Chapter 199 - Calm and Alone
The two of them are now caught in a stalemate. Albert Chen insisting to bring her to the clinic while Xiu Mei who is at a loss how she could decline without alerting him about her current situation.
Aside from her colleagues on the top floor, no one else knows about her current situation. Besides, Albert Chen"s background is still not quite clear for Xiu Mei so she wasn"t entirely comfortable in letting him know that she couldn"t speak.
She continued ignoring him, but in the end, she came up with a decision. Giving him a dead stare, Albert fell silent as he puzzledly looked at her. And while he was still in confusion, Xiu Mei heartlessly kicked his s.h.i.+n making Albert jolt in pain. While he wasn"t looking, she didn"t hesitate to push him out of the elevator making the man stumble slightly on the floor.
Without any further ado, she pressed the close b.u.t.ton of the lift so that he won"t be able to come in anymore.
It only took Xiu Mei less than five seconds to arrive at the underground garage and as soon as the elevator doors opened, she sighed in relief after being able to escape from the clutches of that man.
Gosh, that was truly nervewracking ah! She was almost caught by him. Dang it, she could only pray that hopefully, Albert didn"t notice anything wrong at all.
...well, probably aside from the fact that she literally pushed him away after kicking his s.h.i.+ns. She held her hands together and prayed. Praying to all G.o.ds and G.o.ddesses out there to please listen to her prayers.
After that eventful visit to the office, Xiu Mei went straight home. In the morning, she didn"t feel the absence of the two men at all because she immediately busied herself with preparing Lu Chen"s lunch in the kitchen and after packing them up, she immediately left again to go to the office.
But now that she was left to spend her time all alone while waiting for them, Xiu Mei felt different. Leaving aside their helpers who are busying themselves with their daily ch.o.r.es, Xiu Mei couldn"t help but sit on a bench just outside the garden door entrance.
She sat, basking under the blinding and hot sun but instead of feeling heavy, she weirdly felt calmer. She leaned back relaxedly while staring in a daze at the small garden, her thoughts completely blank and empty as if she didn"t need to worry about anything.
She felt weird because when she was with Lu Chen and Lu Qiang, she felt comfortable and safe. And when she was with other people just like a while ago, she felt nervous and slightly anxious. But now that she was left alone, she felt an indescribable calm wash over her entire being.
She wasn"t worried about anything at all. She was just purely enjoying and appreciating the view in front of her at the moment. The tranquil atmosphere didn"t last very long.
Xiu Mei was startled when she heard the sound of a light growl behind her. She froze on her seat.
She didn"t even need to think what it was—who it was. She was already quite sure that it was either the tigress or the lion who made that sound.
Fudge! How could she even forget that the two pets are staying here in the garden ah?!
She held her breath as she listened carefully to the sound and movements behind her.
Instead of suddenly running away from there, Xiu Mei didn"t move a single muscle at all. She was afraid that she would startle and agitate the two animals if she suddenly runs away in panic. Even though Lu Chen already told her many times before that they were both well trained, she still couldn"t help but remember the fact that these two animals are two of the strongest animals in the jungle.
The heavy footsteps on the gra.s.s made a soft sound behind her and it only stopped when it was already close to her.
Xiu Mei could clearly feel the warm breath radiating beside her. She peeked at the animal side-eyeing it and saw that it was Lucia. And as soon as she turned to take a peek at the animal, coincidentally, the tigress was also staring at her figure.
She hiccuped in surprise.
The animal and human stared at each other like that for who knows how long. Xiu Mei slightly trembled as she fell into a slight panic.
Lucia won"t suddenly jump on her, won"t she?
Contrary to her expectations, Lucia didn"t jump nor glare at her at all. Xiu Mei was too tensed to notice that the tigress was just simply staring at her without any malicious intent behind it. Lucia lightly kicked the gra.s.s before walking slightly past the human woman and jumped on the empty s.p.a.ce beside the bench Xiu Mei was sitting on.
She curled up to fit at the available s.p.a.ce and licked her paws. And then after glancing at Xiu Mei for a second, the tigress buried herself in her front paws almost sprawled out just beside Xiu Mei.
She was sitting so close to her that Lucia"s fur is already brus.h.i.+ng on Xiu Mei"s thighs. Xiu Mei stayed still for a little longer before her hanging heart was put down and accepting the idea that Lucia probably didn"t have any intent to hurt or attack her.
And so, after staring at the napping animal beside her for a few more minutes, Xiu Mei withdrew her gaze and stared at the view of the garden again. She slowly emptied her thoughts and threw away her worries at the back of her head. Even ignoring the presence of the animal beside her.
She returned to her state of calm from a short while ago. She was in a daze for so long that she only snapped out of her trance when she felt her palm getting slightly wet.
She lowered her head and looked at the furry animal licking her palm continuously. She only felt scared for a few seconds before she lifted her hand and brushed her hand carefully on the tigress" head.
Xiu Mei wondered what was wrong. Hmm, maybe because she was feeling hungry again?
"Are you hungry?" She whispered to the animal. The tigress softly growled under her breath in response to her question.
Xiu Mei froze for a second. Not because of the animal"s growl but because of her voice. Her eyes quivered as soon as she heard her voice. She didn"t know she would even be this happy to hear her own voice at all. She smiled, and so her mood lightened up and she didn"t feel scared anymore at the animal before her.
"Does that growl mean you"re hungry?" Xiu Mei tried to communicate with Lucia. Lucia softly roared again and so Xiu Mei was still confused with her response.
So… was she hungry or not hungry?
It seems like Lucia could understand that this female human didn"t understand her at all. And so, she could only do what she wanted to say right now.
Lucia jumped off the bench and bit on the hem of Xiu Mei"s clothes. Albeit baffled, Xiu Mei let herself be dragged by the tigress to wherever she wanted her to bring. Her footsteps halted when she saw King"s figure at a distance. The tigress roared again when she saw her stop and so Xiu Mei could only continue her steps surrendering to the stronger one at the moment.
The tigress only stopped when they arrived under the shade of the tree. Lucia immediately curled up and sat down on the gra.s.s while King, the lion, noticed their presence and followed after them.
As soon as Xiu Mei sat down beside the tigress, she finally noticed the approaching lion and stiffened when he stopped beside her. He ignored her reaction and comfortably sat under the shade just like Lucia.
Xiu Mei finally realized that… she was somehow trapped in between the two animals beside her. She wondered. Her imagination ran wild as hundreds of thoughts floated in her head.
Is this some kind of plan they concocted to eat her up? To make her lower her guard and trap her so they could feast on her??
...Okay, maybe she was thinking way too much. Her imagination was running too wildly.
She sat stiffly under the shade for quite a while, and the two animals sensed her fear very well. But instead of moving away, as if they were in tacit understanding, King and Lucia snuggled closer to her. Because both animals are warm-blooded, the two of them together made her slightly hot.
But this warmth also calmed her nerves slightly, especially with their actions towards her. She may be scared of them but she wasn"t stupid. She remembers that Lucia and King are an intelligent pair of animals. And the two of them snuggled to her probably in an attempt to comfort her.
She couldn"t help but smile at their actions.
"Thank you." She murmured. The two animals just yawned beside her as if they didn"t hear her at all. She stared at them for a little longer before she s.h.i.+fted her eyes towards the blue sky while her other hand is stroking Lucia"s fur.
The sense of calm returned.
Somehow… she didn"t feel alone anymore.