Truly, Madly, Deeply

Chapter 6

'Too bright,' Wei Ying thought, as he tried to use his hand to cover his eyes. But he couldn't move them. He slightly lifted his head from the bed and stared at the two figures holding onto each of his hands and realized that he was in the clinic. He remembered running out of the Conference and holding Lan Zhan's hand while he was throwing up but after that, everything was hazy.

He stared at his sister and Lan Zhan, both looking really peaceful and innocent as they slept. He tried to free his hands as slowly as possible without waking either of them.

Wang Ji was startled awake as he felt movement under his cheek which was placed on Wei Ying's hand. He looked up to see Wei Ying trying to pull his arm away from his sister's hold, not realizing that Wang Ji was now wide awake.

"Wei Ying."

Wei Ying's eyes snapped to Wang Ji like a rabbit caught in headlights. "Oh Lan Zhan! You're up. I'm so sorry for waking you."

"No sorry. I don't mind. Are you feeling better now?" he whispered, keeping in mind that Yan Li was still sleeping.

"Oh I am fine. Don't worry about me. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in the Conference?" he frowned.

"The conference ended yesterday. Almost everybody left by this afternoon. Except for us," Wang Ji replied.

"I have been sleeping for two days?!" he exclaimed, causing Yan Li to stir and look up with half lidded eyes.

"Oh A-Xian! You're up!" smiled Yan Li, now wide awake.

"I have been sleeping for two days?!" he yelled again, but this time to his sister.

"Yes. Healer Wang told us to let you sleep. Are you feeling better?" she asked.

Wei Ying nodded and then the entire room was engulfed in an awkward silence. The three stared at each other wondering what to say, when Yan Li stood up.

"You two should talk. I'll be right outside if you need me," she said softly.

Wei Ying stared at her with wide, panicked eyes and gave her a look that said, 'Don't leave me alone, Shijie!'

She just gave him a smile and after picking up the various purple and blue cotton fabrics she was using for the babies' clothes, she walked out.

Wei Ying continued to stare at the door, completely avoiding Lan Zhan's gaze. He knew that this talk was inevitable.

"Wei Ying," started Wang Ji. "Look at me."

Wei Ying finally made eye contact with Wang Ji.

Wang Ji was not one to beat around the bush. So he directly dived into the topic. "Wei Ying, I didn't leave you that morning in Yi City."

"Then where did you go?" he asked, almost accusingly.

"You were fast asleep and I thought that you wouldn't be waking up for another hour or two. So I thought I could surprise you with breakfast," he paused to stare at Wei Ying, who still looked dubious. "I know how hungry you get when you wake up and I knew of a really good restaurant nearby. A part of me didn't want to leave, scared that you would wake up in my absence but it was still too early for you to wake up. Too early. So I thought, if I hurried, I could be back in about half an hour."

Wei Ying stared with wide eyes, feeling guilty for being stupid about the whole thing. "So that's why the inn keeper said that you ran like you had committed a crime."

"Well, I did not run away like I had committed a crime. But I was in a hurry," he said with a twitch of his lips.

"This is all my fault then, Lan Zhan," said Wei Ying.