Liu Junyi sat in the resting lounge where the receptionist was located. The heat rising from his cup of coffee tickled his nose as he took a sip. Laying on his crossed legs was his tablet. It was a quiet morning, save for the calming sound of the receptionist's nails on the keyboard. The click clack of Yang Jinhai's black leather shoes on the marble ground alerted Junyi, making him look up. "Morning, Jun."
"Morning. What time is it?" Jinhai checked his watch while settling next to Junyi. "15 minutes to 10. I'll notify you when Chouyu arrives."
-
The moment the trio stepped into the hospital, they drew a buck load of attention. A man who looks like a the older version of a spoilt brat, a woman who dressed like she thought she was important, and Jinhai, who, between the two, looked so extraordinarily normal that he also stood out.
"Good morning, how may I help you?" The lady behind the counter asked, taking a break from her computer screen to look up at them. "We booked an appointment for a prenatal DNA test for 10 30," Jinhai said, moving closer to the counter. "Right... booked under Mr Yang?" The lady asked, not looking up from her screen. "Yes, yes."
She got up. "Right this way."
The lady led them to a VIP waiting room and went to inform the doctor that they had arrived. Before Junyi could start an argument with Chouyu, who would not keep her mouth shut about her unborn baby, the lady returned. "Dr. Wu is ready, please follow me."
"Good morning, Mr Yang, Mr Jiu, and... " "Ms Han," Chouyu replied, matter-of-factly. "Alright, so from my knowledge, Ms Han is pregnant with Mr Jiu's baby, allegedly, so you have come for a DNA test." Jinhai nodded. "Sounds about right." "Ok, good. So, I'll need both in question's blood samples. After, the results may only come in a few hours. I'll try my best to get the results as quickly as possible, but the earliest I can promise if we start now is maybe around 15 00 to 16 00. Is that alright with you, Mr Liu?"
Now, Junyi was not ready to speak. He thought that Jinhai would be the one speaking the whole time. His eyelids looked a little less heavy, but other than that, he stayed the same. "Yea, just send a message to Jinhai when the results are out." Dr Wu smiled. "Okay, the nurses here will tend to you."
The nurses worked quickly, under the doctor's orders. Yes, quickly. As Dr Wu prepared the equipment to compare the blood samples, he couldn't help but smile to himself. 3 to 4 hours, just enough time to receive a bribery.
-
After it was done, Junyi bought a bottle of water from a vending machine and walked over to a table in the garden of the hospital. As the water touched his lips, he heard diminishing chatter down the corridor between two people. He was right next to the corridor, but the two that came out didn't notice him.
"You didn't brush your teeth, did you? Eww they stink!" The female voice said.
"Oh shut up! I don't think you have either." The other female voice replied.
"At least mine don't stink..."
"Whatever... are you hungry? Get some food after I leave, ok?"
"Mmhmm, sure thing."
It was Mo Changchang and Chen Aiyu, but of course, Junyi didn't know.
He paid no mind to them, and it was not his intention to eavesdrop, but he just so happened to be there at that moment. As they left the garden, Junyi was able to see the two. Aiyu caught his eye. She had dark black hair that reached a little below her shoulders and her skin was a fair shade of beige. But her beauty was not what made him stare. He couldn't see her very well, but her expression caught his attention. It was a melancholic happiness, and he couldn't take his eyes off of her.
He watched Aiyu sent Changchang off. "Hah, what am I doing?" He asked himself, planning to turn away and continue walking, but his head would not turn. Her hospital gown did a little twirl as she turned around, slowly making her way towards the garden again. Aiyu moseyed around for a bit, taking her time with each leisure step, before stopping at a flower bed. Bending down, she started to pick the lifeless, maroon-coloured petals off of a fallen flower. Since Changchang left, a smile couldn't seem to make its way to her face. The last petal fell to the ground, her eyes following it until it landed softly. Junyi's expression was nothing short of confused, not knowing what she was trying to do.
In her palm, the flower bud was crushed by her nails. Even after the flower was crushed, she kept her fingers clenched. She wore no expression and Junyi watched her curiously. Aiyu's eyes glazed over as they lingered on the crushed flower bud, and she stayed that way for so long that Junyi had to put the bottle down. Eventually, she let the flower bud go and stood up. At this point, he had lowered his gaze to head back into the hospital, but in his peripheral, he saw her reach her arm out for stability as she stumbled a few steps back.
Junyi's head jolted back, his body, however, did not move. His eyes traced her face, unable to find any form of emotion. Suddenly, her face was out of his vision, her body hitting the ground in an uncanny manner.
The virtuous and normal thing to do in that situation was to rush over and help her, but he was spoon-fed so much in his life that it was not his first instinct. He crossed his arms as if in a dilemma. "I should help her, huh," he thought aloud, but even when he took his first step towards her, he hesitated. His eyes took a little tour around, looking for a nurse or doctor, or even Jinhai, anywhere who could help her instead. Seeing no one, he made his way over and slipped her onto his back with much struggle.
When he was creepily watching her just before, he had already taken note of her heavily casted left hand, so he tried his best to avoid grabbing it.
Walking into the main hospital building, the first nurse that saw them quickly rushed over. "What happened to her?" She asked, putting the strands of hair that was covering Aiyu's face behind her ear. "I don't know, she just fainted all of a sudden." The nurse placed the back of her hand against Aiyu's forehead, checking for a fever, then proceeded to check which ward she belonged to on her wristband. "Liwei ah! Can you help me get this patient to ward xxx? I'll go get her doctor." The nurse that was referred to as Liwei swiftly set up a wheelchair and gestured for Junyi to lay her in it.