Free Web NovelChapter 362: Chapter 360: She Lost Her Memory
Mia Grant was already awake when her alarm went off in the morning.
Her sleep schedule had been fairly regular these past couple of days. She had even managed to sleep soundly for two or three nights without any sleeping pills.
She figured her recent trip to the temple to burn incense had worked. It made the long, pious kneeling and the donation money she offered that day all worth it.
After washing up, she headed to class with her roommate.
At a little after 7:50 in the morning, students were continuously streaming into the academic building.
A brief bottleneck formed at the entrance.
Mia Grant yawned and followed her roommate, ready to head up the stairs.
Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted, "Watch out!"
Mia Grant was still wondering what to do with the breakfast in her bag. Just as she had stepped out of the dorm, someone had given her a sandwich and some milk.
’Probably one of Yates Donovan’s men.’
She hadn’t had a chance to eat it yet.
Her thoughts hadn’t yet returned to the present, so when she glanced around, she forgot to look up.
The moment the flowerpot came crashing down, the world stood still.
Mia Grant raised her hand and felt a warm liquid...
The private hospital under the Hughes Corp was not far from the municipal hospital, but by comparison, its emergency room wasn’t nearly as busy.
A few medical staff were standing together, divvying up a coffee delivery.
Hearing a commotion outside, the group quickly dropped their playful banter and rushed out.
"What’s the situation?!"
"An object fell from a high place! It’s a female university student, looks like she was hit on the head—there’s blood!"
"Where is she? Did she pass out?"
"No, but she doesn’t seem to be fully conscious."
"..."
The ER, which had been quiet just moments before, quickly burst into activity.
「Ten minutes later.」
"Hiss..."
Mia Grant felt a sharp pain and raised her hand.
"Don’t move. We’re cleaning your wound."
Mia Grant’s head was a little dizzy, and her vision was blurry.
After her vision finally focused, she stared at the female doctor’s eyes, visible above her mask, and thought absently, ’I got hit on the head. According to the usual plot developments, shouldn’t I have amnesia now?’
’That’s how it always goes in novels,’ she recalled.
After waiting for what felt like an eternity for the doctor to finish cleaning her wound, Mia Grant couldn’t hold back any longer. "Doctor," she asked, "am I going to lose my memory?"
The female doctor glanced back at her, her brow furrowing. "What?"
"Amnesia. Isn’t that how it always happens on TV? The female lead gets hit on the head, and then she can’t remember the male lead."
"..." The emergency room was silent for two seconds before a young nurse’s loud laughter broke the silence.
Mia Grant blinked.
The doctor snapped out of it, pulled down her mask, and couldn’t help but chuckle. "Getting hit on the head can indeed cause amnesia. But—"
She paused deliberately.
Mia Grant asked impatiently, "But?"
"But?"
Yates Donovan’s brows furrowed in irritation. "Stop being so dramatic at a time like this!"
The subordinate cleared his throat and explained, "But, Miss Grant wasn’t hit on the head."
"...She wasn’t?" Yates Donovan’s expression went blank for a moment.
"Didn’t you say an object fell? Didn’t you say a flowerpot hit her? Didn’t you say there was blood?"
When he said the word "blood," Yates Donovan’s heart sank.
’So the bloody disaster was real after all.’
The subordinate replied, "Miss Grant was hit."
Yates Donovan’s heart skipped another beat.
"But it only grazed her head. She was scratched on the face and ear by a branch from the plant. It’s already been bandaged."
"That’s... all?"
Hearing her question, the doctor didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "Goodness, child, are you unhappy that you *didn’t* get hit on the head?"
Mia Grant raised a hand to her forehead. Indeed, it had only been grazed. It was a little red and swollen, but there was no bandage.
But before she could even sigh in relief, she touched her stinging cheek and ear and frowned. "Doctor, I’m not going to be disfigured, am I?"
"Watch your diet and apply the ointment on schedule, and you most likely won’t have a scar. But there’s no guarantee."
Knowing that young girls care a lot about their looks, the doctor added reassuringly, "You were very lucky in an unlucky situation. It’s not a big deal."
Mia Grant nodded absently.
Since it was such a major incident, a school administrator and her roommate had accompanied her.
In truth, Mia Grant hadn’t even fully processed what had happened before she was bundled into the ambulance.
In the vehicle, a paramedic had been examining her the whole time.
Seeing the paramedic constantly frowning made her feel uneasy.
She thought again of the master’s words...
Coupled with the fact that her head really did hurt a little, she had genuinely thought something was wrong with her brain.
At one point during the ride, she had even started to lose consciousness.
’Looks like those Amulets weren’t a waste of money after all.’
’It’s a good thing I turned my head when I glanced to the side... otherwise, I really would have hit the jackpot.’
’Call it bad luck, but it seems I wasn’t *that* unlucky.’
The school administrator was still worried and asked her to stay for a while for observation before leaving.
While they went to pay the bill, Mia Grant slipped out of bed and into the bathroom to look in the mirror.
To be honest, she’d never really had any anxiety about her appearance before.
But now, looking at the gauze on her cheek, she couldn’t help but sigh.
’If I’m really disfigured...’
’Whatever. I’ve completed the mission anyway.’
’Even if they don’t like this face of mine anymore, what can they do about it?’
’It’s no big deal.’
[Don’t be sad, Host.]
[You’re still very beautiful! You’re still a heartthrob!]
Mia Grant put her hands on her hips and snorted. "Hmph, this girl’s charm is more than just this face!"
—
Coming out of the bathroom, Mia Grant ran right into someone.
"Careful!"
A familiar voice rang out, and the next second, she found herself in a familiar embrace.
As she drew close, the scent of antiseptic on the white coat faintly masked a cool, woody, floral fragrance from the clothes beneath.
Mia Grant’s body stiffened. Once she was steady on her feet, she slowly looked up and met a face filled with worry.
Only then did she realize which hospital she was in.
Composing herself, she silently pulled her wrist free from Hayes Hughes’s grasp.
Hayes Hughes didn’t seem to mind; his attention was entirely on her injuries.
Mia Grant said she was fine.
Hayes Hughes wasn’t convinced. When she turned her head, he noticed a bloody scratch on her neck, also from a branch, and his brow furrowed slightly.
The bandaged wounds gave no hint of their severity, but thankfully, this scratch revealed just how bad it must have been.
"Does it hurt?"
"Are you dizzy?"
She also had some ointment on her forehead, which gave off a faint medicinal scent.
She shook her head but was quickly stopped. "Don’t make any sudden movements."
"Come sit over here for a bit."
He led her to a nearby chair, had her sit down, and then knelt to get closer to her.
Mia Grant felt inexplicably guilty. She was lost in thought when she suddenly saw his face zooming in toward hers.
She froze for a second, then flinched back the next, a purely reflexive reaction.
"Hiss..."
The back of her head didn’t hit the wall. Instead, it connected with the man’s palm.
She had recoiled with considerable force, so much so that the man couldn’t suppress a subconscious hiss of pain.
"Ha-Hayes!" She was startled and quickly grabbed his hand to inspect it.
But he just smiled and pulled it back. "I’m fine."
He stroked the scratch on her neck, his tone like he was coaxing a small child. "Are you sure you’re not dizzy? How about I take you upstairs for an X-ray?"
