Sharing Dreams with My Bestie's Cousin

"The so-called side effects, do they cause people’s memories to become disordered? To put it more bluntly, might it result in intermittent idiocy?"

The person who asked this question was Zhan Feng.

He had thought of this possibility from the moment the doctor mentioned electroshock therapy because he had some knowledge about it from before.

The doctor looked at Zhan Feng, "Theoretically, yes, but in medical school, we call it transient loss of consciousness."

Gu Rang frowned and asked Zhan Feng, "What do you mean?"

Zhan Feng replied, "It means becoming a useless person who can’t even take care of themselves."

The doctor immediately added, "Temporarily, temporarily."

Gu Rang looked at the doctor, "Temporarily as in one month? Or one to two years?"

The doctor appeared uneasy, "Er..."

Gu Rang said, "Forget it, there’s not a single piece of good news I want to hear. I’ll think it over."

In fact, the doctor had not finished speaking. He quickly clarified, "Other side effects may cause some small probability problems with bodily organs, but as they’re small probabilities, they won’t..."

Gu Rang was very irritated, "Okay, shut up."

The doctor gave a sheepish smile, noticing that both their faces looked terrible. Before he left, he mentioned that if they decided to proceed, they could arrange for the electroshock therapy and hurried away.

Gu Rang turned around, hands on his waist, and asked Zhan Feng, "What do you think?"

Zhan Feng pondered for a moment, then looked at Gu Rang, "Do you still remember why Mr. Mu originally married Wen Yiwan?"

Gu Rang was startled, "You mean..."

Zhan Feng nodded, his tone indifferent, "We can only try that method one more time."

This time Gu Rang did not argue because compared to the risky electroshock treatment, if there was a better way to make Wen Zhi get better quickly, it was indeed worth a try.

...

The hospital room was silent.

Wen Zhi stood in front of the window, looking up at the bright moon. She didn’t know how long she had been looking when she felt tired and slowly lowered her head.

She was muttering something to herself.

Then she turned and staggered back to the bedside. She sat down with the support of the bed frame and hugged the urn she had placed on the floor back into her arms, continuing to space out.

Wen Zhi had always had a low tolerance for psychological stress.

When Wen Yinxi had suddenly passed away, Wen Zhi acted just like she did now, not eating or drinking, not sleeping or speaking.

It was as if her soul had left her flesh.

She was merely a breathing shell that was barely alive.

At that time, Mu Yanzhou had tried many methods, only wishing for Wen Zhi to become normal again, but to no avail.

As a last resort, Mu Yanzhou used the most cruel method—he announced that he was going to marry Wen Yiwan.

This method was indeed cruel.

But it also had an effect; Wen Zhi finally came to life in her hatred.

People need a purpose, a goal in order to survive.

Mu Yanzhou’s sudden change of heart and his declaration to marry another crushed Wen Zhi into taking action. She had to uphold her mother’s dignity after her death, resist her father’s remarriage, and moreover, uncover the truth behind her mother’s death...

These beliefs were sufficient to sustain her determination to live well.

But now, her heart was like ashes, devoid of any belief.

Footsteps echoed faintly from the doorway.

Gu Rang turned on the light, his gaze sweeping around until it finally settled on a huddled figure in a corner of the bed.

Gu Rang furrowed his brow and tiptoed toward the figure: "Wen Zhi."

There was no response, as always.

Gu Rang was used to this and stood quietly by her side for a moment, while in the hand behind his back, he fiddled with a photograph.

After a while, Gu Rang took two steps forward, squatted down next to Wen Zhi, and said, "Zhizhi, look what this is."

He extended the photograph he was holding towards Wen Zhi.

Wen Zhi had no idea when Gu Rang had entered or when he had come to her side. When she heard his voice next to her ear, her instinct was to resist his closeness, and her body quickly stiffened.

Sensing Wen Zhi’s resistance, Gu Rang didn’t come any closer but stretched the photograph further toward her: "Look, who is in the photo?"

Wen Zhi stiffly turned her neck to glance at the photograph, a fleeting look of confusion in her eyes.

Gu Rang guessed that Wen Zhi didn’t recognize the person in the photo and told her, "This is Chong Wanyin."

Upon hearing the three words "Chong Wanyin," Wen Zhi’s usually placid pupils suddenly constricted.

This was the biggest reaction she had shown in days.

Gu Rang was consoled to see such a strong reaction from Wen Zhi. It was good, indeed, stimulating her emotions was effective.

And since Chong Wanyin was the person she hated most, he knew that just mentioning Chong Wanyin’s name was sure to elicit a reaction from Wen Zhi!

Gu Rang continued, "Look at the Chong Wanyin in the photo, she’s now half-dead..."

Before Gu Rang could finish, he suddenly heard Wen Zhi’s hoarse voice: "She’s not dead yet?"

Gu Rang was taken aback.

At that moment, Wen Zhi carefully set the urn by her side and freed her hands. She took the photograph from Gu Rang’s hand and examined it closely.

The person in the photo was lying on a hospital bed, swathed in bandages, with only her face barely recognizable.

Wen Zhi’s hand holding the photo trembled, her body shaking violently: "She’s not dead... She killed my mother, she killed my father, yet she’s not dead, why is she still alive, why is she still alive..."

Gu Rang’s original intent was to see a vivid display of emotions on Wen Zhi’s face.

But when he actually got his wish and saw Wen Zhi ’come alive’, he felt a tinge of regret. He tried to pull the photo from her grasp, but Wen Zhi clutched it tightly and refused to let go.

"Wen Zhi, listen to me," Gu Rang said, somewhat apprehensively.

He thought that in this state, Wen Zhi probably wouldn’t listen to anything.

But that sudden upward gaze caught Gu Rang off guard, and he heard Wen Zhi ask him, "Is there anything else you’re keeping from me?"

Gu Rang pondered, "You need to recuperate first. Chong Wanyin won’t get away. The sins she has committed, the crimes she has perpetrated will ultimately be punished by the law. You need to ensure you’re well first, so you can personally send her to prison!"

Originally, Gu Rang had planned to tell Wen Zhi straight that Chong Wanyin wouldn’t live more than three months.

But he suddenly realized that if he told her now, Wen Zhi might become resentful, might disregard everything to see Chong Wanyin, and might even do something more drastic.

"Personally send her to jail, will she be sentenced to death?" Wen Zhi asked quietly.

Gu Rang nodded: "She will. She has to pay for her crimes."

Wen Zhi scoffed bitterly: "Heh heh heh..."

She laughed and then cried, tearing up the photograph in her hands: "I’ve always known, she won’t be sentenced to death, even if it’s life in prison, there will eventually be a reduction in her sentence, or perhaps..."

Wen Zhi looked at Gu Rang: "...she won’t serve time at all, she will never pay the appropriate price for the crimes she committed."

"No! Wen Zhi, you have to believe in us. Isn’t there Shang Hexing? He won’t let Chong Wanyin get off scot-free either," Gu Rang tried desperately to make Wen Zhi trust every word he said.

But at that very moment, Wen Zhi was exceptionally lucid.