After Failing to Reverse the Plot, I Made My Escape - Chapter 43

“You have worked so hard, baby,” Yu Fuqiu said softly. “From now on, leave the rest to Mommy.”

Chang Chun Chun did not know why his father, upon waking, seemed to have become a different person.

Their first meeting after the accident had not been pleasant. His small legs had finally regained a sliver of strength to walk, but as he watched his father’s receding back, he could only fall helplessly to the floor, unable to find any strength in his body.

“Mommy, Chun Chun is scared.”

Chun Chun sat on the floor, clutching the small stuffed bear that Chang Tingzhi had violently torn; one of its ears was missing. He gazed at the rising and falling waves on the heart monitor and lowered his voice, terrified of waking his resting mother.

“Chun Chun is not a likable child. If I were, why would Papa leave Chun Chun behind? And why will you not wake up either, Mommy?”

“Mommy, please do not abandon Chun Chun. I promise to be good from now on. I will eat all my carrots and green peppers, and I will not go out to collect hermit crabs anymore.”

“I will listen to Auntie, and I will not be selfish and ask you to come to the parent teacher meetings anymore.”

“Mommy, Chun Chun was wrong.”

Chun Chun did not know what he had done wrong, but he could only bow his head and apologize. If he did this, would his mother wake up? Would his father come back, take him in his arms, and whisper an apology?

With tear tracks on his face and a bruise from where his father had pushed him to the ground, Chun Chun clutched his broken bear, held onto Yu Fuqiu’s fingertip, and fell into a heavy sleep.

Yu Fuqiu’s eyelashes fluttered twice. The cold machine emitted a steady ticking sound. He slowly opened his eyes; the world spun, and it took a long moment for his consciousness to return.

He had not been completely unconscious. He had heard every single word Chang Chun Chun said.

The shift in the plot during his dream served as a constant reminder to Yu Fuqiu that, in the end, he could not resist the narrative. Chang Tingzhi and Ke Qi’an were the fated protagonists. He was merely an outsider and should not crave things that did not belong to him.

But so what?

Yu Fuqiu lowered his gaze and slowly propped himself up, gently stroking Chun Chun’s soft hair. He had raised Chang Tingzhi, had been with him for fifteen years, and their child was already seven. Because of his intervention, the plot he initially knew had already changed. Although the endings were often similar, many details were now different.

Therefore, Yu Fuqiu suspected he could change the direction of the story. Furthermore, the current Chang Tingzhi was only amnesiac. Zuo Chenshuang had told him that every time he faced a crisis, the true Chang Tingzhi would come to save him. Chang Tingzhi was also waiting for him, resisting the plot.

So what was he afraid of? He was not alone.

“No, do not!”

“Papa!”

“Mommy!”

Chun Chun, leaning against the bed, seemed to have a nightmare. He screamed sharply, and tears streamed from the corners of his eyes. His body convulsed in a sudden shudder as his eyes flew open in terror, waking from his dream. Fine beads of cold sweat broke out on his forehead, soaking his bangs. He stared blankly at the ceiling, unable to distinguish dream from reality, his chest heaving as he gasped for breath.

After a few seconds of dead silence, the lingering power of the nightmare intertwined with the darkness of reality, making Chun Chun shake uncontrollably. He instinctively sought a safe harbor.

A gentle hand began to stroke his back, and Yu Fuqiu’s voice reached his ears. “Be good, Chun Chun. Mommy is here. Did you have a nightmare?”

Chun Chun’s body stiffened for a moment. He turned back in disbelief, his eyes wide and unblinking, afraid that Yu Fuqiu would disappear the next second.

“Mommy?” he asked softly.

A faint smile appeared on Yu Fuqiu’s pale face. He leaned over and pulled little Chun Chun into his arms. His cast had been removed, and pins were embedded in his leg, waiting for the bone to heal.

“Yes, I am here.”

Yu Fuqiu pulled Chun Chun tighter into his embrace. The scent of security surrounded the boy. This simple gesture acted like a floodgate opening, releasing all his suppressed emotions.

The shock of the Ferris wheel fall, the cold rejection from his father after he woke up, the hermit crabs being ruthlessly crushed, being shoved aside and insulted by his father, and the despair of being thrown out the door; at this moment, it all burst forth like a flood, breaking through all his defenses.

“You finally woke up, Mommy. You did not leave Chun Chun. Did you hear my prayers?”

“Chun Chun hurts so much. I was so scared. My bear was torn apart.” Chun Chun’s throat choked up. He wanted to wail about how Papa did not recognize him, how Papa was with the person who broke their family, and why Papa treated him so coldly.

But Chun Chun eventually swallowed those words. He did not want to make his mother sad. If Mommy knew Papa was like this, he would definitely be unhappy.

Chun Chun sobbed quietly, trying his best to calm himself. But a seven year old who had survived an accident, watched his parents fall from the sky, and been forgotten by his father was not nearly as strong as he imagined.

The moment he fell into his mother’s embrace, he could not help but grab Yu Fuqiu’s neck and howl with grief. Yu Fuqiu did not know what words to use to respond, so he could only hold him tighter, pressing his cheek and jaw against Chun Chun’s face while continuously stroking his back.

“You have worked so hard, baby,” Yu Fuqiu said softly. “From now on, leave the rest to Mommy.”

“Papa will definitely come back.”

In his embrace, Chun Chun’s head tilted to the side as his breathing became slow and steady. He had fallen asleep.

“Fuqiu, I have come to take you home from the hospital.”

After packing the bags, Zuo Chenshuang signed the discharge papers. He was not on duty today and wore casual clothes. This style was very familiar to Yu Fuqiu; when he turned and saw Zuo Chenshuang standing in the doorway against the light, his expression was dazed.

They looked too much alike. How could they be so similar? When Yu Fuqiu reached out to touch Zuo Chenshuang, he suddenly snapped back to reality, his hand freezing in mid-air. He immediately retracted his hand, his eyes shifting unnaturally with a hint of unease. “Thank you, Chenshuang.”

“I do not know what Tingzhi is up to,” Zuo Chenshuang said, his voice laced with exhaustion and confusion. “The doctor clearly said that with his head injury and the impact of the previous accident, he needed at least another week of observation before being discharged. But he insisted on leaving early. He would not listen to anyone.”

His voice suddenly stopped, as if he had remembered a chilling and heartbreaking scene.

It was shortly after Chang Tingzhi had woken from his long coma. The ward was full of people, everyone holding their breath in worry or anticipation. But Chang Tingzhi, on the hospital bed, slowly opened his eyes, his gaze moving slowly across the faces.

He could not remember anyone present. He could not remember who he was, nor did he know why he was lying there. But his eyes flickered only when Ke Qi’an appeared in the crowd.

When he insisted on being discharged, Zuo Chenshuang opposed him vehemently, asking if he wanted to die since his condition had not stabilized. Chang Tingzhi simply gave him a look. That look was terrifyingly cold.

Then he said to Zuo Chenshuang, “Today is the opening ceremony for Ke Qi’an’s new film. I am going to visit the set.”

He was not leaving to handle a mountain of work. He was not leaving to go home and recuperate. He was not even leaving to see his wife and child.

After Chang Tingzhi woke up, Zuo Chenshuang had said to him, “Yu Fuqiu is still unconscious in the next room! Chun Chun has nightmares every day! Even if you do not remember them, you should know they are your family.”

But he was interrupted.

“Enough.”

Chang Tingzhi cut him off, his expression cold. Only when Ke Qi’an was mentioned did a sliver of softness appear on his face.

At that moment, Ke Qi’an walked out with a coat, leaning close to Chang Tingzhi and helping him put it on. “Azhi, go wait for me in the car. I will be there soon.”

Ke Qi’an then turned to Zuo Chenshuang, pulling him slightly away from Chang Tingzhi. His voice was lowered so only the two of them could hear. “Dr. Zuo,” his expression was sincere, even pleading. “I know you want what is best for Azhi, and you are sad for Fuqiu and Chun Chun. But,” he paused, showing a meaningful smile, “the past that Azhi has forgotten might be exactly the things his subconscious does not want or is not willing to remember anymore.”

“If those memories only bring pain and burden, why must we force him to remember and make him suffer again?”

“Is it not better that he feels light and relaxed now?”

“Opposing heaven’s will can bring retribution, you know.”

Zuo Chenshuang swallowed his next words. Facing Chang Tingzhi’s questioning look, he forced a smile. “It is nothing. Let us go eat at that restaurant you have been wanting. I made a reservation.”

“Fuqiu.”

After they got into the car, Chu Chu took off her sunglasses. Her narrow eyes squinted slightly, but the moment she met Yu Fuqiu’s gaze, her expression softened. She took a prepared blanket from the trunk and covered Yu Fuqiu’s legs. “You just left the hospital; keep warm.”

“Yes, thank you, Chu Chu,” Yu Fuqiu said softly. “Where is Chun Chun?”

“Baoli took him home. His emotions were too volatile. And,” Chu Chu paused, “we have communicated with the Changqiu Group and issued a statement saying you are still recuperating. But,” shortly after Chang Tingzhi was discharged, someone photographed him entering and leaving a residential community. Every time he was caught on camera, he was holding someone in his arms, the figure wrapped tightly in a coat like a precious treasure. From the camera’s perspective, only a blurred figure could be seen.

The internet thought it was just a couple being romantic. Only those close to Yu Fuqiu knew the truth.

That was definitely not Yu Fuqiu.

“He cannot remember me now.” Yu Fuqiu’s expression was weary. They were like two strangers.

All their moments seemed to have frozen at the second the fireworks bloomed at the Ferris wheel. It was as if the memory of Chang Tingzhi holding him at the highest point and kissing him had all turned into bubbles.