Regret.
‘I’m sorry,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. He regretted he didn’t take Qiao Tan Yuan home last night. ‘I made you scared’
‘I’m not scared,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said and held Gu Jiao Wu’s hand. ‘Don’t speak. You’ll be at the hospital soon.’
The paramedics carried Cheng Yi and Gu Jiao Wu into the ambulance.
In the ambulance, Gu Jiao Wu didn’t let go of Qiao Tan Yuan’s hand.
‘Tan… Tan Yuan, believe me,’ Gu Jiao Wu said and fell unconscious.
‘Big brother Jiao Wu…’ Gu Jiao Wu’s a.s.sistants called.
‘Gu Jiao Wu, you can’t die!’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. ‘Can you hear me? You can’t die!’
Qiao Tan Yuan cried on Gu Jiao Wu’s hand.
At the hospital, the paramedics wheeled Gu Jiao Wu into the emergency operating room.
‘Miss, you can’t come in with the patient,’ the nurse said.
‘I’m begging you, let me stay by his side,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
‘You can’t come in,’ the nurse said. ‘Later will let you know the patient’s condition.’
Gu Jiao Wu’s a.s.sistants braced Qiao Tan Yuan’s shoulders before she collapsed. They helped her sit on a chair outside the operating room.
‘Big sister, big brother will be OK,’ the a.s.sistants said at the same time.
Qiao Tan Yuan didn’t feel the cold or physical pain. She didn’t think there would be a day Gu Jiao Wu would protect her, take a bullet for her, hold her hand and asked her to believe him. What did he want her to believe? Did he want her to believe he loved her?
Qiao Tan Yuan silently cried. She hated herself for not admitting to Gu Jiao Wu that she never stopped loving him. The truth was the first time he asked her to come back to him, her heart softened and she wanted to be with him. But her pride stopped her. She didn’t want to be rejected by the same man again. She was scared he was only curious about her for a moment, and his curiosity would fade.
Qiao Tan Yuan convinced herself that he was treating her better because of Xiao Bao. The seven days on the island with him were the happiest days of her life. It was just the two of them, they laughed, ate, bickered and spent time together. If back then she knew he would take a bullet for her, she would have believed him. Life was cruel, she couldn’t undo her regret.
Gu Jiao Wu’s a.s.sistants pa.s.sed tissues to Qiao Tan Yuan, and offered comforting words.
‘Big sister, don’t cry,’ the first a.s.sistant said. ‘Big brother will be sad if he knows you’re crying.’
‘Big sister, big brother cares about you the most,’ the second a.s.sistant said.
Qiao Tan Yuan blew her nose, and dried her eyes.
‘Really?’ Qiao Tan Yuan asked.
‘Yes,’ the first a.s.sistant said. ‘We’ve followed big brother for many years. We’ve never seen big brother panicked before. You’re the first woman to make him panic.’
‘When you were sleeping at the airport, big brother was tired but he held you in his arms and wouldn’t let anyone disturb you,’ the second a.s.sistant said.
‘Everything on the island from food to clothes, big brother instructed us to prepare them for you,’ the first a.s.sistant said.
‘Today big brother gave us one hour to find big sister,’ the second a.s.sistant said. ‘Lucky your phone was on otherwise we would be dead.’
‘Big sister, we’re telling you all this because we want you to know big brother wouldn’t want you to cry,’ the first a.s.sistant said.
‘Um, I won’t cry anymore,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
Qiao Tan Yuan remembered crying wasn’t going to solve anything. She was going to wait for Gu Jiao Wu to come out. She should believe nothing was going to happen to Gu Jiao Wu.
A long time later, a doctor came out of the operating room.
‘Who is the patient’s family member?’ the doctor asked.
‘I’m his wife,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
‘We’ve removed the bullet from the patient’s lung,’ the doctor said. ‘But he lost a lot of blood. We’ll send him into the ICU to be monitored. If in twenty-four hours he doesn’t wake up…’
‘What will happen?’ Qiao Tan Yuan asked.
‘Then we’ve done all we can for him,’ the doctor said.
Nurses wheeled Gu Jiao Wu to the ICU. A ventilator was connected to Gu Jiao Wu to help him breathe. Qiao Tan Yuan followed Gu Jiao Wu to the ICU, and forced herself not to cry.
Qiao Tan Yuan sat beside Gu Jiao Wu’s bed in the ICU, and held his pale hand.
‘Gu Jiao Wu, you have to wake up,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. ‘Can you hear me? You have to wake up.’ She kissed his hand. ‘If you want me to believe you then wake up, and I’ll believe everything you say.’
A while later Gu Jiao Wu’s a.s.sistants brought dinner for Qiao Tan Yuan.
‘Big sister, you need to eat something,’ the first a.s.sistant said.
‘I’m not hungry,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
Qiao Tan Yuan couldn’t eat while Gu Jiao Wu was unconscious.
‘Big sister, you need to stay healthy,’ the second a.s.sistant said. ‘How can you take care of big brother if you can’t take care of yourself?’
Qiao Tan Yuan let go of Gu Jiao Wu’s hand. She went through the motions of eating.
‘Have you two eaten?’ Qiao Tan Yuan asked. ‘You two can go eat and rest. I’ll stay here with him.’
‘Big sister, we’ll call someone to escort you home to rest,’ the first a.s.sistant said. ‘We’ll stay here with big brother.’
‘No,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. ‘I need to stay here to take care of him.’
‘What about big brother’s daughter?’ the second a.s.sistant said. ‘You’ve been missing for a night and day. Your family would be worried about you, and big brother’s daughter must be looking for you.’
Qiao Tan Yuan thought about Xiao Bao, she couldn’t neglect Xiao Bao but she didn’t want to leave Gu Jiao Wu.
‘Big sister, we promise we won’t leave big brother’s side until you come back tomorrow morning,’ the first a.s.sistant said.
Qiao Tan Yuan nodded her head. After she ate her dinner, Xiao Lam drove her home.
‘Xiao Lam, how did you know Gu Jiao Wu and how long have you followed him?’ Qiao Tan Yuan asked.
Xiao Lam kept his eyes on the road.
‘Big sister, you should wait for big brother to wake up and ask him to tell you himself,’ Xiao Lam said.
‘You’re right,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
Qiao Tan Yuan needed to believe Gu Jiao Wu was going to wake up.
When Qiao Tan Yuan arrived home, everyone was awake because they were worried about Qiao Tan Yuan.
‘Tan Yuan, are you hurt anymore?’ Mrs Qiao asked.
‘Mum, I’m OK,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. ‘I’m going to shower and sleep. I need to wake up early tomorrow.’
‘What happened?’ Mrs Qiao asked.
‘Mum, it’s hard to explain everything now,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. ‘Gu Jiao Wu saved me. He’s injured, and staying at the hospital. I’ll check on Xiao Bao first. Tomorrow I’m going to stay with Gu Jiao Wu at the hospital.’
Mr and Mrs Qiao looked at each other confusedly. They didn’t know why Gu Jiao Wu was injured, and what hospital Gu Jiao Wu was staying at.
Qiao Tan Yuan walked into the nursery, Xiao Bao was asleep and Mrs Chu was watching over Xiao Bao.
Qiao Tan Yuan walked to the bathroom, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her cape was stained with blood. She understood why Xiao Lam, and everyone else wanted her to go home. The sight of Gu Jiao Wu’s blood made her nose and eyes sting. She forced herself to stay strong. She showered, dried her hair and slept.
That night Qiao Tan Yuan dreamt about the days she spent on the island with Gu Jiao Wu. They swam, gazed at stars, cooked and cleaned together.
‘Gu Jiao Wu…’ Qiao Tan Yuan murmured.
Qiao Tan Yuan woke up from her dream. She looked at the clock, it was nine in the morning. She ran into the bathroom, brushed and dressed in the clothes Gu Jiao Wu bought her.
Mr and Mrs Qiao wanted to visit Gu Jiao Wu at the hospital with Qiao Tan Yuan. But Qiao Tan Yuan didn’t want them to know Gu Jiao Wu was shot. It was enough they looked after Xiao Bao for her.
End of Chapter 111