Rebirth: Once Again With You

Dai Zhiqiang opened his eyes, only to find darkness enveloping him. His body was floating, and he couldn't tell which was up and down.

'Is this what they called lucid dream?'

He thought to himself as he let himself hover in the space without direction. The feeling of being alone with nothing but darkness around him eased his mind a lot. There was no responsibility, regret, or guilt following in his footsteps.

Everything was empty, even himself.

'If only Caiyi is here, I won't ask for anything else anymore.'

When he got accustomed to this new state of his, suddenly, a strong sucking force pulled his body in a specific direction. He didn't resist and just let that force lead him somewhere else.

'After all, this is just another dream, right?'

***

"Zhi? You are here."

When he opened his eyes for the second time, he was standing in a white hospital room. In front of him, the weak-looking Dai Bolin looked up at him through his half-lidded eyes with his hand raised shakily.

Dai Zhiqiang felt disoriented for a moment, as he couldn't remember what he was doing before this. Still, his body reacted faster than his mind.

Dai Zhiqiang moved forward to grab his father's hand, which strangely seemed plumper than the last time he held it.

'Huh? Why did I remember Father's hand as skinny? He has always been on the plump side.'

"Zhi, I'm sorry for worrying you. I'm sure this is just because your old man is too tired. Don't worry too much."

Dai Bolin breathed heavily as if such activity were tough on him. "You should return to your school tomorrow. I'm sorry because of me, you have to leave early on your first day of school."

Only when he heard that did the boy finally recall the series of incidents today.

'That's right, I found Father collapsed on the floor, so I called the ambulance immediately. How can I forget that? Something is wrong with me today.'

"Father, why are you worrying about trivial things like this? Who cares about school? I will ask permission to be absent for a while to take care of you."

p "You, stubborn kid. Listen to your old man." Dai Bolin said, but his voice was so weak and fragile that it sounded like a whimper instead of a scolding.

"No, you are the stubborn one, Father. That's why I said you shouldn't force yourself to work. You are already old, so take care of your body more."

"Cheeky brat." Dai Bolin's corner of his mouth raised slightly, but the sweat on his forehead revealed how much pain he was in right now.

Dai Zhiqiang became more anxious. But even more than that, he was frustrated and angry.

"Father, how long will you mope over Mother's disappearance?"

"Zhi…"

"She will not return even if you work your ass off until half-dead like this. Your salary is enough to feed the three of us. And I can take a part-time job too, so please stop overworking yourself."

Dai Bolin fell into deep silence, but it only agitated the boy further.

"There is nothing we can do over spilled milk. Why would you work so hard for a person who won't see it? That's just stupid."

Dai Zhiqiang covered his mouth when he realized he had said too much. Feeling ashamed and remorseful, he hung his head low. "I'm sorry, Father."

"Zhi, I'm very worried about you. I don't even think about her anymore, but do you think I did this for her? Your hatred will consume you someday."

"Lies. I know you are still thinking about Mother. If not, why do you still keep her photo in your wallet? I saw you looking at it sometimes."

Dai Bolin sighed helplessly. "All of this is my fault. I want you to live thinking only about joyous things, but I have failed to do that."

The boy clenched his hand into a fist. He hated it more when his father blamed himself for something that wasn't his fault.

"Excuse me? Are you the family member of the patient?"

A middle-aged doctor wearing a white coat walked over while holding a file in his hand. Dai Zhiqiang turned to him before nodding his head. "Yes, I'm his son."

The doctor tilted his head slightly before carefully asking, "I'm sorry, but can I ask where your mother is? Or is there any adult family member you can contact?"

"No. If you want to talk about my father's condition, you can talk to me."

The doctor smiled in understanding, with a trace of pity flashed across his eyes for a moment. "Alright, let's move to my office first, shall we?"

***

Dai Zhiqiang's mind was in disarray. He had an awful premonition when the doctor wanted to talk to him in his office instead of revealing his father's condition on the spot.

However, he didn't expect this horrible news at all.

'Father, will die?'

The memory of finding his father unconscious in the house overlapped with the doctor's explanation about cancer in his father's body. It suffocated him and filled his mind, making him dizzy and want to retch.

"Urgh..!"

Dai Zhiqiang supported his body by pressing himself to the wall so he wouldn't collapse. His face was pale, with cold sweat emanating from his forehead.

"Surgery. Father has to take it. But so much money, how will we get it?"

Apparently, that was why the doctor preferred to talk with the adult family member of the patient. Because Dai Bolin's condition had gotten worse, he needed to do surgery as soon as possible.

Dai Zhiqiang needed to check on his father's savings, but he was sure they didn't have that much left right now. Then, the only option left was to borrow money for now because they needed it urgently.

Then, he remembered his father's little brother or his uncle. His name was Dai Guang.

The boy remembered his uncle would occasionally visit their house and seemed pretty close to his father. Unlike Dai Bolin, Dai Guang never expressed his interest in settling, so he was still leading a free and single life until now.

From what he heard, his uncle had done relatively well in his trade business, and he would also sometimes bring back some new stuff to give to his brother and nephews.

Honestly, Dai Zhiqiang didn't like that man very much because he sometimes talked arrogantly and was snobbish.

He always had a feeling that his uncle was only trying to show off by giving their family things, but Dai Bolin always laughed it off and said that it was only his imagination.

"Uncle Guang, I have to contact him and see if he can help." Dai Zhiqiang nodded his head. He could put aside his personal feelings or even beg if he needed to just so he could save his father.