Heartline

Chapter 11: My poor heart aches

Three weeks. It has been three weeks since Yue had seen Dylan Wang. There were rumors circulating that he was already going on dates with Sun Qian which made her heart hurt more.

Thankfully, Li JiaQi was there to comfort her and also another person who seems to order her a blueberry muffin every morning.

Doctor Darren Chen.

Shen Yue doesn’t know when their friendship started but she was definitely thankful for the warm presence of the kind doctor.
Still, she couldn’t help but compare him to Dylan. The way they laugh, how they stared at her, and how their attitude is the complete opposite of one another. Darren has this somewhat calm and gentle attitude while Dylan is playful and sometimes, a little bit intimidating aura around him. Nevertheless, Yue was thankful towards Darren who seems to be good at observing people and if they need a reality check every once in a while.

“It seems like this is the first time I’ve seen your real smile, Yueyue.” Darren said to her one Friday afternoon. It was his coffee break and they were both seated in a booth from the café.
Darren told her his most embarrassing moment during his internship at Shanghai Hospital and for the first time, in a while, Shen Yue managed to snort which followed by a fit of giggles.

Her eyes wrinkled in delight and she threw her head back.

It was the first time, in a long time, that Yue managed to laugh and smile like that; and that’s all thanks to Darren Chen.

“How can you be an idiot and a doctor at the same time?” Yue playfully teased him which made him pout like a child.

Just then, Darren’s beeper went off, an indication that he is needed in the hospital.

“I need to prepare for a surgery I have in an hour.”
Yue nods in understanding and they both stood up at the same time.

“See you around, Doctor Chen.” Yue smiled at Darren who seems to be lost in thought.

“Yue, are you free tomorrow night?” this question seems to catch Yue off guard.

“Why?” She tilted her head
Darren then reached inside his white coat and handed to her a silver envelope. Shen Yue peaked inside which reveals to be two tickets to a musical show at the newly renovated Shanghai Broadway House for the opening night of Les Miserables. Yue blinks then looked at Darren who was already staring at her.

“Are you asking me out on a date?”

“What if I was?” Darren challenged her which made Yue blush. She looks back at the tickets then to Darren which she gave him a small smile.

“I’d love to go. I’ve never seen a Broadway show before.” This made Darren smile, revealing his dimple which makes Yue want to poke it.
Darren’s beeper went off again which made him scratch the back of his neck and mumbled an apology towards Yue.

“Bye, Yue.” Darren hurriedly walks to the exit but stops in his tracks when Yue spoke “See you tomorrow night, Darren. I’m looking forward to it.”
Darren did a slow half-turn, a frozen half-smile on his face when he glances over his shoulder.

“Me too, YueYue.”

---

Shen Yue looked at herself in the mirror as she clipped her bangs to the side and curled her straight short hair. She was dressed in an elegant yellow, off shoulder formal dress with matching three inch yellow shoes.

I look pretty

She smiled to herself. She took a deep breath but something seems off, she can’t help but feel like this should have been the dress she was wearing when Dylan took her on that Michelin star French restaurant.

Yue cursed herself for even thinking about Dylan. She needs to go out and see other people again.

Besides, this might be exactly what she needs. A good and calm guy in her life. She then receives a text from Darren saying that he’s waiting for her outside of her apartment.

She took one last look at the mirror then grab her black purse and the envelope containing the tickets then rushed outside. She saw Darren leaning back at his white Porsche, wearing a silver coat and black slacks looking charming as ever.

She walks towards him, a smile evident on her face as he looks at her.
“You ready?” he asks her as he opens the door for her to get in.

Dylan never did that

She clicks her tongue to stop herself from thinking about Dylan Wang and nodded her head to Darren.

---

The thing with Yue, is that she’s never been a fan of musicals and opera. She just doesn’t like it and she feels bad that in 10 minutes of watching the show, while they were seated at the best sit in the theatre, she was falling asleep.
How people enjoy singing while acting their emotions out would always be a mystery to her. She pinches herself to stop from falling asleep.

There was 10 minute break and the first thing that Yue did, was go straight to the bathroom and splash herself with cold water. She then reapply her make up then went back to her sit.

When she sat next to Darren, he whispered to her ear “Is this boring you?”

“Nope, why?” Yue stutters

“You’ve been pinching your arm all night.” Yue warmed up in embarrassment

“I’m sorry, I don’t like operas and musicals.” She bit her lip then jumped when her phone buzz.

Yue carefully took out her phone and saw that one of her highschool friends, Sun Ning texted her saying they were at the bar. She hasn’t seen her highschool friends in so long that she misses their presence so much. She then received another text from Sun Ning which appears to be 20 crying emojis.

Darren looks at Yue carefully and just then, Yue had an idea.

“Hey, do you want to ditch the show?” Yue asks and she may think that it may come off as rude to Darren but she doesn’t really care. If she spent another minute here, then she definitely would fall asleep.

“Sorry, it’s just that my old highschool friends are at the bar and I haven’t really-“

“Let’s go”

Yue stopped talking and looked at Darren to see any sort of annoyance in his face but found none.

“Really?” Yue asked him again which he opt to stand up, and offered his hand to her, which she gladly grasp.

“Really.”

They both smiled at each other and hurriedly left the theatre, muttering a few apologies to the audience on the way out.

---

When they both arrive at the bar, she immediately saw Sun Ning and hugged him tightly

“Damn, I missed you and that ugly face of yours!” Sun Ning joked which made her pull away and playfully slapped him on the arm.

“Oh, this is Doctor Darren Chen.”
Sun Ning took a good look at Darren who kindly smiles at him before offering his hand.

“Hello.”

Sun Ning smiles kindly in return before shaking the Doctors’ hand. “Blink twice if Yue’s trying to blackmail you.”

“Ignore him, please he’s just trying to embarrass me. Come, I’ll introduce you to Gao Zhitting.” Yue grasp Darren’s hand and lead him to her high school friends’ table.


It has been 40 minutes since they arrived and Yue found out, that if you managed to crack Darren’s formal and quiet wall, you’ll find out that he’s actually a loose and funny guy as well.
They were now seated at the bar counter, both were chugging on beers as her high school friends bid them farewell.

“Surprisingly, I enjoyed hanging with your friends rather than watching the Broadway show. Thanks Yue.” Darren said all the while, staring at Yue in amusement.

Yue sipped lightly on the beer and smiled at him. She was about to reply when she heard an all too familiar voice making her froze in her seat.

“I’m pretty sure a formal dress and a suit is not the type you would wear when going to the bar but whatever. Two bottles of vodka please.” This made both Darren and Yue turn their heads and saw Dylan Wang leaning at the bar counter, while avoiding eye contact with the both of them.

Yue bit her lip and grasp the beer bottle tightly into her small hands.

“Dylan, we just came to see a Broadway show a-“ Darren tried to explain their choice of dress but Dylan rudely interrupted him.

“She fucking hates musical, Chen.” Dylan spat bitterly as he slams the money on the bar counter and roughly grabs the two bottles of vodka from the bartender. He quickly left, disappearing from their sight.

Yue blinks back the tears and looks at Darren who was already looking at her, a hint of amusement twinkling in his eyes.

“You know, out of everyone that he dated, you seem to have a lingering effect on him, Yue.”

“He broke my heart” Yue retorted

“You broke his, too.” Darren retorted back which made Yue gasp

“He lied to me… Darren.”

“Is this because of Sun Qian’s birthday party? ‘cause I was there and believe me when I tell you that she really had her birthday party in the morning.” Darren softly said to her which made a tear slipped from her eye

He was telling the truth the whole time?

Darren smiled at her then patted her back.

“The thing with Dylan, is that he’s never been good with words plus he’s a prideful man. But when it comes to you” Darren looked straight into her eyes. “He’s vulnerable."

Yue took a large swing of beer then placed it loudly on the bar counter.
“Shit, I messed up” Darren smiled caringly at her.

“Caesar texted me, they are at the back of the bar, near the dance floor. Do you want to go and talk to him?” Truth is, Darren is attracted towards Shen Yue but the thing with him, is that he’s very selfless. He could tell that both Dylan and Yue still has feelings for each other and if he needs to sacrifice his feelings to make two people happy, then so be it.

Shen Yue suddenly stood up but then leaned next to Darren, she was overcome with dizziness which she then realized that she may have miscounted how many beers she drank. If she remembers correctly, it was maybe three, and two shots of vodka. Yue was leaning against Darren who puts both of his hands on her waist for support.

Judging how Yue was leaning against Darren and how his hands are tightly secure on her waist, they look like they were kissing from a strangers’ vision.

Which is what greeted Dylan and Caesar when they were about to order another bottle of vodka.

Dylan almost couldn’t breathe as an old yet melodic of the song every breath you take was playing on the background from the bar as the lyrics my poor heart aches echoed at the back of his mind as he was looking at Yue and Darren.

He forced himself to retreat back and headed towards the back exit followed by Caesar who was asking if he’s okay.
Caesar then pats his back as he throws up on side of the alleyway, crouched next to a trashcan. Dylan winces as another wave of nausea hits him which made him throw up again.

“You’re a good friend, Caesar. Don’t leave me please.” Dylan says to Caesar sincerely after throwing up on his brand new Nike shoes. Caesar was pissed but soon felt sympathetic at the sight of Dylan hurting.

“Let’s take you home, Dylan.”

---

Meanwhile inside the bar, Darren helped Yue sit back down on the bar stool.

“Sorry.” Yue meekly said

“Its fine, do you want me to call Dylan so you can both resort your feelings?”
Yue shakes her head

“No, I have a feeling that it’s better this way. I need to rest.”
Darren looks at Yue, who was fighting back the tears and smiled sympathetically at her.

“Alright, sleep this off then you can decide tomorrow if you want to speak to him.” Darren took out his wallet then payed for their bill before grasping Yue’s arm and leading her out of the bar.

“What about you?” Yue asks Darren who was now driving her home.

“What about me?” he asks calmly, his eyes focus on the road.

Yue wanted to ask what would happen to him if she goes back to Dylan but it seems that he has read her mind.

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll always be here whether as a friend or someone who brings you blueberry muffins every morning before your shift starts.” He glances as Yue and gave her the kind smile he would always give her which made her smile in return.

Yue leaned at the car window, closed her eyes and sighed to herself; asking the universe to be with on her side for once, and bring back Dylan to her life.
---
Hello a little more patience and I promise you, both Dylan and Yue are going to be happy again! Also, I wrote another fanfic if some of you might be interested to read. It's a bit different from Heartline and may contain mature themes haha.
Anyway, I hope all of you are doing well and let me know your thoughts in the comment section! Have a nice day ❤