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The speed of Suning's recovery after waking up amazed the nurses and doctors in the neurosurgery department.

On the morning of the third day, when the nurse came to change his dressing, she found him leaning against the headboard, tidying his pillows. His movements were steady, and he didn't look like someone who had just undergone brain surgery. By the fifth day, he was able to walk around the ward corridor twice with a steady gait. Even the caregiver smiled and said, "This recovery speed is faster than recovering from a fall."

Dr. Zhao Jin, the head of neurosurgery, dared not take it lightly and specially arranged a full set of thorough examinations...

High-resolution MRI, electroencephalography (EEG) monitoring, and detailed cognitive function assessment.

On the day the test results came out, Zhao Jin held the report, his brows furrowed in worry.

During the consultation, Zhao Jin projected Su Ning's brain image onto the screen and pointed to the hippocampus, saying, "You see, all the physical indicators show that he has basically recovered. His muscle strength and coordination are even better than those of healthy people of the same age. But here's the problem—the damage to the hippocampus and medial temporal lobe has not improved at all; they are still in the same position."

He paused for a moment, then used a simpler analogy: "It's like a supercomputer with a broken hard drive. The processor and graphics card are incredibly powerful, but it just can't read what's stored on the hard drive. It has all the skills, but it can't remember who it is or what it's supposed to do."

Liu Wei, the head of the psychology department standing next to him, added: "He hasn't lost any of his procedural memory, and he even learns new things very quickly. But the damage to his episodic and autobiographical memory is permanent, and with the current level of medical technology, it is impossible to reverse it."

"Yes! Give up! It's pointless now."

"It's such a pity! This child may have lost not only his memories, but also his future."

"Have we doctors seen enough?"

……

A few days later, the female driver who caused the accident came to the hospital again, this time with a thick envelope in her hand.

The female driver followed behind, still wearing a large mask, her head bowed low, hiding behind her parents and not daring to look at anyone.

The female driver's parents dressed plainly and did not appear to be wealthy, but they never said anything hurtful.

"Brother Su, Sister Wang," the female driver's father handed over the envelope, his voice weary, "We will definitely continue to cover the child's medical expenses, and we will also cover the subsequent rehabilitation treatment. This is just a small token of our appreciation, and we hope it can be of some help."

Su Daqiang didn't take it, his hand clenched into a fist, his tone extremely heavy: "No matter how much money you have, it can't cure my son's memory."

"Then...then I'll deposit the money into the child's account."

Wang Xiuying looked at the girl hiding behind, her eyes filled with complicated emotions. Finally, she sighed and said, "You should go back! We know it wasn't intentional, and we don't blame the child."

"Thank you! Even if we have to sell everything we own, our family will definitely take full responsibility."

"Okay! That's enough. We're not trying to scam you."

"We know! We all know."

After they left, Liu Wei, realizing what had happened, instructed the psychological counseling team: "Pay close attention to the emotions of the patient's parents. They have forgiven each other on the surface, but this kind of 'rational forgiveness' is sometimes more hurtful than holding a grudge. If they haven't gotten over the hurdle in their hearts, they are prone to developing psychological trauma."

"Director, this is what happens to a perfectly healthy person! I always feel so suffocated inside," an intern said, somewhat frustrated.

"Perhaps miracles truly exist in this world! Doesn't the patient's physical recovery far exceed that of ordinary people?"

……

Over the weekend, the school principal and counselor came with a fruit basket and a leave of absence application.

“The school takes Su Ning’s situation very seriously,” the principal said cautiously. “However, considering that it is difficult to say when his memory will recover, and it is uncertain whether it will be recovered at all, the school suggests that he take a leave of absence first, and then consider returning to school once his condition has stabilized.”

The counselor added, "Computer science courses are highly sequential and require gradual accumulation. Su Ning can't even remember the basics she learned before, so she definitely won't be able to keep up in class."

“Yes! He’s even forgotten how to turn on his computer now.” Wang Xiuying suddenly interrupted, her voice choked with emotion. “Yesterday I brought his laptop over, and he stared at the screen for an hour, not even knowing where the power button was.”

Su Daqiang didn't say anything, picked up the pen, and signed his name on the leave of absence application.

The pen tip scratched across the paper, making a "scratching" sound, as if it had cut a large gash in their originally peaceful lives.

Suning, on the other hand, seemed remarkably calm about these matters.

When Wang Xiuying and Su Daqiang cautiously told him about taking a leave of absence from school, he simply nodded and whispered, "Okay."

"Don't you care?" Wang Xiuying couldn't help but ask.

His eyes were full of heartache; that was a prestigious university he had fought so hard to get into.

Su Ning looked out the window, the September sunlight shining on his face, his eyes reflecting a strange light.

"I don't remember what it felt like to go to university, nor do I remember how much I wanted to go to school, so I don't feel like I've lost anything."

He turned back, his eyes as innocent as a child's, which made Wang Xiuying feel even worse.

"Just like you wouldn't miss a place you've never been to because you have no idea what it's like."

Liu Wei, who was standing nearby, noted this scene in her observation log: "The patient exhibited obvious retrograde amnesia accompanied by emotional blunting. Due to the lack of emotional connection with the past, he was unusually accepting of the present situation. This state is both a form of self-protection for the body and the cruelest tragedy—he doesn't even know how precious what he has lost is."

……

During rehabilitation training, the therapist discovered something even stranger: Suning's physical coordination was exceptionally good.

"Director Zhao, come and see!" The therapist pulled Zhao Jin and pointed to Su Ning, who was using the rehabilitation equipment. "This is the first time he's used this equipment today. Without me teaching him, he knows how to exert force and how to control the rhythm. He's even more skilled than patients who have been practicing for half a month. It's like... his muscles remember how to move on their own."

The language proficiency test also went awry.

Suning can not only speak fluent Mandarin, but also accurately pronounce English words when he hears them, and even understand the local dialect. However, he said, "I don't remember learning these things. When I hear them, I just naturally know what they mean."

“This is the function of procedural memory,” Liu Wei explained. “He still has the knowledge and skills he has acquired, just like the books in the library are not lost, but he has forgotten when and how he borrowed them, and only knows what is written in them.”

That evening, taking advantage of her parents' inattention, Su Ning quietly went to the hospital rooftop.

As the sun slowly sank below the horizon, it painted the sky orange-red, and the city lights lit up one by one, creating a sea of ​​light.

He closed his eyes, the evening breeze brushing against his cheeks, carrying a hint of autumn coolness.

He didn't know what he used to like or dislike, what kind of friends he had, or how much effort he had put into getting into university.

He felt as if a stranger lived inside his body, someone who left behind many "skills" but took away all the "stories".

He stood on the rooftop, like a lost child, looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar world before him, not knowing which way to go.

……

The discharge procedures were completed exceptionally quickly. When the nurse handed over the discharge summary, her tone carried a hint of unconscious ease, as if the hospital also wanted to quickly turn the page on this regretful case.

Suning followed behind her parents, carrying a transparent plastic bag in her hand.

Those were all his "belongings" during his hospitalization: two pure cotton T-shirts, a pair of jeans, and a few neatly folded discharge slips that Wang Xiuying had bought for him temporarily.

He gripped the bag handle tightly, his fingertips exerting a slight pressure, a hint of barely perceptible tension hidden in his eyes, like a child going out with an adult, afraid of getting lost.

The high-speed rail station was teeming with people, and the sounds of footsteps and announcements mingled together.

Su Daqiang led the way, while Wang Xiuying gripped Su Ning's arm, glancing back at him every now and then. Su Ning's gaze swept over the passing crowds and the scrolling train information, finally settling on the distant tracks.

As the silver-white high-speed train slowly pulled into the station, his eyes lit up and he instinctively stopped in his tracks.

"Dad, Mom, is this the high-speed rail?" he asked softly, his voice full of curiosity, like a child seeing a toy for the first time.

Wang Xiuying's heart clenched, and she nodded, forcing back her tears: "Yes! Let's take this bus home, it'll only take a few hours."

Su Daqiang turned his face away, staring at the timetable on the wall, his Adam's apple bobbing.

He dared not look at his son's innocent face, afraid that he would not be able to hold back his tears.

Su Ning used to be the pride of the Su family.

But now, my son doesn't even recognize the high-speed train.

After the train started moving, Suning sat close to the window.

The scenery outside the window rushed past: lush green fields, villages with red tiles and white walls, and rows of tall buildings, like a flowing painting.

He watched intently, murmuring softly, "So fast! It's like traveling through time."

These words made Wang Xiuying unable to hold back any longer, and tears fell silently down her face, landing on her pants.

She recalled taking Su Ning to university a month ago on the same train. Her son sat next to her, excitedly talking about his university plans: "Mom, I want to study hard in university, find a good job in the future, and take you on a trip."

"Dad, I'll buy you the fishing rod you like as soon as I get my first month's salary."

Although those words still echoed in my ears, the person who spoke them had already forgotten what they had said.

Su Daqiang held his wife's hand, his palm rough but strong. He lowered his voice and said, "Don't be sad. At least Ningning is still alive and healthy. As long as he's alive, there's hope. We'll teach him slowly and wait patiently."

"That's true! Even if they get married in the future, they won't forget us."

At that moment, the child in the front seat accidentally dropped the toy car on the ground, and it rolled to Suning's feet.

Without a second thought, Su Ning bent down, picked it up, handed it back to the child, and gave him a gentle smile.

The child's mother quickly thanked him, but Su Ning simply nodded and didn't say anything more.

……

At the same time, at the neurosurgery nurses' station of the People's Hospital, a young girl wearing a mask quietly walked over.

She clutched a beautifully packaged box of health supplements in her hand, her fingers turning white from the pressure, and asked in a low voice, "Hello, Head Nurse, may I ask... is it possible to visit Su Ning today?"

The head nurse looked up and immediately recognized her as the female driver who caused the accident. She couldn't help but sigh: "He was discharged from the hospital this morning and went back to his hometown in Shandong with his parents."

The girl's shoulders slumped instantly, her voice trembling: "So fast? Has his memory... improved?"

"It's the same as always, permanent damage. Director Zhao and Director Liu both said that the possibility of recovery is almost zero." The head nurse's tone was full of regret. "The school has also arranged for him to take a leave of absence. In the future... he probably won't come here again."

Above the mask, the girl's eyes instantly reddened, tears quickly filling them: "It's all my fault. If only I hadn't had low blood sugar that day, if only I had driven more carefully..."

"Girl, there are no 'what ifs' in life." The head nurse patted her arm. "His parents don't blame you anymore, so don't keep dwelling on it. Living your own life well is the best way to make it up to them."

The girl put down the supplements and slowly walked out of the hospital.

The setting sun stretched her shadow long, like an unbreakable shackle.

She sat on the bench outside the hospital for a long time until it got dark and the streetlights came on one by one, before she dragged her heavy steps away.

……

In the evening, Su Ning returned to her home in Qingdao with her parents.

As soon as I reached the beach, the salty sea breeze blew over, carrying the unique scent of the ocean.

Su Ning took a deep breath and suddenly felt very comfortable, and her tense nerves relaxed a bit.

"Ningning, do you like the sea?" Wang Xiuying asked cautiously, her eyes full of anticipation.

Suning used to love coming to the seaside, saying that the sea could bring peace to people.

Su Ning nodded, a slight smile playing on her lips: "I like it. It feels so good to feel the sea breeze."

Their home was on the fourth floor of a residential building in the old town, without an elevator. Su Daqiang wanted to help Su Ning carry her things.

Su Ning took the plastic bag herself: "Dad, I can do it myself, I can manage."

Pushing open the front door, the living room walls were covered with photos of Suning.

There are photos of my baby when he was a baby, certificates of merit from elementary school, group photos from high school competitions, and photos of my family traveling after the college entrance examination.

Wang Xiuying looked at Su Ning nervously, trying to find a familiar trace on his face.

But Su Ning only glanced at the photo, then calmly asked, "Dad, Mom, where will I sleep?"

Wang Xiuying's heart sank again. She forced a smile and pointed to the room at the end of the corridor: "That's your room. It's the same as before, nothing has been changed."

That night, Su Daqiang smoked cigarettes on the balcony all night, leaving cigarette butts scattered all over the ground.

As Wang Xiuying was tidying up Suning's old belongings in the living room, she came across her son's competition award certificate from high school. Tears welled up in her eyes again, dripping onto the gold seal on the certificate and spreading into a small water stain.

In the room, Su Ning sat at her desk, holding an old photo album in her hand.

The boy in the photo album is smiling brightly, wearing glasses, and his eyes are full of longing for the future.

Su Ning stared at the photo for a long time, but felt that the person in the photo was unfamiliar, like looking at a friend she didn't know.

The sound of distant waves drifted in from outside the window, soft and gentle, as if telling a story.

Su Ning suddenly felt empty inside, and a strange sense of loss welled up inside her.

He didn't know where this feeling came from, nor did he know what he had lost.

He spoke softly, his voice barely audible to himself: "What...what have I lost? And...who am I?"

The sea breeze, carrying the scent of the ocean, drifted through the cracks in the window, but it did not answer his question.

The room was quiet, with only the clock on the wall ticking away, as if reminding him that a new life had begun.

...(End of chapter)