Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
The sound of something tapping on the wood continuously resounded inside a small, dark room. The moment Ding Jia opened her eyes, she immediately felt scared seeing the circumstances of the room. Her body felt cold despite feeling no wind inside the room.
Where was she?
Ding Jia turned back as she unconsciously observed the room. One look was enough for anyone to know that this place was scorched by fire.
In the middle of the room was a bed and sofa that was scorched badly by the fire causing it to rip and the stuffings to be exposed. Around it was some unrecognizable stuff lying down around the bed mixed up with some ashes.
Yet, she couldn't find the source of that sound. Her eyes continued to roam around, trying to find it. She walked for a bit to reach the other side of the room where a door was left open. She reached for the doorknob but stopped when she saw that she was clinging only in the air. There was no doorknob, but a melted metal.
She breathed in heavily, hesitating whether to continue inside or not. She felt scared, her mind imagining worst possible things she could possibly discover behind that room. She was about to step back when the door creaked widely open, moving on its own.
Her eyes widened in fear, knowing that it wasn't the wind nor her who had pushed the door open.
Human instinct kicked in, and she was ready to bolt away feeling that this place was too dangerous when she felt a heavy force behind her that pushed her into the room against her will.
"No!" She cried out, her arm stretching to hold to door frame to stop the movement of her body from going forward. Yet, she only caught air. In a blink, she couldn't see anything. It was a complete darkness that she was falling into.
It was too late. Ding Jia completely fell into the endless darkness.
A City Medical Hospital.
"Oh my god." A nurse clad in white uniform uttered the moment she entered one of the rooms in the VIP floor. She was doing her rounds, checking up all the patients on that floor.
Quickly, she disappeared from the door to return to the nurse station to inform them to call the doctor.
"Ding Jia's awake!" She exclaimed, and the nurse station was quickly filled with gasps of surprise.
The Nation's Queen is finally awake! This is really a big news!
Back inside the room, a doll-like woman was lying down on the bed. Her face was undeniably beautiful with small doe eyes, tall nose, and small face. Her lips was noticeably pale, almost the same as her white-ish pale skin. She clearly looked unwell and sick.
What Ding Jia saw the moment she opened her eyes was the white ceiling and the strong smell of disinfectant assaulting her nose. Her face unconsciously crumpled in annoyance due to the smell, though, she did not utter any complaints. Without rising from her bed, she examined her surroundings with her eyes.
She observed that she was inside a luxurious room, with some weird medical equipment just beside her. At first, she was confused as to where she was but seeing the nurse enter and exit her room awhile, she realized that she was probably at the hospital.
But why was she here?
Ding Jia tried to remember the last memory she had before blacking out but nothing came to mind. She was instantly hit by a pang of pain the moment she tried to force herself to remember.
Few seconds later, the sound of rushing footsteps could be heard approaching her direction. The door of her room slid open,three doctors and two nurses entering her room.
"Miss Ding, how are you feeling?" One of the doctors asked as he approached her bed. Ding Jia was still confused and out of it thus, she couldn't help but stare at the doctor before answering him.
"Did I die?" Clearly, her thoughts are in a jumble.
Even without seeing her current look, she knew she was in a bad shape. She could faintly feel some pain around her stomach, and she doesn't remember anything before she became like this. Something bad must have happened to cause her to turn like this.
"You were in a comatose, Miss Ding." The doctor declared with a serious voice. This sentence caught Ding Jia off guard, as she didn't expect that she was in such a bad state. She really almost died!
"....for how long?"
"You were in a comatose state for almost a year."
Ding Jia's eyes widened in unbelief. Her hands under the sheets unconsciously tightened when she discovered how long she had been sleeping in here.
A year. A whole year. She had disappeared in the industry for almost a year.
A tear almost pooled in her eyes but she quickly blinked it off easily as it disappeared. The action was done quick and precise without the doctors and nurses noticing her subtle actions.
What followed after was a series of tests for the doctors to know the current situation of her mental state and body. Her parents was quickly informed of her situation, and they instantly came rushing half an hour later in her room.
"Jia'er!"
"My princess!"
Her parents cried out, as they instinctively hugged her tightly. Only god knows how much they had prayed for this day to come. For a year, their world was frozen in fear that there might come a day when their daughter won't wake up in her slumber anymore. That their precious daughter will suddenly leave the both of them without them being able to say goodbye.
But now their hearts was put to rest. They could finally breathe freely. Ding Jia was alive. Their little princess was alive.
"Mom, Dad," Ding Jia called out even though she was still buried in her parents arms.
"What happened to me? Why am I here?"
With her parents hugging her so tightly, she instantly felt their body turning stiff with her question. She was puzzled by their reactions. Was is because of a terrible reason that's why she was here?