Chapter 249: I Made You Noodles
Jiang Che looked at the world before him; the hospital room carried the familiar scent of disinfectant, with a faint hint of blood.
The shadows of the people around him turned into illusory bubbles, distorting and spreading, as the original colors began to blur and fade.
White clothes, white walls, white counters—all the whiteness seemed like a muddled painting, becoming increasingly unclear.
Jiang Che gazed at Ding Ning being wheeled into the ward in the distance; her face turned to another direction, pale and indistinct on the white hospital bed.
Jiang Che stood still, unable to move a step.
He had stayed in this world for almost six years, from sophomore year in high school to junior year, then graduation from college, pregnancy, and childbirth.
Even their new house had just been renovated not long ago.
He had grown accustomed to everything in this world; sometimes he couldn’t even remember returning to that matter, time here was ordinary yet blissful, a simple life, but in just six years, he felt it was more enriching than his twenty years in the other world.
The thoughts of illusion and trial sometimes flashed across his mind.
But soon these thoughts would vanish, perhaps because he intentionally avoided thinking about it, or perhaps because he was too much in love.
"If I stay, can I ever wake up again?" Jiang Che gazed at the blurry world, where only Hua’s figure remained clear before him.
"It’s very difficult," Hua glanced at him, "almost impossible, you could say."
"As time passes, you will gradually forget over there, never to wake again."
"This world won’t end, you’ll repeatedly fall into this cycle," Hua looked into Jiang Che’s eyes.
"Can I have one last look?" Jiang Che took a deep breath; now he only wanted to see Ding Ning one last time, his newborn child, and his parents.
"No," Hua shook her head.
"Jiang Che, what are you doing? Ning is calling you!" In a daze, Jiang Che looked toward the door of the ward, where his mother’s image was gradually coming into focus, seeing his parents standing at the ward entrance, waving at him.
They complained that Jiang Che had been inactive for too long, taking too long to come over.
Jiang Che looked again toward the hospital, where the blurry phantoms were re-congealing, unclear edges gradually becoming crisp.
The whole world was like a low-resolution picture quickly being restored.
And the doctor in front of him no longer had Hua’s appearance.
"Let me brief you again, the patient is in a very bad condition right now, the family should ideally take close care..." With paper and pen in hand, the doctor continued selecting and explaining important points to Jiang Che.
"Come quickly, Ning still needs you with her!" His parents beckoned from afar, urging Jiang Che to go inside.
The baby’s cries also emerged from up ahead, Ding Ning softly hummed a song with the child in her arms.
Jiang Che swallowed dryly, feeling his eyes were incredibly blurred and dry, his chest tightening.
The recent apparition of Hua felt like a hysteria he had barely shaken off, once again encircling him.
"Alright, hurry in, your wife and daughter need you." The doctor before him reminded Jiang Che one last time, signaling him to quickly enter the ward.
Jiang Che did not move, the doctor beside him reached out and pushed him slightly.
Warm touch; Jiang Che gazed sideways at the doctor beside him, unaware of the doctor’s falsity.
One could say that from the start, he hadn’t realized this world was false.
This world contained too many things he hadn’t seen or experienced; if he could, he truly wished now to see the newborn child, to see his wife after delivery, then hug the child and pinch her little feet.
"Do you think he will stay?" Hua looked at the Crystal Ball before her, where she and another seemed like watching a film, viewing Jiang Che’s six years.
"Staying would not be bad either," Ning bit her lower lip.
"What do you do if he stays?" Just as Hua finished speaking, she saw Jiang Che straighten up and face the doctor.
"Doctor, you’re right, my wife, daughter, and family are all waiting for me." Jiang Che no longer looked in the direction of the ward.
The call from behind became stronger, but Jiang Che did not look back.
"Che, where are you going?" Ning’s voice sounded from behind, yet Jiang Che did not turn around, but felt her stepping out weakly from the ward to lean against the door frame, gazing at him.
"I..." Jiang Che’s voice grew choked, "You all are wonderful, this world is wonderful too."
"But this happiness isn’t mine."
"Though I may be happy here, Ning won’t be happy; you are not her either." Jiang Che said this, and without turning around, he strode toward the hospital’s entrance.
The voices behind gradually drifted further away, no one chased after him, and no one called him anymore.
The hospital entrance ahead did not emit the specific white glow of a passage, but Jiang Che knew that once he departed through that door, he would forever bid farewell to this world.
Having searched for years for the exit, it turned out to be such a simple matter.
As long as he sincerely desired to leave this world, then no matter where he went or through which door he departed, it was the exit.
At the hospital entrance, Jiang Che’s figure vanished.
Hua looked at the flower in her hand, below the flower stem, the brain had already withered now, representing that small world was disintegrating.
The scrawny brain gradually turned to dust and fell to the ground, the flower also began to wither.
Hua looked at Jiang Che in the distance, where Jiang Che was emerging from the end of the passage.
This time, she felt Jiang Che appeared differently from before, with a bit more determination and resilience now than before.
"Ning, thank you." As Jiang Che drew near, he embraced Ding Ning, "Thank you for letting me experience an unprecedented life."
"I’m very happy." Jiang Che buried his head at her hair tips.
"Just don’t do this again, even if it’s an illusion, seeing you suffer still makes me sad." Jiang Che’s voice choked.
"Alright!" Ding Ning gently patted his back, the rhythm aligned exactly with the frequency of his heartbeats.
"You were gone for ten minutes; I cooked some noodles, just ready to eat." Ding Ning said, leading Jiang Che to the nearby small kitchen.
While watching the Crystal Ball, she also cooked simultaneously.
This kitchen was temporarily set up; she didn’t seek out too complex ingredients, nor learn anything too complicated.
Hua quietly withdrew, leaving space for the two of them.
"Noodles!" Jiang Che looked joyfully at the tender noodles floating in the white broth beside him.
Some greens floated on top, no oily soup, but it looked very appetizing.
"Hearing these words, I truly feel happier than anything!" Jiang Che quickly grabbed the bowl and took a bite.
Hmm? o.0