"I am sorry if I embarra.s.sed you with my behaviour in front of that guy but I just need you, want you next to me, no one, not even air between us," he said, vulnerability and longing clearly visible in his eyes. Jia Li thought that her heart would melt and slip out of her body. But she also knew that she couldn"t afford to be swayed by these eyes. The love in them belonged to another, she had absolutely no right on it. All she had to do was persevere for the next few hours. Determined, she changed the topic slightly.
"Don"t give me that look. Your innocent act won"t work on me. Because of you, I didn"t have a single friend in school, apart from Li Jie and Chung. The girls were jealous of me and stayed away. As for the boys, poor things never stood a chance with the three of you acting as my unwanted bodyguards," she complained.
Tang grinned unabashedly, almost proudly at her statement. She reached out to punch him hard on his shoulder in retaliation. Not the one to miss an opportunity, he pulled her on top of him and planted a kiss on her nose.
"Which boyfriend in his right mind would let a girl like you be in the company of another guy? As I have said enough times before, had Li Jie and Chung not been your friends before you knew me, I would have kept them away as well," he said proprietorially.
She shook her head in exasperation and tried to wiggle out of his grasp.
"My fractured hand is on your back right now. If you try and push it away, you might make it worse. So stop struggling," he said, guiding her head to his chest with his other palm.
She surrendered to his will momentarily and placed her ear next to his beating heart.
"Do you know how jealous I used to be of your close knit friends.h.i.+p with Li Jie? The way he looked at you and took care of you, I thought for the longest time that he was in love with you. Thankfully for me, his preferences were different. I shudder to think that if you had to choose between his love and mine, what would have been your answer," his voice held an unspoken question.
"I am not going to reply to some silly hypothetical question to soothe your ego, so stop fis.h.i.+ng," she replied with a wry smile.
"You are no fun. Aren"t you here to take care of me? How will I get better if you don"t show any consideration towards both my physical and mental being?" he sulked again.
Wordlessly, she got up and moved away. Propping a pillow for his arm on the side, Jia Li pulled the blanket over him and sat back on the chair next to him. Wrapping her hands around his, she gave him a smile and asked him to go back to sleep.
A contented sigh escaped Tang as her hand"s warmth seeped into his own. After years, his soul felt complete.
The nurse found the two of them fast asleep, an hour later. It was time for Tang"s medicine but she felt reluctant to wake him up. Their faces had a serene expression on them, making her hesitate.
"I will come back in some time to give him the meds," with that thought in her head, she turned around and banged into a chair kept near the door.
Tang woke up with a start. His first thought was Jia Li"s well-being and he was relieved to find her fast asleep, her head hanging off the chair. He realised that a nurse stood in the room with a tray in her hand, a slight guilty expression on her face. He raised a finger on his lips, motioning her to stay quiet and beckoned her closer.
Wordlessly, she helped him pop the medicine in his mouth and left quickly post that. The cute closeness of the couple was making her feel lonely. She decided to make a dinner plan with her boyfriend as soon as she finished with her s.h.i.+ft tonight.
Tang looked at Jia Li"s cheek which had turned rosy due to pressing it into the chair"s arm. With a smile, he pushed back the wayward hair which had fallen in front of her eyes. He couldn"t recall when was the last time that he had spent such peaceful time with her.
"It hurts to even think of how much time has been wasted in useless matters, with irrelevant people, time which should have been spent in countless moments like these. Now, now more. He didn"t want to live his life in regret anymore. He would do whatever it takes to bring happiness back in hers & his life ," he vowed quietly to himself.