Chapter 3

Cheng Xiaoyu fell into a silent reverie. The doctor, mistaking his silence for an admission of driving without a license, snorted and said, "These rich kids are really lawless nowadays. How many accidents happen every day because of reckless driving?"

Cheng Xiaoyu could only inwardly sigh. Whether he wanted to or not, he had to take the blame. Looking at the beauty on the stretcher, he felt a deep sense of guilt.

At this moment, the girl he had hit revealed her flawless face, though it lacked color. Her long eyelashes formed beautiful arcs, and her cherry lips, slightly pale, adorned her high nose.

This created a kind of morbid beauty, captivating everyone's attention, making it impossible to look away or forget.

Seeing her breathtakingly beautiful daughter, the woman couldn't help but cry out, "My daughter just got accepted into the Shanghai Theatre Academy this year. How can I live if she's gone?" The medical staff in the ambulance felt a pang of sympathy. Seeing Cheng Xiaoyu's expressionless face, they thought he was an irredeemable rich brat and treated him coldly.

Cheng Xiaoyu felt wronged but had no way to explain. He had no memory of hitting anyone. He suspected that the collision of two identities' memories might have caused confusion, leading to the accident.

But with his mind in a fog, he couldn't feel much guilt and could only sit expressionless.

Until the male doctor, wearing a mask, asked, "Have you called your parents?"

Cheng Xiaoyu realized that such a big incident required him to inform his family.

Cheng Xiaoyu had no choice. He had never spoken to his biological father, who had brought him back to China, so he could only call his stepmother, Aunt Zhou.

When Aunt Zhou learned that Cheng Xiaoyu had been in a car accident, she was a bit nervous. Upon learning that he was fine, she felt much relieved on her way to the hospital. She told Cheng Xiaoyu not to worry and that she would be there soon.

After hanging up, the ambulance arrived at the hospital. A group of nurses quickly lifted the girl from the ambulance. Outside, a flash of cameras went off.

Cheng Xiaoyu, feeling dizzy, stood up. The woman didn't follow her daughter but stayed by Cheng Xiaoyu, as if afraid he would run away and no one would take responsibility.

Cheng Xiaoyu didn't have time to think much. He managed to get out of the ambulance and found himself surrounded by reporters with cameras. After he got out, the cameras started snapping again, and a reporter loudly asked, "How old are you?"

"Do you have a driver's license?"

"Did you drink alcohol?"

"What was your speed at the time?"

The murky air, the hostile questioning, and the constant flashing of cameras made Cheng Xiaoyu feel dizzy and chest-tight. Suddenly, his head tightened, and he fainted.

As he fainted, he thought, "This fainting is really timely."

After an unknown amount of time, Cheng Xiaoyu woke up again. This time, he opened his eyes effortlessly, but his head couldn't move because of the medical neck brace.

Cheng Xiaoyu felt numb in his limbs and tried to sit up but found himself too weak. He could only look at the white ceiling, where the smell of disinfectant mixed with a faint floral scent.

Glancing to the side, he saw a vase of lilies on the bedside table.

Cheng Xiaoyu's mind was still a mess. He couldn't distinguish who he was. He felt like he had played a role in a 17-year-long movie, and now the character and his self were indistinguishable.

This thought indicated that the music director's identity was dominant. The memory of the illegitimate son stopped at driving on Zhongshan Road, a riverside road, but Cheng Xiaoyu couldn't recall what happened next, and trying to remember caused him pain.

The music director's last memory was complete, with a Lamborghini and a Ferrari still racing in his mind, so vividly that Cheng Xiaoyu could play the scenes frame by frame, even seeing the panic on the driver's face.

Cheng Xiaoyu was troubled by the question of who he was and could only wander aimlessly in his memories, like rewatching a deeply memorable movie.

His only talent was a Level 10 piano certification, but he hadn't touched a piano for almost a year. He had studied in China for half a year, with abysmal grades, failing all subjects.

His appearance was average, standing at 178 cm and weighing 170 pounds, making him a small fat guy. He wasn't very fat, but he was far from being an athlete, a handsome man, or a beauty.

In summary, he was now worthless except for his wealthy family.

While lost in thought, the door creaked open, and footsteps approached. Cheng Xiaoyu strained to look and saw a petite figure in a white coat and nurse's cap.

The nurse, holding a clipboard, noticed he was awake and asked coldly, "You're awake?"

Cheng Xiaoyu tried to make a sound but could only produce a hoarse noise. The pretty nurse, frowning, took out a walkie-talkie and said, "Inform Director Li that the patient in Special Care Room 9 is awake."

Cheng Xiaoyu didn't mind the nurse's cold attitude and tried hard to speak. He desperately wanted to know how the girl he hit was doing.

Before he could succeed, the nurse wrote something in a notebook by his bed and left the room.

A while later, a doctor wearing glasses entered the room. Cheng Xiaoyu glanced at the name tag on the white coat: Li Guodong.

A gentle voice asked, "Do you know where you are?"

Cheng Xiaoyu, now able to speak, croaked, "Yes, the hospital."

The doctor asked, "Do you know your name?"

Cheng Xiaoyu hesitated and said, "Cheng Xiaoyu."

"How do you feel? Can you move your limbs?"

Cheng Xiaoyu moved his hands and feet, sighed in relief, and said, "Yes."

The doctor picked up the clipboard by the bed, glanced at it, and smiled. "You should be fine. You can be discharged in about ten days. I've already called your father. He's in a meeting but will come later. Rest well, and if you need anything, press the bell to call a nurse."

Cheng Xiaoyu stopped Doctor Li and asked softly, "Is the girl okay?" His heart felt like it was about to jump out of his chest, and he could hear the terrifying thumping in his ears.

Doctor Li smiled and said, "Don't worry. She's out of danger and won't be disabled."

Cheng Xiaoyu breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Thank you." The heavy burden in his heart lifted.

But he still had a lingering doubt about the accident, feeling something was off but unable to recall it.

Seeing the name on the doctor's name tag, Li Guodong, in traditional Chinese characters, Cheng Xiaoyu felt a strange emotion spreading in his heart.

When the door closed, the memories of his past life flooded his heart. Cheng Xiaoyu felt a painful loneliness in the white hospital room, and tears involuntarily fell.

In his past life, Cheng Xiaoyu was an optimistic person, with a carefree attitude. The 17-year-old Cheng Xiaoyu was a fat, introverted guy who lived with his mother in the United States for 16 and a half years.

His mother, Cheng Qiuci, was a famous actress who retired to the United States after becoming pregnant with Cheng Xiaoyu. Last year, after he participated in the International Chopin Piano Competition, she committed suicide by burning charcoal due to long-term depression and migraines, leaving a will asking him to return to China to find his biological father.

After his mother's death, Cheng Xiaoyu didn't plan to return to China until his biological father, Su Changhe, came to the United States, forced him to drop out of school, and packed up all his belongings, including his mother's ashes, and took him back to China by force.

Cheng Xiaoyu, the introverted guy, always wanted to ask Su Changhe why he didn't marry his mother and hoped for an explanation, but Su Changhe hadn't spoken to him much in the past six months and made no effort to improve their icy relationship.

Apart from giving him money and arranging his life, Su Changhe was quite cold to him, showing no warmth to make up for the years of neglect. When he brought him back to China, he said, "Your mother entrusted me to take care of you, so I must fulfill this promise. I don't care how you see me, and I don't care how you resist. You can ignore me, but you must follow your mother's final wishes." This emotionless dialogue made their communication almost non-existent.

His stepmother, Zhou Peipei, was very warm to him, taking care of his schooling, clothing, and other needs. The Ferrari 430 he was driving when the accident happened was also Zhou Peipei's car.

He also had a proud younger sister, Su Yuxi, who hadn't spoken to him in the past six months and hadn't even greeted him. They only saw each other at the dinner table on weekends, and their meetings were few and far between.

Thinking about his bizarre family relationships, Cheng Xiaoyu felt a headache.

He didn't know how to face his parents in this life. After all, he was already 40 years old, older than his stepmother.

Cheng Xiaoyu wiped away his tears. He was no longer young and didn't have the luxury of wallowing in sorrow. No matter how much he regretted the past, life had to go on.

Moreover, he couldn't tell which identity was truly his, even though the mature Cheng Xiaoyu dominated his thoughts. This didn't mean the introverted self didn't exist.

When he thought about his father, Su Changhe, in this life, his heart was not at peace. He knew he couldn't forgive him. Although his mother, Cheng Qiuci, never blamed Su Changhe and even wrote in her will to listen to his father, Cheng Xiaoyu always blamed Su Changhe for her death.

Living with his mother for 16 years made him quiet and poor at communication. At 178 cm tall and 170 pounds, he looked chubby and was often bullied in the United States.

His only friend was the piano. The happiest times in his life were when the sunset of San Francisco cast a warm glow through the windows of their old apartment, and he played Chopin, his mother's favorite, while she listened and prepared dinner.

When his mother saw him eating a lot, she would be happy, so he always ate as much as he could.

Back then, he naively thought that as long as his mother smiled and he had music, he was content.

Now, he had nothing but music.