Chapter 9

Xiulan grew close to the couple over the 4 days of her stay in the hospital. She had subconsciously started looking out for them. They too were treating her well.

On the last day of her stay in the hospital, after the doctor said she could go home, Xiulan made her way towards Shen Fei's ward. She gave a slight knock on the door and pushed it open. What greeted her was a thick atmosphere with another man inside the room along with the couple. The couple noticed Xiulan and their mood visibly brightned. Shen Fei called out "Xiao Lan, come inside. What are you standing at the door for?" Xiulan hesitated. She said "Aunt am I disturbing you guys? I can just come after some time..." to which Lan Yi replied "No, you just came at the perfect time. Take a seat, we need to introduce someone to you."

Xiulan came in, closed the door shut, walked towards the empty chair beside Shen Fei. She looked at the man beside Lan Yi. He had the same distinctive eyes as Shen Fei. He was tall (although he was sitting down) had sharp features. He had a good build and a gloomy aura. Somehow when she compared him to Lan Jingfeng, she found Lan Jingfeng to be lacking something. She realised her thoughts and frowned.

Lan Yi looked at her and said "Xiao Lan, this one here is our son, Lan Zhuo." He turned to Lan Zhuo and said "Son, this is Miss Zhang Xiulan, the person I helped a few days ago." Lan Zhuo finally landed his gaze on her. She met his gaze. Xiulan felt as if her soul was being sucked away by those irises and as if her deepest secrets were exposed like it's nothing. She felt something stirring in her heart but she didn't know what that was. She broke eye contact, took a deep breath and said "Hello Mr. Zhuo, nice to meet you."

Lan Zhuo continued looking at her. Finally he just nodded in acknowledgement. His phone rang so he excused himself and went out of the ward to pick the call.

Shen Fei was sneaking glances at Xiulan and had a sly smile on her face. She looked at Lan Yi and came to a sort of silent agreement. She turned to face Xiulan and said " Xiao Lan, you finally met our son. What do you think of him?" pulling Xiulan out of her daze. She looked at Shen Fei with a confused look in her eyes. Since when did her opinion about Lan Zhuo matter to them? He was their son! She smiled and said "Honestly aunt, it's hard to judge. Your son has the fabled perfect poker face. He left an impression on me but it was neither a good one nor a bad one. I know one thing though. People who meet him even once will remember him for a long time."

Xiulan didn't notice Lan Zhuo leaning on the door frame as she had her back to it. When she noticed Lan Yi looking towards the door, she realised that he must be standing there. But oddly she felt unafraid. Ignoring her racing heart, she turned back and saw him, paused and turned around to see Shen Fei.

She slowly stood up and said "Aunt Fei, I will take my leave now. I just got discharged and wanted to say goodbye to you and uncle. I promise to swing by the hospital everyday, since I am free for a few days. And...." She went forward and grabbed Shen Fei's hand gently. She placed her other hand on top of it, made the best expression and said very convincingly ".....i want to tell you something. When I was a kid, I was a huge scaredy cat. I had to undergo and operation for appendicitis but I had a huge phobia for knives, scissors,.. anything sharp for that matter. After continuous coaxing from my parents, my 2 close friends, and a professional plus pain being the main driving force, I agreed. After the operation, I am living well. I even overcame my phobia for knives! so what I am trying to say is operation is not a bad thing. if undergoing an operation will help you lead a better and a longer life, why to you have to say fate has given you a short time to live? When the operation is successful and post operative procedures are successful, even fate will bow down in resignation! So do your best Aunt! I know that you will do well. All you need is a little courage and a strong will."

After Xiulan said this, Shen Fei fell into deep thought. Xiulan indicated to Lan Yi that she is leaving and collected her things. Lan Yi signaled to Lan Zhuo to send her off. Xiulan slowly moved out of the ward. She turned around to see Shen Fei again and looked at her expressions. It was first self deprecating then it slowly changed to willingness and hope. Xiulan smiled and thought to herself that if aunt could stay like this until the operation could end, her chances at complete recovery will increase. At these thoughts Xiulan's smile widened.

Lan Zhuo was observing all this silently. He had just gone out to relay a few instructions to his personal assistant. He was skilled at handling codes. He hacked into the database and dug out information about Xiulan in record speed. When he read that she worked at Lan Corps, his mood had darkened significantly. He contacted his spies at Lan Corps and requested information about Xiulan. His spies reported about what had happened without missing a single detail except for What happened inside her cabin and what made her quit. He then hacked into the company's surveillance systems through his phone and saw what happened in her cabin. He felt waves of fury rose within him. He was a bit startled by it. He had never felt any emotions towards anyone except for his parents and his 3 best friends from the time they were betrayed and this was the first time in more than a decade. He calmed down and went back to the ward. His mother was asking her opinion about him. He was curious about her reply so he just stood there silently. When he heard it, his Impression of her changed for the better. He had thought that she came close to his parents with ulterior motives in the beginning. When she turned back to look at him, Lan Zhuo thought she was going to back track on her words but surprisingly she didn't do that. Lan Zhuo felt an unexplainable emotion stirring within his heart. He forced it down and followed her out as his dad indicated.

When they were walking through the corridor, there was a stifling silence. Neither side initiated any form of conversation. When they entered the elevator, the silence became downright deafening. Suddenly Lan Zhuo turned towards Xiulan and said "You quit working at Lan Corps. didn't you? What do you plan to do next?"

Xiulan was startled. Never had she thought that he would be the one to talk first. His voice was deep and had an unexplainable charm. She mentally shook her head, looked up and said "I need to recover first. I plan to rest for another week before I start applying for jobs. But I have an inkling feeling that Lan Jingfeng, that crazy bastard might have blacklisted me. So applying to similar companies is a no go. I don't have experience in other jobs nor capital to start my own company of any sort so all in all, I am temporarily doomed."

Lan Zhuo was surprised to see her openly call names to her precious boss without a care in the world. He was confused. He had never met a woman who was this straightforward before. He asked "Don't you think you'll get into trouble by calling your ex-boss names if he comes to know about it?" Xiulan replied "What is the worst that could happen? kidnapping? I have been learning self defence for some time now so I can 2 to 3 guys no sweat. Rape? I will kick him where the sun doesn't shine and run away. He wants to track me after that? I will disguise my self and walk around so he will have a hard time finding me."

Listening to this, Lan Zhuo had an urge to protect her and keep her hidden from the world. He mentally shook his head to calm down. He looked at her and said "Since you know this, you should also know that given his personality, things will not be this simple."

Xiulan suddenly felt the weight of the situation after hearing his words. Honestly, she didn't know what to do. She neither had money nor fame. She was just a wage earner so how could she contend against that crazy guy? Just as she had thoughts if immigration, the elevator chimed and it's doors opened to the ground floor. Xiulan came back to her senses. Just as she was about to alight, Lan Zhuo grabbed her wrist and pulled her back in. He pressed the button which led to the basement car park. As soon as the doors opened, he maintained his grip on her wrist and brought her to his car.