A harsh medicinal smell invaded his senses. Lin Yunfeng frowned slightly and snuggled deeply into the soft pillow under his head. But to his dismay, the smell only intensified as he did this.
Frowning deeply, he blinked open his heavy lids.
A soft murmur was heard close by.
{"I never should have left him behind… I'm so sorry…."
"Don't cry, you silly girl. Your brother is in good hands. There is nothing to worry about,"
"How will we pay the hospital fee?"}
There was a pause in their conversation. Dazedly, Lin Yunfeng turned over. Behind the privacy screen were two silhouettes.
{"I'll set up my roadside shop again. Takayuki is quite famous. We can earn that money easily,"
"No, I'll do it! I-I'll tutor during weekends. People are willing to pay me well for it,"
"Hana," came his mum's disapproving tone.}
Yunfeng had heard this tone so many times in his life, but that voice was directed at him. Now his sister was getting scolded.
'What did the silly girl do this time?' he thought, yawning. A sharp pain on the side of his head woke him up completely.
'Why am I in the hospital….' he thought, looking around curiously.
{"If… if dad was here, he would have agreed with me!"
"Hana…."}
Yunfeng, who was eavesdropping on the conversation, froze. 'Dad… Hana said dad is dead…..' He looked around dazedly in pain.
'This dream sequence…. it hasn't ended…' Then it could only mean one thing: it was the real world.
'How is it possible?' He touched his own hands. He had the same face and the same body. 'It's not possible at all.'
Feeling the sharp pain in the scrapes of his hand, Yunfeng was hit with a reality check. 'No…. is this really happening?'
Yunfeng tightly closed his eyes. When he finished his exams, the teacher had told him the date.
'He said it was Jan 2021…..?'
Yunfeng sat up with difficulty. 'I was miraculously sent to the past?'
His head ached sharply. 'Wait, what if it's an alternate universe? It is possible, right?'
Lin Yunfeng was left confused and saddened.
{"I can earn a lot! Why won't you allow me to? You know we can't afford the hospital fee. We are already running low on cash. Why won't you admit it? Dad… he wouldn't let you overwork like this."}
Yunfeng tightly clutched the sheet under his hand. 'Yes… she said my dad is gone. In this world, I don't have him… I can't hear his silly jokes, nor his comical glare…'
His dry eyes started to tear up silently as he thought about it.
{"I'm your mother, that's why! I'm responsible for you kids. Your dad left this world in peace, knowing that I'll take care of you. I-I just want my kids to grow up happy and healthy. Hana, please don't cry,"}
Yunfeng was already numb to the overload of information. His dad was gone, and his mother had to take over being the breadwinner of the family. She overworked so much that she aged a lot. That explained the wrinkles on her face.
'And I called her old? Fuck…' he sobbed silently. 'If this is the real world… why are we in a desperate state?'
Even if this was the real world, there were so many things that did not click.
Firstly, his family members all had the same name.
Secondly, they all looked the same as they used to, except for a few changes in their facial appearance. Even his own face looked the same, but a little more mature.
How is it possible for two families with all the same names to exist in two different times?
As he was thinking of this, he remembered something his mother had once mentioned. His whole family was named by his grandmother, except their father, of course. He was married into the family.
His grandmother's surname was Lin. The Lins were not to be trifled with. They were a very prominent family in the 35th century. They owned almost fifty percent of the incomes in the entire county.
His grandmother once mentioned that they were not that rich in the past, but after the great catastrophe, the Tera virus outbreak in 2021, they gained momentum, taking the lead as one of the five great families of their century.
They were mostly into biomedical cures that destroyed the virus completely off the face of the earth. The Lins also helped contribute to the development of the three genders. In fact, the first-ever alpha came from the Lin family.
'The Lins were poor during the 21st century. Then am I really in the past or an alternate universe? If it is the past…..' His eyes widened ever so slightly. 'The Tera virus!!! That fucking catastrophe that killed millions!!!!'
The disgusting, rotten faces of the undead came to his mind.
'Shit! We are in so much trouble.'
'W-when did it happen again?' Yunfeng held his aching head. 'Ugh, why didn't I listen in my history class?'
'It's in 2021 for sure… as for the month….. Jan! It's on Jan 20th!'
Yunfeng sat up in shock. 'Today is 20th Jan!!!!!!!!!'
He hurriedly drew open the privacy screen, halting their heated conversation.
His mum and sister gazed at him, startled.
"Yun," his mum ran to him and held his cheeks delicately. "Oh, thank god you are okay. You scared me, you silly boy." She hit his shoulders.
Yunfeng blankly gazed at her. "Today? The Tera virus bombing! Did it happen?"
"What bombing?" she looked confusedly at his sister.
Hana shook her head. "Nothing of that sort."
Yunfeng's clenched fists loosened up. 'So, it's an alternate universe. Thank god it's not the past.. The great catastrophe was so bad.. I don't want to have to face that, much less my family.'
His mum gently pushed Hana forward. His sister stepped up to him hesitantly and held his hand. "Sorry… I was overemotional."
"….."
Is this really his sister? His sister who was unapologetic?
Yunfeng raised a brow. "Did the aliens kidnap you?"
Hana scoffed and flung off his hand. "One time, one time I try to be kind to you. Guess I should not even try," she plopped on the bed and gently touched the top of his head. "Does it hurt?"
"Hmmm, not that much. It just stings."
"You did faceplant on the concrete," she rolled her eyes.
Scoffing, Yunfeng silently gazed at his mother. She was busy arranging the blanket around his body.
"Mum, are we in a difficult situation?"
Her busy hands froze. "It's not as bad as this brat made it out to be. We are comfortable, darling. Don't worry about anything. Just rest here until you are good. Mum will take care of everything."
Yunfeng's lips trembled slightly as he was about to break into tears again. He held back his sobs by lowering his head and nodded.
"So how did you do in your mock exam?" his mum expectantly looked at him.
"How else, he must have flunked? He left the class early." His sister intervened.
"Don't talk smack about your brother." His mother chided.
Yunfeng looked at his family with a small smile. Yes, he was in a different world. But he still had his family. Without his dad, he was the man of the family. He had to step up his game and protect his precious family from now on.
The determination to succeed was inbuilt in his heart from then on.
***
Two days later, he was discharged from the hospital.
His mum awkwardly held the bank card in her hand and went to the payment counter.
Yunfeng frowned deeply. "Hana, I'm secretly going to take up part-time jobs."
"So am I," she whispered with a determined look. "But before that, you recover from your injury, or else our plan will be ruined."
"Hmm, done."
"I have already asked around. My friend's mum owns a café. I plan to work there during the weekends. Cover for me."
"I'll be a tutor then."
Hana scoffed. "You? Tutor? You barely passed your exams last time. No one will hire you, boy."
"Hey, don't underestimate me. I'm good at math, okay."
"Yeah, as if that is believable."
They both playfully punched each other in the arms.
"Kids…." His mum dazedly stopped in front of them. "They said it's been paid….. an unknown benefactor helped us…"
"That's great!" Yunfeng happily tugged at his sister's hands.
They both still had plans to work, but this burden of the hospital charge was removed from their heads. It was a great relief.
While leaving, Yunfeng secretly went to the payment counter.
Seeing his smiling face, the pretty nurse blushed.
Yunfeng grinned even brighter. Back in his world, so many alphas chased after him. It was not only because of his wealth; it was also because of his handsome face.
He knew the power his face held.
But in this alternate world, Yunfeng had been hiding his face with his long hair. When he combed it to the side casually, it gave him a bad boy look.
The nurse seemed to be impressed. "What may I help you with?"
"I heard my hospital charges were paid by a mysterious benefactor. Can you tell me who it was? I really am glad he did that for us." He flashed his trademark cute smile.
The nurse smiled brightly and gestured for him to come close. "It was Ren Muchen!! He paid off your fees. In fact, it was he who brought you in. Gosh, he is so kind and handsome. When can we ever find a man like him?" she started to ramble.
Yunfeng got the answer he needed. "Ren Muchen…"
The nurse cleared her throat. "Don't tell anyone, okay? His assistant requested us not to tell anyone."
"Okay ~" he waved at her and ran back to his family.