In a haze of grogginess, Shen An’s eyelids twitched violently, as if he had just broken free from the suffocating depths of drowning and surfaced, gasping for fresh air.
He felt utterly exhausted, without even the strength to open his eyes.
Vaguely, he heard some voices.
It sounded like two people talking.
Two women’s voices.
“That girl was really lucky. Good thing something blocked her, or she would’ve hit the ground directly.”
“Lucky? I think you’re just jealous that she has such a handsome boyfriend who’s willing to risk his life to protect her.”
“Sister Hong! That’s not what I meant at all.”
“You little girl, you think I can’t read your mind?”
The girl whose thoughts had been pierced let out a shy giggle. “I’m just a bit puzzled. Why would that girl be so desperate to end it all?”
“She’s pretty, and she has a boyfriend who loves her that much. They say when the ambulance arrived, the boy was still holding her in his arms even as he lay there.”
“Well, every family has its own troubles. Who knows?”
Sister Hong looked at Shen An lying on the bed with a complicated expression. “You call that loving? That girl’s been discharged for days, and she hasn’t come to visit once.”
“She settled the medical bills and washed her hands of it. Nothing else.”
“You’re right, Sister Hong.”
The girl sighed. “That girl is too heartless. She let him take all the pain.”
From their conversation, Shen An’s thoughts gradually cleared up.
This really wasn’t a dream.
He was in the hospital right now because he’d saved that girl.
But the boyfriend-girlfriend bit? He could only marvel at the human imagination.
As for these two, they were probably nurses at the hospital.
The one called Sister Hong was older, while the other had a crisp, youthful voice—likely in her early twenties.
“I wonder when he’ll wake up.”
Shen An sensed that the younger nurse was staring at his face right now.
Not just staring—she was leaning in close.
Because the warm breath from her mouth was lingering teasingly on his face.
With no choice, he opened his eyes and said weakly, “Actually, I’ve been awake.”
Whoosh!
Their eyes met, and the awkwardness was palpable.
The female nurse, inches away, saw his strained smile and flushed bright red.
She spun around and fled. “Sister Hong, the patient’s awake! I’ll go tell the doctor.”
Sister Hong, the other nurse, first covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. Once the girl was gone, she said, “Thank goodness. I’m glad you woke up.”
Shen An smiled. “Sorry for the trouble.”
“Oh, come on, don’t say that!”
Sister Hong said righteously, “Saving lives is what we doctors are for—especially when you’ve saved someone else’s life.”
With that, she stepped closer. “If you hadn’t woken up these past few days, you might never have woken up at all.”
Shen An’s thoughts were a jumbled mess right now.
He closed his eyes and sighed. “If I really never woke up… that might’ve been for the best.”
Sister Hong froze at his words.
For a moment, she didn’t know what to say.
Looking at his weary, pale face, she couldn’t help sighing. “Love can wound deeper than any blade.”
“Get some good rest now. If you need anything, just press that red button over there.”
With that, Sister Hong stopped bothering him and turned to leave.
Creak.
The door closed, and Shen An opened his eyes.
He looked around curiously. This didn’t seem like a public hospital.
A private room like this, with all these amenities—it reeked of money.
That girl had covered his medical bills.
This probably wasn’t a small sum.
Had he saved some rich lady?
Shen An hoped so. Otherwise, things would only get worse.
Dozens of questions swirled in his mind.
Who was that girl? What was her name? Why had she jumped out of nowhere?
From the looks of it, she had no attachment to the world at all—jumped without a second thought.
Way more courage than he had.
But more than that, Shen An wanted to figure out where he was and why.
With effort, he sat up in bed. Spotting some newspapers by the bedside, he picked one up, hoping for clues.
The more he read, the stranger his expression grew.
“East China District? Is there even a place like that?”
“Eight Seas City? What the hell kind of place is this?”
Shen An checked the other papers. The completely unfamiliar place names left him clueless.
It wasn’t just the locations—the news stories on every front felt alien, like nothing he’d ever seen before.
And so, a bold, rough idea bubbled up in his mind.
No way…
It couldn’t be that wild, could it?
Shen An slowly set the newspaper down and murmured, “I finally died once, and now you’ve gone and brought me back to life.”
Before the thought could fully take shape, overwhelming drowsiness swallowed him again.
By afternoon, Shen An could already stand.
His body was recovering at an astonishing speed—unbelievably fast.
Right now, he stood by the window, the breeze ruffling his hair as he lost himself in thought.
Behind him stood the doctor and nurses.
The reason? Shen An wanted to check out.
He hated hospitals.
The doctor and nurses tried repeatedly to dissuade him, urging him to stay longer until he was fully recovered.
They assured him not to worry about the bills—they were all paid.
But Shen An stubbornly refused their kindness. He felt fine now.
No amount of persuasion could sway him. After a final checkup, the doctor had no choice but to agree.
Signing the papers, the doctor looked at his name and murmured softly, “Shen An…”
Shen An paused, then chuckled lightly. “Something wrong with it, Doctor?”
The doctor shook his head. “No. Technically, you’re good to go.”
“Alright, thanks, Doctor.”
After bidding the doctor farewell, Sister Hong brought his clothes.
He couldn’t leave in a hospital gown; he had to change first.
But when he unfolded the bloodstained white suit, even Sister Hong—who’d seen her share of gore—felt a pang.
Not at the suit’s gruesome state, but out of sympathy for Shen An.
She didn’t know his background. They hadn’t even recorded any ID from the start. Besides these clothes, he had nothing.
No wallet, no ID card—nothing.
If she hadn’t overheard the doctor’s quiet mutter just now, she wouldn’t even know his name.
In her eyes, whether he was close to that girl or just some passerby, he was a hero who’d risked his life to save her.
And now he was leaving alone, empty-handed.
Not even a clean change of clothes.
How heartless did you have to be?
When Shen An emerged from the bathroom, he’d ditched the gown for the bloodied white suit.
Paired with his pale complexion, it gave him an undeniable handsomeness—but more than that, it sparked all sorts of wild speculations.
“Thanks for taking care of me these past few days. I’m off now.”
Shen An said politely to Sister Hong.
“You… do you have any questions?” Sister Hong hesitated, her gaze flickering.
“Questions? None from me. Well, do I need to have any, from the sound of it?” Shen An grinned, his smile bright and easygoing.
Sister Hong’s expression softened under his smile, but she quickly looked down.
Clearly, she had something to say, but it died on her lips.
Just as Shen An turned to leave, Sister Hong called out, “Hey, wait!”
“Something else?”
Shen An looked back, puzzled.
“Right, almost forgot. Hold on—there’s something else for you.”
Sister Hong hurried out.
Huh?
Shen An waited, baffled but secretly hopeful.
He’d saved her life, after all. There had to be some decent compensation, right?
He wasn’t greedy, but he wasn’t a saint either.
A few minutes later, Sister Hong rushed back.
In her hand was a pink cellphone.
“Almost forgot to give you your phone. Here.”
Shen An took the… pink cellphone from her in a daze.
The corner of his mouth twitched. “This is… mine?”
“What do you mean ‘mine’? Isn’t this your phone?”
Sister Hong said softly, “We found it in your pocket.”
“It was dead, so I charged it for you. Good thing I remembered.”
“Call your family and let them know you’re okay. No word for days—they must be worried sick.”
Shen An didn’t respond, just nodded. “Thanks. I will.”
If I had any.
Then, one hand in his pocket, the other clutching the pink phone, he fell into deep thought.
Pink was a color he hated.
And the phone’s design was outdated and tacky, the screen screaming cheap—like one of those ten-buck toy phones from a street stall.
He’d rather have a Nokia tough enough to crack walnuts. After all, besides cracking walnuts, a Nokia could block bullets—and in a pinch, it could even double as a brick.
It was the perfect must-have for home, travel, murder, or arson. So where could he get one?
Ahem!
All things considered, this phone wasn’t his.
But the nurse called Sister Hong had no reason to lie, and when he patted down his pockets—which were cleaner than his face—he found nothing.
Right now, he had no choice.
Sister Hong watched as Shen An stepped into the elevator. Then she turned around and silently pulled out her own phone.
The afternoon sun shone brilliantly.
He walked out through the hospital’s front doors and glanced back over his shoulder.
It really was a private hospital.
He hadn’t been wrong about that.
Shen An withdrew his gaze. He was done agonizing over whether the girl he’d saved was some rich heiress.
A pang of regret hit him.
Because up until now, he hadn’t eaten a single thing.
He rubbed his stomach, where the pangs of hunger were growing insistent.
He should have mooched a meal in the hospital before leaving.
Worse still, he had no money.
Not a dime.
He didn’t even have any identification. He was like an illegal immigrant—nothing to his name except himself.
Oh, and this crappy phone.
“Maybe I should go back,” he muttered to himself. “Mooching a meal isn’t shameful. Starving to death is.”
Shen An hesitated with his words, but his feet kept carrying him forward, gradually putting distance between himself and the hospital.
He really hated hospitals.
As he walked along the street, he pulled out the phone to see if there was anything hidden inside.
What if the girl had left it for him on purpose?
The moment the screen lit up, a piercing ringtone blared out.
“Everyone needs healing. Congratulations! You’ve loaded the Healing System!”
The voice sounded like it was coming from a beat-up old radio—raspy and laced with that dusty, turn-of-the-century vibe.
What Shen An couldn’t stand most was how this ridiculous notification tone emanated from such a cheap-looking shell.
What era was this relic from? Some ancient brick disguised in the skin of the cheapest smartphone?
The noise instantly turned him into the center of attention amid the crowd.
Of course, he was already drawing eyes with his bizarre outfit—it was hard not to notice.
But that ringtone gave him the feeling of dying on the spot from embarrassment.
He wasn’t afraid of a little embarrassment, but with all those stares on him, he couldn’t help feeling a bit shy.
Facing the barrage of weird looks, Shen An kept his expression perfectly neutral and calm. He gently set the phone down on top of a nearby trash bin, then walked away without looking back.
To hell with your healing.
