Professional Body Double

Chapter 2

    Zhou Xiang stayed at the hospital for another two days. His body felt excellent and he really didn’t want to stay in the hospital any longer so he told Chen Ying again that he wanted to be discharged.

    Chen Ying said that she would go ask a doctor.

    Zhou Xiang waited in his hospital room. That elderly man sleeping on the bed next to him would probably never wake up ever again. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, Zhou Xiang would think about how it was utterly silent next to him even though there was a person lying there; it was actually really horrifying.

    That was when the hospital room door opened. He thought Chen Ying had come back, but to his surprise, a forty year old man walked in. Zhou Xiang froze with shock the moment he saw that man’s face.

    Cai Wei?

    When Cai Wei saw him, he also froze for a moment, and then said in astonishment, “You...You-you-you-you’re awake?”

    Zhou Xiang blinked. He was even more shocked than Cai Wei. He never thought that he would encounter one of his past friends only a short few days after waking up.

    Cai Wei strode over to him. This gruff man was so worked up his entire face was blazing red. He grabbed Zhou Xiang’s shoulder with one hand, hurting Zhou Xiang slightly with the sheer amount of force of his grip. Cai Wei said excitedly, “Buddy, you won’t know me, but I know you.” He pointed at the adjacent bed with his other hand, which was carrying a bag of food. “That person is my dad. My dad has been lying there for over a half a year, I saw you every time I came to visit. Ah, there’s not much we can say since my dad is already at this age, but you’re still so young, if you really did stay in a coma for the rest of your life, your mum would be finished. I never thought that you’d actually wake up. Way to go kid!” He gave Zhou Xiang a heavy pat on the shoulder, a sincere smile on his face.

    Zhou Xiang’s heart trembled. He grabbed hold of Cai Wei’s arm. He was so excited he couldn't speak. He wanted to say “Wei’ge” but in the Cai Wei’s eyes right now he was only a stranger who also happened to be called Zhou Xiang.

    Cai Wei looked at him, slightly baffled. “Buddy, what’s wrong?” Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere? Should I call a doctor over?”

    ”No, no need. That, you, don’t give up, maybe uncle will wake up one day too.”

    Cai Wei placed his stuff on his father’s side, sat on a chair and let out a sigh. “It’s hopeless, it was an old age stroke... Now he’s just dangling here, half dead, half alive, it’s painful for the entire family, but we can’t just sit by and watch him die.” Cai Wei glanced at his dad. “No matter what, we can still say he’s alive right now.”

    His voice was bleak and weary, making Zhou Xiang feel especially sad. Cai Wei was getting by pretty well in the entertainment circle. The work he did was relatively varied and he could do planning and management. Nevertheless, he had connections everywhere; a lot of new kids who started their career in the circle needed to watch his face and be careful not to offend him. Hence, Cai Wei had a pretty good salary. However, the daily hospital charges and having to provide for his wife and kids and look after his elderly father at the same time was truly a heavy burden. Only two years had passed but Zhou Xiang felt that Cai Wei had aged a lot.

    Zhou Xiang wanted say some words of comfort, but was afraid that he would expose something if he said too much. It would probably be impossible for a normal person to believe that a different person was living in this body.

    Cai Wei silently glanced at him a few more times. He then sighed heavily and wiped his face. The expression on his face was a bit pained.

    Zhou Xiang cautiously asked, “What’s wrong?”