Song Sheng kissed her pa.s.sionately when their entire family walked in. Qian Meigui pulled away from him, flushed and embarra.s.sed. But Song Sheng enclosed his forearm around her waist, gently tugging her against him, grinning smugly.
Song Jinyi raised a brow, "So when did this exactly start?" she asked curiously, stepping closer.
Qian Meigui and Song Sheng glanced at each other, not knowing how to answer, but then they began to laugh. Song Sheng was rubbing her back soothingly when Qian Meigui shook her head. "Who knows?" she responded. Qian Meigui and Song Sheng kept going back and forth about their feelings for years. They couldn"t date as they were afraid of the risks, fearful of what their family would think, worried about what the other would have thought if they confessed.
But now, they were together.
Yang Rei stepped forward, her mouth gaped, nearly falling to her knees when she saw Song Sheng awake and well. Qian Meigui stepped aside. For the past haunting six weeks, Yang Rei maintained a steady composure, mainly to soothe the worries of her other children. But to her, Song Sheng was her eldest son, and in her eyes, he was still her baby boy.
Yang Rei embraced Song Sheng lightly and gently, crying over his shoulder. Song Sheng smiled as he attempted to stroke her back, but he was too sore, so he clumsily patted his mother"s back whispering something in her ear that none of the others could hear.
Afterwards, Song Jinyi and Song Jun properly greeted and spoke to him privately as Qian Meigui leaned against the doorframe. Song Ren then stood in front of her, "So the reason why you weren"t seeing any other men was that you and Sheng were f.u.c.king?" Qian Meigui blushed red, covering half her face. "What kind of question is that?" She responded. Song Ren chuckled, "Yup. You two have so much in common," she remarked. Qian Meigui was puzzled, but Song Ren shook her head, laughing.
Afterwards, Song Ren took Qian Meigui by the hand to meet with Song Sheng.
"Brother, you are going to be discharged in a few days," Song Ren said to him.
"Did you marry that Su boy?" he asked her.
Song Ren was surprised. She shook her head. "No. Why?"
"I"m sorry," he admitted.
Song Ren smiled. "Please, Sheng. I was waiting for you to wake dimwit. It didn"t matter how long it took." Song Sheng smiled before he stretched out to ruffle Song Ren"s hair. She then smacked his hand away, removing her hair tie to comb out the strands of her long black hair with her fingers. "Listen, my hair means everything to me." Song Sheng laughed at her. He then looked at Qian Meigui, smiling before taking her hand. It was Song Ren"s cue to leave. Song Ren stepped away as re-tied her hair, walking away gracefully.
"Will you stay with me tonight?" he asked Qian Meigui with a deep magnetic tone. She nodded. "Hmm."
Everyone stayed in the hospital room with Song Sheng until the night had fallen. Qian Meigui was finally left alone with him to have a conversation. A nurse had left him a tray of food when Qian Meigui began to cut the chicken into pieces so that he could eat comfortably without straining his body.
After he finished eating, he asked, "Can you take me for a night stroll?" Qian Meigui went to ask the nurse if he could go for a walk, and the nurse permitted them, so long as he took a walker.
Qian Meigui then helped raise him, and to steadily take hold of the walker, but she flushed as she realized that his entire backside was exposed. "Can you tie my hospital gown?" Song Sheng asked her. Qian Meigui nodded, steadily grasping the strings of his gown.
She began to tie them around his body when she stole an appreciative look. He was tall; his back muscles remained shaped. She felt compelled to kiss him, so she leaned in, planting one at the dip of his lower back, at the beginning of the arch that curved down. Song Sheng s.h.i.+vered, gritting his teeth as he turned around to face her. He appeared to be pained. "I"m sorry," she said with shame. Song Sheng took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. "Let"s go before we end up tangled in these sheets," he said, getting a head start. Qian Meigui flushed. But she had to remember that his body wasn"t ready for a heavy exercise.
Qian Meigui walked next to him as he used the walker to help him regain his steps and balance on his legs. After weeks of not walking, to him, it felt numb. He studied medicine for years, so he knew exactly how to take care of himself.
Qian Meigui and Song Sheng went outside where the street lamps shone brightly, illuminating its rays on the sidewalk around the hospital. He then chucked the walker to the side, leaving Qian Meigui baffled "!!!"
Song Sheng then tried to stay up straight when Qian Meigui grasped his waist, pressing their bodies side by side. He settled his arm around her for a better grip. "Better," he said. Qian Meigui clenched her teeth. "You said you would use the walker." Song Sheng shook his head; his dark locks fell over his eyes beautifully. "I didn"t promise."
Qian Meigui then paused their walking. She then pushed the strands of his hair to one side of his head. "How is that you look even more handsome after staying in a hospital bed for weeks?" she asked, genuinely puzzled. Song Sheng shrugged playfully, revealing his dimpled grin. "You look like a playboy," she remarked. Song Sheng roared a laugh, but then he bent to grab on his stomach. "Does it hurt?" she asked him. Song Sheng shook his head. "Just don"t make me laugh." Qian Meigui bit her lip, trying to prevent herself from saying anything that would hurt him.
Song Sheng began to walk towards a bench to rest, still placing an arm around her. They gazed up at the stars, reminiscing the past. "We don"t have to hide in the dark anymore," Qian Meigui blurted out to him. Song Sheng nodded. "I didn"t have to tell anyone, but they knew when I wracked my brain for weeks while you were gone," he said. Qian Meigui smiled grimly. "I"m sorry, Sheng."
Song Sheng faced her puzzled. Qian Meigui"s lips began to quiver in a sob. He used his free hand to reach out, using his thumb to wipe away her hot tears. He knew what she was apologizing for. She must have blamed herself for everything. But he did not regret a thing.
It nearly gave him a heart attack when he couldn"t find Qian Meigui and Song Ren had disappeared along with her. When Song Jun gave him their new location, he did not hesitate to hop in the helicopter ordering Rong Ming to move the aircraft.
He noticed someone aiming to shoot her, and impulsively, he went to s.h.i.+eld her, not giving a d.a.m.n about what happened to him, so long as she was safe.
"It"s not your fault," he began. "I would do it over again," he a.s.sured Qian Meigui. Qian Meigui pouted shaking her head. "Not necessary. It"s over now."
Qian Meigui then updated him about the lengthy trials and how she had to confess who she was because it was relevant towards the court case. Many people were surprised; others had thought what happened to her was something out a film. "Everyone knows who I am," she finished speaking.
"You"re Qian Meigui," he said, calling her name out loud.
She nodded, "Mhm."
"Would you prefer Qian Meigui or Song Mei?" he asked her casually. But it stirred something in her heart. "What are you referring to?" she asked him while being too shy to look at him. "If you were to take my name one day, you"d still be Song Mei."
Qian Meigui never thought about that before. Her real name was something of the past, whereas Song Mei was a name that pulled her towards the future. But she never wanted to forget about that past; she wanted to embrace it. She then finally made a choice. "I want my legal name to be Qian Meigui, that"s who I am. But if we are to get married one day, then Mrs. Song should do," she said with a smile.
Song Sheng smiled, grabbing her chin to give her a deep kiss. "That shall do," he said against her lips. The kiss grew deeper under the moonlight, as most things hide in the night. But to Song Sheng and Qian Meigui, the dark didn"t mean hiding; it meant to embrace.
Afterwards, Qian Meigui walked him back to the ward, curling up next to Song Sheng, sleeping until dawn broke again.