Bang!
The screeching of tires. A child's scream. Blinding headlights.
Wang Hao gasped. His heart pounded in his chest as the memories came flooding back.
There was a little girl—barely six—standing frozen in the middle of the road, a ball rolling from her hands. The truck was moving too fast. Too close.
No time to think.
He ran. He shoved her away.
Then—impact. Pain. Darkness.
Everything went black.
---
Wang Hao suddenly woke up, gasping for breath. His forehead throbbed with pain as he clutched it instinctively.
["Ah… damn…"]
He looked around, disoriented. The ceiling above him was wooden and cracked, dark with age and water stains. A small oil lamp flickered in the corner of the room, barely giving off any light.
This... isn't my room.
There were no machines. No white hospital sheets. No city noise outside. Just silence. And the smell — mold, dirt, blood. His nose wrinkled.
He tried to sit up and get a better look—but the moment he pushed off the bed, his legs buckled beneath him.
Thud.
He hit the cold, rough floor hard.
["Ugh!"]
His body felt strange. Weak. Frail. Like it hadn't eaten in days. His arms were thin, his skin pale, his chest tight with every breath. He looked down at his hands.
Smaller.
Bruised.
Shaking.
These weren't his hands.
This isn't my body…
He froze. His eyes darted around the room. Everything looked old, foreign — almost ancient.
His heart started to race again, but not because of fear. It was something else.
Did I… die?
And if so… where was he now?
---
A girl—no older than twelve—rushed in, her eyes wide with relief. In her trembling hands was a small vial filled with dark red liquid.
["Shi Yao! You're awake!"] she exclaimed, almost breathless.
She hurried over to him, kneeling beside his shaking form. ["Here, drink this medicine. It'll help."]
Wang Hao blinked, confused. Shi Yao? Who is that?
The girl's eyes sparkled as she smiled warmly. ["Brother, you scared me! Don't move too fast. Let me help you."]
With surprising strength, she carefully helped him back onto the bed, easing his weak body down onto the thin mattress.
["Rest now, brother. You've been through so much."]
Wang Hao stared at her, mind racing. Who was he? Why did she call him brother?
And why did everything feel so… wrong? and different.