Li XinWen was dumbfounded. His headache disappeared along with the voice. But that wasn't what made Li XinWen feel dumbfounded. 'That voice earlier... wasn't that the original Li XinWen? Promise? Are you telling me that you willingly gave up your body so that your family can be protected better? No. That is not the most important thing... have we met before?'
Of course, his questions were met with silence. It made Li XinWen wonder if he had just imagined it since he used the memory search for a long period of time after all. "I feel like I've forgotten something…" Li XinWen mumbled softly as he got off the bed. Just then, he heard a door opening from outside followed by hurried footsteps. Before long, he heard a loud banging outside his bedroom door.
"Ah'Wen! Ah'Wen!! Are you in there? Are you okay?!" Li JingHua's panicked voice could be heard from outside and Li XinWen quickly opened the door for her. When Li JingHua came in, she immediately inspected Li XinWen from top to bottom, fussing over him. Only after seeing that her brother was safe did she let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness it was just a dream..." she murmured in a soft voice before she pulled him into a hug.
It was only after Li JingHua mentioned the dream did Li XinWen finally remember what he had forgotten. 'Ah... right. Now I remember. I didn't get the chance to remove the memories before I got kicked out. That nightmare must've felt real for her...' Li XinWen thought as he rubbed her back to calm his sister. After a while, Li JingHua pulled away and Li XinWen gave her a smile. "Did you have a nightmare? Looks like I really have to work hard so that my dear sister doesn't worry too much!"
"En. Learn well... and during the apocalypse, please make sure you prioritize your own safety. Alright? Promise me this, Ah'Wen..."
"Alright, I promise," Li XinWen's mouth was saying this, but he was thinking otherwise. 'I've seen how the apocalypse was in your memories. Those low-level corpse soldiers won't be able to harm me in five years. But that level four might be a bit of a problem...'
"I will go and make breakfast today. What would you like?" Li XinWen was snapped out of his thoughts when Li JingHua spoke.
"Then--"
"Soft food only," Li JingHua quickly added when she saw Li XinWen's excited expression.
The excitement in his eyes died and Li XinWen let out a defeated sigh. "Then just make whatever… I'm sure Hua-jie has a better idea on what I can and cannot eat..." after saying that, Li XinWen went to his bathroom to wash up and prepare for the day.
Li JingHua saw the disappointed look on Li XinWen's face and couldn't help but feel guilty. She went back to her room to take a quick shower before going down to the kitchen. She looked around for ingredients to make breakfast and while looking inside the freezer, she saw the leftover meat from yesterday. She hesitated for a while before taking out her phone to browse the internet.
Li XinWen had long finished taking his shower and was currently lounging in his room, reading a book. He was fascinated with one story about how spirits who have some unfinished desires would not be able to immediately go to the afterlife to be reincarnated. Instead, they would wander around the world and that is when the main character of the story comes in. The main character would lead these spirits to their hotel which catered to their needs. The hotel's main goal was to satisfy the spirits so they can proceed to the afterlife without any regrets.
He was just about to read the next chapter when Li JingHua called out for them to have breakfast. Closing the book, Li XinWen left his room and saw Sun Xiao exiting his room. With tacit understanding, the two of them went down together while engaging in small talk.
When they reached the foot of the staircase, they were able to smell the alluring scent of breakfast. The two brothers went to the table and before taking their seat, they made sure to greet mother Li who was already seated at the head of the table.
"Good morning, mom. You look beautiful as always, ah!" Li XinWen said with a huge smile as he kissed the side of her cheek.
"Good morning, mom..." Sun Xiao said in a shy voice before he gave her a quick hug.
Only after doing so did the two sat down. Li XinWen saw the colorful spread and it made his mouth water. The side dishes looked appetizing and delicious. The pickled vegetables looked vibrant and the steamed soft tofu bathed in soy chili sauce looked particularly delectable. Li XinWen feasted with his eyes and took in the delicious scent with gusto.
Not long after, Li JingHua came out of the kitchen carrying a large bowl of fried rice. Upon seeing the fried rice, madam Li gave her a questioning look, as if to ask, 'why would she serve fried rice when not everyone will be able to eat it?', which Li JingHua answered as she took her seat, "I've checked. Ah'Wen can at least eat fried rice. I've added minced meat and chopped vegetables to make it more nutritious and filling." She patted madam Li's arm as additional reassurance and only then did madam Li relax and unfurrow her brows.
Li XinWen eyed the big bowl before finally scooping some on to his plate. He quietly ate it and had to admit it tasted great. So far, the food that he had been having here were all different from what he had in LongXing. After breakfast, he made sure to thank Li JingHua properly before asking her where he could buy chocolate milk.
"Are you planning to go out?" Li mother asked.
"En. I was in the hospital for far too long. I want to walk around and exercise," Li XinWen answered. This, in truth was just an excuse.
"Alright, just be careful."
"I will!" Li XinWen gave his mother a hug to assure her before turning to Sun Xiao. "Oh, Ah'Xiao! How about I send you to school today?"
Sun Xiao was in the process of slinging his backpack onto his shoulder when Li XinWen asked. The younger boy then remembered how Li XinWen once sent him to school in his car and it brought a lot of unwanted attention so he shook his head in disagreement. "I'm alright, Xin-gege. I can just walk..."
"Aha! That's a great idea! Then, I'll go walk with you," Li XinWen playfully flicked Sun Xiao's forehead. "Wait here. I'll go and get my disguise."