Hospital 444
Chapter 304 - 40 Memory and Emotion

Chapter 304: Chapter 40 Memory and Emotion

"Dai Wei."

At that moment, Chang Min came up to Dai Wei’s side.

"We will definitely survive."

Hearing Chang Min’s words, Dai Wei couldn’t help but take a closer look at him.

"We definitely will!"

Chang Min spoke with absolute certainty.

In Nanmian Village, the majority of children were left-behind from birth, with not many like Dai Wei, who had the company of his parents.

Their harsh lives had tempered every child. They knew that due to poverty, their parents had no choice but to seek better jobs in the city. They had to tread the muddy mountain roads to attend classes in rundown classrooms. However, there were too few teachers willing to come to the mountain village to teach, especially qualified ones from teaching colleges.

Chang Min... in Dai Wei’s memory, he had never seen a child more hardworking and studious. To most kids, there would always be a certain repulsion towards studying, a preference for play, but Chang Min was always seen reading those yellowed textbooks. Most of these books had been donated by children from the cities. While other children thought about completing their nine years of compulsory education and then following their parents to work in the cities, Chang Min always said that he must study hard, like his brother Nian Cheng, get into college, change his fate, and then absolutely return to the village to change everyone’s fate.

It was also because of this that Chang Min’s character was much stronger than that of the average child, and the people in the village liked him a lot. However, Chang Min, who had always dreamed of college, lost his hope for the college entrance exam due to the sudden fog. His parents were both in poor health, especially his father, who had been troubled by rheumatism for years. And since He Yun had always helped treat his father, Chang Min considered He Yun a savior. Even if everyone in the village regarded He Yun as a murderer, only Chang Min stood firmly by his belief in He Yun and never avoided contacting him.

"Everyone, listen to me."

Chang Min wasn’t just shouting slogans; he looked at everyone present and said, "I believe that if there really is an ’extra person’ among us, there has to be a way to find them out."

"Chang Min, do you have a method?" Xia Meng asked excitedly upon hearing this, "You’re good at studying, you must have a way, right?"

Chang Min glanced at Xia Meng, and right then, Dai Wei noticed his cheeks blushing slightly.

"Everyone, let’s talk about our past interactions and communication with each other. I believe we can find a discrepancy."

Upon hearing this, Uncle Li sighed and spoke, "Chang Min, listen to me, this method... Mayor Ge back then..."

"The mayor was thinking from an overall perspective, so his approach needed to be absolutely rational. But perhaps we should consider being a bit more emotive. Can the feelings between people, genuine memories, really be so easily manipulated? Whether it’s sincerity or pretense, there should be some difference. Let’s try it out, and maybe we will awaken the right memories. I believe that human emotions are not such cheap things, easily fabricated!"

Chang Min’s words were resolute and struck a chord, lighting up everyone’s expressions.

Yes, memories can be fabricated...

But can emotions be so easily fabricated as well?

Jiang Shan walked up to Chang Min, a head taller than him, and patted his shoulder, saying, "Well said! Let’s all give it a try!"

Hence, the eight people at the scene all returned to their original seats, looking at each other while ensuring that all the knives remained within everyone’s sight, so no one could touch them.

"I’ll start."

Chang Min took a deep breath and said, "Xia Meng, I like you. I firmly believe this feeling isn’t fake. I have truly liked you from childhood to adulthood, so I am absolutely certain that you are really the girl who grew up with me like true childhood sweethearts."

No one expected Chang Min’s opening statement to be so explosive; it stunned everyone for a moment!

What what what?

Xia Meng was totally taken aback as well, speechless for a moment.

"How about you?" Chang Min turned to Xia Meng and said, "In your memories, what kind of person am I to you? What kind of feelings do you have for me?"

Such an impactful confession also moved everyone present deeply.

"Xia Meng!" Jiang Shan hastily said, "Speak! What are your thoughts?"

That Chang Min liked Xia Meng... in the village, actually, many people knew. Perhaps Xia Meng herself was aware of it, too.

Five years ago, after Xia Meng’s family suffered that appalling disaster, Chang Min had been by the heartbroken Xia Meng’s side, consoling and comforting her.

At that time, Dai Wei was only fourteen years old, an age where one begins to take an interest in the opposite sex, so he wondered if Chang Min might have feelings for Xia Meng.

But he hadn’t expected that today would present the opportunity for Chang Min to say these words.

Looking at Chang Min’s sincere gaze, and at Xia Meng lowering her head in embarrassment, Dai Wei began to believe that at least these two were genuinely from Nanmian Village.

"I, I like you too, Chang Min."

Perhaps knowing that her life might not be long, in the end, Xia Meng responded to Chang Min’s words, "But we... we might not have a future together..."

"I know."

Chang Min smiled faintly, clearly understanding Xia Meng’s reply all too well.

Li Yanping, seated on Dai Wei’s right, muttered under her breath, "Is this really the time for public displays of affection, do they even understand the situation?"

Chang Min then continued, "Most of you know me well, and Uncle Li, you’ve watched me grow up. You all remember the various experiences Xia Meng and I shared growing up, right?"

Dai Wei also began to reminisce.

Chang Min was much older than him, but Dai Wei often heard the village folks talk about Chang Min’s childhood. His home wasn’t far from Xia Meng’s, and many had watched the two of them grow up together.

As for Xia Meng, Dai Wei’s impression was of a girl who was usually quiet, gentle and introverted, and who especially loved reading books.

And loving books was a shared interest between Chang Min and Xia Meng. Whether it was textbooks or extracurricular books, they loved to read anything they could get their hands on. After all, books were somewhat of a luxury for this village. Thus, they often borrowed each other’s books.

So, Dai Wei promptly asked, "What was your favorite book as children?"

Chang Min and Xia Meng answered in unison, "’Romance of the Three Kingdoms’!"

"That’s right." Uncle Li clearly had a vivid memory of it, "That book was one I gave to Chang Min when he was a boy. There’s a saying that the young shouldn’t read ’Outlaws of the Marsh’, and the old shouldn’t read ’Romance of the Three Kingdoms’. I thought a boy would do well to read ’Romance of the Three Kingdoms’ from an early age. I just didn’t expect Xia Meng to also be so fond of a book usually preferred by boys."

At this, Xia Meng seemed to forget her plight and said quickly, "Uncle Li! There’s no such thing as books for boys or girls. A girl doesn’t necessarily have to choose to marry a hero; she can become a hero herself! I really like Sun Shangxiang!"

"The two of you nearly wore that book out back then."

At this, Uncle Li’s expression turned melancholic.

For a moment, Dai Wei wasn’t sure what had come to Uncle Li’s mind.

He had heard that in his youth, Uncle Li had endured hardships and suffered heartbreak. But he was generous and often at the forefront of helping anyone in the village with difficulties. Although he was well-read as a young man, he didn’t achieve much and instead became a carpenter in the village, mostly keeping to himself. Dai Wei had always thought that most likely, Uncle Li would spend his life alone.

"I remember too," suddenly spoke Li Jun, "I remember one of you liked Cao Cao, and the other liked Liu Bei... right?"

"I liked Liu Bei," Chang Min said.

"Huh? It was you who liked Liu Bei?"

Hearing this, Dai Wei’s face changed color and he asked, "What? Does that contradict your memory?"

Everyone immediately tensed up at this!

"Did I remember it wrong?" Li Jun looked at Xia Meng and asked, "So it was you who liked Cao Cao?"

"I don’t clearly remember what I thought back then..." Xia Meng appeared confused, "But as I said, I only like Sun Shangxiang."

The others immediately began moving their chairs away from Chang Min and Xia Meng, looking at them with wary eyes!