A week trickled by and Zhao Lifei was still unconscious."Why hasn"t she woken up?!"
Yang Feng was growing impatient at the lack of progress. He anxiously paced back and forth in her hospital room. He had walked this same path repeatedly day and night during the past seven days.
He gritted his teeth and his jaw tightened. He hated this place. He hated the familiar smell of the hospital disinfectant. This place reminded him of the last time she was hospitalized.
Two times. He had arrived too late two times. And both times, someone had been able to harm her.
He had run his hand enough through his hair out of frustration that it had remained perpetually disheveled. He had always had a hard time falling asleep, and with Lifei"s current condition, he had spent almost every minute of the past week awake.
The composed, domineering, and calculative CEO image he was known for was nowhere in sight. Yang Feng was beyond exhausted. His dark circles had gotten worse and there were heavy bags under his eyes. Even he felt like he had aged a decade, waiting for her to wake up.
He lifted his head to glance at the motionless woman on the bed, his heart p.r.i.c.kling when he saw her beautiful eyelids were still shut. He couldn"t help but think back to the night he had found her in the warehouse.
The relief he had felt to have her alive in his arms was immediately replaced by terror when she became unconscious and no matter how much he tried to wake her up, her lids were tightly closed. He had never felt so terrified of losing someone until that night. When he had reluctantly released her, he found himself covered in her blood.
It was the second time she fainted before him, but this was the first time he thought he might actually lose her.
That night, she had been frighteningly pale and her fingers had started to turn blue.
Because of her excessive blood loss and bruised body, he was horrified when he watched a new team of doctors enter the surgery room mid-operation. The injuries she sustained on her head, neck, and abdomen placed her in critical condition.
As he anxiously waited outside the operating room, memories of the night flashed by his mind. He would never forget the way his heart stopped beating when her eyes rolled back and her body slumped against his. He would never forget how she looked at him, heartbroken with his rejection, as his feet remained glued to the spot.
He had spent the last seven nights lying awake on the extra bed he had them arrange in Lifei"s hospital room, regretting all of his decisions. He regretted coming so late and not reacting in time to comfort her. Her distraught expression at his initial lack of action was one that would scar him for the rest of his life.
- - - -
Two weeks later.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Zhao Lifei groaned, growing more and more agitated at the obnoxious sound. Why can"t it shut up?! Just as she moved her hand, she winced in pain. She felt as if her body has been run over by a truck. Everything hurts, especially her head.
She heard a loud crash in the background. Something huge seemed to have broken from the impact. What followed after were shuffling of clothes and a thud on the wall, as if a body was shoved onto it.
"It"s been two weeks and you still haven"t stabilized her condition? How incompetent and useless." A familiar voice roared, resembling a provoked predator.
"Feng-ge, you have to calm down—"
"S-sir, please calm down—"
BAM! Something roughly collided on the wall, it sounded as if someone had punched it.
"Feng-ge! Stop it! The doctor can"t rush the healing process—"
"Shut up." He snarled and roughly shoved his younger sister away from him. She yelped, stumbling over her high heels. Yang Yulong who was standing quietly at the side helped stabilize her as his eyes narrowed at their brother.
"Feng-ge, you"re going too far." Yang Yulong frowned at the barbaric behavior of his older brother. They had encountered so many problems in both Yang Enterprise and the Underworld, yet, this was the first time he saw his older brother lose his composure like this. Bloodshot eyes, disheveled hair, and crooked suit, Yang Feng looked like a mess.
For as long as Yang Yulong remembered, his older brother was the calm before the storm, the deadly silence before the disaster. Even as a kid, he had remained stoic through anything.
"Incompetent doctors shouldn"t work at First Hospital. Gaonan, have this b.a.s.t.a.r.d"s license revoked—"
A quiet voice spoke out. "That"s...not necessary…" She could barely speak properly, her voice timid due to her scratchy throat from an entire week of dehydration.
Every head in the room snapped to the hospital bed, where Zhao Lifei barely had her eyes opened.
Zhao Lifei tilted her to head to look at the Yang siblings, their similar appearances had varying expressions on them. Yang Ruqin looked as if she was on the verge of tears as her hands came up to cover her mouth in disbelief. Yang Yulong wore a nonchalant, nearly bored, expression as if he didn"t care if she woke up or not.
Yang Feng, on the other hand, had a completely different expression from his younger siblings.
She had lost weight from having to rely on infusions to keep her hydrated. Her face was no longer swollen but she still had a deathlike pallor on, while her forehead and neck had been bandaged. Her hair was an oily mess from not being washed for two weeks.
Despite her flawed appearance, Yang Feng looked at her like she was an angel who descended from Heaven. He looked awestruck by her.
On the other hand, Zhao Lifei was surprised to see his appearance. He was still handsome, but gone was the polished man she knew. His perfect suit was wrinkled, his hair was all over the place, and his eyes looked distraught. It was obvious he had been deeply upset for a long time.
Zhao Lifei shuffled in her position. She awkwardly eyed the brute that was on the verge of strangling the poor doctor.
"G-good morning." She croaked out, reminding them that she was real.
"Oh Feifei…" Yang Ruqin sniffed, nearly sobbing on the spot as she began to walk towards her Feifei, arms spread for a hug. "It"s two in the afternoon." She added, overwhelmed by emotions.
"I"m so glad you"re awake— OW!" She cried out when Yang Feng shoved her aside, rus.h.i.+ng to Zhao Lifei.
Before anyone could move, he had wrapped his arms around her.
Zhao Lifei stiffened in surprise, her arms laying limp on her side. He was hunched over, hugging her as if she was the only thing that mattered in the world. Her ear was pressed to his chest and she could hear his erratic heartbeat. She felt his arms quiver and tighten around her, refusing to let her go.
Her eyes softened. He was scared of losing her, just as much as she was scared of losing him.
"Yang Feng…" Her voice m.u.f.fled by his bear hug.
"I"m not letting you go." He said, already guessing what she would say.
"But I"m thirsty." She softly coaxed him until he finally relented.
"Thirsty for that D." Yang Ruqin grumbled under her breath, earning a smack on the shoulder by Yang Yulong who couldn"t believe his younger sister"s dirty mind.
"Seriously, where did you learn to harbor such bad thoughts?" He hissed at her as she glared back at him.
"None of your business!" She responded, crossing her arms.
Yang Feng moved to sit by her bedside while s.h.i.+fting his arms to loosely wrap it around Lifei"s waist, giving her s.p.a.ce to breath. He then tilted his head to look at his obnoxious siblings.
"You heard her. She wants water." He instructed his wealthy siblings as if they were one of his maids.
Yang Yulong lazily turned to Yang Ruqin. "You heard him. Go get your best friend some water."
Her jaw dropped at his words. "No, stupid, he was talking to you! My Feifei needs her best friend and boyfriend here! You can leave!" She refused to walk out, not until she got a proper explanation. Neither of the men in the room wanted to tell her what happened to her best friend for her to sustain such horrible wounds.
Yang Yulong rolled his eyes, staring down at her who was half a head shorter than him. "I"m older than you, Xiao Qin. Regardless if he told me to fetch it or not, you still have to go." He was a proud senior bullying his junior.
Yang Ruqin glared at him, refusing to back down. She remained stubbornly rooted to her spot.
Chen Gaonan sighed. He decided to be the bigger person here. It was time to put an end to their childish games. Did they not realize the boss"s woman just woke up?
"I"ll get it." He walked out to fetch the d.a.m.n cup of water that started the entire argument.
He came back in less than a few seconds and handed the cup of water to Yang Feng. "The water dispenser was literally outside of the door." Chen Gaonan resisted the urge to roll his eyes. With the way they complained, one would think it was on the other side of the world.