Milady's Fine Gentleman

Xue Guangxi was allowed by the doctor to ride on a wheelchair and pay a visit to his sister at the ICU, albeit it"s more of just getting a glimpse of the patient that was lying inside.

Chen Linyun stayed by the wife"s side all throughout the ordeal. He only left the hospital to get a few hours" rest at the accommodation they had rented near the hospital.

It was the second day since the accident happened.

The brothers-in-law, Xue Guangxi, and Chen Linyun managed to exchange some small talk when the former visited his sister in the ICU. He couldn"t look Chen Linyun in the eyes.

"Brother-in-law, I am really sorry this happened. It was really an accident. It"s my fault, I know… I don"t know if you can forgive me because I cannot even forgive myself." Xue Guangxi started.

Chen Linyun sighed. "It already happened, Guangxi. Let"s just move on towards the future. As long as she wakes up, anything is d.a.m.n fine with me. As long as she returns to her normal happy self, I can take anything."

"If you"re really sorry, Guangxi, show it. You won"t be a child forever. You won"t easily get away with your wrongdoings forever, and your petty wrongdoings won"t be as petty. There will come a time when you won"t be able to escape the consequences of your actions. And there will come a time when you will regret what you have done, whether you"ve done it thoughtlessly or intentionally."

"Especially when you turn eighteen, Guangxi. You"ve been spotted driving recklessly in one of the cameras in the highway. You could have been easily charged with reckless driving resulting in physical injury. That"s a serious charge answerable by law. You can get away with it because you"re still a minor, but look at the impact of such charge! People you hold dear were hurt, even yourself. Even if we weren"t injured physically, Guangxi, you"ve hurt us emotionally, mentally. We"re so disappointed in you. We believed in you, Guangxi. We trusted you. That"s basically the reason your parents granted you your own flat, your own car, and have appointed you to the COO position. It"s mainly because we believe in you and your sense of responsibility."

He sighed again. "What happened? Were you given too much freedom? Too much authority and power at such a young age?"

"Your family tolerates you and pampers you to compensate for the harrowing incident of betrayal and the abduction you experienced more than a year ago. They wanted you to somehow forget about it, and be as normal as kids your age. They don"t want you to feel lacking or limited in anything."

"But that incident changed me." Guangxi retorted sadly. "Especially when she reappeared. Su Jingjing." He squinted his eyes. "It"s my fault, I lost judgment. I lost my clearheadedness."

"I"ll fix this, Linyun-ge." Xue Guangxi committed with high resolve.

Chen Linyun tapped Xue Guangxi on his shoulder. At this point, he was standing while Guangxi was seated on his wheelchair. "Just do it, Guangxi. Don"t make people promises. Make the promises to yourself. That way you have to answer to yourself, too."

"En."

After that exchange, Xue Guangxi returned to his room. On his way back, he stopped on his tracks after seeing someone he had not thought would come or pay a visit.

It was Kang Sola.

He rubbed his eyes once, twice. She was still there standing – fidgeting – in front of his room. She had not noticed him yet.

"Sola." He called.

The girl turned her head towards the voice. She was surprised to see him there as well. She thought he was inside the room.

"Guangxi." She returned the greeting. "I came to visit. I"ve heard what happened from Butler Lee. He visited me as well, and asked a few questions."

"I hope you weren"t bothered much by Butler Lee." Xue Guangxi retorted.

"Not as much as I was bothered by you." She laughed lightly but stopped in the middle of her laugh. She became awkward again.

"Thanks for the visit. I really appreciate it. Let"s get inside my room." He led the way, although in his wheelchair. Kang Sola followed closely behind. With his good left leg, he stood up and with the help of one of his guards, he settled into the bed.

"I thought you don"t want to see me ever again." Xue Guangxi pointed out the girl"s last words to Guangxi.

"Yes, that"s right." Kang Sola confirmed. "However, since the night your sister talked to me, I have been thinking…" There was apparent sadness in her voice and façade at the mention of "your sister". Her statement was also laced with nostalgia.

"Do you know what she said to me that night?" The boy shook his head. She continued. "She apologized on your behalf, and asked me to rethink if our friends.h.i.+p is still worth saving."

Xue Guangxi"s mouth twitched. "She really went to that extent." It was an understatement even if he would say a million times that he was touched by the gesture.

He started wailing again, shamelessly, even in front of Kang Sola – the girl he claims he likes.

Kang Sola pa.s.sed on some tissue paper, perturbed. She had not seen Xue Guangxi lose it, just like that.

"So did you really rethink about it? Is our friends.h.i.+p really worth saving?" Xue Guangxi genuinely showed his utmost interest in between sobs. His puppy eyes were earnest.

"Yes. I"m sorry, too, if I"m so unforgiving. It was silly of me, too, on hindsight." She dryly laughed, then turned dead serious. "But that"s the only thing I can give you – friends.h.i.+p."

"Up until now, I cannot reconcile the idea of you liking me. Is that really so? Tsk. I thought you were only playing around with me, like how you were with other girls." She scratched her cheek broodingly. "But when you knelt in front of me and cried, I realized you were serious. It gave me chills, actually."

Kang Sola was another one of those who can expertly rub salt on wounds. Xue Guangxi"s ears were twitching form her commentaries.

"Just be mindful of your words. Sometimes your mouth can be dirty and hurtful too. You should know I have my own temper to uphold."

"Right. Right." Xue Guangxi had stopped wailing. He found his calm again in Kang Sola"s words, although she had rubbed more salt on his wounded pride.

"About… About the mistake…" Kang Sola"s voice went from confident to soft. She slightly bowed her head. "Let"s forget about it. I understand you were drunk, and you"ve apologized enough for it… Let"s just think it didn"t happen at all. Or else it will only impair our friends.h.i.+p." She was blus.h.i.+ng about the topic. Certainly, she wasn"t comfortable discussing it.

"Okay."

"Let"s shake on it. To renewed friends.h.i.+p." They shook hands.

"I"ll be off now. I have to visit Xu-jie, too. The visiting hours will be over soon. If it"s not awkward, I"ll introduce you to my boyfriend some time. His name is James." She smiled.

Xue Guangxi sighed a happy sigh. This girl. "Better be contented as a friend. She might be doing this whole effort for Xu-jie, after all. It might not be easy for her too."

"En. Sure."

"I won"t be able to accompany you there. I just went there. That"s where I came from when you saw me in the corridor earlier. Let one of my guards take you there."

"Okay, get well soon, Guangxi."

"Thank you, Sola."