Chapter Text
"You're so talented! I'm so jealous!"
"Congratulations on sealing the deal, ....!"
"Shixiong! Please teach me!"
"Always watch your back."
".... Have you seen the news?"
"Did you really do it?"
"WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SUCH A DISGRACE?!"
"Why aren't you saying anything?!"
".... let me, please."
"Are you fucking stupid?!"
"Gege, please don't leave me!"
"Let me help you."
"DONT YOU DARE SHOW YOUR FACE TO THIS FAMILY EVER AGAIN!"
"... I expected better from you."
"LEAVE!"
"Come back with me..."
... Enough... Please.
"You're awake." A soft smile. Gentle like a cold breeze under the bright moon. Comforting, yet unfamiliar.
His brows twitched. Confusion rendered upon his ashen, wounded face.
"I'm sorry, did I scare you?"
The soft expression on the stranger's face was calming him down. It was a bit odd, as a sudden sense of trust bloomed in his chest. He shook his head, no.
"Oh, that's a relief... How are you feeling?"
He breathed, preparing for an answer as soon as the question have settled into his head. He spoke. "...Nothing."
The man laughed. "Must've been the meds. Dont worry, it's probably good for you that you're not feeling anything right now."
"What...?" His throat ached, accompanied with the sudden feeling of immense thirst. He watched the stranger smile at him, as he tried his best to get the remaining words out of his mouth.
"Dad."
A child came into his vision. A young lady of about 13 years old, wearing a soft yellow sundress. Her face, bright with a smile similar to that of the stranger she called her "dad".
He felt something touched his forearm, drawing his eyes to where it laid. The man had patted his fingers on his skin, as if trying to snap him out of his daze. And only then did he notice the clear, tall glass of water tucked inside the man's hand.
"Here."
An involuntary groan pushed out of his throat. Feeling the strange weight as he lift his head up from his pillow. The teenager, quick to realize his struggle, tucked her palm underneath his head. Helping him in the process.
He took in quite a few small globs of water before lifting his lips away from the rim of the glass. The young lady, gentle as ever, assisted his head back to settle in his pillow. He lipped a breathless "thank you", before closing his eyes. He sighed.
"My name is Xiao Xingchen. And she's my daughter, A-Qing."
He hummed. Acknowledging the introduction, whilst a deeper sense of confusion was dawning in him. Empty. Voided. Lacking.
"What happened to me?" He whispered. The father and daughter shared a look of concern. Something he would have noticed, only if his eyes were open.
"My daughter was at the beach two weeks ago, when she found you."
"You were... in quite a bad shape. So we decided to bring you to the hospital. You've had a few surgeries done to you. I'll let the doctors tell you all about it instead."
"Come back with me..."
His breath hitched, jaw tightened. His hands curled into fists as a shot of striking pain crossed the back of his head. A voice, echoing painfully, clawing on his skull.
"D-dad, he looks like he's in pain."
"Hey, hey. Are you alright? Does anywhere hurt?"
A train of questions laced with concern accompanied by soft taps on his forearm, filled the silence in the room. His head hurting worse with every passing second. And then suddenly, he stopped.
He opened his eyes. Welcomed by the worried faces of the two strangers.
"Who... Who am I?"