she felt warmth, real warmth, not the eerie, misty sensation of the "between-worlds" state..
Jiang Yue's lashes fluttered. Bright, too-bright light stabbed into her eyes, and she squinted. The sterile smell of antiseptic confirmed it: she was still in the hospital.
Her throat was dry. Her limbs were heavy. But there was a sound, two voices right outside the door.
She stayed still.
"…Her employment records don't match, Zhenkai. And the missing years—" Xu Jianyu's voice was low but sharp.
"I'm aware," Li Zhenkai said. His tone was unreadable, but the pause that followed made her skin prickle.
"She's not the same girl you met months ago. She feels rewritten. That's a problem."
She heard his footsteps shift closer to the door. "Or she's the key to something bigger," he said, calm but final.
Something cold slid down her spine. A problem. Rewritten.
She swallowed the lump in her throat and forced her eyes shut, listening as their voices faded down the hall.
---
Flashback
three days ago, still in her coma:
She hadn't been fully aware, but she'd heard them. Not just Li Zhenkai and Xu Jianyu.
Her parents.
Her mother's voice had been thick with tears. "She used to get hurt so easily as a child, but she'd always smile. Now look at her… my poor baby."
Her father, soft-spoken, and usually quiet had gripped her hand so tightly she could almost feel the warmth through the void. "You've grown brighter, Yueyue. Brighter, but… something's different. Come back to us."
She remembered wanting to answer. To tell them she wasn't gone. But the mist had swallowed her voice.
---
Present — now awake:
The door clicked open. Tessa stepped inside—dark circles under her eyes, hair pulled into a messy bun, clothes wrinkled like she hadn't been home in days.
Her mouth fell open. "You're awake " She was at the bedside in seconds, gripping Jiang Yue's hand so hard it almost hurt.
"You scared me to death, you idiot."
Jiang Yue tried for a smile, but her lips trembled instead. "How long?"
"A week," Tessa said, and her voice cracked. "Seven days of me sitting here, thinking… maybe you'd…" She didn't finish.
Something inside Jiang Yue loosened and then broke.
Tessa took a deep breath, blinking hard. "I don't know what you've been through. You won't tell me half of it, and I can tell there's more you're not saying. But listen to me—" Her grip tightened. "I'm not leaving you. No matter how insane things get. Got it?"
For a second, Jiang Yue just stared.
No calculations. No system alerts. No survival schemes. Just… someone choosing her without needing a reason.
Her vision blurred. The tears came before she could stop them, hot, messy, silent at first, then loud and loud with shaking shoulders.
Tessa didn't let go. "Good. Cry it out, Yue. You've earned it."
So she did. For everything, the fear, the lies, the close calls, the reality that her life was chained to a man she couldn't decide whether to trust or run from.
---
When she finally pulled back, Tessa handed her a tissue, eyes suspiciously shiny.
"I'm okay," Jiang Yue said, voice hoarse.
"Liar," Tessa replied, but her smile was soft. "But that's fine. We'll work on the 'okay' part later."
---
Just then, the door opened again.
Li Zhenkai stepped in. His gaze went first to Jiang Yue's face, then to Tessa still holding her hand.
Something flickered in his eyes, gone before she could read it. "You're awake," he said, voice even.
She met his gaze, hiding the mistrust curling in her chest. "So it seems."
If he noticed the edge in her tone, he didn't comment. Instead, he set a bottle of water on the table beside her bed. "Drink. Slowly. You'll be discharged in two days if your vitals hold."
Tessa glanced between them, sensing the static in the air. She gave Jiang Yue's hand a last squeeze, then stood. "I'll go get you some real food. Hospital soup smells like feet."
The door clicked shut behind her, leaving Jiang Yue alone with him.
His shadow fell across her bed as he stepped closer. "You should rest," he said.
She forced a smile. "And you should tell me when people are calling me a problem."
For the first time, his expression shifted, just slightly. "You heard."
"I did." Her voice was light, but her chest felt tight. "So which is it, Li Zhenkai? Am I a problem… or the key to something bigger?"
His gaze didn't waver. "Both."