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Chen Kaori stood in a very bright area. She could not see the wall, any door or window, nor the floor. Everything looked white and bright.

Suddenly, she heard a very familiar voice.

"Have you decided?"

Chen Kaori swiftly turned around to look at the person talking and she gasped when she saw her.

The younger Chen Kaori stood before her, her age that summer she met He Zifeng.

"Decided?" she asked her younger self.

"You wished to forget all about him. Do you want me not to meet him?" asked her younger self.

The adult Chen Kaori had a bitter smile. 'Am I this desperate to forget him, that all these are in my mind now?'

"You can choose to forget him...from the time I met him," continued her younger self.

"Do you think...I will not hurt anymore if I did?"

"You know that any person can get hurt anytime. Forgetting him will guarantee nothing, but all that happened between you two will just be like a dream, much as this one."

The adult Chen Kaori kept her bitter smile and nodded.

"Kaori..." she heard a voice call her.

"They are waiting for you to wake up. We both know it is time," told her younger self.

.

Monitors were beeping as Chen Kaori's heart rate and blood pressure increased.

He Zifeng arrived and saw the corresponding monitors in her room flashed and beeped. "Wha-what's happening?! What's wrong with her?!" he was panicking.

The nurse who came in rechecked her vital signs manually. The doctor on duty in the intensive care unit came in as well to check on Chen Kaori.

He Zifeng stood at a corner of the room, dazed and about to lose his mind. If Chen Kaori dies at that moment, he might really go crazy.

Suddenly, the doctor stopped the deafening alarms on the monitors, then tapped on his phone to make a call.

Through the confusion, He Zifeng heard the doctor report on the phone, "Patient Chen. She's awake."

The word 'awake' snapped He Zifeng from his miserable state, and he finally went closer to look at Chen Kaori.

There she was, looking confused and in pain, but definitely with eyes open and looking around.

"Kaori!" He Zifeng exclaimed as he grabbed her hand.

Chen Kaori continued to struggle to move every tube connected to her, almost succeeded in pulling out the ones in her mouth.

"Kaori! Kaori! No, don't! I...I'm here, Kaori...don't hurt yourself, okay? Calm down..." He Zifeng pinned her hands down then caressed her forehead, trying to calm her down.

Chen Kaori looked back at him with furrowed brows.

He Zifeng understood it as her complaining of all the tubes connected to her. She woke up in that state, so she struggled, using all the energy left in her, to free herself.

"Kaori...I'm here...don't be afraid. It's gonna be alright. You're gonna be alright." He Zifeng continued to coax her.

After a few minutes, Su Lianghao appeared at the door, sweat visible on his forehead, which was not covered by the protective equipment.

"Chen Kaori!" Su Lianghao hurried to check on her.

Upon seeing Su Lianghao, Chen Kaori stopped struggling.

He Zifeng furrowed his brows on the change in her, but turned to Su Lianghao, "Is she alright?!"

Su Lianghao decreased the oxygen support and stared at the monitor, checking if her stats will drop. He ignored He Zifeng and continued the decrease.

When her vital signs remained stable, oxygen levels are still high despite minimum support, Su Lianghao turned to the other doctor, "Prepare for extubation...but page Otorhinolaryngology as standby, just in case."

Su Lianghao finally turned to He Zifeng, "We will remove her endotracheal tube now. Just in case she has difficulty breathing, emergency tracheostomy will be performed. Did you sign the consent?"

"Uh...okay...yeah, I signed." He Zifeng was still in shock. He was surprised at the development of Chen Kaori's condition.

"Dr. Su, Otorhinolaryngology is here," a nurse informed.

"Okay! Let's start the extubation!" Su Lianghao declared.