Chapter Five

Floating aimlessly in the salty ocean, Faye glanced up at the bright stars, watching them blink into the darkness one by one. Her heart sped erratically with an unknown fear, while her limbs remained motionless, allowing the current to take her where it pleased.

Soon all the stars were gone, leaving only the bright full moon that slowly, but surely, turned blood red.

Gasping for air, she tried to fight the current, to roll over and swim to land. Yet only darkness surrounded her no matter where she looked.

A large wave crashed over her body, submerging her in the warm depths. Deeper and deeper she was dragged under, until the red moon faded from view and only darkness engulfed her, much like the stars above.

Unable to hold on to her breath, her mouth opened, gasping for air, to be filled with not salty water, but warm metallic blood.

An increasing heat emitted from her brain, alongside a sharp pain.

She couldn't die yet. Teddy was still at the villa, waiting for her. Her Grandparents are in the capital, due to work, thousands of miles away.

Drenched in sweat, she opened her eyes to unfamiliar surroundings.

"C-Claire," her voice cracked as she spoke, tearing her throat like a thousand razor blades.

"Shh... don't talk," a calm, comforting, masculine voice called out in the dark room.

Footsteps sounded hurriedly along the wooden floor, then the small lamp lit beside her illuminated a slightly haggard, but still handsome face.

"Uncle Wu," the name was spoken faintly, but still heard by the other party. The man's steps faltered as he let out a self-deprecating laugh.

Faye could only shake her head. No. This man was a younger version of Uncle Wu.

Finding herself ensnared by golden eyes, her heartbeat quickened audibly on the monitor.

His eyes resembled a wild cat, looking down at its prey. Her fear only lessened when she noticed the traces of dark circles underneath. Thin, reddish lips curved into a faint smile, contrasting against his pale skin; which Faye bitterly noted was both fairer and in better condition than her own. Even his hair looked longer, silkier, and straighter than her frizzy auburn waves.

Despite these feminine features, his bone structure of high cheekbones, sharp jawline, and straight nose, alongside the lean muscles showing under a tight sports top, were all that of a very attractive young man.

"Yichen?"

Uncle Wu had a son and a nephew he raised as a son. Though the last time she had met the two of them, they'd been gangly teenagers, she recalled those golden eyes like it was yesterday. Back then they had only looked at her pestering to play with annoyance.

This was the man her grandmother wanted to set her up with. The man that ran this hotel.

Yichen stood over the edge of the bed, holding a bottle of water in one hand, stroking the stubble on his face with the other. He'd not long showered, but wanting to rush back he hadn't shaved. Seeing her mistake him for his father, he made a mental note to shave later.

"Drink this, Lixin will come to check up on you soon," he unscrewed the cap and passed it to her.

After drinking enough to soothe the pain in her throat, she took another look around the large, modern, and luxurious bedroom, that had been invaded by doctor's equipment. This wasn't her own hotel room.

"My friends?" Though her throat pain was soothed, it was still there, so she limited her words.

"Safe and sound, they're eating now," Yichen sat on the edge of the bed, by her feet. Though he sat so far, his minty shower gel assaulted Faye's nose.

"Where am I?"

Yichen's hand anxiously clutched the bed sheet for only a brief moment, but Faye still caught it from the corner of her eyes.

"My room."

Yichen was filled with doubt and panic. He had just assumed it would be fine, she was unconscious and unable to form her own opinion.

Claire had certainly given him an earful, but Lixin had helped negotiate. He showed pictures on his phone of them with the Fraizer elders, explaining the story of Yichen being the hubby chosen by the elders.

Though Claire was from Britain where arranged marriages were uncommon, she was also an heiress and knew the way of the elite families. She gave him a thumbs-up and told him to work hard.

Even though he knew of Claire's personality, considering she had loyally remained by his wife's side for many years in his dream, it was still a shock to endure it in this life, for the first time.

Luckily that bastard of an ex she had was also still unconscious, being pandered to by that white lotus, so there was no resistance there.

Daichi and Haofang were both Bai Cheng's subordinates and once given the task of guarding his penthouse atop the hotel, they were just happy for their young miss to get preferential treatment.

Part of him was hoping when she woke, she would have dreamt of the future like him, so they could resume their relationship as if it had never ended. But the dream was the dream and reality was reality. The guarded way she looked at him, alongside the erratic beat of the monitor, told him everything he needed to know.

He had to work hard from now on.

Lixin interrupted the awkward atmosphere, carrying his supplies.

"You're awake," he smiled warmly, doctor mode officially on, "I'm here to change your drip, and check on your wound."

Faye's eyes drifted to her wounded leg, after moving it she no longer felt any pain.

When Yichen stood up, to carefully move the blanket to expose her leg, Faye reached and pulled off the gauze to only see dried blood nothing else.

Yichen speedily went to clean away the blood, sighing when she flinched at his touch. Unfortunately, all of his tender care was simply ignored.

Lixin wasn't too surprised by her wound healing as his cousin's bite wound had also healed completely not long after he woke.

Then Leo, who woke earlier, seemed to also be in perfect health once waking. It was purely against the science he had spent two-thirds of his life working hard to learn. As a nerd, he was very interested to see what else had changed inside of them.

Faye was having a mental breakdown. She was sure that the wound would take weeks or even months to heal. Now it was completely gone as if a figment of her imagination.

"How long was I asleep for?" She asked, moving her leg again just to make sure it was truly healed.

Instead of feeling exhausted and in agony, like she had when she'd recovered from the virus a few months back, she only felt a little dehydrated with a sore throat and headache.

"A day," Lixin replied as Yichen simply looked down at her deep in thought, "your friend Leo woke up a few hours ago, fully healed also."

At the mention of his name, the two faces opposite Lixin twisted with different emotions.

"How are the others?" Faye noticed Yichen's expression and wondered how much of her dirty laundry did her grandmother air, whilst selling her off to others?

"Claire has volunteered to help me in the clinic, David is with our head of security and the others are in their room," Lixin openly explained.

David was an IT genius, but a total introvert. So Faye was a bit surprised to hear he had volunteered. It truly was the end of the world.

"My family?" She asked after taking another long drink.

"Jean and Chris will be flying from the Capital with my father, your brother is still in the Villa with a few friends up North," Yichen finally found the courage to speak.

Faye nodded, then let herself sink back into the bed, attempting to relax.

"When can I leave for my brother?"

Yichen flinched at her question.

"No need, he and his friends are safe in the villa for now, you just focus on healing up for now."

Faye glanced at her fully healed leg, then back at him with a frown, "how long do I need to wait?"

Now she was out of immediate danger and her friends were safe, her heart ached to join her clumsy little brother. He was barely sixteen and alone with five other fifteen to sixteen-year-olds, under just the housekeeper and bodyguard's care.

"Give it a few days," Lixin stepped in for his gege, with the 'authority' of a doctor. Even though he was just a pitiful surgical resident. "Your body has gone through some big changes, with your permission I'd like to take your blood, and make sure everything's okay." He planned to compare it to Leo and Yichen's samples. Sure he couldn't run any blood tests, but he could at least use his microscope and computer for now.

Looking at the cannula in her arm, Faye nodded, "Sure."

Lixin swiftly changed the saline drip, ensured it was running smoothly, then drew some blood from her other arm. Pleased he had completed all the tasks easily, he left as quickly as he entered, feeling Yichen's cold glare somehow burning a hole in his back.

"W-why am I in your room?" Awkwardly she asked, forcing herself to sit back up.

"Keep your arm straight," Yichen ignored her question and reached out to gently move her arm straight. The cannula had been placed in her inner elbow and he worried she would mess up the line or pull it out like in the dream.

Feeling his large, warm hands on her clammy skin, Faye froze like a deer in headlights. She was not one to welcome contact with others, much less contact with people she barely knew. Family connections and elders planning a wedding aside, he was a complete stranger to her.

"My clothes," Faye bit her lip, noticing that her wetsuit and t-shirts had been replaced with a nightie and underwear.

"Claire washed you down and changed them," Yichen pulled his arm back reluctantly, maintaining his distance, "my suite is the most secure place in the building, I've brought all your belongings up here."

"Oh," Faye, for once, was stumped for words.

Didn't he reject the blind date? Why was he acting like they were skipping the blind date and already co-habiting?

"After this drip ends, I'll get Claire to help you shower and change." Seeing the beads of sweat dripping down her neck, under her nightie, to her collarbone... Yichen glanced away, feeling uncomfortable at the memories of the dream in his head.

It was the middle of winter, so he had wrapped her up warmly under a thick duvet. Even if wiped down earlier, she'd had a fever for over a day. He'd only been that way a few hours and had been miserably itchy and uncomfortable when he woke. If only he could help her bathe in Claire's stead...

"I'm not an invalid," she groaned, wishing she could just take the cannula out and go shower now before he offered to shower her himself. "Can I have something to eat?"

Yichen felt like smacking himself on the head. Of course, she would be hungry. Daichi informed him she'd barely eaten for days.

Yesterday she'd eaten only a few biscuits and a meal all day, now it was time for the evening meal, which he'd already eaten. Her stomach must be eating away at itself by now.

"I'll go make you something light," he muttered before rushing out of the room, leaving Faye to stare at the closed door with complex thoughts.

During the discussion with her grandparents over a video call, she notified them of her decision to stay in Australia after the holiday and asked them to help her pick a university to continue her studies in Marine Biology. Australia was one of the best countries to study this subject, one of the elder's selling points.

Elated, the old pair of foxes had rambled on a lot about future plans, one of which was to meet this young master for a blind date and settle down here for good.

Since Teddy would inherit their parent's organization, and her education/career was on a totally different path, they'd planned with her parents to give her their inheritance.

The two elders had always wanted a little girl but were stuck with one grumpy son. So as the only little girl in the family, she was thoroughly doted upon by the pair, much to both her's and Teddy's dismay.

They vouched for his personality, saying they'd helped raise him since his mother was absent. Over and over they ranted about all his excellent points (rich, tall, handsome, no messy exes, mature, ready to settle down...) at every excessive point they made, they'd make sure to make sly digs on the 'scum' she thankfully dumped.

Unable to refuse her grandmother when she lamented "How can I die in peace without seeing my baby safe in a good marriage?" she agreed to the blind date.

At first, she had been reluctant, hoping to just politely turn him down behind the elder's back. When they last met he had treated her no better than air, acting lofty and above the whole world.

Then after seeing his photo, and seeing just how handsome and mature he had grown over the decade, she found herself fantasizing about the what-ifs...

Only when she got here, her grandmother told her this very young master had declined, saying she was too young for him, so they'll talk again when she finishes her studies.

So what was this complete change of attitude of his? Had she magically aged ten years whilst she slept?

He acted no different than her grandfather, a henpecked husband...

Or was he just being kind, because of their family connections?

By the time Yichen returned with a bowl of red date congee, fresh juice, and a cup of sweet milk tea, Faye had found herself well and truly down the rabbit hole.

Setting the tray on the bedside table, Yichen perched on the edge of the bed, still careful to keep their bodies from touching.

"Y-Yichen," Faye found herself unable to dwell longer, "in what capacity am I, am I in your room?"

Despite mentally preparing himself for this question, his heart still fluttered with anxiety.

Unable to stay calm before, he went over this day in his dream as he'd cooked the meal according to the recipe book. Not once had he ever actually cooked for himself, but he had learned in the dream from this very cookbook and the results had pleased her.

With his mind fresh with thoughts of the dream, he knew this was the question she would ask. Everything was going according to that dream, so much so, he felt more burdened by the minute.

That dream had turned into a nightmare. A nightmare he did not want to relive. So what could he do to change it? Everything outside of himself was out of his control. He could only change himself into a better man, to give his loved ones a better life.

What had he said, what had he done when she asked this question before? He'd coldly told her he was looking out for her as his family was indebted to hers. The world was messy and dangerous, his father thousands of miles away on his yacht, and the last thing on his mind was romance.

Yet over the months, he saw the yearning behind her eyes as she followed beside him. Only when he felt they were safe, did he eventually relent to his bodily urges.

But that was all it had been to him, stress relief in that hell, with the most suitable person.

Then she got pregnant three years later. Two months after that shock, the hotel was destroyed and she and their unborn child died.

When he was young, his father would always tell him, "Only when you lose something, do you truly begin to cherish it," whilst talking of his mother. And he, the stupid son, grew to be that very trash who had learned his father's lesson the hard way.

Wanting to do something, anything, to calm the ache in his heart at her death, they returned to the hotel to recover her body finding nothing there.

A few years later, she was the very thing that ended his human life, starting another, horrific life, until he finally met his end.

"Y-Yichen?" Her soft, mousy voice interrupted the painful memories destroying his sanity.

Like a tiger, ambushing its prey, he pushed her into the mound of pillows, crashing his lips on hers.