“Preliminary diagnosis. This should be post-traumatic amnesia with confabulation syndrome caused by a concussion. The patient suffered head trauma, lost a portion of his memory, and is filling in that blank with the experiences of a fictional movie character.”
The doctor put down the medical record, slid the ballpoint pen back into his chest pocket, and wore a serious expression.
“Then how can he recover?” Wen Gaoge asked anxiously.
The doctor looked troubled. “This kind of case is very rare. In similar situations, some might recover in a few days, some might take months, or even never recover at all.”
Wen Gaoge felt his legs turn to jelly. “How could this…”
His gaze shifted to Chi Xiang, who was tightly pressed against Fu Hanzhang.
The corner of the son’s eyes was still wet with tears, and he carefully clutched the corner of Fu Hanzhang’s overcoat, looking pitiful to the extreme.
“Xiao Xiang.” Wen Gaoge pondered for a long time and sat down beside Chi Xiang. “When the injury on your head heals, I’ll take you to see your mother, alright?”
Wen Gaoge and Chi Xiang’s mother, Chi Wan, had been divorced for many years. He had hardly been involved in Chi Xiang’s life after he turned six. Even after Chi Xiang returned to China last year, they had met only a few times. To help Chi Xiang recover his memory faster, finding Chi Wan might actually be useful.
However, he didn’t expect that whatever he said stimulated Chi Xiang. The tears that had finally stopped suddenly fell again.
Chi Xiang desperately squeezed closer to Fu Hanzhang. “I’m not going… not going…”
“Why not?” Wen Gaoge coaxed patiently, just like he used to coax a six-year-old Chi Xiang who was about to board a plane. “Doesn’t Xiao Xiang love Mom the most?”
Chi Xiang didn’t speak, just kept dropping tears, the tear drops pattering all over Fu Hanzhang’s sleeve.
Fu Hanzhang took a handkerchief from his pocket and expressionlessly wiped the tear-stained sleeve.
Wen Gaoge frowned as he watched, thinking that this Fu fellow wasn’t warm at all. But considering that Chi Xiang was currently in a state of diminished mental capacity and his heart was entirely tethered to Fu Hanzhang, he could only suppress his emotions and continue with gentle persuasion: “Then what does Xiao Xiang want to do now?”
Chi Xiang finally spoke, saying in a low voice, “I want to be with my husband.”
Wen Gaoge: “…”
Fu Hanzhang stood up. “It’s getting late. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving.”
Seeing that Chi Xiang was about to open the floodgates again, Wen Gaoge hurriedly said, “Teacher Fu!”
Fu Hanzhang gave Wen Gaoge a faint glance.
Thinking of the doctor’s advice that it was best not to stimulate Chi Xiang, and that keeping him in a pleasant mood would help him recover his memory, Wen Gaoge gritted his teeth and pulled Fu Hanzhang aside.
“Teacher Fu, I don’t want to trouble you either, but my son’s condition… Just considering the sentiment from when we filmed together back then…”
Listening to Wen Gaoge reminisce about the past, Fu Hanzhang’s expression remained calm.
More than ten years ago, Wen Gaoge was just an obscure little director whose films had all received lukewarm responses. After divorcing his wife, he went through a long period of dormancy before collaborating with a youthful Fu Hanzhang on Tide-Born. Since then, he became a household name, and a succession of subsequent films became huge hits, successfully elevating him to an elite director. After accumulating enough initial capital, he turned to founding Yutang Media, nurturing numerous well-known stars, and now business was thriving.
As for Fu Hanzhang, he swept various major awards with Tide-Born, winning the Best Actor crown at the tender age of sixteen. The films following Tide-Born also won extremely high-value awards. After debuting for over a dozen years, his status in the entertainment industry was transcendent.
“Xiao Xiang only trusts you now, and I really have no other choice. He’s still injured and can’t take any stimulation…”
Before he could finish, a phone ringtone suddenly sounded.
Fu Hanzhang took out his phone, glanced at the caller ID information displayed on the screen, and tapped to answer.
“Fu-ge, how did you suddenly think of posting on Weibo?” Manager Ji Kai’s voice came through the speaker, carrying a hint of cautiousness.
“What’s wrong?” Fu Hanzhang asked.
“Nothing, it’s just… Fu-ge, next time you want to post on Weibo, you can give me a heads-up first so I can prepare early. Your post this time was so sudden, and the tone was also rather…” Ji Kai paused, not saying how it was. “A lot of fans are very sad.”
Fu Hanzhang said casually, “If you release a statement earlier saying I’m fine, won’t they stop being sad?”
Ji Kai was silent for two seconds. “Fu-ge, I know you’re a good person, but the fan circle needs management… Chi Xiang is riding high on popularity right now, and he even蹭ed (freeloaded/leveraged) your heat before. The fans are currently full of anger and need a vent…”
Fu Hanzhang’s gaze drifted aimlessly, falling on Chi Xiang, who was sitting quietly on the bench. Chi Xiang was staring at him intently, his amber fox-like eyes revealing complete trust and reliance, as well as some hard-to-detect timidity.
Afraid of being abandoned?
Fu Hanzhang inadvertently remembered that Chi Xiang was completely a stranger to this world right now, and the only one he was familiar with was him.
“I’m not saying we shouldn’t release a statement ever, just delaying it a bit. Right as Things in the Pool is wrapping up, we can also take the opportunity to hype up some buzz.”
Ji Kai chattered on in explanation, but Fu Hanzhang suddenly felt it was noisy.
“I’m not down to the point of relying on tearing down a kid to solidify my status.”
“No, Fu-ge, I…”
The sound came to an abrupt halt, and Fu Hanzhang put down his phone.
Seeing this, Wen Gaoge hurriedly said, “Teacher Fu…”
Before he could finish, Fu Hanzhang suddenly turned to look at him and asked, “Is Chi Xiang your biological son?”
Wen Gaoge was stunned. “Of course. Don’t we look alike?”
Xiao Fang, who was squatting aside and pouring water into his mouth, couldn’t hold it back at hearing this and “pfft” spit it out.
Wen Gaoge glared at Xiao Fang with some displeasure, took out his phone, flipped through it to find a photo, and showed it to Fu Hanzhang.
“Look at this. Doesn’t Xiao Xiang look just like me when I was young?”
Xiao Fang couldn’t hold back either and crowded over. When he saw the person in the photo, his eyes widened. “Damn, is this real… cough, Wen Zong, you were this handsome when you was young.”
Wen Gaoge hummed. “I was the campus heartthrob back in the day.”
Another head crowded over. “Huh… he looks so much like me…”
Fu Hanzhang’s arm was grabbed again.
He glanced to his side. Chi Xiang was peering at the photo on Wen Gaoge’s phone. “Who is this, and why do they look so much like me?”
Wen Gaoge: “That’s me. It’s Dad, Xiao Xiang.”
“Impossible,” Chi Xiang replied instantly. “You don’t look anything like the person in the photo.”
Wen Gaoge: “…”
Chi Xiang: “The person in the photo doesn’t have a face as big as yours.”
Wen Gaoge: “…Dad… Dad just got old and fat, I didn’t get plastic surgery…”
“Pfft…” Xiao Fang tried his absolute best not to laugh, but seeing Wen Gaoge look over with a dangerous gaze, he hurriedly changed the subject. “Fu-ge, why’d you suddenly ask that?”
Fu Hanzhang withdrew his gaze from Chi Xiang’s face and said, “Curiosity.”
Wen Gaoge also returned to the main topic. “Teacher Fu, look, this kid doesn’t even recognize me… Just considering…”
“Okay.”
“, , back then when we filmed together… Ah?” Wen Gaoge was stunned. “Okay meaning? Teacher Fu, you agreed?”
Fu Hanzhang pulled his arm out of Chi Xiang’s embrace and nodded. “I bear some responsibility for the car accident happening.”
After all, if he hadn’t asked for a ride, Chi Xiang probably would have planned to rest for a moment before setting off, and thus wouldn’t have run into that drunk driver who ran a red light.
Besides…
Fu Hanzhang thoughtfully glanced at Chi Xiang. The amnesiac was pouting and glaring at him, looking very dissatisfied with his repeated distancing.
…He was also somewhat looking forward to how Chi Xiang would react after recovering his memory.
Late in the night, the rain gradually stopped. Amidst the night curtain, a car drove away from the hospital parking lot.
Upon seeing Fu Hanzhang’s Weibo post, Ji Kai urgently held a public relations meeting. Right after the meeting, he immediately released a statement explaining the situation, calling on fans to chase stars rationally and pay attention to personal safety.
Knowing that Fu Hanzhang was okay, most of the fans gathered outside the hospital dispersed, but a small portion of fans stubbornly stood guard.
Aside from this bunch of fans, some paparazzi were also still staking out the spot, waiting to get first-hand intelligence.
Fu Hanzhang was usually extremely low-key, rarely having any scandals leaked. The last time there was such big news was last year after same-sex marriage was legalized, when Fu Hanzhang was photographed showing up at an anti-homosexual rally.
At the back door of the hospital, a tall and thin paparazzi yawned. “Didn’t they say he’s fine? Why isn’t he coming out yet? I’m dying of sleepiness.”
“Tsk, Fu Hanzhang is really tough too. How is this any different from directly rebuking fans for minding other people’s business?” A slightly shorter paparazzi nearby was scrolling through his phone, saw something, and laughed out loud. “These people have wild imaginations too. ‘Raging to wrath for a pretty face’ is actually happening. Fu Hanzhang reprimanding fans for Chi Xiang, what a joke.”
“Still, I didn’t expect Fu Hanzhang to get into Chi Xiang’s car. Did he not know Chi Xiang liked his black-ant (anti-fan) pictures?”
“The big shot probably doesn’t care. Just a vase, who knows how long he can stay popular.”
A burst of commotion suddenly sounded.
The tall paparazzi’s spirits perked up. He caught sight of a car driving outward, it was the familiar license plate number, and hurriedly shouldered his camera. While the rest of the guarding fans swarmed up to block the car, he started filming toward the interior.
“Fu-ge! Are you okay? I was so worried!”
“Fu-ge…!”
The sedan was forced to a stop. In the lens, the driver in the driver’s seat spoke a few words with the person in the back seat and picked up his phone to make a call.
Before long, the hospital’s security team rushed over, dispersed the crowd, and cleared a path.
The sedan quickly sped away, and the person in the back seat never showed their face.
The tall paparazzi lowered his head to check the footage, saw something, and let out an “Huh?”
“What are you doing, shoot any good stuff?”
“Uh…” The tall paparazzi looked at the footage, puzzled. “Come take a look. Why does this hand look a bit like Chi Xiang’s?”
“You’re hallucinating too?” The short paparazzi cursed, leaned over, and took a look. “Isn’t that just a hand?”
In the frame, a hand in the middle of the back row was reaching toward the right. Because the night was dim and the distance was too far, it wasn’t captured very clearly, but one could still tell that the fingers were slender and glowing white, a beautiful hand.
“Tsk, look closer. What is he wearing on his wrist?”
The short paparazzi looked closely. It was a red string.
“Isn’t that just a string?”
The tall paparazzi pulled out his phone and flipped up a video. “Look, today’s behind-the-scenes footage of Chi Xiang. Wasn’t he also wearing this red string?”
“Damn, it really is Chi Xiang?” The short paparazzi clicked his tongue. “So what? Maybe Fu Hanzhang was just giving Chi Xiang a ride home along the way?”
“Care what he’s trying to do? With this photo, just make up some material, won’t the clout come rolling in?”
The tall paparazzi smiled and sent both the photo and video to his boss.
Before long, the boss’s call came through. The tall paparazzi immediately picked up. “Boss, how’s it going? If this photo goes out, the clout will definitely be enough, right?”
“Enough my ass, pack up early and go home to sleep.” The boss’s voice was full of drowsiness.
Hearing this, the tall paparazzi got anxious. “Why? This looks like something that’ll blow up instantly, are we just gonna throw it on the ground and leave it?”
The boss sneered. “What are you dreaming about? Do you really think Fu Hanzhang is some pushover? Believe it or not, the second you post it, a lawyer’s letter will be mailed over the next second. And then tomorrow, we can pack our things and roll back to our hometown to farm.”
“Huh? Doesn’t Fu Hanzhang usually ignore those scandals of his?”
“My brother, use your brain. Why did Fu Hanzhang lose a massive wave of fans a while ago?”
The tall paparazzi silently stared at his colleague.
That’s right.
Fu Hanzhang… is homophobic.