Two days later, Li Huowang finally opened his eyes once again. Sun Xiaoqin wanted to wheel him into the bathroom, but he refused and washed himself.
He was extrely weak, but he tried his best and ended up spending half a day just washing himself.
Sun Xiaoqin was waiting for him when he got out of the bathroom.
Li Huowang's hands were quivering as he grabbed the chopsticks to eat the soup dumplings that Sun Xiaoqin had made for him.
“Eat more. You have to eat more if you want to grow stronger. Anyway, what do you think about going for physiotherapy after all this? Does that sound good to you?”
“Mmhm.” Li Huowang nodded with his cheeks stuffed with soup dumplings. He was too weak; he needed to recover to the extent that he could walk by himself as soon as possible.
If he were to face off against a Strayed One’s version of himself, he'd probably die with just a flick of a finger.
After breakfast, Li Huowang went for physiotherapy. He grabbed the rail firmly and exhausted himself just to move a tiny bit.
It was a feat easily achievable by ordinary people, but it was exceedingly difficult for Li Huowang. Soon, he started sweating bullets, and he felt abnormally sore.
Thankfully, he had long gotten used to such pain, so the thought of giving up never popped up in his mind.
After several sessions, Li Huowang laid down on his bed while breathing in ragged pants.
His limbs were twitching; this was a sign that he was recovering.
Sun Xiaoqin massaged his sore muscles to prevent the buildup of lactic acid. Otherwise, his muscles would beco even more sore tomorrow.
Sun Xiaoqin had no issues massaging Li Huowang, as she had been doing so every day to ensure that Li Huowang's muscles wouldn't waste away at a fast rate.
“Don’t give up, son! We'll work together for your treatnt. Once you can be discharged, we'll transfer you to another hospital. To be honest, this place feels more like a prison than a hospital.”
“Why won't we go back ho? I still have to go to another hospital?” Li Huowang asked with a frown.
“We can’t go ho so soon. Don’t worry. Once you're completely cured... I an, once the doctors are sure that you're cured, then you can go ho.”
“What a hassle.”
“Hohoho~” Sun Xiaoqin thought of it otherwise. Her son's treatnt was far more important to her than anything.
She was happy, as she could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. She no longer had to grasp at straws, and she was no longer terrified by the idea that her son would remain ill for the rest of his life.
Li Huowang's treatnt was the reason Sun Xiaoqin had been extrely frugal all this while. She saved as much money as she could for her son's treatnt and for her son himself, afraid that no one would take care of his son once she and her husband were no longer of this world. By then, Li Huowang would surely beco holess and would be forced to scavenge for food among garbage. He could also end up dying from hypothermia during the bitter cold of the winter months.
Fortunately, her son's prognosis was great. She no longer had to be that frugal, but she was still saving quite a bit of money for his wedding.
Girls are pretty materialistic these days. I should save more money just in case. Thankfully, he’s still young, so there’s still plenty of ti.
“Mom, you're massaging my neck,” Li Huowang said.
Sun Xiaoqin snapped back to reality and let go of Li Huowang's neck. She then patted his cheeks gently and said, "Be good and rest for now. I'll go and get so water to wipe away your sweat.”
And just like that, days passed by as Li Huowang continued with his physiotherapy. He still looked emaciated, but he no longer needed anyone's help to walk. He could finally carry a bowl with one hand as well.
Li Huowang's actions were unremarkable these days, so everyone dropped their guard around him.
At first, Li Huowang had four guards around him, but it dropped to three after a few days until only two guards were stationed around him.
The hospital had many people to handle, and they couldn't afford to waste manpower just to keep tabs on Li Huowang.
One afternoon, Li Huowang was sitting on a bench watching television with two guards standing behind him.
Of course, his hands were still cuffed.
The other patients were still avoiding him, and no one dared to sit near him.
Li Huowang couldn't care less; he had no intentions of becoming friends with them. He once approached one of the patients, but the patient was reduced to tears in fear.
Li Huowang stared at the romance drama, and he felt second-hand embarrassnt from the absurd plot. “What kind of show is this? Do they have nothing else to do? Can love even earn them money?”
"I think you should watch so more drama, you brat," Little Liu said. "You can learn techniques from them—techniques on wooing a girl.”
Li Huowang was not a criminal, so there was no reason for them to be alert all the ti. Sun Xiaoqin also gave them food from ti to ti, so the guards had a fairly amicable relationship with Li Huowang.
“You need to learn those from dramas? No wonder you haven't been able to find a girlfriend. Anyway, do you have a phone? Let borrow it. I feel like playing gas.”
“Yeah, I have a phone—in my dreams! Managent doesn’t even let us carry a keypad phone,” Little Liu said, staring at the TV.
Li Huowang sighed and stood up before walking to the left corridor.
“Where are you going?” asked Little Liu as he stood up imdiately, along with the other guard.
“Where else? I'm going to the toilet.”
“We'll go with you.”
The two guards escorted Li Huowang to the toilet.
This wasn't Li Huowang's first ti in the corridor's toilet. The guards stood outside while Li Huowang relieved himself slowly as if he was waiting for sothing.
“Li Huowang, I think there's sothing wrong with your kidneys. Why else would you have to use the toilet for so long and every day at that?”
“You should worry about yourself. For your information, I have a girlfriend.”
“Fuck off.”
Li Huowang washed his hands and saw an old man carrying a trash bag entering the toilet. Li Huowang looked up at the mirror and saw that the old man was wearing a cap and a mask.
Li Huowang turned around and was about to leave when he was struck by that bizarre sensation once again. His figure tensed up as he stared at the reflection of the old man cleaning the toilet.
Sensing his gaze, the old man looked up and saw Li Huowang’s eyes through the mirror, but he quickly lowered his head.
It was brief, but Li Huowang recognized the old man through the latter's gaze. The old man was Wang Wei!
“Guys, I need so more ti. I've got to dump.”
“Hurry up. Do you have any tissues?” Little Liu asked. He didn't seem to have sensed anything wrong, and it was all because Li Huowang's tone of voice didn't sound off at all.
Moreover, Doctor Yi had told them that Li Huowang’s episodes would always start with ramblings, so it wasn't that difficult to know that Li Huowang was in the middle of an episode.
Li Huowang stared deeply at the door before walking slowly toward Wang Wei.
“What are you doing here?” Li Huowang asked.
Wang Wei was his previous doctor, and he could still rember the fact that Wang Wei had lost his mind for so reason.
Wang Wei's right hand reached out and grabbed Li Huowang’s wrist. His voice was low, but the trembling in his voice spoke volus of his tumultuous emotions. “I know! That side is real! I know it's real!"
Wang Wei’s pupils were quivering violently, and he looked like a patient having a manic episode.
Reviews
All reviews (0)