EL Chapter 33

Chapter 33 – Memories Regained

Novel Title: 一屋暗灯 (Ephemeral Light)

Author：麦香鸡呢 (McChicken)

Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)

Protagonists: 宋谨 (Song Jin -MC), 宋星阑 (Song Xinglan -ML)

*Please read at knoxt.space, the original site of translation. TQ*

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After a simple bandaging, Song Xinglan was sent to the city’s hospital, where the doctor who had treated him after the car accident examined his wounds.

“It currently looks like there’s just a cut on his forehead. We’ll have to wait for the scans to come out to be sure about the rest,” the doctor said. “He was in the rain for too long and now shows symptoms of a fever. Let him rest in the ward for now. If the scans reveal any intracranial injuries, we’ll prepare for surgery immediately.”

Song Jin, with pale lips, nodded.

He sat by the bedside, looking at the quietly unconscious Song Xinglan. Song Xinglan hadn’t eaten anything since noon and had walked alone in the cold rain through the village for a long time before finally falling down a slope. Now, Song Jin had no other demands. He only hoped for Song Xinglan to be safe and will wake up soon.

Before long, the doctor came over and said the test results showed no internal injuries or brain edema for Song Xinglan. There was just the external wound on his forehead and some scratches and bruises on his body. It was a mild concussion. The doctor told Song Jin not to worry too much.

Song Jin breathed a sigh of relief and asked the doctor for a bottle of medicine. In his haste while going down the slope, his legs had gotten quite bruised and injured. Later, while waiting for the ambulance, he had hurriedly packed a few things. Now that he knew Song Xinglan was probably fine, he planned to change out of his wet clothes and apply some medicine to his own wounds.

After getting everything sorted, Song Jin sat back down by the bedside. He gently held Song Xinglan’s hand.

He had heard that some people from Song Xinglan’s company were already on a plane because the doctor had contacted them. Until they arrived, Song Jin had to ensure that he stayed by Song Xinglan’s side without leaving even for a moment.

In the middle of the night, Song Xinglan’s fever worsened. After the nurse checked on him, she said it might not necessarily be a complication from the wound. Most of it was likely due to catching a cold from being in the rain. His heart rate was also relatively normal. But since there was still a wound on his forehead, they couldn’t rush to use fever-reducing medication. They would start with physical cooling and then decide on the next steps based on his condition.

Song Xinglan frowned slightly, seemingly in pain. Song Jin held his hand, brushed his eyebrows softly, and said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”

Song Xinglan’s fingers twitched slightly in Song Jin’s palm. They then fell still.

Later that night, Song Jin was woken up by a noise.

He heard someone calling out “Ge”. The voice was short, urgent, and extremely frightened.

Song Jin abruptly opened his eyes and saw Song Xinglan deeply furrowing his eyebrows. His face was flushed with a sickly red, as if he was having a nightmare in his unconscious state. His body trembled and he tightly gripped Song Jin’s hand.

“Ge… Ge…”

Song Xinglan’s breathing was shaky and extremely unsteady. Song Jin leaned over to touch his face. It was still a bit hot. He reached down the back of Song Xinglan’s collar and found that he was sweating.

Sweating meant the fever was going down. Song Jin pressed the back of his hand against Song Xinglan’s face and whispered in his ear, “Xinglan, I’m here.”

“Ge…” Song Xinglan kept his eyes tightly shut while his eyelashes trembled. It was as if tears were welling up. He continued to call out, “Ge…”

“I’m here.” Song Jin held his hand tighter and gently patted his chest. “Sleep well. Don’t be afraid.”

Song Jin didn’t know how long he had been comforting him. But finally, Song Xinglan completely calmed down. His breathing became steady and his complexion returned to normal.

The sky seemed to be getting brighter. Song Jin sat back in the chair. He had almost stayed up all night but didn’t feel tired.

The rain outside gradually stopped. Song Jin leaned on the bedside, thinking about what breakfast to prepare for Song Xinglan when he woke up.

He fell asleep while thinking. His hand was still tightly holding Song Xinglan’s as he slept until dawn.

The doctor came to examine Song Xinglan and said there was no longer any serious concern. He was still in a light unconscious stage and barring any unexpected developments, he would wake up soon.

Seeing Song Jin looking a bit weary, the doctor advised him to rest and have breakfast. The people from the company would arrive soon. They could take turns looking after Song Xinglan.

Song Jin smiled and said, “It’s okay. I’m his brother. Taking care of him is my duty.”

Around nine o’clock, Song Jin started feeling hungry. He prepared to go out and buy breakfast. He didn’t know when Song Xinglan would wake up. So he planned to bring something back for him too.

Before leaving the hospital room, Song Jin tidied Song Xinglan’s hair and adjusted the blanket over him. He bent down to look at him for a long moment before quietly walking out and closing the door.

While having breakfast, Song Jin called the neighbour. Since he hadn’t been able to take care of Grapefruit after Song Xinglan’s accident yesterday, he had left him at the neighbour’s house. The neighbour reassured him that Grapefruit was fine, had eaten its morning cat food, and was now sleeping. The neighbour asked Song Jin to take care of his brother without worries.

Checking the time, Song Jin knew the people from the company would arrive soon. He packed up breakfast and returned to the hospital.

The door to the single patient room was open and voices could be heard from inside.

Song Jin walked up to the door, frowning slightly with displeasure at the noise. Even if Song Xinglan had woken up, they shouldn’t be making such a ruckus.

He was about to intervene when he heard someone say, “Xinglan, you’ve finally remembered.”

Song Jin’s footsteps froze in place. His mind felt empty, unable to process much. He could only passively accept those words of joy.

“It’s almost like a blessing in disguise. Falling down and remembering everything.”

“I was thinking on the plane, if only you could remember this time.”

“Take good care and try to get discharged soon. Everyone at the company is waiting for you.”

…

Voices surrounded him from all directions. They were like tightly wound tape covering his eyes, sealing his nose, muffling his mouth, and glueing his legs firmly in place causing him unable to move.

“Oh, is that Song Jin?” Suddenly, someone turned around and saw Song Jin standing by the door. They looked at his face. He looked so different yet bearing an undeniable resemblance to Song Xinglan’s type. They felt somewhat relieved. “It’s really thanks to you for taking care of Xinglan. Come over here. He remembers everything now.”

Everyone turned towards him. Their faces were filled with joy as they blocked Song Jin’s path forward.

Everyone present hoped for Song Xinglan’s recovery and was delighted by his complete recovery. Except him—only he, deep down in his heart, had secretly wished that Song Xinglan would never regain his memory.

Now his fantasies were shattered. His dreams were also crushed.

Song Jin shifted his feet. His throat is tightening. Step by step, he walked into the hospital room. His mechanical gaze passed through the standing figures, stiffly turning through each angle with his steps. He stood on the outer edge of the crowd, separated by a gap, locking eyes with Song Xinglan.

Bandages still covered Song Xinglan’s forehead as he sat on the edge of the bed. He was looking at Song Jin. His gaze was calm, deep and dark. It was devoid of warmth. He seemed emotionless yet silently pressing on every nerve of Song Jin’s. It was just like before.

At this moment, it was as if the Song Xinglan of the past two months had never existed, leaving no trace behind. It was as if they were meeting again after over three years, memories spanning a long time and distance, crashing and colliding. Even the little remaining happiness was crushed underfoot.

They stood at opposite ends of a straight line. The clashes and torment, the hatred and fear from three years ago, hadn’t truly faded with time. Instead, the embraces, kisses, and tight hand-holds from just yesterday had become unrecognisable and unreachable.

Song Jin placed the breakfast he was holding on the TV cabinet. His voice was hoarse when he spoke. His eyes felt stinging and dry. Yet, stubbornly, he still wanted to meet Song Xinglan’s gaze. “About that video, you promised me you would delete it. I hope you’ll do that.”

He calmly finished his sentence. Not waiting for Song Xinglan’s response, he then turned and left the hospital room. He didn’t want to utter a single word about congratulating Song Xinglan on his recovery in front of others.

Song Jin looked up at the rows of lights passing overhead. It wasn’t raining outside. But the sky was overcast and dim.

With a click, the cake vanished, the gifts disappeared. Yesterday’s world collapsed, leaving only the dim light of the beginning. The surroundings seemed even darker and more oppressive than before.

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*Translator’s Note: Yep. That SOB is back. He will be jealous of his own self and will now need to atone for his sins. Although, he’s still domineering and annoying before he toned down. Grr. -K

*P/S: due to a comment from previous chapter, I found that some people have issues to read on blogspot. As far as I know, blogspot is free so I’m really confused as to why they would ask private info like that. The thing is, I’ve tried posting the mature chapter on my wattpad account before but it was deleted by wattpad because of mature content. On buymeacoffee, my account was also terminated because of mature content. My head’s dizzy right now. I chose blogspot because it’s free and it won’t simply be taken down due to mature content. I decided to disable adult content at the moment on the blog. Probably that’ll help. I don’t know what else to do if you guys can’t even read it there. 😭

Next update: -Daily-

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