Meanwhile, the Ouyang Yuyuan whom Yu Qingxian had in mind was still at the hospital. They had spent the previous night calling out Li Yunkai’s name all the way back… Fortunately, it had been very late by then, and bodyguards had cleared the way ahead, or passersby might have mistaken them for lunatics.
Li Yunkai’s one soul and one spirit had vanished shortly after leaving the small courtyard. Li Hongming and his wife had panicked for a moment, nearly turning back to find Chu Yi. Fortunately, Master Zhang had promptly informed them that it was normal for ordinary people outside the shroud of Yin Qi to be unable to see it, and urged them to keep calling without stopping. That was how they had brought Li Yunkai back.
“Old Li, it’s been a full day and night now. Why hasn’t Yun Kai woken up yet?”
Mrs. Li sat anxiously by the hospital bed, itching to go next door and fetch Master Zhang for a look. But she knew full well that Master Zhang had first helped them settle Yun Kai the night before, then stayed until Zhang Jue’s surgery was complete before resting. Even a production brigade’s donkey couldn’t be worked like that, let alone a master.
“Let’s wait a bit longer. Master Zhang said Yun Kai’s Souls had been called back, so he should be fine.”
“I know, but I’m worried!” Mrs. Li replied. Seeing Father Li glued to his computer screen without budging, she turned away in irritation.
After a while, she glanced at the Red Rope on Li Yunkai’s wrist and tentatively asked Father Li, “Should we call and ask that person?”
Father Li replied, “I just checked with A’Yuan. Master Chu is filming right now. Better not disturb him.”
He was actually a bit afraid of Chu Yi by now. Moreover, he had just learned from Ouyang Yuyuan that Chu Yi had demanded double the commission, and he was already fretting over how to scrape together the funds to repay the Yu Family Third Young Master.
In the end, he was merely a collateral branch of the Li family. He had businesses under him, but liquid assets were definitely insufficient—not to mention they couldn’t neglect Master Zhang… Father Li had already resolved that once his son woke up this time, he’d drag him into managing the family business and never let him fool around again!
Fooling around harmed both body and wallet!
“Uncle Li, Aunt Li, has Yun Kai still not woken up?” Ouyang Yuyuan and Mu Jiajun poked their heads in from the outer room. The two had finished lunch and taken a nap, so their hair and clothes were disheveled, their faces showing fatigue.
Mrs. Li’s eyes lit up at the sight of them, and she was about to say something when she noticed their excited faces surging toward the bedside. “Yun Kai, Yun Kai, you’re awake!”
Mrs. Li froze, then turned to see her long-dormant son fluttering his eyelashes before slowly opening his eyes.
“Awake? Good that he’s awake.” Mrs. Li gazed at her son, finally setting her heart at ease.
Li Yunkai seemed somewhat dazed, staring blankly at his parents and two close brothers, unsure of the situation. He tentatively parted his lips, his Adam’s apple bobbing with effort, but no sound emerged.
Evidently, he’d lain too long, and his throat had dried up. Ouyang Yuyuan reacted. “Do you want some water first?”
Li Yunkai nodded.
As he drank, he listened to them recount the events during his coma. Li Yunkai nearly choked on the water. If not for his mother’s earnest insistence and his usually humorless father’s solemn expression, he might have thought his family and close friends were pranking him together.
Mrs. Li patted his back lightly. “Be careful.”
Li Yunkai pushed away the cup from his mother’s hand. “Dad, Mom, what kind of joke is this? Wei Xiaoxiao? Soul Separation? Wasn’t I just smashed at the bar?”
He wasn’t amnesiac!
Father Li shot him a glare. “No one’s joking with you!”
Mrs. Li huffed indignantly. “Do we look like we’re kidding?”
Li Yunkai could only turn his questioning gaze to his two close brothers, who nodded in unison.
“…”
Ouyang Yuyuan asked curiously, “You don’t remember at all?”
They had witnessed Li Yunkai’s one soul and one spirit turning into Light Balls the night before. Though it had lasted less than a quarter of an hour, it had been utterly real!
“I think I remember a little…” Li Yunkai furrowed his brow in thought. “I was trapped in a pitch-black place the whole time, unable to break free or escape… Then I heard you calling my name, and there was a beam of white light. I instinctively followed it toward you.”
Mu Jiajun confirmed, “Exactly. We called your soul back last night, all the way from Bar Street to the hospital room.”
Li Yunkai continued, “…”
Just then, Master Zhang arrived. Father Li and Mrs. Li hurriedly asked him to check. After examining, Master Zhang nodded. “No problems now. Just focus on rest going forward.”
Father Li and Mrs. Li had more questions and followed Master Zhang out. With help from his two close friends, Li Yunkai lay back down, still looking unwell.
Seeing this, Mu Jiajun said, “We’ll head out first. You sleep some more?”
“Wait.” Li Yunkai stopped them and asked Mu Jiajun, “That Wei Xiaoxiao… Did she really die because of me?”
Mu Jiajun frowned slightly. “Don’t overthink it, Yun Kai. We weren’t even at Jiuse that night. Besides, you ended up bedridden for a full month because of her—call it even.”
Li Yunkai said nothing, his emotions complex. A person long forgotten from memory suddenly linking back to him—especially without his knowledge—would unsettle anyone.
Unlike Mu Jiajun, Li Yunkai remembered Wei Xiaoxiao as the party involved. After all, she was the junior schoolmate he’d once helped and flirted with. But his impression stopped there; he hadn’t even noticed her disappearance.
