"I don"t deserve the credit for all of the above. The entire concept and vision was that of w.a.n.g Wei. I only helped in its execution," she said with a shrug. His face darkened at the name of his nemesis.
"I have known you since you were four years old. The habit to underplay your contribution is not new. I know what you are capable of and I have always been proud of your accomplishments. That"s a different matter that I may or may not have verbalised it enough in the past," he finished sheepishly.
Since Jia Li had married right after her studies, she had never ended up sharing her growth and achievements on the work front with Tang. There never had been an opportunity to do so. So it felt strange listening to him acknowledge her efforts.
"Don"t give me that expression. I am not one of the poor unsuspecting women who look at your puppy eyes and melt. It"s time for you to start getting ready. Uncle Xie has gone to get the discharge process started. We are only awaiting the doctor"s final approval," she said with mock severity.
Tang flashed his dimple at her and said, "few moments ago, it sounded as if you are jealous of other women in my life. Are there a lot of them around me? And if so, why don"t you simply marry me and stake your claim. No one will bother laying their eyes on a poor married man, then."
Jia Li simply rolled her eyes at his theatrics and started tidying up the room.
"I am really really looking forward to spending some quality time with you," he said earnestly.
Jia Li"s hands trembled under the cardigan which she was folding. Thankfully, she had been facing the window and by the time she turned, both her heartbeats and her facial expressions were in neutral mode.
"You are saying this now. Wait till you are exposed to my caregiving side. Brace yourself for lots of herbal medicines in your soups. Only home-cooked fare for the next seven days," she threatened lightly.
He stood up and walked towards her. Taking the sweater away from her hands, he held them in his own.
"I am ready for anything and everything that you send my way. I promise to face it all unflinchingly," he replied in all seriousness.
She looked at him intently, before muttering, "I wish these words had come my way earlier."
"Did you say something?" he questioned.
She shook her head and told him that she would go look for Uncle Xie, in case he needed her help. Truth be told, she wanted to have a word with Tang"s father alone and hadn"t found an opportunity up until now.
"The discharge papers are ready. I was coming to the room only now. Is Tang alright?" Mr. Xie let loose a volley of questions when he saw Jia Li walk towards him.
"He is fine. I came looking for you because I need to speak with you," she said firmly.
At his raised eyebrows, she continued, "I know that Tang needs all the support from people around him. I am also aware that I am the last one who should be near him. But seems like fate has played a funny joke on all of us."
Mr. Xie gave an impatient snort at the underlying sarcasm in her words.
She hurried on irrespective of his reaction though.
"I am here to tell you that I will do whatever best that I can to help him recover. In the meanwhile, I need you to promise that you would ensure that an episode like the one between Mei Zhen and me isn"t repeated. If she tries to insult or a.s.sault me one more time, I will not care about anyone"s health or reputation, like you didn"t care about mine or my parents all those years ago. It doesn"t matter to me whether she comes and stays at the hotel during Tang"s stay here as long as she remembers the reason why we are doing what we are doing. That"s all that I needed to say," with that, she walked away, leaving a startled Mr. Xie behind.
Mrs. Xie had silently witnessed the entire scene between her husband and Jia Li. She admired the girl for her grit. Over the past year, she had come to a quiet realisation that Mei Zhen was probably not the right partner for her son.
She was a sweet girl but seemed to have no clue to Tang"s inner thoughts. As for him, he treated her no different than the rest of them, at an arm"s length. Looking at his naughty antics and happy face since yesterday, she had realised how drastically had he changed in the past few years, without anyone else realising it. And that there was only one person capable of bringing him out of his sh.e.l.l.