Chapter 122: Chocolate

Feeling the satchel hit his face and hearing Yang Na's anguished cry, Li Huowang felt her pain keenly. Overcome with similar pain, he reached out and tightly embraced the girl.

“Nana! Please, don't do this!”

Feeling the long-absent embrace, an agitated Yang Na gradually calmed down. She rested her head on Li Huowang's shoulder and wept silently. In that moment, they seemed transported back to the school rooftop years ago, where they had once foolishly clung to each other until dawn.

Time ticked by. Yang Na leaned against Li Huowang, clinging to him, wishing that moment could last forever. But soon, she felt hands press against her waist, gradually applying pressure, trying to push her away. Yang Na tightened her grip on Li Huowang, desperate not to let go. However, her strength was clearly no match for his, and she was ultimately pushed aside.

Li Huowang looked at the girl's reddened eyes, opened his mouth, then hesitated, a look of distress on his face. After a long pause, he finally spoke, his face calm: “Nana, promise me, okay? If I'm gone one day, you must still live well.”

“No!” Yang Na replied, cutting him off. “I won't let you dictate my choices; my thoughts are my own! What I decide to do has nothing to do with you! If you never wake up, I'll just keep waiting!”

With that, Yang Na grabbed her backpack, spun around, and stormed out. Just as she reached the doorway, her slender frame paused. After a few seconds of hesitant thought, Yang Na turned back, pattered to the bedside, reached into her satchel, pulled out a small bag of chocolates, and coldly handed them to Li Huowang.

Li Huowang looked at the small, delicate bag of chocolates, then at Yang Na. “What's the date today? Why are you giving me chocolates?” he asked.

Yang Na, with tears still clinging to her eyelashes, clearly ignored Li Huowang and busied herself with tearing open the chocolate wrapper. She pulled out a liquor-filled chocolate, then, in a decidedly unladylike manner, pinched Li Huowang's cheek and shoved it into his mouth.

Feeling the sweet sensation in his mouth, Li Huowang smiled. “Nana, what are you doing?” He stopped trying to persuade her. Since it was all an illusion, there was no point. After all, ever since he had crossed over, he had been powerless to make any choices regarding what was happening on the other side.

Li Huowang's smile instantly eased the tense atmosphere in the ward. “What's so funny? Don't laugh!” Yang Na lifted her satchel and draped it over Li Huowang's shoulder.

“Ouch! Be gentle, that hurts!” Li Huowang gasped, clutching his shoulder.

“Hmph, afraid of a little touch, but you didn't feel pain when you got shot in the face? Look at your face now.” Yang Na pulled a small contact lens mirror from her satchel and disdainfully held it up to Li Huowang's face.

This was the first time Li Huowang had seen his face in this hallucination. In the illusion, he was still the same youthful boy, but his energetic face was now bisected by a scar. That grotesque scar stretched diagonally from the upper left to the lower right, dissecting Li Huowang's entire face and completely altering his appearance.

Li Huowang touched it, feeling the rough texture characteristic of the scar. He knew where the scar came from: it was from the sniper's bullet that grazed him at the kindergarten that day.

“Heh, this illusion is quite logical,” Li Huowang mused internally.

The small mirror was pulled away, and Yang Na looked at Li Huowang, her delicate brows slightly furrowed. “What are you thinking? Do you think I'm disgusted by your disfigurement? I don't even mind crazy people; do you really think I'd care about this?”

Li Huowang smiled and shook his head, then reached for the chocolate bag on the white sheet, taking one out and popping it into his mouth. He then took out another and offered it to Yang Na. “You have one too. I remember you used to love snacks.”

Yang Na shook her head. “You eat it. I can buy them whenever I want outside. It's not so easy for you to get them in here.”

Li Huowang nodded, took a liquor-filled chocolate, put it in his mouth, and bit it gently. A delicate sweetness instantly enveloped his tongue.

“Indeed, I haven't tasted this in such a long, long time…” Li Huowang's eyes showed deep longing. He could never truly go back, so he could only rely on this false illusion to ease his homesickness.

Hearing this, Yang Na's face showed a flicker of pain. She took his hand. “If you want more, I'll buy them for you every day from now on. I'm in college now, and my dad gives me plenty of living expenses — a full two thousand five! Plus, I work part-time during holidays. I can buy you any kind of chocolate you want. I just don't know if you'll still be conscious the next time I bring them…”

Yang Na's words instantly chilled the slightly lively atmosphere.

After a few seconds, Li Huowang swallowed the chocolate. Just as he was about to speak to the girl, he inexplicably began to cough.

“Oh, eat slower. I told you back in elementary school not to talk while eating. Choked, didn't you? I'll go to the hot water room and get you some water.” With that, Yang Na picked up the teacup from the nearby table and headed out.

“Cough, cough!!” Li Huowang coughed violently, a searing pain from his stomach to his throat accompanying each gasp. “No, something's wrong! Something must have happened in reality!”

Realizing this, Li Huowang suddenly raised his head, his eyes cold as he stared fixedly at Yang Na's retreating back. “Who are you? What did you feed me?!!”

“Ah!” A piercing pain instantly erupted from Li Huowang's stomach. He felt as if a lively hedgehog was thrashing wildly inside him. Under the immense pain, everything around him grew unstable. The warm sunlight, the bright ward—everything began to fade.

When Li Huowang felt himself return to the cave, he saw blood everywhere in front of him—his own vomited blood. His face flushed crimson, veins bulging, he clutched his neck with both hands, kneeling on the ground, his body curled like a shrimp. “Ugh!” A large pool of matter was vomited out again. Mixed with some blackish blood, it contained small amounts of minced meat, broken black tentacles, and rusty iron nails.