Rebirth 02, the Celestial Being Told Me to Stop Pretending

Over the next few days, Lu Chen went to the hospital almost every day.

Liu Yifei wanted to come along too.

On the first morning, Lu Chen saw her in the hotel lobby. She was wearing a white down jacket and carrying a pink backpack, looking like a primary school student waiting for a spring outing.

"You don't need to follow me around every day, do you?"

"I'll be there," she said. "I'm an investor, and I'll be monitoring the project's progress."

"This is not a project."

"What is that?"

Lu Chen looked at her.

His eyes were bright, and there was something in them that he couldn't quite understand.

"I'm meeting a friend," he said.

"Then we should definitely follow along," Liu Yifei said. "A friend's business is a friend's business."

Lu Chen didn't say anything more and turned to walk out.

She jogged to catch up.

Through Yang Shoucheng, Lu Chen got in touch with the best psychiatrist in Hong Kong.

Upon reviewing the medical records, it was determined to be clinical depression, caused by an imbalance of brain chemicals.

Irregular medication use leads to recurring symptoms and a vicious cycle.

He then called his brother's eldest sister, Zhang Lüping.

"Ms. Zhang, I'm Lu Chen, a director from mainland China. I noticed your brother's hands are shaking. I have a friend who's a psychiatrist..."

"How did you know he was sick?" Zhang Lüping's voice was wary.

"I can tell," Lu Chen said. "Please supervise his medication intake. The current irregular medication use is the key reason for his recurring illness."

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone.

"Who exactly are you?"

"Someone who wanted to help him."

Zhang Lüping remained silent.

But Lu Chen received a text message with only four words: "I'll be there."

After hanging up the phone, Lu Chen sat on the sofa in his hotel room, looking out at the dense cluster of buildings in Hong Kong. He went through the date March 31st from his previous life in his mind, and his heart tightened.

Liu Yifei sat next to him, watching him quietly.

"Aren't you curious?" Lu Chen suddenly asked.

"curious."

"Then why didn't you ask?"

"I'll say it when you want to," she said.

"If you don't want to talk about it, asking won't help."

Lu Chen turned his head.

The fifteen-year-old girl had a calmness in her eyes that didn't belong to her age.

"He's sick," he said.

"Depression. The really severe kind."

Liu Yifei didn't speak, but clenched her fingers tightly around the hem of her clothes.

"If I don't do something, he might die."

She looked up at him.

"So, did you do it?"

"We did it," Lu Chen said, "but whether it can save him, I don't know."

Liu Yifei reached out and gently touched the back of his hand, as if testing the water temperature.

The fingers were small and a little cold, but they didn't retract.

"You will be saved," she said, "because you won't give up."

How do you know I won't give up?

"Because you are Lu Chen."

The next day, Lu Chen went to see his brother.

Liu Yifei did not go in.

She sat on a bench in the hospital corridor, holding a magazine, but didn't turn a single page.

Occasionally, someone would walk by in the corridor, their footsteps echoing on the tiled floor.

She turned the page of the magazine and pretended to read it.

Three hours later, Lu Chen came out.

She immediately stood up, nearly dropping the magazine.

"How is it?"

"It's alright," Lu Chen said. "He called me 'little brother' now."

Liu Yifei's eyes lit up instantly, as if a light had been turned on.

"That's great."

"Um."

"Will he get better?"

Yes. Definitely.

She looked at him and suddenly smiled.

That smile was so clean, like the warm, gentle sunshine of March on your face.

"I told you you could do it."

3 month 31 day.

Lu Chen treated his brother to dinner at the Peninsula Hotel restaurant.

The two sat by the window, the night view of Victoria Harbour unfolding outside the glass, the lights fragmented into pieces, like stars scattered by the sea breeze.

Liu Yifei sat beside her, eating quietly.

She would occasionally glance up at her brother, then look down again, as if afraid of disturbing something.

My brother ate very slowly, but his appetite was better than a few days ago.

He picked up a piece of fish, chewed it for a while, and then suddenly laughed.

"Little brother, I slept well last night."

"How long has it been since you had a good night's sleep?"

"It's been a long time." He thought for a moment.

"It's probably been several months. Last night I took my medication and was thinking about 'Stealing Hearts' again, and I actually fell asleep."

Lu Chen looked at him, picked up his cup, took a sip of water, and suppressed the rising emotions.

In his past life, on the evening of March 31st, my brother wrote a suicide note in his room on the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. The note began with the word "Depression".

On the evening of March 31, he sat in the restaurant of the Peninsula Hotel and said he had a good night's sleep.

The most dangerous moment has passed.

Standardized treatment has brought physiological depression under control.

And a person he called "brother" made him realize that he was not alone.

"Brother," Lu Chen put down his cup.

"I'm going back to Beijing tomorrow. Promise me one thing."

"What is it?"

"Take your medicine on time. Call your older sister every day. Call me whenever you want to talk to someone."

The older brother nodded.

I promise you.

He turned and glanced at Liu Yifei.

"Is this little girl your friend?"

"Yes." Lu Chen paused for a moment, then continued.

"Someone who is very important to me."

Liu Yifei's face turned red instantly, like a tablecloth in a restaurant.

She lowered her head and pretended to eat, a smile playing on her lips.

"Hello, brother," she said softly.

"Hello." Her brother looked at her. "You've had a tough time following him."

"It wasn't hard work." She looked up, her eyes shining. "He deserved it."

Lu Chen didn't speak, but a warm feeling suddenly welled up inside him.

The plane took off from Hong Kong, passed through the clouds, and flew north.

Lu Chen sat by the window, watching the plane fly north through the clouds.

The gray-blue sea below the wings gradually turned into land, and a weight was lifted from my heart. It wasn't a complete weight lifted, but at least it was no longer hanging in the air.

On this day in my past life, my brother jumped from the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

At this moment, my brother should be taking a nap in his room at the Peninsula Hotel.

The eldest sister, Zhang Lüping, will stay by her side. The psychiatrist's treatment plan is in place, and the medication is being taken regularly.

He survived.

But there's another person he might not be able to save.

Sister Mei's illness was like a thorn stuck in my heart.

He arranged a medical examination and discovered early abnormalities.

He's done all he can; all he can do now is wait.

But this disease is not guaranteed to be curable.

Liu Yifei sat next to her, her head resting on the back of the chair, asleep.

Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her breathing was very light.

Lu Chen glanced at her, then closed his eyes, rested the back of his head on the seat, and rose and fell with the slight turbulence of the plane.

Some people were chatting quietly in the cabin, while others were flipping through newspapers.

The air was dry, carrying a musty, recirculated smell.

In April, the north was still on the tail end of spring, and the sunlight outside the cabin was blinding.

When the plane landed, Liu Yifei woke up, rubbed her eyes, and looked at the gray sky outside the window.

"arrive?"

"arrive."

The jet bridge had already pulled up, and passengers stood up to collect their luggage, creating a rustling sound in the cabin.

They were the last to get off the plane.

As Lu Chen entered the terminal, he turned on his phone, and a flood of messages came in.

Wang Yan's text message was nestled among a bunch of push notifications:

"Brother Lu, the Golden Horse Awards nominations are out. 'Crazy Stone' has three nominations: Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Editing. The awards ceremony is on December 13th."

Lu Chen glanced at it and put his phone back in his pocket.

"What's wrong?" Liu Yifei asked.

"I've been nominated for the Golden Horse Awards. Three nominations."

"Really?" Her eyes widened. "Are you happy?"

"Happy."

You don't look happy.

"Happiness doesn't necessarily have to be shown."

She snorted, clearly not believing it, but didn't press the matter further.

Outside the terminal, the April wind in Beijing was cool and much drier than in Hong Kong, blowing in gusts that rustled the roadside trees.

Lu Chen stood in the taxi waiting area, watching the passengers in front of him get into the taxis one by one.

Behind me is Hong Kong, in front of me is Beijing.

Behind him was the relief of having his life saved; in front of him were the Golden Horse Awards, his company, and his next film.

The road ahead is long.

He clenched his fist, then relaxed it.

The taxi arrived, and Liu Yifei opened the car door and looked back at him.

Are you leaving or not?

"Walk."

He bent down, got in the car, closed the door, and gave the address of the Beijing Film Academy.

As the car drove off, the street scenes of Beijing flashed past the window.

Liu Yifei leaned against him, feeling a little sleepy, her head nodding off.

"Liu Yifei".

"Hmm." She didn't open her eyes.

"Thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?"

"Thank you for coming to Hong Kong with me."

She didn't say anything, but the corners of her mouth curved slightly; she must have been smiling.

As the car turned onto the Third Ring Road, sunlight streamed in through the window, warmly falling on her face.

Lu Chen leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.

Spring has just begun.