98 Tender love care

"I understand that he is hurt and is probably asking for you. But for you sake, I want you to keep in mind the fact that HE is the one who has lost his memories, no one else, including YOU," Wei said.

Jia Li tried to pull out of his grasp impatiently, "is this the time to say such things? All that matters is his health, right now."

He didn't let go of her arm, " maybe to you that is the most important thing. But to me, nothing matters more than protecting you and your feelings. I don't want to see you get hurtbecause of this."

Jia Li paused to draw a calming breath.

She raised her free hand to place it on his chest as a placating gesture, "I appreciate your looking out for me. I truly do and I promise I will remember your words."

With that, she shrugged her other hand out of his grasp and went to collect her bag.

"What I said to her was meant for you and Chu as well. I don't know what was Tang's purpose in coming here but the fact that you three hid it from everyone, makes it question worthy. Irrespective of his current condition, if I feel that Jia Li is being exploited or hurt by anyone, I would not let her anywhere near him, consequences be damned," he said in a softly dangerous voice.

Ethan gave him an understanding smile. Jia Li came back, in a hurry to leave.

"I will be working out of your office in the meanwhile. Make sure to keep me apprised of your situation," he instructed her in all seriousness.

Summoning a smile for him, she nodded her head in affirmation.

The minute Wei settled down in Jia Li's chair and opened his laptop, he received a call from his mother…

Trepidation filled Jia Li's heart as she walked towards Tang's room. She had been chastising herself since last night for not forcing him to stay back at the hotel instead of letting him drive back. She should have been more insistent. This wouldn't have happened then.

She reached the door and looked at Ethan before knocking. He gave her a reassuring pat on her back.

"You are finally here. I have been waiting for you for so long now," Tang said to her, petulance visible in his voice.

His hungry gaze took in her appearance, making note of the dark shadows beneath her eyes.

"You have been worried for me," there was something akin to relief in his voice.

"Of course, she has been worried for you, big brother. Didn't dad tell you that she spent the entire night here," Chu spoke on Jia Li's behalf.

"You look different from the image in my memory. I guess it's cos I can't remember our past six years. Thankfully, some things haven't changed," he said naughtily.

At this, Mr. Xie cleared his throat, reminding his son that others were still present in the room.

Ethan took a calculated chance and addressed everyone, "uh, maybe we can let Jia Li look after our patient for a while and everyone else can go back to the hotel and rest. We can come back here in a couple of hours."

To his relief, no one objected. Chu looked up at him and winked, applauding his quick thinking.

Mrs. Xie pulled Jia Li in the hall with her, mumbling an excuse.

"I know it is unfair to drag you into this mess. But I am requesting you to keep up this charade for a bit. I…he thinks that both of you are unmarried. It was my mistake but I just got flustered in the moment. I am sorry but it is just for today. Once he is discharged, we will take him back to Shanghai where he should hopefully regain his memories fast enough," she begged Jia Li.

Jia Li took her hand in her own and assured her that she would handle it well and that she needn't worry about it.

Mr. Xie seemed to be on the verge of saying something as well but was pulled by his daughter towards the hospital's exit.

Calming her heart and straitening her back, Jia Li went back inside the room.

"How are you feeling now? Is there any discomfort?" she asked him, standing at the edge of the bed.

"Are you going to stand so far and ask me that question?" he sulked.

An image of his five year old self flashed in Jia Li's mind and she looked at him with a reluctant smile.

"Look at you, behaving like a baby," she scolded gently and came to stand next to him.

In the next second, he had pulled her towards himself with his good arm. Caught unprepared, she stumbled onto his chest. He put his arm around her and held her close.