"I need to visit the hospital, so can you make it quick?"
"I'll come with you." Xia Minghua insisted on dinner and on following her visit Liu Feihong.
He had brought her to the same place, "Jade Palace".
"You must really like this restaurant." Zhou Lengxin observed.
"I come here often." He looked around at his surroundings with his hand in his pockets.
There was a slight breeze so that his hair softly blew to one side and his crisp white dress shirt fluttered against his lean figure.
He looked so picturesque, that that was what she did— take a picture.
As if he noticed the camera on him, he slightly turned his head and softly smiled, turning into a perfect "Oppa" from those K-dramas.
"Why ogle at photos when the real thing is right here?"
"Because human trafficking is illegal." She replied without missing a beat.
"?"
"Since I can't sell you, I have to use pictures instead... How much do you think you're worth? ¥500?" Zhou Lengxin mused, "If you sign it, I could probably sell it for ¥1000!"
"Shouldn't I charge you for the photos as well?" Xia Minghua began to advance closer and closer.
Zhou Lengxin scoffed and pretended to walk away, "You can eat alone then."
She didn't expect for him to sneak up behind her and pick her up by the waist.
"I'm kidnapping you, so you have to come!"
Her hair was blowing up from the passing wind. Thank goodness she was wearing shorts instead of a skirt. Otherwise, Xia Minghua would have to hold it down so that she didn't flash anyone.
The way he was holding her made him place an arm around her waist and another supporting right below her buttocks and Zhou Lengxin's hands were placed on his shoulders, with long strands of hair tickling his face.
"You can let me down now." She laughed a bit awkwardly. Their close proximity was making her heart pound, so close that she could see his individual eyelashes.
Xia Minghua spun her around once before letting her feet touch the ground.
"No running away or I might really kidnap you." Xia Minghua placed his hands back into his pockets and started walking ahead.
The couple had a lovely meal where they made a few jokes and chatted about things here and there.
Zhou Lengxin found Xia Minghua was very easy to talk to since he was quite easygoing and did not force his own opinions on her. Another plus was that the food at "Jade Palace" was extremely delicious and had the authentic taste of China's signature dishes.
Xia Minghua may have joked about her owing him a meal, but he adamantly refused to let her pay. Perhaps chivalry wasn't dead.
He also brought her to the hospital where Senior Jiang's family was anxiously awaiting the doctor's diagnosis.
Wei Lina was at her part-time job, but Chen Xiaoxiao arrived slightly after them.
"Doctor, how is he?" The woman whom she assumed to be Jiang Cheng's mother immediately inquired when she saw the doctor come out of his ward.
Doctor Lin pushed his glasses up his nose bridge and flipped through his clipboard. "The patient, Jiang Cheng, 28, concussion, broken ribs and nose. There are several cuts along his abdomen, we had to surgically remove the embedded glass. Most importantly, the patient has damaged some of his vertebrae and injured his spinal cord."
Jiang Cheng's mother started sobbing into her husband's chest. Any parent would heartbroken to hear that their dear child could end up paralyzed.
The doctor continued to read from his clipboard, "On the other hand, his injury is incomplete, so there is a high chance of recovery. You can't ever completely cure a spinal cord injury, but he will most likely be able to walk again in the future."
"Thank god..." Xiaoxiao murmured.
The tightness in Zhou Lengxin's chest eased a little. She knew how much Liu Feihong loved her boyfriend. If he ended up in a wheelchair for life, how devastated would she be?