My Wife Always Wants to Run Away - Chapter 1

“Doctor Qiu, when will she wake up?”

“Soon. We’ll need to wait until she’s conscious to determine the exact issues. After all, a fall from standing into a sofa wouldn’t cause injuries like this.”

Two unfamiliar voices swirled around Tang Jinzhi. Her mind felt heavy and clouded, and a tightness in her chest made it difficult to breathe. She forced her eyes open a crack, but the dizziness was overwhelming. Before she could focus on her surroundings, she lost consciousness again.

In the final seconds before blacking out, Tang Jinzhi wondered how she had survived.

When she had plunged into the bottomless crevice caused by the earthquake, Tang Jinzhi had been certain she was doomed. The odds of surviving such a fall were zero.

So when she heard she had simply “fallen on flat ground,” her first thought was that she must be dreaming. Her arm, which she had slammed against the rock before falling, still throbbed with pain. How could this possibly be a simple fall?

Now unconscious, she was powerless to ask.

As the nauseating dizziness gradually subsided, Tang Jinzhi’s consciousness slowly returned. Yet no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t open her eyes. Meanwhile, something new had appeared in her mind—something forcibly implanted for her to “see.”

Faced with this sudden influx of information, Tang Jinzhi felt utterly bewildered, yet she knew she couldn’t ignore it.

It was a character background introduction, and the way this mind map unfolded was strikingly similar to the character relationship analyses she used to create when writing novels. In fact, it was even more detailed than the information she’d compiled for her own stories, including everything from age and height to weight. The description of “herself” alone occupied a significant portion of the map.

But as Tang Jinzhi stared at the introduction, she felt only a sense of utter unfamiliarity. When did I get married?

A wealthy family alliance? A fake heiress?

This has to be a novel, right? It has to be!

A dreadful premonition gripped Tang Jinzhi. She desperately wanted to slam her hand down on the delete key and erase everything, or at least change the name. Seeing “Tang Jinzhi” in a novel felt jarringly out of place.

There were too many characters connected to “her” to review them all at once.

Tang Jinzhi decided the most pressing issue was figuring out why this information had suddenly appeared in her mind. She suspected she might have overdone it with the novel writing, causing some kind of mental malfunction.

Lost in her thoughts, Tang Jinzhi completely failed to grasp the gravity of the situation.

“Hey? You’re awake! Why aren’t you talking?” Zhang Yueqi waved his hand in front of Tang Jinzhi’s newly opened eyes, then added, “How did you manage to get yourself into this state? Don’t tell me you just tripped on flat ground. I’ve never seen anyone get a concussion and dislocate their arm from a simple fall.”

Tang Jinzhi’s mind was a jumbled mess, her head still foggy. She hadn’t even finished reading when she suddenly opened her eyes.

She stared blankly at the person before her, recognizing the voice as the one who had asked earlier when she would wake up. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came. The mention of a concussion and dislocated arm left her stunned.

Just that?

This must be a dream, right?

But her arm really hurt. How could she feel pain in a dream?

Her muddled thoughts felt like rusty gears grinding against each other. Tang Jinzhi couldn’t understand how she had been rescued.

Zhang Yueqi waited impatiently for Tang Jinzhi to react. Frowning slightly, he reached out and patted her uninjured shoulder. “Hey, Tang Jinzhi, are you spacing out?”

Tang Jinzhi’s dazed expression made Zhang Yueqi suspect she might have hit her head too hard. If the nanny who brought her in tried to claim she had simply fallen into the sofa again, he wouldn’t believe a word of it.

Snapping out of her reverie, Tang Jinzhi blinked and looked up at the unfamiliar face before her. Finally remembering her earlier rudeness, she apologized in a slightly hoarse voice, “Sorry, I was lost in thought.”

Zhang Yueqi breathed a slight sigh of relief and nodded in understanding, but he remained uneasy. He held up his hand and wiggled his fingers in front of Tang Jinzhi’s face. “Let’s see if you’re still sharp. How many fingers am I holding up?”

Tang Jinzhi: “……”

Doesn’t he realize how rude this is?

Seeing no sign of him backing down, Tang Jinzhi paused for two seconds, then parted her thin lips and answered coolly, “Two.”

Zhang Yueqi’s eyes widened as he stared at the four fingers he was holding up, then back at Tang Jinzhi. In disbelief, he switched to another number and asked, “And this?”

Tang Jinzhi’s heart clenched for a moment. Can’t this guy tell I’m just messing with him?

She took a shallow breath. “Five.”

Zhang Yueqi gasped. Is her brain really damaged?

“Last one. How many fingers am I holding up?”

Tang Jinzhi turned her head slightly away. “Zero.”

Zhang Yueqi withdrew his hand and blinked rapidly. “Oh no, she’s really gone stupid.”

The person standing in the doorway had witnessed their entire exchange. Jie Xiangyi’s lips curved into a faint smile as she stepped into the hospital room. Her clear, professional voice asked, “You’re awake? How are you feeling? Any discomfort?”

Tang Jinzhi glanced toward the voice, thinking, What a beautiful voice.

The speaker wore a white lab coat, her demeanor cool and aloof. Her long hair was clipped back, with a few strands falling beside her face. A mask covered her mouth, but her beautiful eyes met Tang Jinzhi’s slightly dazed gaze without wavering.

Their eyes locked, and Tang Jinzhi froze for a moment. Just as she was about to respond, Zhang Yueqi cut in from beside the bed.

“I think she’s in bad shape! Her brain must have been damaged in the fall!” Zhang Yueqi replied to Jie Xiangyi with grave seriousness, winking at her with obvious sympathy in his eyes.

How tragic, he thought. His newlywed wife has turned into an idiot.

Tang Jinzhi wanted to bury her face in her hands. She tugged at the corners of her lips, then deliberately turned her head away, pretending not to see the amusement in Jie Xiangyi’s eyes.

Struggling to ignore Tang Jinzhi’s awkward expression, Jie Xiangyi pressed her lips downward beneath her mask and cleared her throat. “Her brain’s fine,” she explained. “She was just teasing you earlier.”

Zhang Yueqi looked confused. “Huh?”

Realizing Jie Xiangyi had witnessed her earlier teasing, Tang Jinzhi quickly abandoned her pretense of being unconscious and changed the subject. “I’m fine, just feeling a bit strange.”

Jie Xiangyi paused, her tone neutral. “What feels strange?”

Tang Jinzhi, her expression blank, voiced her confusion, “I heard I just… fell on flat ground?”

What exactly happened that would make people say I fell on flat ground?

Jie Xiangyi tilted her head, her brow furrowing slightly. “You don’t remember how you fell?” she asked, her tone questioning.

Tang Jinzhi’s throat tightened. It was precisely because she knew what should have happened that she was so puzzled. By all rights, she should have been reduced to ashes. Yet here she was, lying here perfectly unharmed, with no explanation for her miraculous survival.

Zhang Yueqi, standing beside them, was equally bewildered. “Seriously? What’s going on with you?” he asked, his head swimming with questions. Who forgets how they fell?

Tang Jinzhi pressed her lips together. Before delving into the mystery of her fall, she realized she should first ask who this person was. Judging by the way she spoke to her, they must know each other.

“First… if you don’t mind me asking, who are you?”

The question stunned not only Zhang Yueqi but also Jie Xiangyi, who visibly froze for a moment.

Zhang Yueqi gaped, pointing at himself in disbelief. “You don’t remember me? We had dinner together just yesterday! I’m Zhang Yueqi!”

She was friends with Jie Xiangyi. Yesterday, after Tang Jinzhi and Jie Xiangyi obtained their marriage certificate, they happened to run into her and had dinner together.

Tang Jinzhi shook her head. She didn’t recognize her.

Zhang Yueqi was dumbfounded. Although she wasn’t close to Tang Jinzhi, she couldn’t believe the other woman’s memory was so poor that she couldn’t remember someone she’d just met the day before.

Realizing this, Zhang Yueqi quickly pointed at Jie Xiangyi and asked, “What about her? Do you remember her?”

Tang Jinzhi glanced in the direction of Zhang Yueqi’s finger, her heart filled with confusion. Should I know this doctor from the hospital?

Jie Xiangyi, ever cooperative, lifted her hand and removed her mask, her expression calm and composed as she openly allowed Tang Jinzhi to see her face.

When Tang Jinzhi saw her true face beneath the mask, a flash of astonishment crossed her eyes. She shook her head blankly, her gaze utterly captivated, unable to tear her eyes away.

Seeing Tang Jinzhi’s dazed expression after Jie Xiangyi shook her head, Zhang Yueqi couldn’t help but exclaim to Jie Xiangyi, “And you said her brain wasn’t damaged!”

“She looked at me with that same blank stare yesterday. I thought she was just daydreaming, but now…” Zhang Yueqi made an indescribable expression, silently completing the thought in her mind: …now I realize she really did hit her head and become stupid.

Jie Xiangyi: “……”

Jie Xiangyi silently put on her mask, shielding herself from Tang Jinzhi’s gaze. She recognized that expression well—it wasn’t foolishness, but admiration and affection.

Because of her own face, Jie Xiangyi knew she was beautiful.

Hearing Zhang Yueqi’s words, Tang Jinzhi’s face flushed with embarrassment, then darkened. She sighed softly, weakly protesting, “…I’m really not stupid.”

Zhang Yueqi gave her a skeptical look. “You can’t even remember your own wife! And you’re telling me you’re not stupid?”

Tang Jinzhi froze, her mind blank for a moment, her eyes widening in disbelief.

Suspecting she might have misheard, she blurted out, “What did you say?”

Zhang Yueqi took only a few seconds to accept the possibility of Tang Jinzhi’s mental impairment. He pointed to Jie Xiangyi and enthusiastically introduced her: “Your wife! You two got married yesterday. She’s a doctor here.”

Jie Xiangyi didn’t refute him, standing calmly in place. Meeting Tang Jinzhi’s bewildered and shocked gaze, she said in a steady voice, “You might have amnesia.”

Tang Jinzhi was capable of scheming and teasing others, and she could still think clearly. So far, there were no obvious signs of mental impairment. A thorough examination would be needed to reach a definitive conclusion.

Zhang Yueqi’s face was grave. “No, I don’t think it’s just amnesia.”

He added, “I’ve already notified Doctor Qiu, but she hasn’t arrived yet. I’ll go find her and see what she says when she gets here.” After all, Doctor Qiu was Tang Jinzhi’s primary physician.

Jie Xiangyi nodded. “Mm.”

Zhang Yueqi paused, his leg mid-stride, and scrutinized his composed friend. He couldn’t resist teasing, “Seriously, can you at least pretend to be upset? Your wife has forgotten you, you know…”

Jie Xiangyi glanced at him indifferently, offering no rebuttal.

She was indeed remarkably calm. Having only met Tang Jinzhi the day before when they registered their marriage, the other woman’s amnesia held no personal significance for her.

Seeing Jie Xiangyi’s genuine indifference, Zhang Yueqi shrugged and left the room, leaving the “strangers” to their awkward encounter.

As if oblivious to Tang Jinzhi’s dazed expression, Jie Xiangyi moved from the foot of the bed to the head, pulled up a chair, and sat down. Out of courtesy, she removed her mask.

Her tone was neither warm nor cold as she introduced herself. “My name is Jie Xiangyi. We married through a political alliance and only met yesterday when we registered our marriage.”

These words all but confirmed Tang Jinzhi’s suspicions. Recalling the character information that had suddenly appeared in her mind, she realized that while Jie Xiangyi’s details were sparse compared to her own, they were the most comprehensive among all the characters.

As a seasoned web novel enthusiast and aspiring author, Tang Jinzhi quickly grasped what had happened, yet she couldn’t bring herself to believe it.

Did I really transmigrate?

“Jie Xiangyi…” Tang Jinzhi murmured, repeating the name softly.

Jie Xiangyi smiled. “The last character in my name means ‘suitable,’ and the middle one comes from a poetic river name.”

In that moment, the last flicker of hope in Tang Jinzhi’s heart died. The color drained from her face, her eyes turning dark and lifeless. Yet, driven by a stubborn impulse, she still asked—despite already knowing the answer,

“Is the first one the same as in ‘thank you’?”

“No,” Jie Xiangyi replied.

Standing close, Jie Xiangyi, who had been watching Tang Jinzhi intently, clearly sensed the other woman’s sudden despondency after her denial. She even caught a hint of confusion that Tang Jinzhi herself seemed unaware of.

Is Tang Jinzhi… sad?

Jie Xiangyi opened her mouth, her expression blank.

The sudden silence in the hospital room grew heavy, the atmosphere freezing. Jie Xiangyi couldn’t understand why Tang Jinzhi had reacted this way upon learning her name.

Suppressing the sudden, inexplicable unease in her chest, Jie Xiangyi pulled out her work ID and showed Tang Jinzhi her name.

Tang Jinzhi glanced at it briefly before closing her eyes. She swallowed, her throat dry, and murmured in a raspy voice, “Jie Xiangyi.”

Jie Xiangyi was taken aback, instinctively lowering her voice as she replied, “Mm-hmm.”

Tang Jinzhi repeated, “Jie Xiangyi.”

“Mm-hmm?” Jie Xiangyi responded, puzzled.

She was now certain that Tang Jinzhi was deeply distressed, utterly helpless. Her dazed expression suggested she had lost something precious.

But why this sudden change?

Seeing Tang Jinzhi in such a state, hearing her call out her name, Jie Xiangyi felt a rare surge of protective instinct, a feeling she had never experienced before.

Before Jie Xiangyi could fully process this nascent emotion, Tang Jinzhi continued, “It’s a beautiful name. I really like it.”

“You…” Jie Xiangyi’s thin lips trembled for a moment, but she ultimately pressed them together, refraining from asking Tang Jinzhi why she was crying if she liked the name so much.