The next day at noon, Ning Fan opened his eyes on the bed, his eyes laced with dense red veins, looking much thinner than before, as the events of last night seemed to have had a huge impact on him; he looked very unwell.
Because he remembered some memories, Ning Fan struggled in pain all night long. Besides knowing her name was Qin Lan'er, he couldn't recall anything else about the woman who died for him.
Between unwillingness and pain, Ning Fan held his head and cried in the deep of night, and only when he was completely drained did his eyes finally close and he slowly fell asleep.
Getting out of bed just like that, Ning Fan hadn't taken off his clothes last night, so he left his room, went downstairs, and coincidentally ran into Xu Xiaoqing coming up.
"You dummy, are you okay?"
Xu Xiaoqing saw Ning Fan's pale face and felt a profound ache in her heart. She walked over to him, took his hands, and felt a bone-chilling coldness emanating from them.
But Xu Xiaoqing didn't shy away, feeling empathy for Ning Fan instead. She clasped his hands tightly, trying to use her own warmth to transfer some heat into him.
"Let's go for a walk," she said to Ning Fan with a caring smile on her face.
Ning Fan didn't refuse, just nodded absentmindedly and was then led out the door by Xu Xiaoqing.
Xu Xiaoqing took the lead, holding Ning Fan's hand and chatted and laughed along the way, sharing all the interesting things she had heard or seen recently to Ning Fan, constantly speaking about various likes and trying various ways to cheer him up.
But the effect was not very good. Ning Fan not only showed no reaction but his mood seemed to sink lower and lower.
Just as Xu Xiaoqing was anxiously thinking about what she could do to cheer Ning Fan up, he stopped walking and said softly, "Want to hear a story? The story of a man with amnesia..."
Xu Xiaoqing paused for a moment, then nodded firmly and led Ning Fan to sit down on a bench nearby.
She placed her hands on his and snuggled tightly up to him.
"There was a man who woke up in an unfamiliar place, knowing nothing, remembering nothing, only aware of his name. He wandered aimlessly through the city, hoping someone would recognize him..."
Hoping someone could tell him who he really was and where he came from.
"No one knew who he was or where he came from!"
Ning Fan walked alone without purpose, not knowing what lay ahead, driven by nothing but a firm belief in finding his lost memories.
"He searched desperately for his memories, ran relentlessly, and fought hard until he finally learned some things, but those things were very painful..."
Ning Fan closed his eyes in agony, unable to continue.
Xu Xiaoqing gently hugged Ning Fan's head, pulling him into her arms, rested her chin on his head, wrapped her hands around his head, and whispered in his ear, "No matter who you are, I just know you're my dummy!"
Ning Fan opened his eyes, and Xu Xiaoqing's warm words struck the softest part of his heart directly.
From Xu Xiaoqing, he finally felt warmth, and his whole cold body started warming up again.
The gloom in his eyes dissipated quite a bit because of Xu Xiaoqing, and at that moment, Ning Fan thought of not just Xu Xiaoqing, but also Xu Ruolan; he hadn't had the chance to thank her for comforting him last night...
Thanks to Xu Xiaoqing's comfort, Ning Fan's mood gradually improved, and Xu Xiaoqing, happy to see Ning Fan's better complexion, followed him home.
The fragments of memory that appeared made Ning Fan realize that the memories he had lost might not all be pleasant, and could even be excruciatingly painful, but he was still determined to uncover them.
The search might be painful, and the process filled with confusion and suffering, but he knew things couldn't be rushed, they had to be taken slowly, and one day he would know everything that belonged to him.
After spending a rather nice day with Xu Xiaoqing, Ning Fan went to a suburb in Zhonghai in the evening, where Ouyang Feifei had set up a temporary base.
Following the coordinates sent by Ouyang Feifei, Ning Fan easily found the temporary base, only to see Ouyang Feifei when he arrived and not Di Baitian.
"Where's Di Baitian?"
Ning Fan looked at Ouyang Feifei with a frown, his dissatisfaction was not aimed at Ouyang Feifei, but at Di Baitian.
In Ning Fan's opinion, Ouyang Feifei would certainly have informed Di Baitian to come here, yet Ning Fan had made a special trip that day only to find Ouyang Feifei still constructing the temporary base, while Di Baitian, the only current member, was absent. Ning Fan was quite dissatisfied with this result.
"That guy, ever since you brought him out of Death Prison, has been enjoying himself quite a bit. This place is only a temporary residence for him. Although I don't deny that it's still under construction, he doesn't even offer any suggestions and is often missing for days on end, seeking pleasure all over Zhonghai..."
Ouyang Feifei didn't hold back and directly told Ning Fan about Di Baitian's behavior in Zhonghai over the past few days.
Di Baitian didn't take the Shadow Team seriously at all, resulting in Ouyang Feifei being busy in and out for the base's construction, while Di Baitian was having a gala time in Zhonghai.
After hearing this, Ning Fan was also quite displeased and laughed coldly along with Ouyang Feifei.
"This guy seems to have not figured out the situation yet!" Ning Fan said, displeased.
Ouyang Feifei was equally displeased. Di Baitian had strength, but was also far too insubordinate. The Shadow Team didn't need such a troublemaker.
"Such a person is not suitable for our Shadow Team, and it seems she doesn't take me as the team lead seriously at all."
What was key was that Di Baitian seemed to respect only Ning Fan and showed no basic respect for Ouyang Feifei. In their recent interactions, whenever Ouyang Feifei approached him regarding Shadow Team matters, he would outright pull a long face, looking highly disagreeable.
Ning Fan nodded, with flames of anger in his eyes. His mood was already foul and now Di Baitian was making things even worse. Since this guy was asking for it, he couldn't blame Ning Fan for being ruthless.
"I really want to see whether this guy thinks he is indeed the Great Sage Equalling Heaven, and can't be controlled? Even if he were Sun Wukong, he could still be disciplined by his master!"
"He's not up to that comparison..."