, sit. You can't see, so until you're better, I'll feed you!”

“Thank you, Yong Yong.”

A few seconds passed with no sound. The food smell made it hard to tell if Yong Yong was still there, so Chu Yan got anxious again. “Yong Yong…”

“I'm here.” As soon as the words were spoken, one of his hands was held. “I can't hold your hand while feeding you, but you can grab the hem of my clothes.”

With that, a soft piece of fabric was placed in his hand. Chu Yan clenched his fingers around it, feeling calmer again.

“I asked the doctor earlier, and he said you haven't eaten for almost two days, so let's start with some congee. Otherwise, your stomach will get upset.”

“Okay.”

The congee was warm, not hot at all, mixed with minced meat and chopped vegetables, all cooked very soft and easy to swallow.

Chu Yan's appetite was stimulated, and he began to feel that the other person was feeding him too slowly.

Before he could say anything, the other person spoke, “I know you're starving, but you haven't eaten in forever—can't rush it. Here, have a piece of taro. Chew it thirty times. You can count to thirty, right, Chu Yan?”

“I can,” Chu Yan said, and began to chew while silently counting.

Then, he heard Yong Yong let out a low chuckle.

Chu Yan stopped chewing, a puzzled expression on his face.

What was he laughing at?

But he didn’t ask directly, feeling a bit embarrassed.

“Do you know how old you are?”

Chu Yan blinked. “Four… I think.”

“Well, I’ve always cared for little children like you. I laughed just now because you’re so good, and that made me very happy.”

Chu Yan’s face grew hot again. He lowered his head and finished chewing the food in his mouth before asking, “Yong Yong, will you go take care of other kids too?”

The question seemed to put him on the spot. After feeding him two more spoonfuls of congee, Yong Yong replied, “Not for now. Once you can see and take care of yourself a bit, then I’ll look after them on the side too.”

On the side?

So Yong Yong’s main focus is still on taking care of me!

At that thought, Chu Yan smiled happily.

“That’s right—kids should smile like this. Our Chu Yan is already so good-looking, and he looks even better when he smiles.”

Chu Yan was drowned in endless compliments, his belly gradually filling up. His anxiety faded, and he began to grow curious about everything around him.

“Why is Yong Yong in the hospital too? Are you sick, like me?”

“No, I’m very healthy. I’m here to treat sick kids like you, so they can recover soon.”

“And after they get better, will you leave?”

“No, it’s my job.”

“Why do you work?”

“Well… because Yong Yong likes kids and wants every child to be healthy and well.”

“Then how old are you, Uncle?”

“I’m thirty-one.”

“Seven point seven five times.”

“Huh?”

“Yong Yong’s age is seven point seven five times mine.”

“You’re really good at math.”

Amid the compliments, the patient meal that Director Xing had sent over was mostly eaten. Chi Suiyong felt it was about enough, so he pulled out his phone and typed a message: Director, any treatment plans?

Director Xing stared as if walking on thin ice for a moment, then snapped back to his professional demeanor. He fumbled for his phone and clumsily handwrote a line before holding it up to Chi Suiyong: MRI, EEG.

After reading it, Chi Suiyong gave Director Xing an OK gesture.

“Alright, we’ll stop here for now.”

Chu Yan looked like he wanted more. “But I still don’t feel full.”

“Well… because I want you to help me with something, but if you eat too much, it might affect your performance.”

Chu Yan’s blind eyes dimmed. “But I remember someone told me that adults don’t ask kids for help—it’s a trick to lure kids away.”

Chi Suiyong: “…”

His abduction prevention awareness was pretty strong.

“That’s true, but the thing I want Chu Yan to help with can only be done by a kid. That starship is too small for me to fit inside.”

“Starship? The flying vehicle that goes to look for aliens?”

“Yeah, right. I once took care of an alien kid. Now he’s gone back to his planet, but I forgot to ask for his contact info. I’m worried about whether he’s fully recovered.”

Chu Yan thought it over. The starship was small—Yong Yong couldn’t fit, but he could fit. That meant he’d have to go alone to an alien planet.

“How long will it take?”

“The starship is very fast. Round trip is just a few minutes.”

“How long is ‘a few minutes’?”

“About the time it takes to eat half a bowl of congee.”

Chu Yan thought that was acceptable, so he nodded. “Then take me there right now!”