If the Deep Sea Forgets You

When Mo Han reached home, he thought she would be sitting in the living room. But when he entered the living room he realised that she was not there. He shouted and nobody responded. In the end, he pushed open the door to the spare bedroom. Strangely, there was nobody inside either.

Didn’t I tell her to stay at home? Where did she go?

He stood at the entrance to the bedroom and he suddenly heard a small noise emanating from his own bedroom. He turned and started walking towards the noise. When he pushed open the door, he was shocked by the scene facing him.

There was a gray cotton rug next to his bedroom’s entrance. The little girl had curled her body, sleeping on the ground with a thin blanket covering her body. There was a bottle that had fallen over next to her leg. She must have accidentally kicked the bottle while she was asleep.

He furrowed his brow. Why did she come to his bedroom to sleep on the floor?

He walked over and bent down, nudging her. “Get up! Get up!”

She opened her eyes in a blur and squinted up at him. She asked, “What is it?”

“Why are you not sleeping in your own room? Why are you sleeping on the rug in my room?”

She noticed that he did not like others invading his personal space, so she stood up, tugging the blanket alongside her and explained, “My mattress was too soft, so I couldn’t sleep. The floor was too cold and hard, so I was too uncomfortable. I searched everywhere and your rug was the best space to sleep. Sorry about that.”

Mo Han saw that she felt wronged and imagined her trying to find a good spot to sleep during the day, like a pet. He almost laughed to himself thinking about it. His expression softened as he said, “Come out for a little while. I have something to tell you.”

Having just awoken, her brain was still in a fog. She took the blanket and squinted her eyes, following behind him… Just then he stopped in front of her. Her slow reaction meant she bumped her head into his back.

“Ouch…” She massaged her forehead in pain.

“Watch where you’re going,” Mo Han chided gently, as though teaching a child who had just started school.

She lifted her head to look at him, pouted in dissatisfaction, and remained quiet.

“Take a look at these documents,” Mo Han said.

She put down the blanket, took the documents from him and flipped through them page by page. The further down she looked, the more surprised she was. This man could actually organize everything about Xia Qingyi within one day! The thick packet of documents contained all known traces of Xia Qingyi since she had disappeared. He had listed all of her experiences and, most surprising of all, many of the documents had official government seals on them.

She felt a little scared. “Are these documents fake?”

Mo Han laughed. “Everything on these documents is legal, everything has immediate legal effect. Do you still think they are fake?”

“But…?”

Mo Han said in a deep, quiet voice, “All you have to know is that you are my mother’s adopted child. You are my sister Xia Qingyi. Don’t worry about the rest.”

He pointed to the bottom corner of the document and placed the pen on the desk. “Sign your name here. Tomorrow you can get your identification card and your proof of residence.”

She looked at the documents, hesitant to sign them. After signing, she would have a real identity. Even if she was using a fake identity, impersonating someone else. This was all she had ever wanted, but now…

“Why… w-why are you helping me?” She finally asked him.

What she had not expected was to see Mo Han freeze. It was as though he had been thrown by the question. But he only paused for a moment before he smiled and said, “I’ve been a lawyer for so long, nobody has ever spoken to me in such a way. I’m not helping you. I’m getting myself out of a tricky situation.”

She did not say a word. She smiled, letting out a long sigh, she signed her name: Xia Qingyi.

Hello, Xia Qingyi. From today onwards, I’m going to be you.

Allow me to use your identity, until the day I regain all my memories.