“Only middle-aged men wear floral prints. They are in denial of their age.”
“Hey, don’t make fun of my fashion preference!” Shao Yun bellowed.
Shao Yun sounded livid.
Qin Ya laughed. “Alright. I shall not mock you anymore, dear uncle.”
“That’s more like it. Also, give me your current address.” Shao Yun only pretended to be angry to enliven the conversation. He knew Qin Ya was probably feeling dreary as she needed to take care of Su Zhan overnight and wanted to cheer her up a little.
Qin Ya told Shao Yun the address of the hospital and the number of the ward she was in.
After that, the two bid goodbye and hung up the phone.
As Qin Ya turned her head around, Su Zhan hurriedly shut his eyes. His heart was thumping violently in his chest.
Su Zhan could sense the imminent danger he was facing. Despite popular beliefs, men were also as sensitive as women to threats in their relationships.
Even though Su Zhan trusted Qin Ya, there was still a possibility that she might grow fond of Shao Yun over time.
Whenever Qin Ya was in C City, she would spend time with Shao Yun. With time, there would be attachments formed between them. It was not a phenomenon exclusive to two humans of opposite sexes. Any human could form a bond with another human if they had quality time together.
Qin Ya went to fetch a pail of water to wipe Su Zhan down.
Su Zhan purposely wriggled his little finger. He needed to get out of his coma sooner as he was scared that Qin Ya might grow tired of him.
I’m not going to let my plan backfire on myself!
Qin Ya noticed the little movement Su Zhan made with his little finger and yelled in agitation, “Su Zhan! Su Zhan!”
However, Su Zhan did not respond. Qin Ya thought she was hallucinating and rubbed her eyes before staring intently at Su Zhan’s hand again. Su Zhan moved his little finger again but this time the motion was of a greater magnitude.
Now, Qin Ya was very sure that Su Zhan’s finger had moved. She ran out of the room to inform the doctor about her discovery.
The doctor came to the room and pretended to perform a checkup on Su Zhan. He thought to himself, Man, this guy is sure good at acting! He should be an actor!
The doctor, who was bribed earlier to cover up for Su Zhan’s lie, felt like he was a side character in a soap drama in which Su Zhan was the main cast.
Qin Ya merely stood next to the doctor. She asked in an anxious tone, “Is he going to wake up soon?”
Su Zhan surreptitiously tugged the sleeve of the doctor. The doctor promptly told Qin Ya, “The patient might be waking up very soon. The fact that he’s moving meant that he’s regaining his conscious.”
Qin Ya nodded and followed up with another question, “Then, when will he wake up?”
The doctor paused to think for a while. “Anytime now.”
Qin Ya let out a breath in relief.
“Look for me if anything happens,” the doctor added.
Qin Ya replied, “Alright, thank you so much.”
The doctor felt guilty for deceiving the woman. “It’s fine. It’s part of my duty anyway.”
After the doctor left, Qin Ya continued to wipe Su Zhan’s face.
When Qin Ya returned from clearing the water, Su Zhan was awake.
Su Zhan muttered very softly, “Qin Ya.”
He appeared as meek as a newborn lamb. Of course, everything was just a pretense.
Qin Ya held his hand. “Hey, darling. How are you feeling?”
Su Zhan stared at Qin Ya hazily. “Why are you here?”
“You got into an accident. Of course, I have to look after you. But it’s all alright now that you have woken up.” Qin Ya’s voice was shaky. Her eyes grew teary out of excitement to see her loved one awake.
Su Zhan dabbed her tears away with his thumb. “I am all fine. What are you crying for?”
At that moment, Qin Ya didn’t want to say anything. Her heart was aching and it muddled her mind.
Su Zhan was hit by a heavy sense of remorse. He pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry.”
Qin Ya sobbed uncontrollably in Su Zhan’s arms.
She did not feel like saying anything, as no words could express the long-vented emotions in her.
Qin Ya did not know exactly what caused her to be so pressured.
Knock knock!
Someone knocked at the door. Qin Ya wiped her face dry before she got to the door. It was the deliveryman. He was covered in sweat. Perhaps the weather was unbearably hot outside of the air-conditioned hospital.
“Hi, are you Ms. Qin?” the deliveryman asked politely.
Qin Ya nodded.
“This is your order.” The deliveryman took out a few food boxes from his carrier.
Qin Ya accepted them and thanked him.
The deliveryman only smiled cordially before leaving.
Qin Ya placed the boxes onto the table before opening them.
The dishes looked quite bland, but there were a lot of them. Perhaps Shao Yun had guessed that Qin Ya wouldn’t have much appetite in her state of mind before he ordered the food.
Su Zhan knew who made the order but he still asked, “You ordered them?”
Qin Ya hummed in agreement. She did not want to make any explanations right then.
If she said it’s from Shao Yun, she was sure Su Zhan was going to ask, ‘Isn’t Shao Yun in B City?’
Then, Qin Ya would say yes.
Su Zhan would then continue with another question, Isn’t he in C City? He’s so far away but he still orders food for you?
Su Zhan’s eyes were fixated on Qin Ya. He did not understand why Qin Ya would choose to not tell him the truth. He found it slightly unsettling. “Qin Ya.”
Qin Ya turned around. “Yes?”
He held Qin Ya’s hand in his. “Come over.”
Qin Ya put down the box in her hand and went to Su Zhan. She asked him softly, “What’s the matter? Are you not feeling well?”
Su Zhan shook his head. “Nope.” He paused for a while before placing his arms around Qin Ya’s waist. “I’m scared of losing you.”
Qin Ya responded, “As long as you’re alive, you won’t lose me.”
Su Zhan still felt unconvinced. He tightened his grip around Qin Ya.
“Why don’t you eat something first? I’ll give Grandma a phone call. I don’t want her to worry too much about you.” Qin Ya tried to shrug Su Zhan off as gently as she could. She didn’t want to hurt him accidentally.
Su Zhan said, “You can call her later. We can also eat dinner later. I just want to hug you right now.”
At the time of the accident, Su Zhan was also scared that he might actually just die. In that instant his car crashed, Qin Ya’s face flashed in front of his eyes. He was worried that he might never see her again.
Qin Ya lay quietly in Su Zhan’s embrace.
Su Zhan hugged Qin Ya harder. “Promise that no matter what, you will never leave me.”
“Yes, I promise you.” Qin Ya then continued in a patient tone, “Alright, let go off me. We’re in the hospital. Let’s try to keep things tame. It’s time you have something too.”
Su Zhan let go of Qin Ya as he figured she might also be hungry.
