Half an hour later, Jason Luo finally regained full consciousness. After David Miao conducted a careful and thorough examination, he was astonished to find that the small fractures in Jason's skull had healed on their own, his brainwaves had stabilized, and most of his external injuries had nearly recovered...
To be honest, David Miao had expected that if Jason regained consciousness within a month, it would already be impressive. Yet here he was, almost fully recovered after only three or four days—it was unbelievable!
Still, even with modern medicine as advanced as it is, research on the human brain remains largely exploratory. Miraculous recoveries often occur in clinical cases, so Dr. Miao wasn't overly surprised.
When Henry Luo and Grace heard that Jason was out of danger and only needed rest to regain his strength, they were overjoyed.
Grace threw herself onto the bed, hugging Jason tightly and sobbing uncontrollably! Henry Luo, tears streaming down his lined face, gripped his son's hand, his voice breaking with emotion.
"Heaven be praised! No—it must be your mother's spirit watching over you from above, son. You nearly scared us to death…"
Jason felt as if he had been reborn. His memory was still stuck three or four days prior, completely unaware of what had happened since. Henry Luo and Grace patiently explained everything to him.
Then came the moment to share the good news!
Within half an hour, everyone had arrived. Flowers, food, and tonics piled up like small mountains, and the room filled with laughter and warmth.
Raul, especially, had been under immense pressure these past few days. Hearing that Jason was awake, he nearly lost his mind with joy, grabbing Jason's hand and kissing it repeatedly. "God have mercy! The Almighty truly works miracles! Ha ha… Jason, this is amazing! Just incredible! Oh right—how do you say it? Guess it's true what they say: after the storm comes the rainbow, huh?"
Everyone burst out laughing. "That's one way to put it!"
"Uh… close enough!"
Jason's awakening swept away all the gloom. The room filled with laughter and joy.
When it came time to call Coach Pedro, Jason insisted on doing it himself. The room fell silent as the call connected.
Pedro's anxious voice came through immediately. "Raul, wait—if it's good news, say it straight. If it's bad, I'll let Sonny take the call…"
Jason's eyes filled with tears.
"Coach, it's me…"
There was a loud clatter on the other end, followed by Sonny and Brown's startled shouts. After a moment, Pedro's trembling voice came through again. "You… say that again?"
"Coach! It's Jason Luo! I'm awake! I'm sorry—sorry to everyone, especially to you. I…"
There was a long silence.
"Alright…"
"I understand, Jason. Son, as long as you're okay, I can face God in peace. It's me who owes you an apology. I shouldn't have pushed my own regrets onto you or burdened you with so much pressure. Thank heaven I was given another chance. Here and now, I sincerely apologize to you and your father. I'm sorry."
Henry Luo took the phone. "Old Pedro, you're far too kind. Jason and I are both deeply grateful for everything you and everyone else have done for him. Boxing is the path he chose himself—and one I agreed to. How could we blame others for an accident?
Coach, we owe you all so much for your help this time. Please take good care of yourself. Once Jason's fully recovered, we'll prepare a proper meal at home to thank you in person. Today's February 7th, and the Lunar New Year is almost here. On behalf of our whole family, I wish you an early Happy New Year!"
Jason and Grace shouted into the phone, "Happy New Year!"
Then everyone in the ward joined in together, "Happy New Year! Hahaha!"
Time reveals true character,
and adversity reveals true friendship.
Jason looked at everyone in the room, committing their faces to memory. These were his true friends.
After the call ended, Raul suddenly remembered the matter he'd been holding onto. He carefully took three checks from his briefcase.
"Mr. Luo, these two total $1.8 million—the bonus and compensation. And this $200,000 is my personal gift. Please, you must accept it."
Henry Luo shook his head and refused to take it.
Jason spoke up. "Mr. Raul, how could we accept your money? That would be ungrateful of us. No matter whether I continue boxing or not, I'll always be thankful—you've given me an extraordinary journey."
Henry looked at his son in surprise. "You're thinking of retiring?"
Jason blinked. "You'd still let me keep fighting?"
"Why wouldn't I? My son was framed—he didn't lose because he wasn't good enough. You've got so many people supporting you, your coach waiting for you—how could you give up now?"
Jason could hardly believe what he was hearing. Henry continued, "Jason, we might seem gentle and polite on the surface, but we've got to have backbone. Rising stronger after setbacks—that's who we are. I won't force you, but if you choose to keep going, I'll give you my full support."
The moment those words left his mouth, the room erupted in cheers. Lawyer Cao and Ethan Xu rushed forward to shake Henry's hand. "Mr. Luo, no wonder you have such a great son! If Jason keeps fighting, fans everywhere will be behind him!"
Henry laughed. "Telling me won't help. Whether he fights or not is up to him."
Everyone immediately turned to Jason, afraid he might really quit. What a moment that was!
Jason didn't answer. He simply stretched his hands out from under the blanket and clenched them tightly into fists.
"Hahaha, that's the spirit, Jason!"
"Long live the fighting spirit!"
The ward exploded with cheers. Nurses rushed in to quiet them, but their voices were drowned out, and they nearly got pushed over in the chaos...
...
February 11, 2021.
It was New Year's Eve. Jason was discharged early to recover at home. That day, Henry and Grace spent hours preparing a grand New Year's Eve dinner, inviting all their foreign friends to celebrate the Lunar New Year together.
The dinner turned out to be quite the event: Reches refused to eat anything except one dish, Kamman was reduced to tears by the spicy chili, and Raul—after half a bottle of baijiu—started rambling nonsense...
After the guests left and Grace finished cleaning up, father and son sat together watching TV, waiting for the clock to strike midnight.
Henry suddenly said, "Son, make a New Year's wish."
Jason answered without hesitation, "Of course—I hope to go pro next year and win the world championship title as soon as possible!"
Henry nodded. "You have to agree to two conditions first."
"Alright, Dad—what are they?"
"First, protect yourself. If anything happens to you, this family will fall apart. Second, complete your old man's mission soon—let me hold a grandson sooner rather than later!"
Jason leapt up from the sofa. "Dad, I'm only nineteen! Isn't that rushing it a bit?"
"I don't care. You've got one year. If you don't, I'll find another way."
Jason laughed. "And what could you possibly do?"
Henry said softly, "Actually, Grace is the best choice. Then we'd be a real family…"
"What? Dad, I can't believe you said that! I see Grace as my own sister…"
...
Miles away, in a small rented apartment, Grace suddenly sneezed a dozen times in a row, her face flushed and her heart pounding...
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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