Chapter 150: Chapter 150: Rapid Healing
"What is wrong?" Huo Feng asked, his brows knitting in worry.
Yue Ning snapped out of her reverie and shook her head.
"I was only... thinking," she replied softly. She tried to smile, but the pain tugged sharply at her injuries. Her brows creased, and a thin layer of sweat glistened on her forehead.
"Don’t move," Huo Feng murmured immediately. He reached for a tissue and gently wiped her temples, his movements cautious. "The doctor said you should rest. Your ribs are still healing."
Yue Ning gave a faint nod, her gaze lowering. The dull ache in her side throbbed with every breath she took, a painful reminder of how close she’d come to death.
He sat back in the chair beside her bed, fatigue shadowing his eyes. "You were unconscious for almost twelve hours," he said quietly. "When I saw you lying there... I thought I’d lost you."
Her heart clenched. She could hear the unspoken fear in his voice.
"I’m sorry," she whispered. "I didn’t mean to worry you."
Huo Feng shook his head. "Don’t apologize. Just... stay safe. Please."
Silence settled between them, except the steady rhythm of the heart monitor.
"Has my mother been here?" she asked quietly.
"She came earlier," he said. "But you were still unconscious. The hospital wouldn’t allow visitors this late, so I told her I’d stay."
Yue Ning’s lips parted, a quiet "oh" leaving her. Somehow, that made her chest ache even more.
Yue Ning turned her face slightly toward the window, the city lights forcing its way through the curtains. It was already midnight. The memory of the black sedan, the screech of tires, and the system’s glitching voice replayed in her mind.
She couldn’t tell him the truth. How could she tell him that she wasn’t from this world and this world was a... novel? It sounded childish, and Huo Feng wouldn’t believe it.
"Have the doctors said how long I need to stay?" she asked instead.
"About a week," Huo Feng replied, his tone careful. "They said your body needs time to recover and you hit your head pretty hard. You’ll need to be monitored for a while."
Yue Ning hummed softly. "A week..."
It was both comforting and unnerving. Comforting, because she was safe for now. Unnerving, because she knew Madam He wouldn’t wait that long before making another move.
Just then, a nurse entered to check her IV. After she left, Huo Feng stood up, giving Yue Ning’s hand a gentle squeeze. "I’ll go get you something to eat. The hospital food looks terrible, but you’ll have to make do with it."
A small smile tugged at Yue Ning’s lips. "You don’t have to—"
"I insist," he interrupted, and for the first time in hours, there was a hint of warmth in his tone.
When he finally stepped out, the room grew quiet again.
Yue Ning glanced at the door, her fingers tightening slightly.
Something told her... she wasn’t alone. She had him by his side.
About a few minutes later, Huo Feng returned. And he wasn’t alone, the doctor was there with him. His hands were also holding a takeaway containing a light meal.
"Mrs. Huo, sorry I haven’t come to check on you." The doctor bowed slightly. "I just concluded a surgery. I hope you aren’t vexed with me."
Yue Ning smiled softly and shook her head. The doctor who was a middle-aged woman smiled warmly.
"I see they’ve changed your IV. Now, I’ll check your vitals." Doctor Ming smiled.
She performed a series of examinations, her brows furrowing ever so slightly.
"It is a miracle," she murmured, gaining the attention of the two.
"What is wrong, Doctor?" Huo Feng questioned.
"Her injuries are halfway healed," Doctor Ming replied.
"What?" Huo Feng asked, his voice reflecting his surprise. Yue Ning, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes
"Hmm. Looking at things, it won’t be a stretch to say she could be discharged in three days," Doctor Ming said finally, still flipping through the chart.
"Three days?" Huo Feng repeated, his brows lifting slightly. Relief flickered in his eyes, but confusion quickly followed. "But... her ribs were fractured. How could she recover that quickly?"
Doctor Ming hesitated, tapping her pen lightly against the clipboard. "That’s what puzzles me, Mr. Huo. I’ve seen rapid recoveries before, but not like this." She was confused by the rapid healing.
"Her internal bruising has faded almost entirely, and the bone alignment looks perfect. I’ll have to run another scan tomorrow morning to confirm, but..." She trailed off, shaking her head with a faint smile. "If I didn’t know better, I’d say her body is repairing itself."
Yue Ning’s eyes trembled, and a faint chill crawled up her spine.
Doctor Ming adjusted the IV line and smiled warmly. "Try to get some rest, Mrs. Huo. Your body is clearly doing what it can to heal. I’ll check on you in the morning."
Once the doctor left, silence settled over the room again, thick and still. Only the steady beeping of the monitor filled the air.
Huo Feng exhaled quietly, setting the takeaway box on the side table. "I brought you something to eat," he said, his tone soft. He opened the lid to reveal warm rice porridge with a faint wisp of steam curling upward. "The nurse said it’s light enough not to strain your stomach."
Yue Ning nodded faintly, her fingers brushing the blanket. "Thank you," she murmured, though her thoughts were miles away.
Inside her mind, something stirred. A low distant mechanical voice rippled faintly through her consciousness.
’Self-repair sequence: forty percent complete,’ came the fragmented voice.
Her pulse jumped. It was the system.
Her eyes darted toward the window where the curtain swayed gently, though the night outside was still.
So it had healed her. Even when it had claimed it couldn’t fully intervene... it had saved her life.
Huo Feng sat down again, resting his elbows on his knees, exhaustion shadowing his face. "You’ve been quiet," he said after a moment. "Are you in pain?"
She shook her head quickly. "No. Just... thinking."
"About what?"
She hesitated, her gaze drifting toward the heart monitor, the rhythmic pulse syncing eerily with her heartbeat. "About how fragile life is."
Huo Feng studied her for a long moment, his voice lowering. "Yue Ning," he said slowly, carefully, "are you sure... there’s nothing you’re not telling me?"
Her breath caught. His tone wasn’t accusing, it was worried. Too worried.
"I’m fine," she said at last, forcing a smile. "Don’t overthink it."
He wanted to press, she could tell. But instead, he reached out, gently brushing a stray strand of hair from her face. "Then rest. I’ll be here."
As he leaned back in the chair, Yue Ning turned her gaze to the ceiling.
The lights flickered once.
A sudden faint chill swept through the room, making her fingers curl into the sheets.
She frowned. Maybe it was just the air conditioning.
But deep inside, beneath the soft hum of the machines... she could almost hear something else.
A whisper barely audible brushed against her consciousness.
"You’ve changed the story too much..."
Yue Ning’s blood ran cold.
She looked toward Huo Feng, but he hadn’t noticed anything.
The system was silent. The room was quiet again.
Only Yue Ning’s pulse thundered in her ears as she realized. Someone, or something, was watching.