Chapter Ten: Awakening?

After exchanging a smile and greeting with the young nurse in the hospital corridor, Lin Ye stood before Su Qing’s hospital room door. He reached out, pressed the door handle, took a deep breath, and gently pushed the door open, stepping inside quietly.

The white walls of the ward were illuminated by a somewhat cold, white light. The faint scent of disinfectant lingered in the air, sharply contrasting with the noise outside.

Su Qing lay on the bed as usual, her complexion pale, brows slightly furrowed, as if trapped in some dreadful nightmare, yet she remained as beautiful as ever.

Lin Ye hurried to her bedside and gently grasped her icy small hand. Perhaps due to prolonged fasting and the intravenous nutrition, her slender fingers were defined, and the bluish veins stood out distinctly.

All of this revealed just how fragile the life signs of this sleeping beauty truly were, and an inexplicable pang of tenderness welled up in Lin Ye’s heart.

“Wife, I’m off work now. Your husband has come to see you again. I have an idea, though I don’t know if you’ll agree. How about I stop calling you ‘wife’ and just call you ‘Qing’ instead?”

Lin Ye softly rubbed Su Qing’s little hand, trying to chase away the cold from her body.

“‘Qing’ is the second character in your name, meaning ‘clear skies’. It symbolizes that after the storm, the sky will clear up, and you will recover soon. How about it? If you don’t respond, I’ll take that as your agreement.”

Lin Ye’s gaze grew gentler as if Su Qing truly heard his words. Her index finger twitched slightly twice.

A burst of joy lit up Lin Ye’s eyes.

“Qing, something happened at work today that I can’t quite understand,” Lin Ye began to speak softly, his voice tinged with visible delight.

After all, it was essentially a promotion with a raise—a truly happy event.

“The boss suddenly transferred me to the administrative department. Both the work environment and the responsibilities are much better than before, and even my salary has increased quite a bit. I owe it all to you.”

Lin Ye reached out to gently stroke Su Qing’s cheek, handling her as delicately as one would a precious porcelain artifact, fearing that even a slight misstep might shatter the beautiful woman before him.

“After all, all these good things only started happening after I met you.”

Feeling the faint warmth from her fingertips and gazing at her face bathed in the golden light of the setting sun through the window, time seemed to stand still in that moment.

The beauty resting on the hospital bed no longer looked pale; the golden-red glow of the sunset seemed to breathe new life into her, making her appear more vibrant than before.

“I believe you can hear me, Qing. Once you recover, we’ll go to the seaside together, just like I promised. I will always be here, by your side.”

Lin Ye’s voice was low and resolute, warm and gentle like the winter sun. His eyes fixed unwaveringly on Su Qing’s face, as if the next moment she would open her eyes, trembling awake.

At that moment, in his palm, Su Qing’s fingers moved again, this time more clearly and with greater strength.

Lin Ye’s heart raced wildly, like the engine of his AMG when he floors the accelerator. He gripped her hand tightly and whispered, “Qing, do you feel it? I’m waiting for you. I know you’re trying, and we’ll keep fighting together.”

The atmosphere in the room seemed to soften with this exchange. Lin Ye remained seated by the bedside until the sky outside gradually darkened.

Though everything between him and Su Qing had begun with the fifty thousand yuan paid for the auspicious ritual, during their time together, Lin Ye’s feelings deepened into something far more significant than the subsequent two million yuan.

Days passed one by one. Every day after work, Lin Ye came to the hospital to keep Su Qing company, and through these subtle gestures, the bond between them quietly but steadily grew stronger.

What made Lin Ye both joyful and sorrowful was that Su Qing could now hold his hand, though the movement was slow and weak.

When did this happen? One evening after work, Lin Ye sat by the bedside and had a long conversation with Su Qing—though it was mostly him talking to himself.

Sleep overtook him, and he ended up resting his head by her bedside all night. Upon waking the next day, he was astonished to find their hands clasped together. From the way they held hands, it was clear Su Qing had reached out to him while he slept.

Upon discovering this, Lin Ye was flooded with overwhelming joy, but at the same time, a profound sadness spread through his heart.

Before he could dwell on it further, at five in the morning, the entire third floor of the hospital was awakened by a young man’s vibrant voice.

“Doctor! Hurry, doctor! My wife is waking up! She’s really waking up! She’s holding my hand!”

No one in the hospital blamed the young man for disturbing the early morning peace. In different wards and among various patients, family members all smiled sincerely at nearly the same moment.

Perhaps the blessings for a speedy recovery had already spread to every corner of the hospital through Lin Ye’s voice.

When Li Dehua learned that Su Qing’s condition was improving rapidly, he was overjoyed and immediately transferred another one million yuan into Lin Ye’s bank account. At that moment, Lin Ye was having lunch face-to-face with Zhang Wen in the company cafeteria.

Suddenly, Lin Ye’s phone on the table beeped. Glancing at the screen, he saw a notification of one million yuan deposited into his bank account, causing him to spew soup onto Zhang Wen’s face.

Zhang Wen looked at the phone with a speechless expression and said helplessly, “Come on, man, is one million really necessary?”

Lin Ye silently acknowledged that he and Zhang Wen were in completely different financial leagues.

Yet, the real surprise was still to come.

Lin Ye had lost count of how many times he had come to the hospital by now. It had become a habit—after work, without thinking, his body would drive him here.

He instinctively greeted the young nurse in the corridor and entered the ward. Looking at Su Qing lying in bed, her complexion was much better than when he first arrived.

At least she was no longer so pale; now there was a hint of color to her cheeks. As Lin Ye wondered when his wife would wake and what their future would hold, the nurse came in to check on her.

“Lin Ye, you’re off work? You came earlier than usual today.”

“Yes, there wasn’t much going on at the company, so I could get off early to come keep my wife company.”

“Oh, by the way, you probably don’t know yet, but your wife actually woke up once during the day. Unfortunately, you weren’t here, but it’s all thanks to your persistent visits and conversations with her...”