Li Feng nodded, recognizing that his master's priorities had been radically reordered by the events of the last hour.
The room fell into uneasy silence again, broken only by the medical equipment and the soft sound of Zhou Yuxi's breathing as the sedatives kept her under.
Hours passed. The family took turns sitting with her, making sure someone was always within arm's reach in case she woke and was disoriented or distressed. Meals were brought and mostly ignored. Dr. Chen checked in twice, reviewing Zhou Yuxi's charts and nodding with satisfaction at her stable vitals.
Mu Yunchen remained awake despite his exhaustion, his eyes tracking Zhou Yuxi constantly, watching for any sign of consciousness returning. The doctors had cleared him to sit up more fully, had removed several monitoring leads as his own recovery progressed rapidly, but he refused to sleep, refused to look away, as if his vigil now could somehow make up for the pain his deception had caused.
