Nangong Du seemed to have been infected by Zixiuâs oddness. Hearing no response from the latter after waiting for a long time, he couldnât help but say the same thing as Zixiu had said, âHey, say something!â
â⦠What to say?â Zixiu asked back after a while and tugged at the quilt again, obviously absent-minded.
Nangong Du finally lost his temper. âAre you trying to freeze me to death?â
âHuh?â
âWhy do you keep tugging at the quilt?â
âOh!â When Zixiu realized what Nangong Du was complaining about, he suddenly found himself pulling almost the entire quilt over. He then slowly pushed part of the quilt back to Nangong Du, without complaining or yelling.
âAre you feeling upset because of what I said?â As soon as he pulled back the quilt, Nangong Du could not help but ask curiously. He found that he was getting more interested in Liu Zixiu. Even a heartless person like Liu Zixiu would feel depressed?
Of course!
Zixiu was not someone who could not take criticism. As what Nangong Du had just said confirmed his own suspicions, Zixiu was in low spirits for his âmental diseaseâ. âAlasâ¦â
âWhatâs the big deal?â Nangong Du could not understand why Zixiu was so upset. Liu Zixiu was once infuriated and almost picked a fight to the death with him only because he called him âa good-for-nothingâ, and now he was in a slump and kept sighing only because he said his behavior was beyond comprehension! How come he was so sentimental? Besides, he did not mean to belittle him by âbeyond comprehensionâ!
âNangong Du, have you ever seen anyone with amnesia?â Zixiu couldnât help but probe.
âAmnesia?â Nangong Du was confused.
âThere are so many people in Luanzhou. Have you ever met anyone who doesnât remember his past?â
âSomeone who doesnât remember his pastâ¦â Before he could dwell on what Liu Zixiu said, Nangong Du suddenly felt a twinge in his heart. His playful mood disappeared, and for no reason, he suddenly grew tense. âWhat do you mean?â
âI had an accident three years ago. Since then I forgot everything about the past, and even forgot who I am!â
âSo what?â
âDo you remember I told you that my name was Mark Lira, I was twenty years old, and my favorite cartoon was âThe Prince of Tennisâ?â
âYes.â
âActually, I was not lying! I didnât even know what I was talking about!â Thinking of what had happened that day, Zixiu touched his neck with lingering fear. âI hope you wonât feel offended about what Iâm going to say. Iâm just telling the truth, and Iâm not trying to go against you or find faults with you! You were really⦠Wait a minute! Given the suffocating atmosphere back then, the word âaggressiveâ is not enough to describe you! You were very⦠ferocious! Yes, very ferocious! You stared at me with killing intent in your eyes and grabbed me by the neck as if a hawk grabbing a chicken with its claws! I felt you were going to kill me at any time, so I started talking nonsense⦠Actually, that was not nonsense. I just blurted out what was on my mind instinctively when my life was on the line! Do you understand what I mean?â
âHuh?â Although Zixiu had said that he did not mean to go against him, Â Nangong Du still felt a little displeased when he was accused of violence, but instead of hitting the ceiling, he just listened to Zixiu go on.
âMy dad said my constant delirium was a hangover from falling into the water!â
âFalling into the water?â
âHey, didnât I just say that? It was the accident three years ago!â Seeing that Nangong Du showed no intent to lose his temper, Zixiu breathed a sigh of relief before he continued, âAt first, I also thought my dadâs words were reasonable. Because two years ago, I only said something by accident that he couldnât understand! But since last time I went down the mountain and encountered a lot of people, after so many things happened to me, I found not only my words didnât make sense to others, but also my thoughts and behavior were out of line with others!â
It seemed Liu Zixiu had an accurate sense of himself! Nangong Du asked in an encouraging tone, âAnd then?â
âThen I accidentally pissed my dad off today!â
â?!â Nangong Du was a little shocked.
Zixiu explained, âMy dad was mad at me! But I didnât mean to offend him! He was so furious that he even slapped me! He had never beaten me before! He even asked me⦠âHow did you come to be like this?ââ
âHow did you come to be like this?â After thinking for a moment, Nangong Du asked with a frown, âSo your dad thought you had changed a lot?â
âYes!â
âSo you asked me if I had ever seen someone who couldnât remember his past because you wanted to know if the temperament of those who had lost their memories would change dramatically?â
âWell⦠Kind of!â Zixiu nodded, trying to comfort himself. Actually, he felt âdramatic change in his temperamentâ was not enough to describe his problem.
However, to his disappointment, what the âusefulâ clue that Nangong Du provided was, âYou mustnât have asked me this question!â
âWhy?â
âWhy donât you ask your dad?â Nangong Du was suddenly seized with a burst of impatience. âYour dad, Liu Wuyi, used to be known as the âKing of Medicineâ. Donât you know or canât you remember?â
âThe King of Medicine?â Zixiu reflexively remembered that his dad did not even know how to transfuse blood for the patient in the morning! However, the title âKing of Medicineâ sounded so familiar! He seemed to have heard of it before.
âDonât you have any other doubts?â Nangong Du suddenly asked again.
âOther doubts?â Zixiu thought he had figured out what he was worried about, so he instantly grew tense. âWhat do you mean?â
âMaybe itâs not that your temperament has changed dramatically, butâ¦â Nangong Du suddenly paused. The idea that had been on his mind for a long time suddenly became uncertain.
Just as he was hesitating, a muffled sound suddenly rang outside.
Though the sound was not very loud, Zixiu still slipped under the quilt instantly. He thought it was thundering!
âCalm down! Itâs a signal flare!â Nangong Du reacted quickly and pulled Zixiu out of the quilt. âGo find your dad right away. We may be in trouble!â
âHuh?â After a moment of daze, Zixiu asked, âAre you being hunted down?â
âHow do you know?â
âReally? I guessed!â Zixiu did not want to be killed even without knowing what had happened.
âHave I ever lied to you?â
âDamn it! Why didnât you say it earlier?â Letting out a scream, Zixiu rushed out of the door, without even putting on his robe!