I woke up battered and in silence.
Contrary to my previous experiences, this silence wasn't one that was followed by disaster, but the deep, peaceful kind of silence.
It was the kind of silence that comes after a tough storm has exhausted itself and finally collapses.
I didn't dare move for a long moment. I was afraid that if I opened my eyes, then I would see those threads weaving around, and the whispers of the guild would start curling into my ears.
I expected something, anything...but...there was nothing.
Not a single hum. Not a single pulse, or even the disoriented thoughts.
There was just me. I tried moving my body but it didn't take me long before I blacked out...again. Oh boy!
The next time I opened my eyes, I was met with a white ceiling. The lights were soft and yhe the faint scent of antiseptic let me know where I was. In a hospital room.
"Makes sense," I murmured, my voice coming out hoarse and scratched. "Where else did I expect to be?"
I felt like I had swallowed sand because of how my throat burned. I tried sitting up but my limbs were heavy and unresponsive. I panicked for a moment because I thought I had undergone surgery.
I wanted to try sitting up again but the pain flared. It was the sharp and immediate kind of pain. This felt deeply personal. Did this body have a vendetta against me?
"Rui. Don't move," a deep voice suddenly spoke out.
I immediately froze because I recognized it. Lu Jinghao.
He stood near the window, his charcoal grey jacket draped over one of the chairs. His rolled up sleeves told me they had there up there for a while. He looked relaxed but he had unreadable steady eyes, and those steady eyes were currently fixed on me, gaze so hot that I felt my chest tighten.
"You already know what happened but I'll still tell you. You fainted...again."
I winced because his tone and eyes shower how upset he was. "Eer...perhaps I am developing a steady reputation."
"Make that unsteady and the kind that I don't like." he replied, his voice a bit softer.
His tone didn't carry any accusation, nor did it demand any explanation. It carried genuine concern.
I swallowed hard, suddenly unsure of how to act normally around him.
" How long was I out?"
"Three days."
His answer startled me. "Th... three days?"
"The head doctors say you had extreme fatigue and stress. Severe neurological stress. They asked me a lot of questions and I didn't even know how to properly answer back."
I smiled faintly but didn't say much. Even if I wanted to say something, I didn't know how I was going to say it.
"At least I survived."
"You barely survived."
His words landed heavier than they should have.
I didn't have an answer so I just looked away, my fingers curling deep into the sheets. The silence around us stretched in a charged manner. Lu Jinghao always had a way of standing quietly but it is that specific quietness that would put anyone on their toes.
"Your family has been calling," he finally spoke up.
"I didn't entertain them throughout."
I didn't ask which family or what he said to them. I knew the moment I dealt with the guild, they would also face a backlash.
"Thank you."
"It seems like something happened. They were very unsettled."
My pulse suddenly quickened. "What happened? What kind of thing?"
He studied me for a moment before he finally spoke.
"Your sister was hospitalized. She had to be sedated severely for her to calm down."
A cold chill slid down my spine. Sedation? It couldn't be that bad. Right...?
"What about the others?"
"Your father lost three big fish overnight. Investors I didn't even manage to convince to work with me. There is no clear reason why that happened."
"Your stepmother reportedly has skin issues, she is suddenly losing a lot of hair. I heard she has aged ten or so years ahead."
I closed my eyes but didn't say anything. The guild was really a cruel place. It just snapped back on its own puppets, and I didn't have to lift a finger.
They were not my target but their greed made them the guild's target and now, the aftermath felt like finality to me. They deserved it anyway.
"How tragic. But they will recover," I said quietly. "Eventually..."
"Do you really want them to? After all they had done?"
I opened my eyes and met his grey ones. He wasn't judging or testing me with that question. He was just asking because...well... looking at my current situation, that answer mattered.
"I want them to still live...that is without hurting or sabotaging anyone else."
He nodded once before speaking. "Then that is what will happen."
I believed him. He had never given me a reason not to. Besides he said it like a statement, done and sealed, and not like a promise.
We spoke for a bit before he left to speak with the doctor on my situation.
I lay back on my bed, closing my eyes in the process. I didn't close them to sleep, but to feel but nothing answered. It was so quiet and serene.
For the first time since my rebirth, the silence inside was too clean.
'...'
I stiffened before whispering internally. "Nova?"
There was no immediate reply, causing a flicker of unease to spark in my chest. "You... don't tell me you are gone."
There was some static crack before things settled. "Still here host."
Relief flooded me that my laugh came out weak. "You know I can't survive without your commentary."
'I can't let you live such a boring life host.'
I paused before speaking. "Are you okay?"
'Yeah...the guild is dead and my core is stable.'
"Are you really okay?"
'I am just...quieter.'
His answer made my chest ache in a way it never has.
"I...I am sorry. I didn't realize I..."
'Rui.'
Nova's tone softened.
'You didn't choose to inherit this space but you chose to end things.'
I blinked, trying to hold back my tears. "You realize your words won't make the pain hurt less...right?"
There was some strange silence between us, strange because we normally don't have this kind of silence between us.
"So...what happens now?" I asked.
"What happens now is that we live."
I gently scoffed. "That sounds like an ending."
'Or it can be the beginning.'
I smiled back. "Then, can I get my sarcastic Nova back? I need intel."
'Tsk. So demanding.'
From Nova, I learned that the Jiang fashion house had its servers dead in under minutes, with my father citing some technical anomalies that would soon be fixed.
'Oh and the house of Nexus had its subsidiaries collapsing barely 24 hours after we destroyed them.'
'And they are also saying that Phantom is rumored to be behind the purge.'
Nova and I continued chatting idly as he filled me in on alot of things. It felt good seeing my Nova like this after a long time.
Over the next few days, the fashion world finally adjusted. The news outlets were trying to spin various stories. From Jiang Ning's breakdown to my sudden absense, they were trying so hard to chase the scandals but there was nothing, just consequences for the deserving.
Huang Zeming had called in to check on me a couple of times, with countless of flower bouquets being sent to my room everyday.
When I was finally discharged, Lu Jinghao drove me home himself. He made sure that there would be no press. I don't know how he managed to do things but he executed things but he did well.
"You shouldn't go back to work immediately."
Lu Jinghao spoke the moment we stopped at a light.
"Hmm. I know."
"But you will stubbornly go back anyway."
"You are correct." I smiled, replying back.
He glanced at me, amusement flickering in his eyes. "You are really stubborn."
"Correction, I am resilient," I corrected quickly.
He hummed, the amusement never fading. " And that too."
As he pulled up outside my apartment, he hesitated before turning off the engine.
"Come here." He said, not even waiting for my reply, before pulling me in for a hug.
I froze, my heart thudding dangerously.
The hug didn't last long. He broke it off as fast as it came before steadying his gaze.
"I have probably said this a thousand times but I'll still repeat it. Whatever you are battling or carrying, you don't have to do it alone. I am here."
Everytime he said this, his words would hit harder than the last time.
"I am aware," I whispered.
That night, I stood alone in my studio, just me, my fabrics, my creations and my space. I ran my warm fingers over a bolt of silk, feeling the texture until my buzzing phone brought me back to reality.
A message from Lu Jinghao. I smiled, replied and set the phone down.
We rest tonight, tomorrow we design the future.