Chapter 589: Emergence

Chapter 589: Emergence

Li Huowang opened his eyes once more, only to find himself in the early morning of the following day. Although Sun Xiaoqin insisted on entering the restroom to assist him, Li Huowang pushed her out and managed his own grooming.

Though his body was weak, he dragged himself through the process for half a day before finally accomplishing it. As soon as he emerged, Sun Xiaoqin had already brought breakfast for him.

With trembling hands, Li Huowang raised his chopsticks and struggled to stuff a steamed bun into his mouth.

"Son, eat more, eat more so you can grow strong. After finishing, how about we do some rehabilitation exercises?"

"Mm." Li Huowang nodded with his cheeks puffed out. His body was too frail now; he needed to recover quickly. Not to mention anything else, at least he wanted to be able to walk again.

In front of Xin Su Li Huowang, he was afraid he could be crushed by a single finger.

After breakfast, the rehabilitation training began. Li Huowang leaned on an aluminum stool without a base, slowly dragging himself forward.

This slow movement might not seem burdensome to a healthy person, but for Li Huowang, it was quite taxing. Soon, sweat broke out on his forehead, and his muscles started to ache intensely.

It was painful, yet this kind of torment seemed as simple as eating or drinking to someone who had endured countless hardships like Li Huowang.

After a few short rounds of exercise, Li Huowang lay back down in bed, gasping heavily.

He could feel his hands and feet twitching slightly from time to time—an early sign of strength returning.

Sun Xiaoqin, full of energy, skillfully massaged his entire body to prevent lactic acid buildup, which caused soreness the next day.

She was very experienced at such tasks. Even when Li Huowang hadn’t fully recovered from illness, she often gave him muscle massages and helped stretch his limbs.

"Son, keep going! We'll both work hard. Once your condition stabilizes completely and doctors confirm you're truly better, we can transfer to another hospital. No need to stay here where it's more like a prison than a hospital."

"We have to transfer? Can't we just go home directly?" Li Huowang frowned slightly.

"Not that fast, don't worry. As long as your condition is stabilized and doctors verify that you're truly cured, then you can go home for real."

That really is troublesome," he muttered.

"Haha~" Sun Xiaoqin chuckled cheerfully, finding no trouble at all. Her son being well again was far more important than anything else.

Now, at least there was hope that things would improve day by day, rather than stretching endlessly ahead.

Before, she genuinely feared that her son might remain in a daze forever, going mad for life.

She saved money carefully, hoping to leave enough for her son, fearing that if she passed away along with his father, Li Huowang would end up alone, scavenging garbage on the streets and freezing to death during some winter night.

Now that her son was recovering, there was no longer a need to economize. The savings could now be reserved for his wedding.

But today’s girls were quite realistic, so she still needed to save more. Fortunately, her son was still young, giving her plenty of time.

"Mom, you're pressing on my neck," Li Huowang said, pulling Sun Xiaoqin back from her thoughts. She gently patted both sides of his cheeks.

"Good boy, rest a bit first. I’ll go get some water from the boiler room to wipe off your sweat."

Days passed one after another. With continued rehabilitation, although Li Huowang still looked emaciated, he could walk unassisted now and carry a bowl without using both hands.

His docile behavior also caught others' attention, and the guards’ vigilance toward him gradually relaxed.

Initially, four people watched over him, but soon reduced to three, then two. After all, among so many inmates in the ward, it was impossible for everyone to constantly monitor Li Huowang.

At noon one day, with handcuffs on, Li Huowang sat on a bench watching TV alongside two guards.

There were still few people around him, leaving a large space open. Li Huowang didn’t mean to avoid making friends, but unfortunately, the last time he tried to approach someone, they cried out in fright.

Li Huowang tilted his head upward, staring at the soap opera playing on screen, feeling his teeth ache. "What kind of nonsense is this? Don’t they have anything better to do? Can you make money just by falling in love every day?"

The guard named Xiao Liu beside him spoke up, "You should watch more of these shows. Learn a few tricks from them. Maybe they’ll come in handy later when dating."

Li Huowang wasn’t technically a prisoner anymore, so there was no need to maintain intimidation towards him. Besides, Sun Xiaoqin occasionally prepared meals for them, and their relationship had grown fairly good through regular contact.

"You learn everything from TV? No wonder you haven’t found a girlfriend. Do you have a phone? Let me borrow it for a while."

"A phone? In dreams maybe. There are rules in the prison—no mobile phones allowed even old-style ones." Xiao Liu continued watching the show with his head tilted back.

Li Huowang sighed deeply, stood up, and walked toward the corridor on the left.

"Where are you going?" Both guards stood up quickly.

"What else? To the restroom."

"Then we’ll follow."

Accompanied by the guards, Li Huowang entered that corridor and eventually stepped into the public restroom.

This wasn’t the first time. The guards waited outside while Li Huowang quietly flushed the toilet, waiting for something.

"Xiao Li, your kidneys aren’t good. It takes you so long to use the bathroom every day."

"Mind your own business. By the way, before I got sick and came here, I had a girlfriend."

"..."

When he went to wash his hands, through the glass window, Li Huowang saw an elderly man wearing a hat and mask carrying a broom and trash bag enter.

Just as Li Huowang was about to leave, that sensation suddenly returned! His whole body tensed instantly. Through the reflection of the glass, he looked at the old man sweeping the toilets.

Feeling Li Huowang’s gaze, the old man looked up briefly, met his eyes through the glass, then quickly lowered his head again.

Although he could only see two eyes, Li Huowang immediately recognized the identity of this man—he was Wang Wei pretending to be someone else!

"Wait a moment, I need to take a big dump."

"Hey, hurry up. Did you bring tissues?" Seeing Li Huowang’s clear thinking, Xiao Liu and the other guard didn’t suspect anything.

After all, according to Dr. Yi’s words, the signs of Li Huowang’s onset were incoherent speech, easily detectable.

Li Huowang glanced distantly at the restroom door, slowly approached Wang Wei, and whispered as low as possible, "Why did you come here? What do you want?"

Wang Wei was his previous attending physician. Li Huowang remembered their last meeting clearly—he had gone mad.

As Li Huowang drew closer, Wang Wei suddenly extended his right hand and firmly gripped Li Huowang’s wrist. His voice was barely above a whisper, yet extremely excited:

"I know! I know it’s true!"

Wang Wei’s pupils trembled, filled with excitement and euphoria, just like those manic patients in full episodes.

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Next chapter updates at 00:01.

(End of Chapter)