39 THE TOXIC RELATIONSHIP (1/2)

Xuan Tianmei shook her head, ”Barely. I was standing right in front of you when you picked up the call. Don't you remember?”

”Shit!” Su Yang cursed when she remembered. She relaxed almost instantly. ”Oh well.”

”Yeah,” Xuan Tianmei nodded.

Su Yang shrugged. ”Sometimes, I forget I'm not the only person in the world. And I just get absorbed in my stuff. That's probably why I didn't notice you there.”

”So... You're his bodyguard?” Xuan Tianmei pointed to the couch.

Su Yang nodded, ”No need to ask questions about what you've heard. It's all true.”

”Wow!” Xuan Tianmei couldn't hide her astonishment. ”That makes a lot of sense. I mean your strength and everything. And the way he's passed out. So, he was drugged?”

”Are you done with your yapping?” Su Yang asked coldly.

Xuan Tianmei nodded enthusiastically. Surprisingly unaffected by Su Yang's change in attitude.

”You can't tell your brother what you know.”

”That'll be our secret,” Xuan Tianmei made a sign like she was zipping her mouth close.

Su Yang frowned, then smiled as an idea struck her. Slowly, she walked towards Xuan Tianmei.

Xuan Tianmei stared at Su Yang wondering what she doing.

When Su Yang got to where Xuan Tianmei stood, she pulled Xuan Tianmei close to her with one arm.

Xuan Tianmei swallowed a blob of saliva. Being this close to anyone was unnerving for her.

Su Yang pulled Xuan Tianmei closer so her lips were less than an inch away from the latter's ear. Then, she pulled out a knife from her jacket and pressed it lightly against Xuan Tianmei's neck.

Xuan Tianmei widened her eyes in shock. She hadn't expected any of that.

”If you tell this to anyone,” Su Yang whispered in Xuan Tianmei's ears. ”I'll kill you.”

Xuan Tianmei nodded as much as the knife pressed against her neck allowed her.

”Good girl,” Su Yang whispered before pulling away and walking out of the house. This time, Xuan Tianmei didn't stop her for tea.

Xuan Tianmei walked up to the couch. After sighing deeply, she sat on the edge and ran her hand along the side of Xuan Tianyi's pale face. ”I don't know what I was thinking keeping such a big secret from you in the first place. It's my fault you're hurting so much now. I'm sorry, little brother.”

Knowing how furious Xuan Tianyi would get if he heard her call him little brother, she smiled sadly. With a teardrop rolling down her face, she leaned in and kissed Xuan Tianyi on his forehead.

***

As the elevator headed for the floor that housed Yun Peng's home, Yun Peng's heart trembled with anger. Anger so strong he felt murderous. A feeling he hated more than anything.

When he stepped into the sitting room of his house, Yun Peng almost immediately caught sight of Xiao Maiguo leaning on a couch. One hand over his torso, the other inspecting the damage done to his face.

Yun Peng made a beeline for the bathroom. After which, he strolled to the kitchen, fetched a glass of water and handed it to Xiao Maiguo when he got to where he was sitting. ”Here,” He said.

With great difficulty, Xiao Maiguo sat up and accepted the glass.

Yun Peng sat beside him and pulled out a white cellophane from his pockets. The cellophane had four drugs in it. All of different sizes and shapes.

”What's it?” Xiao Maiguo asked.

”Painkillers.” Yun Peng replied.

Xiao Maiguo nodded, then swallowed the four tablets.

”I also drew you a hot bath. Relax in the bath for a while, okay?” he said, then touched Xiao Maiguo's face gently. ”You'll be fine before you know it.”

Xiao Maiguo nodded. As he stood up, he held his torso and mouthed a small 'ouch'.

”Do you need help?” Yun Peng asked.

Xiao Maiguo shook his head, ”It's okay. I can manage.”

When Yun Peng heard the bathroom door close, he hurried into the bedroom. He picked up Xiao Maiguo's clothes and rummaged through them until he found what he was looking for.

With furrowed brows, he stared at the sachet of medicine he had retrieved from Xiao Maiguo's jean. It was a very powerful sleeping medicine. One tablet would make the world's worse insomniac sleep in less than an hour. Two tablets was the perfect roofie. Anyone would pass out in a few minutes and probably wouldn't wake up till the next morning.

Yun Peng squeezed the sachet into his pocket, then leaned on the headboard and closed his eyes. He only opened them a few minutes later when Xiao Maiguo left the bathroom.

He stared at Xiao Maiguo, then sighed.

Xiao Maiguo's torso was reddened and his face was swollen. A heel mark perfectly etched in it.

Yun Peng pulled out the drugs from his pocket and showed it to Xiao Maiguo, ”What's this doing in your pocket?”