Xiaofeng had only slept for an hour before she awoke.
She listened to the voices talking nearby, not daring to open her eyes.
She remembered Liu An coming to look for her, and during their struggle, her father found out, but she couldn’t recall anything that happened after that.
Her head hurt, her head really hurt.
Her hands moved unconsciously, and Yecheng quickly noticed. He took hold of Xiaofeng’s hand, gently calling, "Wife, have you woken up?"
Xiaofeng could no longer pretend and opened her eyes.
What greeted her was a pair of concerned eyes.
The owner of these eyes had an attractive face, handsome and bright. The way he looked at her even had a mesmerizing quality to it.
She seemed to recognize this man.
He was the doctor from the neighboring village.
"Wife, you’re awake. How are you feeling, any better?" Yecheng touched Xiaofeng’s neck, her temperature was normal, no fever.
Hearing Yecheng’s words, Xiaofeng reacted as if she’d heard something unbelievable. She withdrew her hand abruptly and shrank back, "Doctor Cheng, don’t come any closer, where’s my dad, I want to see my dad."
This Doctor Cheng seemed suspicious. He was just supposed to check her injuries, but why was he calling her wife?
It was so bizarre; she wanted to go home.
"Xiaofeng, you’re awake," Chu Qing said as she pushed Quan Sifang forward, "Your dad’s right here. Are you hungry or thirsty? What do you want to eat? Mom will go make it for you."
Xiaofeng looked at Quan Sifang, then at Chu Qing, shaking her head, "He’s not my dad, I don’t know who you are."
That strange feeling was getting worse.
Chu Qing and Yecheng exchanged glances.
Yecheng started, "Did she just call me Doctor Cheng?"
That was the name she used when they’d first met.
"She said she doesn’t recognize us," Chu Qing said, her heart sinking.
They had just found their daughter, was she planning to reject them now?
"Sis, sis, do you recognize me?" Xiaonian spoke up, "Sis, you finally woke up, we were so scared."
Xiaofeng looked at the girl before her. She had radiant eyes, taut skin that glowed, her hair was tied up, a youthful spirit exuberant.
Look, this was what an eighteen-year-old girl should look like. Then there was herself, dressed like a typical rural housewife.
Xiaofeng shook her head, the fear on her face deepening, and she drew herself more tightly into a ball, as though she might sit on the bed hugging her knees, "I don’t know who you are. Where’s my dad? I want to see my dad."
Gu Yecheng listened to her words and looked at her demeanor, patiently saying, "You really don’t remember me, nor know where you are?"
"I know you; you’re the grandson of Old Master Liu from the village next to ours, a doctor. But we’re not close. Doctor Cheng, how am I doing? I’m not in trouble, am I?"
A herd of grass mud horses raced through his mind. His memory had returned, but now his wife had amnesia.
Life was indeed full of surprises, one wave after another.
"Wife, do you remember what happened before you passed out?" If she still recognized him, it meant she hadn’t completely lost her memory. She’d selectively forgotten some things.
Xiaofeng wanted to speak, to say that during the struggle with Liu An, her father had discovered them.
But it sounded like something difficult to say out loud, so she shook her head, "I want to go home. Where’s my dad?"
She didn’t want to stay here or face these people; she just wanted to go home.
Chu Qing pulled Yecheng outside, "Acheng, I think Xiaofeng’s mood is not quite right, insisting on her dad. Maybe we should call Su Dage and tell him about Xiaofeng’s condition."
Xiaofeng was indeed her daughter, but above all things, Xiaofeng’s safety came first.
"Sis, do you really not remember?" Xiaonian said, her heart aching upon hearing that her sister didn’t recognize her.
How could her sister forget her?
Poor sister, what had happened that made her forget all of them?
"Don’t come any closer," Xiaofeng said, seeing that they wanted to approach, hugging her legs, fear evident in her eyes, "I really don’t know you, don’t come any closer. Where is this place? I want to go home. I don’t want to stay here."
This was not her home, these people were strange, spouting strange words.
Gu Yecheng told Chu Qing and the others, "Mom, you and dad go back first. She only recognizes me, I’ll have a good talk with her."
It was good that she still remembered him as Doctor Cheng. As long as she recognized someone, her defenses would be lowered a bit.
"Okay, I’ll go back and prepare some soup to bring over. Xiaonian, you go back too; we’ll return a little later." Indeed, Xiaofeng just woke up and needed peace, and suddenly facing so many people, she surely couldn’t cope.