I Deduce the Female Lead Likes Me [Transmigration into a book] - Chapter 19: Waking Up
Is this really… waking up this time?
Kou Shuang opened her eyes, and a sense of languidness washed over her, like being reunited with this world after a long separation. She moved, and her whole body tingled and pricked, as if she had been thrown into a sea of needles and swum a lap.
She looked around and saw the hospital again. Only this time, she wasn’t the patient but sat on a chair, slumped over the bed.
Bedside companion?
Kou Shuang shifted her gaze and saw Song Muxue’s peaceful and serene sleeping face. Song Muxue had good skin, and under the stark white hospital lights, she gained an ethereal beauty, as if she were about to ascend to heaven.
Kou Shuang recalled all her dream experiences, still in a daze. It wasn’t until she grasped Song Muxue’s hand that the chaotic drumming in her chest finally subsided a little.
Song Muxue.
Were those scenes I “dreamed” real? If so, what about Sun Jiawen? And how did Song Muxue find me?
If Sun Jiawen awakened, would Song Muxue also develop self-awareness?
Her mind was a mess.
Lost in thought, Kou Shuang didn’t notice that Song Muxue had woken up.
“Water…” Song Muxue whispered.
Kou Shuang was startled. She quickly poured a glass of water from the nightstand and handed it to Song Muxue. Song Muxue had been unconscious for a long time and had no strength to sit up, so Kou Shuang gently helped her upright.
It wasn’t quite high enough. The clear liquid slipped down the corner of Song Muxue’s lips, trickling onto her collarbone. Kou Shuang didn’t think much of it and simply wiped it with her hand. Only after Song Muxue instinctively pulled away did she realize her action had been a bit inappropriate.
Song Muxue wiped the corner of her lips with the back of her hand and asked Kou Shuang: “How many days have I been unconscious?”
Kou Shuang couldn’t answer; she didn’t know how much time had passed either.
Fortunately, Kou Deqin happened to walk in and said: “One day.”
Kou Shuang was somewhat surprised, turning to look at Kou Deqin.
Kou Deqin smiled kindly, patted Song Muxue’s head, and said: “I’ve heard everything from Shuangshuang. Thank you, Xiaoxue, for taking that blow for our Shuangshuang. I truly don’t know how to repay your life-saving kindness… Fortunately, Shuangshuang has become more sensible and knows to be grateful. She watched over you all day, saying she wouldn’t sleep until you woke up. No one could persuade her, and in the end, she fell asleep by your bed.”
When Kou Deqin said this, he felt some guilt, some gratitude, and some relief. He and Song Muxue’s parents were good friends, and they had even arranged a baby marriage over twenty years ago. It was one thing for both to be girls, but in recent years, Kou Shuang had somehow developed resentment towards Song Muxue, which made him feel he had let his friends down.
Now Song Muxue had taken a blow for his daughter. Fortunately, his daughter wasn’t ungrateful. He greatly hoped the two could reconcile, so he deliberately exaggerated Kou Shuang’s suffering a bit. As expected, Song Muxue looked at Kou Shuang with some surprise.
Kou Shuang, on the other hand, looked at Kou Deqin with even more astonishment.
The moment she saw Song Muxue on the hospital bed, she knew that Song Muxue had ultimately taken that blow for her. But she had no memory whatsoever of being taken to the hospital, keeping vigil, or even those words of confession!
Did all of this happen just from my brief trip into a dream? Even if I really said those things, I shouldn’t have lost all related memories, should I?
What exactly was going on?
Kou Shuang paused, then came to a rather absurd conclusion.
“Snow and Wind’s Gift to Me” was entirely centered around Song Muxue. In other words, Song Muxue was the foundation of this world. When Song Muxue lost consciousness under abnormal circumstances (normal circumstances: like sleeping), the world would lose a portion of time out of thin air.
It was like reading a novel. When the female lead was unconscious, unless necessary, the author wouldn’t spend much effort describing what the supporting characters experienced.
Most of the time, it would be handled by a “Three days later” narration, effectively skipping that period. Song Muxue was the female lead, so her own scenes were simply “narrated over.”
Therefore, the moment she woke up, Song Muxue also woke up.
The reason all of this happened was simply because Song Muxue was the female lead, and the entire novel world, one could say, existed for her.
Kou Deqin patted Kou Shuang’s head and said: “Now that Xiaoxue has woken up too, you go wash up and rest. The police station needs you to confirm your statement; go this afternoon. Xiaoxue just woke up; the police will come directly here.”
Kou Shuang looked at Kou Deqin, then at Song Muxue, and finally nodded.
Too many questions, but things needed to be done one by one.
Kou Deqin then said to Song Muxue: “Then I’ll take Shuangshuang back home to tidy up. After she’s given her statement, we’ll come back here to keep vigil.”
Song Muxue nodded and then asked: “Uncle Kou, has my phone rung?”
Kou Deqin paused and said: “Your internship firm did call you once, but I directly requested leave for you, and they didn’t call again. Is there anything urgent?”
Song Muxue bit her lip and said: “Nothing.”
••••
Kou Shuang went home, took a shower, and then went to the police station to give her statement. Kou Deqin anxiously asked if she needed rest, but she said nothing.
She had slept enough in her dream.
At the police station, Zheng Fenglin greeted her. The conflict of interest principle still prevented Zheng Fenglin from participating in any procedures related to this case. She heard that saving someone last time even got him penalized.
As soon as Zheng Fenglin saw Kou Shuang, he came forward, his first words being: “Has Song Muxue woken up?”
Kou Shuang smiled and said: “She’s awake. Why don’t you take some leave and go see her?”
Song Muxue’s fervent love for Zheng Fenglin was something that developed after she returned from studying abroad. Childhood friends reunited after a long separation, deepening their understanding and bond through one case after another, and only then did their romantic storyline slowly develop.
Kou Shuang had always linked these two together, but it wasn’t until she “met” the original author that she realized something: Zheng Fenglin and Song Muxue’s relationship only developed three or four years later. Logically speaking, at this point, they should only be ordinary childhood friends. They might have feelings for each other, but it certainly wouldn’t be intensely profound.
Song Muxue had a subtle protectiveness towards Zheng Fenglin and was very cautious towards herself. Now, thinking back, it might not have been out of love, but more likely out of consideration for Kou Deqin.
In contrast, Zheng Fenglin was still a young hothead at this point. But his fondness for Song Muxue was evident; his police uniform couldn’t hide it.
It’s a romance novel after all, Kou Shuang thought.
Thinking of the original author, who was slumped over her desk saying “they just don’t want to be together,” Kou Shuang inexplicably felt that Zheng Fenglin’s feelings for Song Muxue were not as pure, as if they had been deliberately designed.
Just like the original Kou Shuang, her love for Zheng Fenglin might not have stemmed from her heart. More likely, it was simply because the author needed a vicious female supporting character.
That’s all.
How tragic… Kou Shuang suddenly felt a pang of melancholy, truly a supporting character in life.
“Kou Shuang, what’s wrong?” Zheng Fenglin asked.
Kou Shuang snapped out of her contemplation and said: “Nothing.”
Zheng Fenglin took Kou Shuang to his colleague to go through the procedures. She had already given her statement before; today was just to confirm it and add details.
Kou Shuang was surprised to find that although she was “absent,” this written statement was entirely from her perspective, no different from if she had personally recounted it.
There was no need to elaborate on what happened before Song Muxue lost consciousness. After Song Muxue fainted, the police officers present subdued Sun Jiawen. Sun Jiawen struggled violently until she was given a sedative and fell asleep. She herself held Song Muxue, panicking. Zheng Fenglin called 110, and then she followed the ambulance, taking Song Muxue to the hospital.
Song Muxue underwent a small surgery. She had some superficial wounds on her arm, nothing serious, but she remained unconscious for a day. During this day, she had stayed by Song Muxue’s bedside, to “atone.”
Kou Shuang signed the paper document. The police officer who took her statement smiled and comforted her: “You must have been scared then.”
Kou Shuang smiled and said: “Thank you for your hard work.”
After confirming her statement, she walked out and saw Sun Jiawen sitting in the adjacent room, with a doctor in a white coat beside her, presumably also confirming her statement.
Zheng Fenglin explained from the side: “As a witness and suspect, Sun Jiawen’s lawyer applied for an insanity defense. She’s currently undergoing evaluation, so a doctor needs to be present during the statement.”
Kou Shuang looked at Sun Jiawen, suddenly feeling a little excited. She couldn’t confirm the reality of her dreams, but now there was Sun Jiawen, and Sun Jiawen’s second personality.
Although she didn’t know how the second personality could perceive the existence of higher-dimensional beings, combining it with her dream, Kou Shuang finally understood what Sun Jiawen said the day she kidnapped her.
– Do you like anyone else, in this world?
– Don’t like, don’t fear, don’t care, don’t mind. You’re not from this world, are you?
– When were you born? When did you find out?
– How did you defeat the other Kou Shuang and gain control?
This inner personality didn’t know this was a book. With her accumulated knowledge, being able to make the “brain in a vat” inference was already very impressive.
She knew she was trapped in something, but she couldn’t break free, couldn’t even determine what was trapping her. Even with self-awareness, it was just a more advanced form of sorrow.
She even asked herself who the protagonist was, but she got no answer.
Kou Shuang stopped, and asked Zheng Fenglin: “After she finishes her statement, can I talk to her?”
Zheng Fenglin was startled and said: “You can, but… what do you want to talk to her about?”
Kou Shuang said nothing, found a seat, and sat down.
Sun Jiawen walked out of the statement room. The first person she saw was Kou Shuang. Her originally calm expression immediately became agitated. She stomped her feet and pulled at her hair, appearing extremely frantic.
As Kou Shuang approached, Sun Jiawen became even more agitated. She even tried to snatch a utility knife from a nearby table.
The doctor seemed overwhelmed, frantically looking for a trigger.
“Sun Jiawen,” Kou Shuang said.
Sun Jiawen’s condition worsened, almost trying to ram her head into Kou Shuang. Only then did the doctor notice Kou Shuang. He turned around and said: “Hello, Miss Kou.”
“Hello, Doctor. May I say a few words to Sun Jiawen?”
The doctor looked at Sun Jiawen, appearing very troubled, and said: “As you can see, the situation might not be convenient right now.”
“Then when would it be convenient? If I want to see her, do I need an appointment?” Kou Shuang asked.
“That depends on the treatment progress…” the doctor said slowly: “Judging by the patient’s stress reaction to you, it will have to wait until her condition stabilizes.”
Kou Shuang nodded, feeling a little regretful.
She watched the doctor lead Sun Jiawen away. From her back alone, she could see Sun Jiawen’s hatred. Kou Shuang couldn’t help but wonder, for Sun Jiawen, was her love for Lu Renjia deeper, or her hatred for “Lu Renjia’s girlfriend” stronger?
Just a second before Sun Jiawen was escorted out of the police station by the doctor, she turned her head and shouted at Kou Shuang: “Cannot say! Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed!”
The indifference and disdain in her eyes were familiar, belonging to the inner personality.
What heavenly secrets? What cannot be revealed?
Kou Shuang quickly chased after her and saw Sun Jiawen being put into a mental hospital vehicle. Before the window rolled up, she smiled and gave Kou Shuang a silencing gesture, as if saying—
Shh.
“Shuangshuang, why are you arguing with a mentally ill person?” Kou Deqin also chased out.
“Nothing,” Kou Shuang smiled and said: “Let’s go back to the hospital and see Song Muxue.”
She was truly concerned about the message Sun Jiawen’s inner personality wanted to convey to her. It seemed she could only go to the mental hospital to find answers once the other party’s condition stabilized slightly.
Kou Shuang suddenly felt a little melancholy. She wasn’t sure if she, like Sun Jiawen, also suffered from delusions.
Kou Deqin drove Kou Shuang back to the hospital. He treated Song Muxue as his own child. Now that Song Muxue was injured because of his own child and was lying alone in the hospital, he felt very guilty.
Fortunately, the ungrateful Kou Shuang had finally grown close to Song Muxue and even said she would take care of her, which greatly relieved Kou Deqin.
Just as they reached the hospital room door, Kou Shuang saw Song Muxue standing by the window, her back to the door, talking on the phone.
“…I’m injured, this should count as an unexpected situation.”
“Thank you to all the seniors for your hard work these past few days while I was away. I will catch up as soon as I return to the group and won’t drag anyone down. This internship opportunity is very important to me.”
“If needed, I can be discharged tonight.”
Song Muxue’s usually indifferent voice held a hint of unconscious pleading, a very rare stance and demeanor that shouldn’t appear in her.
Kou Shuang’s mind stirred, and she quickly understood the whole situation.
This internship was especially important to Song Muxue; even injured, she didn’t want to lose it.
“Mm… okay,” Song Muxue hung up the phone, turned around, and happened to see Kou Deqin and Kou Shuang. She was a little surprised, but quickly regained her composure and said to Kou Deqin: “Uncle Kou, you’ve come at a good time. I have something to discuss with you.”
“Is it about the internship?” Kou Deqin said: “I heard your call just now, but your current physical condition might not be suitable for discharge… You can find another internship, but your body…”
Kou Shuang interrupted Kou Deqin and said: “Discharging is fine. I’ll move in with you; that way, we can look after each other. What do you think?”
Song Muxue’s eyes widened slightly, looking incredulous.
“You got hurt for me; it’s only right that I take care of you,” Kou Shuang smiled, turned to Kou Deqin, and said: “Dad, what do you say?”