"Great, great, you’re awake, you’re finally okay, I was really worried sick, you know?"

"..."

Nianyang said nothing, quietly letting Li Tingyan hold her, not even raising her delicate eyebrows.

Li Tingyan felt something was wrong. His wife didn’t know the truth yet and should be very reluctant to see him. He had even prepared for being pushed away. Why was she unresponsive?

There’s something strange! 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

The man cautiously loosened his hold on Nianyang, looked down into her eyes, and said softly, nervously, "Nini, are you still angry and don’t want to talk to me? I know it’s all my fault, but I can explain everything. I didn’t do it on purpose. I’m still your Tingyan; I’ve never changed..."

"..."

Nianyang still didn’t speak, staring quietly into Li Tingyan’s eyes, her eyelashes trembling. Only then did Li Tingyan notice that the girl’s gaze at him was very empty, even devoid of emotion, as if she were in a trance.

Something major is wrong!

Li Tingyan felt a shock in his heart and immediately rang the bedside bell to call the doctor, but the first ones to come in were the Chu Family members waiting at the door!

Seeing Nianyang awake, the Chu Family rushed in excitedly.

"Yangyang, you’re awake!"

"Sister, does it still hurt?"

"Nannan, why aren’t you talking?"

They asked her one by one for a long time, but when they realized Nianyang wasn’t responding, they looked at Li Tingyan in confusion, their eyes asking what was wrong with her.

Li Tingyan said gravely, "I also don’t know what’s going on. Nini has been like this since she woke up, as if she can’t perceive any external factors."

After a while, the doctor arrived and, upon seeing Nianyang’s symptoms, also found them unprecedented and mumbled in puzzlement, "This shouldn’t be happening. The patient’s injuries are healing, and the blood clot in her brain is gone. Logically, there should be no life-threatening danger."

Li Tingyan asked, "Doctor, can’t you find out why this is happening?"

The doctor replied, "It’s too bizarre. I’ll take another scan."

In the afternoon, upon receiving the news, the Li Family also rushed over anxiously. After understanding the situation, both families surrounded the doctor to hear the diagnosis.

The doctor looked perplexed, "I really don’t understand why the patient is like this. She can breathe, blink, and eat, yet she doesn’t respond. Saying she’s in a vegetative state doesn’t quite fit; it seems more like puppet syndrome..."

"Puppet syndrome?"

The Chu and Li families were astonished. They had experienced many ups and downs and heard of all sorts of illnesses, but what was this puppet syndrome?

The doctor explained, "Puppet syndrome also falls under the category of vegetative states. It’s a very strange condition in medical history where the patient can breathe on their own and, aside from being unable to make facial expressions or respond to the external world, they’re just like a normal person, like a puppet!"

Old Mr. Chu asked, "So, Doctor, if it really is puppet syndrome, what should we do? Will my granddaughter be like this for the rest of her life?"

The doctor said, "It’s hard to say. The patient’s condition is extremely rare in our medical field. If it were a vegetative state, at least we know the symptoms and how to treat it.

But with puppet syndrome, it’s like a robot that has lost its Three Souls and Seven Spirits, completely random, unless she herself can perceive the outside world and her nerves get stimulated, which might allow her to return to normal. Otherwise, she’ll remain like this."

★

[There is puppet syndrome in medicine, but it’s different from what’s depicted here. I adapted it for the plot; please don’t nitpick]