The more he looked at that photo, the angrier he became. The anger, coupled with anxiety, made him furious, and he started breathing heavily. He picked up the photo with his right hand and raised it to smash it on the floor. As he was throwing it, his gaze settled on a small photo of a beautiful young girl in nurse uniform who was grinning from ear to ear, showing her pearly white teeth. He stopped mid-air and stared at her photo with a warm look in his eyes.
Yang Yue's photo fell on the carpet and he reached for her photo with his left hand. He picked it and tenderly moved his fingers over her face, lips and neck…
He suddenly had an urge to see her. He immediately went to his closet to get a coat and shoes and ran downstairs with the photo in his hand.
The old butler of the home was still awake instructing the last batch of servants to clear up. When he saw Young Master Xinyu rushing out of the house, in his night pajamas trying to wear a coat hurriedly, he was surprised.
"Young Master, would you like to have some tea?" he asked. However, he was ignored.
Yang Xinyu sprinted to his car and sped out of the driveway.
It was past 11pm and the traffic in town was down to a trickle. It usually took 45 minutes to reach the Company headquarters, but today, he reached within 30 minutes, but he didn't stop there... He continued to drive past the building until he reached her apartment, now shrouded in darkness. He was hoping to see a glimmer of light from her bedroom… but it was very quiet.
He got out of the car and contemplated knocking on her door. Instead, he lit a cigarette and puffed making large smoke rings. He stood there for a long time not noticing how many cigarette butts he had littered the place with...
Eventually he sat back into his car, lowered the seat and closed his eyes...
***
He reminisced his first few encounters with her. He didn't remember what really happened on the first two days that he was admitted to the hospital, but he recollected that she gave him assurances that she will not allow any of Ying Yue's friends to meet him.
Her eyes reflected determination and serenity. He looked into them and felt assured after a long time... Perhaps he was looking for conviction, which was lacking in his life...
Wu Lina was sitting on the floor and her warm hands held his. Once his mind was composed a little, she stood up and held his shoulders softly to push them towards the pillow behind. She lifted his legs up on the bed and covered him with the quilt.
With a gentle touch on his forehead she said, "It seems you don't have fever. Just relax. I'll be right here sitting on this chair beside you. Try to sleep and let me know if you need something."
She continued to stroke his forehead and his hair gently. Soon he fell into deep slumber. When he opened his eyes, she wasn't there, and he felt restless again. It was past six in the evening. He tried to keep himself busy but his thoughts kept going back to Ying Yue's beautiful, devious, hypocritical personality.
A male nurse came to the room in the evening around seven to give him his medicines. Perhaps, they had given Yang Xinyu a sedative because he soon fell asleep only to wake up early at about five next morning. He looked around lazily, without wanting to leave his bed. He curled up yet again and went off to sleep.