The New Proof

Li Huowang opened his eyes again. It was already the next morning. Though Sun Xiaoqin insisted on following him into the bathroom to help, he pushed her out and managed his own washing up.

His body was terribly weak, but after dawdling for a good long while, he barely got it done. When he came out, Sun Xiaoqin was already waiting with breakfast.

His trembling hand raised the chopsticks, struggling to pick up a small soup bun and force it into his mouth.

“Eat up, son. Eat more, and you’ll get strong. After you finish, how about we start some rehabilitation exercises?”

“Mm.” Li Huowang nodded, his cheeks stuffed. His body was too weak now. He had to recover as fast as possible—at the very least, he needed to be able to walk on his own.

In his current state, the Heart-Element Li Huowang could probably crush him with a single finger.

After breakfast, the rehabilitation began. Li Huowang gripped a long, bottomless aluminum stool for support and dragged himself forward, inch by painful inch.

This slow movement might mean nothing to a normal person, but for Li Huowang, it was a heavy burden. Soon, sweat broke out on his forehead, and the ache in his muscles grew sharp and sour.

It was miserable. But for a man who had weathered countless ordeals, this kind of torment was as easy as eating or drinking.

After a few brief exercises, Li Huowang collapsed back onto the bed, gasping for air. He could feel his hands and feet twitching slightly—small, involuntary spasms. The first sign that strength was returning.

Sun Xiaoqin, full of energy, skillfully massaged his limbs, working the muscles to prevent lactic acid buildup that would leave him stiff the next day. She was very practiced at this. Back when Li Huowang’s illness was at its worst, she had often massaged his muscles and worked his joints to keep him from seizing up.

“Keep it up, son. We’ll work hard together. Once your condition is stable enough, we can transfer you out of here. We don’t have to stay in this place—this so-called hospital that’s really just a prison.”

“Transfer? Can’t I just go home?” Li Huowang frowned.

“Not that fast, don’t worry. Once your condition is completely stabilized and the doctors run their tests and confirm you’re really better, then you can truly go home.”

“What a hassle.”

“Hehehe.” Sun Xiaoqin’s cheerful laughter found nothing troublesome at all. Her son was getting better—nothing else mattered.

The days no longer stretched into an endless, hopeless tunnel. Things were improving, day by day.

There had been a time when she was truly afraid her son would remain in that dazed, half-mad state for the rest of his life—that one day, he would simply drift away into madness.

She had saved so frugally just to leave him something. She was terrified that after she and his father were gone, Li Huowang would have no one to look after him, that he would end up picking through trash on the streets and freeze to death in some lonely winter.

But now her son was getting better. The money she had saved didn’t need to be hoarded anymore. It could go toward Li Huowang’s marriage.

“Mom, you’re pressing on my neck.”

Li Huowang’s words snapped Sun Xiaoqin out of her daydream. She gave his cheeks a gentle pat with both hands.

“Good boy. Take a rest. I’ll go get some hot water from the boiler room and wipe the sweat off you.”

Days passed. As the rehabilitation continued, Li Huowang’s body was still gaunt as a skeleton, but at least he could walk without support. Picking up an empty bowl no longer required both hands.

His quiet compliance did not go unnoticed. The hospital’s vigilance toward him gradually eased.

At first, he had been under four escorts. Then it became three. Then two. After all, the whole ward had too many patients to keep everyone clustered around Li Huowang.

One afternoon, Li Huowang—still wearing handcuffs—sat on a long bench with two guards, watching television.

No one sat near him. A wide circle of empty space surrounded him. It wasn’t that he had given up on making friends. But the last time someone tried to get close, Li Huowang had scared the man into tears with a single look.

Li Huowang tilted his head back, staring at some sappy romance drama on the screen. His teeth ached from the cringe. “What the hell is this? Don’t these people have anything better to do? Can you really make a living just by falling in love every day?”

The guard beside him, a guy they called Xiao Liu, spoke up. “Kid, you should watch more of this. Pick up a few tips, and maybe you’ll actually get a girlfriend someday.”

Li Huowang wasn’t exactly a prisoner, so there was no need to maintain an intimidating front. Besides, Sun Xiaoqin brought them snacks every few days. After all this time together day and night, the relationship between them was decent enough.

“You learn how to date from TV dramas? No wonder you can’t find a girlfriend. Got a phone? Let me borrow it for a bit.”

“A phone? Dream on. Hospital rules. Even those old-person phones aren’t allowed in the ward.” Xiao Liu turned back to the TV.

Li Huowang sighed, stood up, and walked toward the hallway on the left.

“Where are you going?” Both guards got to their feet immediately.

“Where do you think? To the bathroom.”

“We’ll come with you.”

Under escort, Li Huowang entered a hallway and finally reached the public restroom.

It wasn’t the first time. The guards waited outside while Li Huowang quietly took his time, watching carefully for something.

“Xiao Li, your kidneys must be shot. You take forever every single time.”

“Worry about yourself. By the way, I had a girlfriend before I came here.”

“….”

When he went to wash his hands, Li Huowang caught a glimpse in the glass reflection. An old man in a hat and mask walked in, carrying a broom and a trash bag.

Li Huowang was about to leave when that feeling hit him again! His whole body went rigid. Through the glass reflection, he stared at the old man sweeping the floor.

Sensing Li Huowang’s gaze, the old man looked up. Through the glass, their eyes met for a split second before he quickly lowered his head again.

It was just a pair of eyes, but Li Huowang recognized him instantly. This was Wang Wei in disguise!

“Hold on a sec. I need to take a dump too.”

“Alright, hurry up. You got paper?” Seeing that Li Huowang was coherent, Xiao Liu and the other guard had no reason to be suspicious.

According to Dr. Yi, the signs of Li Huowang’s episodes were incoherent babbling and easily identifiable behavior.

Li Huowang glanced sideways at the restroom door, then slowly moved closer to Wang Wei. Lowering his voice to the faintest whisper, he asked, “What the hell are you doing here?”

Wang Wei was his previous attending physician. Li Huowang remembered their last meeting. The man had gone mad.

As Li Huowang approached, Wang Wei suddenly reached out with his right hand and grabbed Li Huowang’s wrist in an iron grip. His voice was pressed to the lowest possible whisper, trembling with barely contained excitement. “I know! I know it’s real!!”

Wang Wei’s pupils were shaking. His eyes burned with excitement and manic fervor, just like every manic patient who had ever had an episode.

———