74 Who Could Resist? (1/2)
Apartment 5- 8 pm
Qin Jingfei, Li Xiuying and Little 4th were sitting in the living room.
Qin Jingfei: ”Dr. Li also what would you do if...”
Li Xiuying continued to mute out Qin Jingfei's voice. As soon as they entered her apartment Qin Jingfei had launched her tirade of questions. At first Li Xiuying answered a few of Qin Jingfei's questions but when she realized that there was no end in sight she stopped.
Little forth yawned and rubbed his eyes with his little hand: ”Big sister YingYing I'm tired.”
Li Xiuying: ”Me too.”
Little 4th: ”Good night cousin.” His voice contained a little glee that he quickly tried to mask.
Qin Jingfei shouted after them: ”Wait. It's still so early. I won't ask any more questions apart from maybe one or ...” She stopped when she realized no one was listening.
Qin Jingfei mumbled unhappy to herself as she sat alone in the living room munching on popcorn.
Qin Jingfei grumbled: ”Stupid silence game. What even is that?! How could they just leave me here?! Who goes to bed at 8 pm? What are they like 4?”
Whilst Qin Jingfei was unhappily watching TV Little 4th and Li Xiuying took turns to enter the bathroom and change into their PJ's. Little 4th was in his brown bear pj's and Li Xiuying was wearing her polar bear Pj's.
They were now laying in bed talking in low voices.
Li Xiuying had an amused look on her face as she watched Little 4th become energetic once again: ”Sleepy?”
Little 4th ears turned red and he laughed sheepishly at having been found out: ”He He.”
He knew that his big sister could tell he faked being tired earlier. He just wanted to get away from the question monster.
Little 4th sighed: ”Cousin Jingfei is terrible at the silence game.”
Li Xiuying nodded. She didn't expect that a 5 year old child could be more quiet that a grown woman. Li Xiuying didn't mind answering a few questions but Qin Jingfei was like a quiz show that never ends. She would answer one question and Qin Jingfei would fire 3 more at her.
Little 4th turned his big shiny eyes to Li Xiuying: ”Big sister YingYing will you read to me?”
Li Xiuying became thoughtful. She had only ever read when it was related to her work; she would read medical journals, medical text books, case reports, patient histories, surgical papers etc.
She had never read for pleasure before.
Li Xiuying turned and grabbed her phone from the bedside cabinet. She looked up 'readings apps' and downloaded one.
Li Xiuying: ”Genre?”
Little 4th was so happy he could burst. His big sister spoke so little... well unless it was when someone made her angry.
Li Xiuying picked a children's fantasy/adventure novel: ”Once upon a time there was a ...”
Little 4th got even more comfortable and drew closer to Li Xiuying.
Unbeknownst to little 4th and Li Xiuiyng Qin Jingfei quietly crept towards Li Xiuying's room to check if they were really sleeping.
The door to Li Xiuying's bedroom was slightly open. She heard Li Xiuying's voice. Li Xiuying usually sounded so cold and detached but the more Qin Jingfei's listened the more soothing and gentle she found the voice. Qin Jingfei thought it must be because of Little 4th presence.
Qin Jingfei didn't enter the room. She thought back to her childhood. Her mother had read to her when she was little and those were some of the fondest memories she had. As she grew older and climbed higher in the career ladder most of her time was spent working. She had forgotten the joys of reading until now.
She quietly sat down outside the room and lent against the wall with her legs folded underneath her. She listened to Li Xiuying's calming voice and let herself escape into a world of adventure.
.....
The Gilded Bonsai restaurant
Jiang Huan was sitting across the table from her rescuer. She was playing with a napkin in between her fingers.
Jiang Huan: ”Mr. Tang we've been here for hours and I feel like I've just been talking about myself. I want to hear more about you.”
Tang Tingzhe: ”Huan, I told you already call me Tingzhe. I would much rather hear about you. Everything about you is interesting and your voice is mesmerizing.”