A soft knock on the door broke Lin Xiao's reverie. He turned to see his mother and sister walking in, their faces lighting up with relief and happiness as they saw him sitting up, awake and alert. His sister rushed over first, her small arms wrapping around him in a tight hug.
"Xiao Xiao!" she exclaimed, her voice filled with excitement. "You're finally awake! I missed you so much."
Lin Xiao smiled, hugging her back, feeling the warmth of her embrace. As she pulled away, Lin Xiao took a moment to study her face.
His sister looked exactly the same as she did in the other timelines—same innocent smile, same mischievous twinkle in her eyes.
For a second, he wondered if there was something more, something hidden, but no. She seemed untouched by the strange events he'd experienced in those other realities.
"Good to see you too, kiddo," he said, ruffling her hair gently.
His mother approached next, her face softened by the weeks of worry she had endured. She placed a hand on his shoulder, her smile warm but a bit tired.
"You've made quite the recovery," she said softly, her voice a mix of relief and exhaustion. "The doctors are amazed, you know? But we're just glad to have you back."
Lin Xiao smiled and nodded, but he kept his deeper thoughts to himself. The Prime Timeline. His memories returning.
His mother and sister had no idea about the journey he had been on, and he wasn't sure how they would react if he told them. Maybe it was better this way—for them to believe he had simply recovered from a coma.
For the next week, Lin Xiao stayed in the hospital, even though he felt perfectly fine. His mom and the doctors were still worried about his condition, insisting that he remain for observation just to be safe.
Every day, they would check in on him, talking about mundane things—what had happened in the city during his coma, updates on his sister's school life, and discussions about when he would come home.
But for Lin Xiao, the week passed by like a blur. Outwardly, he played the role of the recovering patient, smiling and nodding at their conversations, but inside his mind was racing with the weight of his returned memories.
He knew better than to mention the system or the bizarre events of the past timelines to his family. They wouldn't understand.
To them, all that had happened was a heavy box falling on him, leading to his coma. There were no supernatural powers, no strange worlds, no missions or time loops in their lives.
Still, Lin Xiao couldn't shake the feeling that the Prime Timeline held secrets of its own—things he hadn't yet uncovered. He remembered the other timelines vividly, but here, everything felt so… normal. Too normal.
Every day, as he stared out the window at the peaceful city, he found himself wondering about the people he had known in those other worlds.
Li Jing… the boy with the portal… the mysterious voices that had guided him. Where were they now? Did they live normal lives in this world too? Or had they been erased entirely from existence?
He thought about his sister, his mother. Their lives seemed to have continued without any disruptions. But what about him? Why had he been sent back here, to the Prime Timeline? What was the purpose of his return?
The days blurred into one another, but Lin Xiao couldn't stop thinking about the bigger picture. Eventually, he would need answers. He just wasn't sure where to start.
For now, though, he let the week pass quietly, allowing himself to recover physically while his mind remained restless. His mother and sister visited every day, their faces brighter each time they saw him, oblivious to the storm of questions swirling inside his head.
...
...
The morning light filtered in through the hospital windows, casting a soft glow over Lin Xiao's room. Today was the day—he was finally being discharged.
After a week of lying in that stiff hospital bed, surrounded by sterile white walls and the constant beeping of machines, he couldn't wait to get out.
The hospital was monotonous, a place of rest but also a cage, and Lin Xiao longed for the freedom of the outside world.
Lin Xiao stretched his arms, feeling a small thrill at the prospect of leaving. As he gathered his few belongings, he glanced at the nurses who had been taking care of him. One of them, Nurse Wang, greeted him with a bright smile as she entered the room.
"Ah, Mr. Lin, it's finally time to let you go! I'm sure you're looking forward to getting back to your normal life," she said cheerfully.
Lin Xiao grinned. "You have no idea. Thanks for everything."
The other nurses who had been attending to him over the past week waved him off as he made his way down the corridor, their smiles genuine. They had seen him at his worst, after all, and now he was walking out of here on his own two feet. It felt like a victory.
At the front desk, the receptionist handed Lin Xiao his discharge papers. After signing them, he stepped out of the hospital doors and into the fresh air, inhaling deeply. It felt like the first real breath he had taken in weeks.
His mother's car was parked right in front of the entrance, and she was standing beside it, waving to him.
She had been waiting there for a while, smiling warmly as she watched him approach.
"Ready to go home?" she asked, opening the passenger door for him.
Lin Xiao gave a quick nod. "Definitely."
He slipped into the passenger seat as his mother walked around to the driver's side. As they pulled out of the hospital driveway, Lin Xiao leaned back in his seat, feeling the familiar vibration of the car beneath him.
The hospital faded into the distance behind them, replaced by the open road and the hum of the engine.
The scenery rolled by as they made their way back home. It was a short 30-minute drive, but Lin Xiao found himself watching the world outside with curious eyes.
The town looked so familiar, almost identical to the one he had known before the coma. The same rows of buildings lined the streets, their architecture unchanged—modern but with a traditional touch, just like the town he had grown up in.
Shops he recognized from before were still in place: the bakery with its sweet smell of fresh bread, the small bookstore on the corner that had always drawn in students, and even the old teahouse where he and his friends had hung out countless times.
It was all the same, yet Lin Xiao couldn't shake the strange sense of disconnect.
He stared out the window, watching as people walked down the streets, going about their lives as if nothing out of the ordinary had ever happened. They were the same people, living the same lives—but somehow, Lin Xiao felt like an outsider now.
As they neared home, his mother hummed quietly to herself, occasionally glancing at him with a satisfied smile. She was clearly happy to see him getting better, and Lin Xiao didn't want to worry her with his thoughts. He smiled back at her, trying to ease her mind.
The journey felt surreal. Everything was familiar, but something in Lin Xiao's mind had shifted. The town, the people, even the sky—all of it felt just a bit too peaceful, too normal, compared to what he had been through in those strange timelines.
Before he knew it, they were pulling into the driveway of their home. His mother parked the car, and Lin Xiao let out a sigh of relief. He was back. At least, for now.