RMM – Chapter 1 Rebirth?!

Su Ruo looked around at the pristine, snow-white surroundings and guessed that she must be in a hospital. But who had sent her here? The landlady? It seemed that the usually stern and silent landlady wasn’t as unkind as she appeared.

Thinking about the reason she had ended up in the hospital, Su Ruo’s face twitched with embarrassment. Late at night, exhausted from overtime work, she hadn’t noticed the banana peel on the stairs and had stepped right onto it. With a sharp scream and a series of loud crashes, she tumbled down more than ten steps. That was how her tragedy unfolded.

As she was falling, Su Ruo even wondered if this was it—if she would die young. If she really passed away, who would take care of her body? Then came a sharp pain at the back of her head, and everything went black.

Looking at the current situation, someone must have found her and brought her to the hospital. Other than the landlady, she couldn’t think of anyone else who would do such a thing. After all, Su Ruo was an orphan who had grown up in an orphanage. For the past twenty-some years, she had built her life step by step on her own. During school, she worked part-time to pay for tuition and living expenses. After graduating and getting a job, she focused entirely on earning money—sending part of it back to the orphanage while supporting herself. Because of this, she had no time for entertainment or friendships. By the age of twenty-seven, she had only been in two relationships, both of which ended quickly because the men couldn’t accept her dedication to work and her lack of romance. She didn’t have any close friends, and her relationships with colleagues were nothing more than polite nods. So aside from the landlady downstairs, she truly couldn’t think of anyone else who would send her to the hospital.

Thinking about it, Su Ruo felt a deep sense of failure. Living in solitude like this for twenty-seven years—what was the point?

Once she got out of the hospital, she would make sure to properly thank the landlady and repay her for the medical expenses. But as she touched the still-throbbing back of her head and took in the luxurious hospital room, she felt a headache coming on. Why had the landlady put her in such an expensive ward? How much would this cost?

The thought made Su Ruo’s heart ache. Who said surviving a disaster brings good fortune? This massive hospital bill would likely drain all the savings she had painstakingly accumulated. She might have been better off dying young.

Just then, the door to the hospital room opened. Hearing the noise, Su Ruo turned her head —and was instantly stunned. Standing at the doorway was a graceful, elegant woman and a handsome, refined young man, both looking at her with eyes filled with joy and deep emotion.

Zhang Huaqing had rushed inside the moment she opened the door, only to see her daughter, Su Ruo, sitting up in bed, leaning against the pillow and rubbing the back of her head with a pale face. But just the fact that Su Ruo had woken up was enough to fill her with overwhelming relief. The past few days had been agonizing—she had been terrified that her daughter wouldn’t wake up.

At that moment, she could no longer hold back her emotions. Striding forward quickly, she exclaimed in joy, “Ruo Ruo, you’re awake? You’re finally awake! You had me worried sick!” Tears welled up in her eyes once more.

Su Heng, too, was visibly emotional. He rushed to Su Ruo’s side and threw his arms around her, exclaiming, “Sis, you’re finally awake! You scared us to death! That was way too much!” Though his words sounded like complaints, his voice was brimming with happiness.

Zhang Huaqing sat on the edge of the bed, holding Su Ruo’s hand tightly as she kept murmuring, “It’s good that you’re awake. It’s good that you’re awake.” She wiped away her tears as she spoke, gripping her daughter’s hand as if afraid she might disappear.

Su Ruo stared at the two of them in shock. The entire situation was completely baffling, leaving her unable to react for a long time.

She was an orphan. How had a “mother” and “younger brother” suddenly appeared? Looking at the expressions and actions of these two people, she could only feel an overwhelming sense of eeriness.

At that moment, Zhang Huaqing noticed the blank look on her daughter’s face, and a bad feeling struck her heart. Could it be… that her daughter had suffered brain damage? After all, she had hit her head hard and had been in a coma for days.

“Su Heng, let go of your sister! Can’t you see she just woke up? Do you think she can handle your rough treatment? Move aside!”

Pulled away by Zhang Huaqing, Su Heng pouted in reluctance. “Mom, I was just happy! What’s wrong with giving her a hug?”

Zhang Huaqing ignored her son and instead fixed her gaze on her daughter, carefully asking, “Ruoruo, does your head still hurt? You must be hungry after just waking up. Do you want to eat something? Or drink some water? Mommy can pour it for you, okay?”

Su Ruo stared at the cautious, anxious-looking woman in front of her and the young man watching her closely. She was utterly bewildered. Judging by their clothing and demeanor, they were clearly wealthy or of high status. But where did she get such relatives? The key issue was—she didn’t have any family at all.

Faced with the woman’s careful concern, Su Ruo didn’t know how to react. She just wanted to say: Are you sure you haven’t mistaken me for someone else? But looking at them, they didn’t seem like mentally unstable patients. Could they be scammers? That didn’t make sense—she was dirt poor, so even an idiot wouldn’t bother scamming her.

“Ruoruo? Ruoruo…” Zhang Huaqing’s unease deepened as Su Ruo remained silent. Could something really be wrong?

“Huh? Were you talking to me?” Su Ruo asked in a daze. No one had ever called her that so intimately before.

That question completely startled Zhang Huaqing and Su Heng. In their memories, when had the family’s beloved princess, Su Ruo, ever been so uncertain or uneasy?

The moment Zhang Huaqing heard it, she couldn’t hold back her tears. They streamed down her face as she cried, “Ruoruo, my daughter, what’s wrong with you? Don’t scare Mommy… sob…”

Even Su Heng was unsettled. He hesitantly said, “Sis, you’re joking again, aren’t you? Look at how you’ve scared Mom. Stop playing around and snap out of it.”

Su Ruo looked at the two of them, each reacting differently—especially Zhang Huaqing, who was crying in panic—and she started to feel anxious. She really didn’t know these people!

Just then, a commotion erupted at the hospital room’s entrance. The sound of hurried footsteps drew the attention of all three people inside.

Su Ruo watched as four more people entered the room: two middle-aged men with serious expressions, a woman around Zhang Huaqing’s age, and a young, fashionable beauty.

They all visibly relaxed upon seeing that Su Ruo was awake, and even the two stern-looking middle-aged men seemed less tense.

As Su Ruo listened to their constant “Ruoruo this, Ruoruo that”, her headache worsened, and irritation bubbled up. Could someone please tell her what was going on? She was Su Ruo, but she was definitely not the Ruoruo they were talking about. Judging by their sincere concern, they didn’t seem to be faking anything. She had only hit her head—where exactly had things gone wrong?

Su Feng, the father, furrowed his brows as he looked at his wife, Zhang Huaqing, who was crying uncontrollably. He asked, “Isn’t Ruoruo awake? Why are you crying like this?”

But at that moment, Zhang Huaqing couldn’t explain anything—she just kept shedding tears.

Su Feng then turned to Su Heng, his face stern. “What’s going on?”

Su Heng hesitated, unsure of what to say. Even he hadn’t figured out what was happening to his sister—how was he supposed to explain? But under his father’s strict gaze, he didn’t dare remain silent. He was no fearless troublemaker like his sister, Su Ruo. In front of his father, Su Heng had no courage at all.

Su Heng glanced at his father, Uncle Xi, Aunt Xi, and Su Ruo’s best friend, He Wen. Feeling cornered, he awkwardly said, “My sister… she…”

Before he could finish, Su Ruo couldn’t take it anymore. She cut him off and spoke up, “I’m fine. But… who are you people? Do I know you?”

Sure enough, as soon as Su Ruo finished speaking, she saw their faces filled with astonishment and confusion, as if she had asked a question she absolutely shouldn’t have.

Su Heng, however, let out a sigh of relief, but the others couldn’t remain calm. Su Feng was too shocked to even speak, and the Xi couple beside him were also stunned into silence.

“Ruoruo, you just woke up and already have the energy to joke around? Looks like you’re fine. I knew you couldn’t sit still, but scaring Uncle and Aunt like this isn’t right,” He Wen said. She knew that Su Ruo had always been playful, but only in front of childhood friends. She would never act out in front of elders, especially not in front of Uncle Su and Uncle Xi. The way Su Ruo was acting now felt incredibly strange to He Wen.

Su Ruo stared blankly at the group of people gathered around her hospital bed. She tried to speak seriously, “I really don’t know you all. You…” A sudden thought struck her, and she hesitantly asked, “Who… am I?”

Her words were like a thunderclap on a clear day, leaving everyone in shock. Their faces froze in disbelief, as if they had lost all sense of time. Even the always composed and wise Su Feng and Xi Jian’an were momentarily speechless.

Su Heng stammered, “S-sis, you’re my sister, Su Ruo. What… what are you talking about?”

Hearing the young man’s words, Su Ruo lowered her head, hiding the shock in her eyes. A strange, indescribable feeling spread through her heart. Unbelievable… One fall, and I went from being Su Ruo to Su Ruo?

This joke is too much…

If the real Su Ruo had been replaced by her, then where was she now? Why had she become Su Ruo? What about Su Ruo? Did she… die?

How could this be happening?

Su Ruo looked around in a daze. She didn’t recognize a single person here, yet they all claimed to be her closest family. But she was an orphan—where would she get a family?

As unfamiliar faces swam before her eyes, an intense headache surged through her. She grabbed her head with both hands, pulling at her hair, and screamed, “No! I’m not Su Ruo! You’ve got the wrong person! I’m not Su Ruo! I don’t know you! Go find Su Ruo! I’m not her, I’m not—!”

Everyone was dumbfounded as they watched Su Ruo—who was usually so lively—fall into what looked like a near-hysterical state. They had never seen her like this before.

Then, suddenly, Su Ruo collapsed onto the bed unconscious. The room erupted into chaos—people calling her name, shouting for the doctor, crying—it was a complete mess.

“Commander, Miss Su is fine now,” the attending doctor reassured Su Feng. “She fainted earlier due to excessive stress upon regaining consciousness. Her brain suffered severe trauma, and the strain was too much for it to handle. Once she wakes up, she should be fine.”

Although the doctor had said she would be fine, the people in the room didn’t seem much relieved.

“Dr. Zhang, just now Ruoruo didn’t seem to remember anything—not even who she was. This…?” Zhang Huaqing still felt shaken by what had just happened and pressed for answers.

“Madam, due to the severe trauma to Miss Su’s brain, her anterior cingulate cortex has been damaged, leading to a state of amnesia. Given some time, she may recover.”

Hearing this, Su Feng and Zhang Huaqing finally sighed in partial relief. As long as she was okay…

“Wait,” Xi Jian’an suddenly interjected. His sharp mind caught the key detail. “You said ‘may recover.’ Does that mean… there’s a possibility she might never regain her memory?”

Xi Jian’an’s question made everyone tense up again. The relief they had just felt vanished, and all eyes turned to Dr. Zhang, waiting for his response.

Dr. Zhang looked at the two commanding officers in front of him and sighed helplessly. “Miss Su’s injuries were severe. It’s already a miracle that she regained consciousness. So… we cannot rule out that possibility.”