Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

Once out of the ward, the doctor led Yang Ce and Chen Shutang to the doctors' office, went in, and motioned for them to sit on the sofa.

"Doctor, is there something wrong with Zhou Yanning?" Yang Ce sat as he was bid, but the question came out before he could stop it.

The doctor raised a hand for patience, then opened Zhou Yanning's chart. "Since the patient woke, her heart rate, EEG, and every other indicator have been perfectly normal—she meets the standard for a healthy person and can be discharged. However—"

There she paused, and Yang Ce's heart lurched. He could not abide people who trailed off on purpose, but he was in no position to lose his temper when he needed her help. "Is there still a problem?"

"There is." The doctor took a sip of water and went on: "From my observations, the patient may have lost her memory."

To be continued

939. Classmate Chen's Thoughts

"Amnesia?" Chen Shutang and Yan exclaimed together.

"Of course, it's not the sort of amnesia you're imagining." The doctor waved a hand in explanation. "The patient hasn't forgotten everything—only a small portion."

"Only a small portion?" Yang Ce frowned. Even a small portion would not do. Who would want a blank stretch in their memory?

"Yes. In medical terms it's called localized amnesia—a rather rare form." The doctor said, "That is to say, the patient may have forgotten events from one particular span of time. But it's not so bad. From what we can see, her memory stops at a year ago, and that gap shouldn't greatly disrupt her life.

In fact, you needn't be too anxious. That the patient woke at all is a mercy amid misfortune. And from what I understand of similar cases, when a patient suffers localized amnesia, the memory often retreats to the age of four or five, or seven or eight—and that would seriously interfere with normal life.

But Zhou Yanning's case is a little better. She is in university now, yet her memory remains at the senior-year-of-high-school stage. Even so, attending university shouldn't pose too great a problem."

Yang Ce and Chen Shutang both nodded. Indeed, if it was as the doctor said, then it truly was a mercy amid misfortune.

"What caused it?" Yang Ce asked. "Is there any chance of recovery?"

"As for causes, there are many. Localized amnesia tends to blot out things of some importance." The doctor explained, "The patient was wounded by gunfire. My guess is that it was a harrowing experience, and some deep part of her mind may have chosen to forget it."

"I see." Yang Ce nodded. The doctor's reasoning made good sense, and the facts bore it out—what girl could pass through such horror and come away untouched?

"Sometimes, in fact, choosing to forget is not necessarily a bad thing. Of course, if she wishes to recover her memory, it is not entirely impossible." The doctor continued, "You might try telling her about the past year; it may awaken something. But I would say that unless there is something especially important, it isn't strictly necessary."

"I understand. Thank you, Doctor," Yang Ce said.

"It's nothing. The patient's condition now permits discharge—see to the paperwork as soon as you can," the doctor instructed.

Yang Ce nodded, and he and Chen Shutang left the office and walked to the ward. They pushed the door open and saw Zhou Yanning sitting quietly on the bed, gazing out the window, lost in thought.

At the sound of the door, Zhou Yanning turned. Her eyes fell on Yang Ce and Chen Shutang, and there was something unfamiliar, something startled, in her look. "You are—?"

Yang Ce was taken aback—then it came to him: she had lost her memory. Of course she did not recognize him or Chen Shutang. A year ago, after all, Zhou Yanning had not yet entered university.

"Jiajia, we're—" Yang Ce had not finished before he was cut off.

A flicker of delight suddenly crossed Zhou Yanning's eyes, and she said, excited: "Yang Ce! You're Yang Ce! What are you doing here?"

"Uh—" Yang Ce had never met with such a scene. Clearly Zhou Yanning recognized him—but how was he supposed to explain?

"Yang Ce, it's been so long." Zhou Yanning was still beaming with delight. "How did you know I was in the hospital?"

"I—Jiajia, do you really not remember anything?" Yang Ce asked with a smile.

Zhou Yanning looked bewildered. She blinked her big, liquid eyes and answered with a kind of blankness: "Not remember what? What's the matter?"

"Jiajia, don't you remember? How you were hurt, how you ended up in the hospital, and—and what you said to me before you were hurt?" Yang Ce dearly hoped the words would jolt something loose in her, but the result disappointed him sorely.

Zhou Yanning still wore a look of utter incomprehension. "Hurt? Was I hurt? How could I have been hurt?"

"Jiajia, the truth is, it's 2009 now, not 2008. You were hurt and went into the hospital, but when you woke up, your memory had stopped a year back. The doctor says you've got a localized form of amnesia," Yang Puqi explained in a measured tone.

"Localized amnesia—me?" Zhou Yanning pointed at herself, startled, and blurted out, "Yang Ce, are you telling me the truth?"

Yang Yuting nodded, then sighed. "Jiajia, you're not a high schooler anymore—you're a university student. We're both in the computer science department at Songjiang Engineering University. We've ended up as classmates again."

"Classmates again?" Zhou Yanning was curious, even a little excited. But the excitement soon curdled into deep unease. "Yang Ce, is all of this real? The two of us are university classmates? And I've really lost my memory?"

Yang Yongjin was not sure how to explain it, but when he looked up he spotted a copy of that day's newspaper on the hospital table—Auntie Li had probably bought it to read. He picked it up and set it in front of Zhou Yanning. "Jiajia, look at the date on the paper. It's already February 2009."

Zhou Yanning picked up the newspaper, glanced at it, and set it down again. She bit her lower lip, saying nothing, lost in thoughts of her own. Seeing her like that, Chen Shutang grew worried too, and tried to console her. "Jiajia, it's really nothing. So what if you've lost your memory? It's no big deal. Yan and I will stay by your side the whole time."

"Ah—thank you both." Zhou Yanning gave a faint smile, then asked, a little embarrassed, "And you are...?"

"Ah?" Chen Shutang was taken aback, then realized she had forgotten to introduce herself. It made sense that Zhou Yanning could recognize Yang Ce—they had been classmates in middle school, so that was no surprise. But she herself had only met Zhou Yanning after university began. No wonder Zhou Yanning had no impression of her.

So how was she supposed to explain it to Zhou Yanning? Chen Shutang hesitated, then sat down lightly beside her and took Zhou Yanning's small hand in her own. She wanted to say something, but with Yang Ce standing right there, she felt too shy. So she shot Yang Puqi a glare. "Out. You first."

Yang Ce was baffled by Chen Shutang's behavior. It was only a self-introduction—why did she need to send him out? Yang Jincong shook his head with a smile, turned, and left the room, closing the door properly behind him.

To say Yang Yongjin was not curious would be a lie. One woman in that room was already his, and the other would be sooner or later, so he simply stopped worrying about propriety and used his ability to observe what was happening inside the ward.

Zhou Yanning was just as baffled by Chen Shutang. She stared at her in surprise. "Why did you shoo Yang Ce out?"

"There are some things I'd rather not say in front of him, so I sent him out," Chen Shutang said with a smile.

"Ah!" Zhou Yanning's face lit with understanding. "You must be Yang Juehuan's girlfriend." Seeing how Chen Shutang was with Yan, and how she ordered him about, that was the only guess Zhou Yanning could make.

Chen Shutang blushed. "Jiajia, my name is Chen Shutang. And yes, I'm Yang Juehuan's girlfriend."