Chapter 1: Prologue(Chapter 00)

Prologue: ◎It is the beginning, and also the end◎

“That day was August 13, 2013. Yaoyao and I…”

The woman speaking paused, then explained: “Yaoyao is my lover.”

Chen Mo nodded, offering a faint smile: “You’ve mentioned her before.”

The woman looked somewhat dazed: “Oh, I mentioned her?”

“It’s normal to forget,” Chen Mo said, “A person can’t remember every single thing they’ve said.”

The woman waved her hand, her expression utterly serious: “No, it’s not normal. Doctor, you don’t understand. I’ve never forgotten anything about Yaoyao. How could I forget? It’s impossible for me to forget…”

The woman’s voice gradually grew strained. First, she helplessly patted her head. Then, without any warning, she began tearing at her own hair, repeating the same phrase over and over: “It’s impossible for me to forget…”

Chen Mo abruptly stood up, reflexively grabbing the woman’s wrists to stop her actions before turning her head to call the care workers outside.

Even though Chen Mo had moved quickly, quite a few torn strands of hair already littered the floor.

Chen Mo looked down, clearly seeing the red dots on her scalp. She couldn’t help but frown and softly reassure her: “Don’t worry, take your time, you’ll remember.”

“Doctor!” Realizing her wrists were pinned and she couldn’t continue tearing her hair, the woman could only shake her head frantically. Her originally fair face flushed crimson in a matter of minutes. “Do you still have the medicine you gave me last time?”

“Yes.” Chen Mo answered softly, catching the pause in her breathing.

Her head-shaking turned into nodding. Her eyes were staring blankly, like a soulless doll. She cried out with a tearful voice: “Give it to me! Quick, give it to me!”

Four or five care workers rushed in, methodically seizing the woman and pressing her onto the hospital bed.

“No! Don’t tie me down!”

The workers used specialized straps to secure the woman’s body, completely stopping her struggles.

The woman still struggled and screamed: “Let me go! Let me go, all of you!!”

This was not the first time Chen Mo had witnessed the woman suddenly showing symptoms. It was just that every time she seemed to be getting better, she would make the same mistake again. It was still a bit disappointing, even so.

“I’ll kill you! I really will kill you… I’m saying this one last time, let me go!”

The woman was forcibly injected with a tranquilizer and quickly calmed down. Having ceased her frantic struggling, her flushed skin gradually returned to its fair complexion.

The woman who had just been screaming that she would kill them now seemed to be asleep, a stark contrast to her ferocious appearance moments ago.

After the care workers left, Chen Mo stood by the bedside for a while watching her before leaving the ward and returning to her office.

She opened her computer and recorded the day’s conversation.

As the recording finished, it was already dark outside; time to leave work.

She showed no sign of leaving. Her eyes returned to the computer screen, reviewing the transcripts of previous conversations.

One entry contained similar words: “I will forever remember the night of August 13, 2013. It was the beginning of my life’s nightmare… I saw Yaoyao fall into the sea with my own eyes.”

She clicked on the attached audio file. The woman’s voice came through clearly. Chen Mo felt like she was back in that day again, from morning to night, then from late night to early dawn. The woman spoke for a very long time—so long that Chen Mo couldn’t even recall just how long that conversation had lasted or how it had ultimately ended.

She only remembered the woman calmly recounting the story that happened after the ship sank, so calmly that Chen Mo couldn’t bear to interrupt, listening all the way to the end.

The voice in the audio file continued: “…From that day on, I was like a different person. I had no strength for anything. If I didn’t eat, I wouldn’t feel hungry. Even if I did nothing all day, I would feel exhausted and only wanted to sleep. I tried sleeping, but the moment I closed my eyes, my mind was filled with images of Yaoyao leaving me. I felt like I might be sick, but I didn’t want treatment.”

Following that was Chen Mo’s own voice: “Why?”

“Because…” The woman’s voice paused for a long time. “I’m afraid that if I’m cured, I’ll never be able to see her in my dreams again.”