44 THE SMALL BOX THAT HOUSED THE RING (1/2)
Xuan Tianmei was sitting up on her hospital bed when Xuan Tianyi came to visit. She was reading Su Yang's crime novel.
”Hey,” Xuan Tianyi muttered and sat on her bedside.
”Hey,” Xuan Tianmei gave her brother a small smile. ”When I woke up and didn't see you here, I was very upset. I thought you were so mad at me you didn't care if I was dying or not.” She closed the book and clutched it tightly to her chest.
Xuan Tianyi stroked her hair with his right hand. ”I'm sorry I left you here all by yourself. It's just that Hua Zhendan was here. I couldn't ask him to leave. Let's face it. He's probably the reason I still have you with me. But I just couldn't stand to be in the same room with him.”
”Are you still mad at me?” Xuan Tianmei asked, pouting.
”Are you crazy? I was so terrified I almost lost you that I forgot what you did.” Xuan Tianyi continued, ”It's okay.”
”Why are you mad at President Hua? This isn't his fault.”
Xuan Tianyi shook his head. ”No, it's not that. It's just that I found out he has someone secretly stalking me.”
Xuan Tianmei gasped. ”You found out about Su Yang?”
”You know about her?” Xuan Tianyi asked as he withdrew his hand from his sister's hair.
Before her brother could misunderstand, Xuan Tianmei hurriedly shook her head. ”No. I met her just the other day when she brought you home.”
Xuan Tianyi's facial expression soured. ”What do you mean by she brought me home?”
”She said you were drugged at the bar by some creep and you passed out. So, she brought you and put you on the couch to sleep.”
Xuan Tianyi thought about it for a moment, then nodded his head. ”I was drugged. So, that's why I couldn't remember how I got home.”
Xuan Tianmei nodded in agreement.
”God, I remember now. The moron told me he drugged me.” Xuan Tianyi chuckled.
”Huh?”
”Well, not exactly. We were sitting at the same table. Then I excused myself to use the toilet. When I returned, he told me I shouldn't have drunk from the bottle I left unattended. He asked what I would do if he had drugged me.”
”And he already had.”
”Yeah.”
”Well, you're lucky Su Yang was there then.”
Xuan Tianyi stared at his sister. He didn't want to be too hard on her considering the fate she had just suffered. In a gentle voice, he asked. ”Why didn't you tell me about her?”
”I couldn't.”
”Why not? You're my sister. You're supposed to take my side before anyone else's.”
”I couldn't tell you for three reasons.” She paused briefly. ”First, you weren't talking to me. Second, it wasn't my place to tell you least I caused more problems between you and President Hua. Third, she told me she'd kill me if I told you.”
”Kill you? Is she crazy?”
”She's really scary. Have you seen her hair?”
”What happened to her hair?”
”It's horrible. Almost as if no-one in the world has cared to run a comb through it since she was born. If someone can treat their hair like that, imagine how ruthless they'll be to other people.”
Xuan Tianyi laughed.
Happy her brother was laughing, Xuan Tianmei smiled. ”I'm glad you forgave me.”
”I forgave you a long time ago. I just didn't want to speak to you.”
”Oh! Well then, I'm glad you're talking to me now.”
Xuan Tianyi nodded. ”You know... The doctor said we could get reconstructive surgery for the burnt part of your face.”
”Wouldn't that be expensive?”
”Don't worry about it. I'll take care of the expenses.”
”You're a big shot model now, right?”
Xuan Tianyi smiled. If only his sister knew how broke this big shot model was. He couldn't tell her though because he couldn't let her worry about anything. Wondering about the burns on her face, he asked. ”Does it hurt much?”
She shook her head. ”Not so much. The doctors gave me something for the pain. It hurt terribly at night though. I'm lucky President Hua was here. Whenever I got uncomfortable, he did everything he could to get me comfortable.”
Surprised, Xuan Tianyi straightened his back. ”He spent the night here?”
”He didn't sleep even a wink.”
”He's a better brother than I am.” Xuan Tianyi bit his lower lip to suppress the tide of emotions he felt for Hua Zhendan. Love, anger, and hatred. All at the same time.
”No-one can be a better brother than you.”
Xuan Tianyi snickered at his sister's attempt to make him feel good about himself. ”You know that's a lie. There's nothing good about me.”
”That's true.”
”Where's he now?”
”Who? President Hua?”