"My worry is that he hasn"t woken up even once since his accident. I want you to find the best neurosurgeon in Shanghai and send him here," Mr. Xie barked instructions into his phone."What was Tang doing here in Moganshan, Chu? And why was I not informed about it?" Mei Zhen confronted her sister in-law outside the room where Tang was.
"That is a question you need to ask big brother. I don"t report into you. I do not know why he didn"t tell you but we were here for work. We arrived yesterday afternoon and left once the work was over," she said unemotionally.
"Was Wei also here yesterday?" Mei Zhen continued with her questions.
"No, he wasn"t. He has also just arrived, as you did. Now, can you stop grilling my fiancée? She was hurt in the accident as well, yesterday," Ethan came up to them and told Mei Zhen off in a no nonsense tone.
Right then, they heard Mrs. Xie shout from inside, "he is awake. Call the doctor."
Everyone rushed inside immediately.
"Mom, you look different," Tang said drowsily.
The doctor came in that moment and asked everyone to vacate the room.
"You and I need to talk," Mr. Xie told his daughter quietly while waiting for the doctor to finish his a.s.sessment.
Normally a rebel, Chu looked at her father"s grave expression and nodded mutely. They moved away from everyone else"s earshot. She then went on to explain the chain of events which had taken place in the past few days.
"You mean to say that Lin Jia Li has been involved in this Language project from its inception?" he asked.
At her nod, he continued, "and Tang came to know about this only a few days ago?"
She said, "yes, he and Mei Zhen apparently ran into Jia Li and their friends at Hainan Island. Wei was also there. That was when he came know everything."
"And where is Jia Li"s husband in all this? Why is she staying and working here instead of Beijing?" he asked her.
"Uh, they have been divorced since a year now, even before big brother got married," she replied, waiting to see his reaction.
Mr. Xie didn"t say anything post that but his mind was busy sifting through information and drawing conclusions. The out of character behaviour of Tang suddenly made sense to him. He had never sought his father"s help during the past five years nor had he interfered or cared about what Wei had been involved in ever before. All of this was because of that girl. She always had possessed the power to turn his son into another person and it seemed that Tang was still under her spell, after all this time. This was not good news.
Right then the doctor emerged from the room, post examining Tang.
"How is he, doctor?" Mr. Xie asked while everyone surrounded them, anxious to know the prognosis.
"His injuries are healing well and there doesn"t seem to be anything wrong with his faculties. The only concern is that he seems confused about the present circ.u.mstances," the doctor said cryptically.
"What does that mean?" asked an impatient Mei Zhen.
"It means that he seems to think that we are in year 2013 and not 2019. His first question to me was whether we were in New York or China. Has he had a similar accident before in his life?" the doctor directed the question to Mr. Xie.
Mr. Xie was too dumbfounded to say anything.
It was Chu who responded, "yes. Big brother was involved in a car crash six years ago. It happened in New York and was around the year end, if I am not mistaken."
"Hmm…that"s why he asked me if it was Jan 1st already. He seemed to be upset about the fact that he had missed calling someone to wish a happy new year," the doctor said contemplatively.
"Are you trying to say that my son has forgotten about everything since then?" asked a perplexed Mrs. Xie.
The doctor said, "it seems that he is suffering from short term amnesia. I think he would regain his memories sooner than later. But it would be better if you sought the opinion of a neurosurgeon."
"When can we take him home? Is he fit to travel?" asked Mei Zhen.
"He can be discharged post the next twenty four hours. We want to keep him here under observation for another day to check for signs of concussion. He can travel after that," he explained.
"Also, you are free to meet him but make sure that you do not contradict or confuse him on anything that he says. The neurosurgeon would have a clearer perspective on his condition but my advice as of now is to concur with whatever the patient"s narrative is. Don"t push him into trying to remember something which he doesn"t. Also, please accommodate his wishes for now. It is imperative to keep a warm and secure environment around him," he advised and walked away.