2. The Fear

Lijun was brought to the operating room. It was already a miracle that she had survived, even though everyone believed she was close to death.

Rochelle was outside, paced the hallway her mind in turmoil of confusionand fury. Two of the officers had been found dead, and the third, a female officer, had barely survived and was now in a coma. What had happened? How could everything turned so quickly in a blink of an eye?

She had received a call earlier, but the only thing she could make out were agonized cries before Lijun fell from the floor above. The culprit had even destroyed the cameras before anything else, making it clear that this was a premeditated crime.

Lijun, who knew the whereabouts of Celine, had been involved in an accident. Rochelle sat in a chair, her face buriedin her hands, feeling like she might go insane. Though she hadn’t seen anything herself, her suspicions were firmly on Lijun. Still, her reasons didn't fit with the situation.

Rochelle's eyes turned red as she looked towards the operating room.

“You have to live,” she muttered angrily.

Lijun had to survive if they were ever going to solve this mystery.

At that moment, a shadow fell over her. Rochelle looked up and saw a girl standing in front of her, a teenager in a school uniform with bobbed hair and bangs, pierced her with an intense, lethal gaze.

“Was it you? Did you do this to my sister?”

Sister? Rochelle raised an eyebrow in surprise and stood up. According to her information, Lijun didn’t have any family. So where had this girl come from? The girl did seem Asian, but she wasn’t like Lijun. The name tag on her uniform read "Kento Hanae."

“Little sister, I’m one of the people who want her alive. She owes me a huge debt, so don’t get the wrong idea. Compared to your sister, I’m a good person,” Rochelle said, patting the girl’s shoulder before starting to leave.

“She. Isn’t. A bad person,” Hanae emphasized each word. “You don’t know anything, so don’t you dare say she’s not a good person!”

Rochelle smirked, amused, and turned back. “Is that so? I’m Rochelle, from the Special Crime Investigation Unit. You’ll be seeing a lot of me... Hanae.”

With that, she left, having spent the entire night at the hospital.

Three Months Later

Early the next morning, Hanae, the only person who could take care of Lin Lijun, arrived at the hospital. Besides her, the only other visitors were Rochelle, who came regularly, reporters who sneaked in, and crime investigators.

Hanae's short bob had grown out over the past three months, now reaching her back, and she had removed her bangs, opting for a few braids on the right side. She wore tights under her miniskirt, a shirt, and a jacket.

Three months had passed since her sister fell into a coma. In that time, they had transferred her to more than ten different hospitals to protect her from those who wanted her dead.

But Rochelle wasn’t aware that among those people, some had been sent by Hanae herself, who had tried so hard to take her sister away from investigators' eyes.

The video about Scupper had gone viral, and most people believed Lijun was the terrorist. Who cared about the truth anyway?

Now, Lijun was in a secret facility, receiving treatment under Rochelle’s supervision.

Hanae pushed open the door and stepped inside, expecting to see her sister’s half-lifeless body in the bed, clinging to the last thread of survival.

But when she looked at the bed, she froze. The spot where Lijun should have been was empty. Instead, someone was on the floor, long hair hiding half her face as she leaned against the bed, staring at her legs.

Hanae stared in disbelief, her eyes wide. She tried to speak, but no words came out. After three months in bed, her sister had finally woken up.

It was a miracle. She had been told that Lijun might remain in a vegetative state for years.

Without thinking, she rushed over and hugged her sister, tears streaming down her face like a river.

“I... I... Sister...” she cried, unable to form coherent words.

But Lijun didn’t react. Hanae pulled back and looked into her sister’s face. She looked... lifeless.

Though she had regained consciousness, her eyes seemed lost.

Later, Lijun was brought into the lab for a full-body scan. After all the tests were done, Hanae met with the doctor as the guardian Rochelle had approved.

“Miss Lin Lijun is incredibly lucky to wake up after only three months. In situations like hers, most patients remain in comas for years,” said the doctor. “However, from the tests we’ve conducted, we found a problem in her brain that will require surgery if she is to live longer than a year. This condition may cause abnormalities in her senses—taste, sight, hearing, and smell. It may not be evident now, but she will start experiencing these issues gradually.”

Hanae's heart sunk. “What are you saying? My sister will turn blind? Deaf?”

“I’m sorry, but yes. Another issue is that the accident has caused her fuzzy memory. She may remember some things, but much of her memory will be lost,”

Hanae’s fists tightened. “Then, what can I do to bring my sister back to normal?”

“Her memory recovery will take time and depends on her, but regarding her senses... she will need surgery.”

Her fists clenched tighter as she gathered the courage to ask, “Her legs. She hasn’t been paralyzed, has she?”

After leaving the doctor’s office, Hanae slowly descended the stairs, lost in thoughts.

What would her sister forget? What would she remember? The thought terrified her.

Many people had been waiting for the day Lijun would wake up, including officers and her enemies. How much more would her sister have to overcome? No, she would be the one to protect her.

Inside, Lijun sat in a wheelchair near the window, staring outside as if she was a ghost.

At that moment, a teenage girl entered the room, her face clouded with gloom. She stopped near the entrance and stared somberly at Lijun.

Approaching her sister, she held Lijun’s hand. “Sister.”

Lijun eyes narrowed stared at her. Through her gaze Hanae understood, Lijun couldn't remember her.

Her sister had forgotten her, her only family. What did she remember, then?

Lijun sat in bed with a meal in front of her while Hanae prepared some fruit. Hanae noticed her sister’s eyes fixed on her and not the food, but she pretended not to see and continued cutting the fruit.

“I wasn’t a good sister,” Lijun said suddenly.

Hanae's knife slipped from her hand and fell. She immediately crouched to pick it up but didn’t rise. Instead, she turned to Lijun. “No, you were the best sister I could ever have.”

Only God knew how much worse she had been, enough to make her...

“You... fear me.”

Hanae flinched. Indeed, in this world, she only feared one person, and that was her sister. But she hated admitting it.

“I... I don’t fear you. Why would I...?”

“Then I will trust you,” Lijun said, picking up a spoon and starting to eat.

Hanae stood up and continued cutting the fruit.

Lijun ate a few bites and then stopped. “This food... tastes awful.”

“I cooked it myself. Is it that bad?” Hanae asked, meeting her sister’s gaze she stopped defending herself. “Maybe it wasn’t cooked well.”

“I feel uncomfortable. We have a home, don’t we?” Lijun asked

Hanae’s eyes widened. “Y-yes,” she stammered, surprised by her sister’s words. “We have a home, and we’ll go together.”

Her sister didn’t even know where their house was, yet now she was asking to go home. Hanae couldn’t help but think that Lijun losing her memories wasn’t entirely a bad thing.

Lijun took a bite of an apple. She chewed a few times, then stopped.

“It isn’t sweet.”

She kept complaining that everything tasted bland. Hanae didn’t think much of it until she remembered the doctor’s words.

Watching her sister struggle, her heart ached, and tears welled up.

“Lijun,” she cried, rushing over to hug her. Lijun was caught off guard, not knowing what to do.

“Why are they so cruel to you when they know nothing,” Hanae sobbed bitterly.

Lijun patted her back, now the one consoling her. As she did, she asked, “Who are they? How cruel are they to me?”