The Awakened Patient

"Ch-Chansey…"

A hoarse voice that had not been heard until now spat out a name, causing the entire hospital room to quiet down.

The three best friends who in some way or the other had been involved in the thrilling discussion regarding the gossip surrounding the mysterious Lin family now whiplashed in the direction of this voice.

The reason they had gathered in this hospital room at this part of the night was the very person who had just spoken.

This startled the three men who hurried to get closer to him.

Jacob rose from his seat on the couch and strode forward whereas Boston only had to take two steps to reach the hospital bed as he had been leaning against the wall right next to it.

Meanwhile, Lance, who had been seated on the chair next to the hospital bed, sprang up from his seat and leaned closer to check on the patient.

Having spoken a moment ago, the patient who had just regained his consciousness coughed because uttering that single word had also managed to strain his throat.

Sensing his discomfort, Boston poured him a glass of water from the jug next to the bed and Lance helped the patient up so that he might take a sip.

While these two were watching him gulp down the water, Jacob pulled out his phone and sent a text out.

{He just woke up.}

A brief message was thus sent to their other friend as he was unable to be here with them today due to certain work obligations.

Only a second had passed before Jacob's phone vibrated, indicating that he had received a reply already.

{Good. Keep me posted.}

The person on the other side seemed just as taciturn as him considering the fact that the reply now appearing on his screen did not even cross the five-word mark.

Putting his phone away after checking the latest text, Jacob did not plan to send an affirmative text in reply as that was the right thing to do.

His friend was busy dealing with work issues in a different city right now so Jacob had no intention of distracting him any further.

Thus he chose to put an end to their conversation to let his busy friend focus on his work.

Unless something serious and unexpected took place next, he would not be disturbing his friend, Will, who was dealing with certain important matters.

Having completed his duty of keeping their friend who wasn't present here in the loop, Jacob moved his attention to the patient for whom they were in the hospital right now.

"How are you feeling right now?"

"Do you want some more?"

"What did you just say?"

Three voices echoed in the room at the same time as soon as the patient had emptied the glass of water he had been handed earlier.

Jacob, Boston, and Lance had a question for their recently awakened friend which they put forward all at once.

At the end of their question, they glanced at each other before directing their attention to the man who was now gazing back at them.

Reclining against the backrest, the man dressed in a hospital gown used his fingers to brush away the bright blonde hair that fell over his forehead.

His bloodshot eyes were only now beginning to regain their focus as he stabilized his short breaths before he could answer the three questions thrown at him in quick succession.

The men standing around him did not rush him but let him take his time.

Earlier, when they had entered this hospital room after gaining the permission of the attending doctor, their reaction to finding their friend lying unconscious on the bed was unsympathetic.

They had sneered, harrumphed, and even snorted at him but those unpleasant expressions were nowhere to be found right now.

Instead, there was care and concern evident in their words and actions as they waited for him to be fine before he could speak to them once again.

Though they were annoyed with what he had brought upon himself, they still could not ignore him entirely.

Therefore, these three best friends stood around their fourth friend and waited in silence to hear what he had to say after he had woken up from his alcohol-induced coma.

"Her name is Chansey." The patient on the bed parted his lips to reveal what was on his mind after a few moments' pause.

Silence ensued for the next few seconds before understanding flashed across the eyes of those standing around him.

The only woman they had been talking about was the illegitimate child of the Lin family so it wasn't too hard for them to make the connection.

'Was he conscious this entire time?' Boston wondered and felt that it must have been true since the first thing he did was mention something related to their earlier discussion.

While Jacob had nothing to add to what their friend had just revealed, Lance's response was on the opposite end of the spectrum when compared to the former's indifference.

"Chansey!?" He snickered and shook his head, pitying the child who must have been bullied for being named after a fictional anime character.

"Yes… I think I did hear something similar." Boston commented while rubbing his chin in contemplation.

Over half a year ago, he had attended a social event organized by a big name in showbiz where Christopher Lin had made an unexpected appearance.

Two aspects had gained the greatest limelight that night.

The first was the various pretty faces who arrived to create a good image for themselves since forming a connection with any of the powerful men at that event would help skyrocket their careers.

However, the second topic that attracted a lot of attention was the arrival of Christopher Lin, President of the Lin Industries.

This man, though powerful and famous in his own right, had nothing to do with the entertainment industry.

Thus many were both confused to find him at that event but at the same time, they were glad to have made his acquaintance.

At this event, Boston, who had a high position in the entertainment industry, was also present.

It was at this party that the appearance of President Lin had sparked a lot of talk about his family's circumstances.

'And someone did mention that his sister has a strange name.' He recalled hearing vague mutters about it but back then, he had not focused too much on it.

Since he had heard the name of the Lin family's illegitimate daughter in passing, he did not care to memorize it and thus had forgotten all about it until their friend had now mentioned it.

If it had not been for this assistance, he would have simply given up on trying to recall what the strange name could have been.

For this, Boston tossed him a nod of appreciation as his friend had helped them alleviate that itch of curiosity that had persisted within them for a while now.

However, in the next second, he realized that something did not sound right.

"How do you know her name?" He interrogated the man who was now seated on the hospital bed with a disheveled appearance.