"Meixiu."
The said woman looked at her frantic wife, seeing the worried face of Xiaohui, causing her to furrow her eyebrows in confusion.
Is there something to worry about?
She quickly went out of her wife's car, her hands holding her wife's arm as she comforted her. Xiaohui's eyes were a bit teary; her expression changed seeing the tears in her wife's eyes.
"Why? What happened?"
Meixiu asks, her eyes looking straight at Xiaohui's as the woman nodded and her hand shaking due to something unexplainable.
"Lijuan was rushed to the hospital, she said she was stabbed."
The news of her best friend's sudden appearance at the most unexpected place shocks her. How can Lijuan be at the hospital if she and Qiang are eating dinner?
Could it have something to do with her cousin?
Questions after questions flooded Xiaohui's mind; she couldn't help but feel a little shame as her cousin might have done something, causing her best friend to be hospitalized.
Meixiu was shocked to hear the news, her mouth agape as she didn't expect Lijuan to inform Xiaohui.
"Do you want to visit her?"
"Yes, can you come with me?"
Meixiu nodded her head. She quickly guided Xiaohui to the passenger seat before she went to the driver's seat to start the car.
Meanwhile, at the hospital, Lijuan was surprised to see the old master of Zheng in her room.
"Lijuan!"
The mentioned woman looked at the door, her eyes glaring at the newcomer, causing them to quickly lower their heads.
"Qiang, come here."
The master of Zheng said, his eyes looking at his grandson before looking back at Lijuan, who seems to hold a resentment towards him.
"What happened?"
"Grandpa, what do you mean?"
"He left me there to deal with those men."
Grandpa Zheng glances at Lijuan, his eyebrows furrowing, before their heads turn towards the door as it opens widely.
Xiaohui came running in, her hands quickly holding Lijuan's as she looked at her friend's condition.
"What happened to you? Are you alright now?"
Xiaohui asks, her eyes looking at Lijuan's wounded leg and seeing the patch of blood on the white bandage.
Lijuan's eyes went towards her back, seeing her friend's wife, before she smiled a little as if greeting Meixiu.
The taller woman nodded at her.
"Qiang left me at the restaurant, wanting me to deal with the thugs."
Lijuan revealed this after Xiaohui looked at her worriedly. When Qiang heard his name, he couldn't help but feel embarrassed, causing him to look down on the ground.
He sighed quietly, but he quickly composed himself before glaring at Lijuan, his hand raising as he pointed at the woman on the bed.
"How can you accuse me!? I didn't do anything!"
"You're so thick-faced! How can you deny it!?"
Qiang stops a bit, his eyes shaking as they both make eye contact with each other. Lijuan glared at him as he looked away, wanting to find something to accuse her of.
"I didn't do anything! It's you who did something."
He said enough for the people in the room to hear it. Meixiu walked near Xiaohui, her hand going towards her wife's shoulder, and comforted her.
Qiang's eyes stop at the jacket on top of Lijuan's lower body. He smiled a little before he pointed at the unfamiliar jacket.
"Look, who owns that? That's a man's jacket!"
Lijuan looked at the jacket on top of her; she couldn't help but think of the person who saved her life. She smiled unknowingly, causing the people around her to look at each other.
Grandpa Zheng raises his eyebrows, walks towards the hospital bed, and looks closely at the jacket.
"Someone has enough courage to save me from the thugs."
Lijuan spoke, her mind walking back to the memories of what happened earlier, how the woman saved her life, and thinking of how strong she was.
'I wonder what's her name.'
Xiaohui walks towards Lijuan's side and looks at the jacket, her eyes softening as she imagines the person saving her friend's life.
"I'm so happy you're saved."
Lijuan looked up from the jacket and saw the gentle look from Xiaohui. She smiles and pats the hand that the woman put on her legs.
"I'm lucky to have met someone like my savior."
-
Meixiu walks back into the bedroom, her hand crawling on her used pants as she's looking for something specific. Xiaohui, who had just finished changing her clothes, went out and saw the frantic expression Meixiu had.
Her eyebrows furrow, and she quickly stops drying her hair.
"Are you looking for something?"
Meixiu flinches, and her hand, which holds her used pants, goes to her back as she smiles sheepishly towards her wife.
"I didn't know you're done already."
Xiaohui's mouth pouted a little, and her hands went back into drying her hair using the towel before she walked towards the small vanity in the room.
"You're so busy that you didn't even know about my presence."
"Sorry, I was looking for something."
Meixiu puts back the pants in dismay, not seeing the thing that she's looking for.
Xiaohui looks at her wife from the mirror, her eyes scanning the taller woman, seeing her busy looking at the ground this time.
"I can help you find it."
"Ah, it's nothing, just something I treasure."
Xiaohui stands up from the vanity; she walks towards the towel rack and puts the slightly wet towel. She looks at her wife, who's now crawling on the ground and looking under the bed.
"Then let me help you find it."
Xiaohui said, following Meixiu as she also crawled on the ground, her head looking under the bed as they both held eye contact.
Considering that Meixiu's looking at the left side of the bed, she went towards the right side and looked under, not seeing anything but darkness and Meixiu's eyes looking at her.
Xiaohui couldn't help but notice the small smile that her wife had on her face, causing her to blush a little and look away from Meixiu.
"Thank you, but I can manage."
Meixiu spoke, her heart beating with how Xiaohui is willing to crawl on the floor to help her find what she's looking for.
"I'm doing this because you said you treasure it, not because it has another meaning to it."
Xiaohui muttered, her eyes avoiding Meixiu as she sighs and shakes her head, standing up from the floor and walking towards the desk that they both share.
Her eyes opened the drawer and furrowed her eyebrows, not knowing what she's even looking for, causing her to look behind to ask about it, but flinches when Meixiu's already standing in front of her.
"Sorry, did I scare you?"
Meixiu looks at her worriedly, her hand grabbing the smaller woman's arm as she looks at her sincerely.
Xiaohui smiles and shakes her head, grabbing Meixiu's hands and pushing them away from her.
Her cheeks were reddening in the process.
"I'm just going to ask, what are you even looking for?"
Xiaohui asks, her eyes looking down on the ground as Meixiu hums and thinks for awhile.
If she ever talked about it, would her wife notice something strange about her?
Looking for a stone is strange enough; if Xiaohui asks the reason why she's looking for it, what is she going to say?
Meixiu couldn't help but think twice, causing Xiaohui to furrow her eyebrows and look up, as Meixiu has been quiet for some time.
Her eyes saw how Meixiu's nose scrunched and her forehead creased as if she was having a hard time thinking about whether to tell Xiaohui or not.
Which is what's happening right now.