"I don't want to go there, Lai Mingxing," she said looking forlorn.
He sensed that she had been dumped or she was going through a breakup. So there was hope…
The sessions lasted for a week after which he was considered passable by Dr. Zhou. Now, Yan Xiaojun had to find more ways to meet her. So, the next thing he did was he started visiting her after her shift ended, trying to look as casual as possible. After that, they would sit in the cafeteria and have lunch together.
For Wu Lina he was a good distraction. He made her laugh and never goaded her into identifying their relationship to each other.
Well, Yan Xiaojun was taking baby steps. He didn't know when he started developing feelings for her but he passed his days formulating plans to meet her. He found it shocking that he didn't want to use her like he used other women. He wanted to start a family with her!
He felt like he was going mad and told himself that he seriously needed psychotherapy.
One day, when he was sitting with his friends in the evening, they noticed that he was quieter than usual. When he confessed that he might be falling in love with a girl, all of them were shocked. They laughed and mocked him. According to his mates, it was l.u.s.t and infatuation. They forced him to accompany them to the nightclub at the 'House of Fengs'.
At the nightclub, some clients had the privilege of getting special treatment from in-house bunnies. Those girls wore skimpy dresses and sat down with men to serve them liquor and even sometimes flirted with them. His friend called five girls and made them sit around Yan Xiaojun. They were experts at gaining attention. They shoved their perfect bodies at him, some even suggesting that he takes them to his bed but Yan Xiaojun was hardly interested in any of them. He sat there like a stone, refusing to budge, staring at those girls blankly, only imagining how it would be with Wu Lina.
One of the girls with long black hair had unknowingly crawled onto his l.a.p. He subconsciously took his hands to her face and c.a.r.e.s.sed her long hair.
"Her hair is soft…" he murmured. When he met her eyes and realized that it wasn't Wu Lina, he pushed her out of his l.a.p feeling disgusted.
His friend couldn't believe that he was rejecting them.
His friend laughed and said, "Yan Xiaojun, you are in love! It would be lovely to meet the girl who has made our friend feel butterflies in his stomach!"
Over the next few days, he found himself irrevocably falling in love with Wu Lina. He started imagining making a home for her and living with her in seclusion.
He looked forward to talking to her everyday. He loved seeing her angelic face. Sometimes, he would keep gazing at her without even realizing what she had said to him. He would stupidly keep humminh to keep her talking. He would hate it if anyone would interrupt them.
He decided not to reveal her identity to anyone. Vladimir's men might find him and his daughter…
One day, Yan Xiaojun and Wu Lina were sitting in the cafeteria having their lunch and chatting casually.
"Hey Lai Mingxing, I've a great news to share!" she spoke excitedly.
"Really? What's that?"
"I decided to quit my job to work in another company," she divulged her secret.
Yan Xiaojun stiffened as he frowned over Wu Lina's claim.
"Why are you leaving the hospital Wu Lina? Where will you go? What will you do? Are you leaving the town?" he asked feeling dejected. He did not want Wu Lina to leave.
She laughed, "Lai Mingxai, I can't answer all your questions at once! I just won't be a nurse anymore. I have passed my eighth semester final exams so now I am a computer programmer."
Yan Xiaojun was stunned. His hands had ceased to feed his mouth. He gawked at her for a long time before asking, "Computer programmer? That's great Wu Lina. But why didn't you mention anything about it earlier?"
"I wanted to surprise you!" she laughed again in great joy. "Today's lunch is my treat!" she added proudly.
"Wu Lina, you have treat me in a better place!" teased Yan Xiaojun as he hid his panic and worry over Wu Lina.
"Haha. I will, surely!"
"When are you leaving?"
"In two weeks!"
"Where are you going?"
"I will let you know later," she said with a smile. "I am working at a firm that helped me pay my fees for the computer course and plus, I have signed a contract with them that will keep my position permanent!"
"What would happen if you breached the contract?" he asked.
"I have to pay 5 million yuan if I breach it," she said looking sad.
"Don't you want to join the firm? If you are doing out of compulsion, just tell me and I can take care of the penalty. I can help you," he said proudly.
"Thanks, Lai Mingxing… but I feel I cannot renege. They have done a lot for me… Now it's my time to repay them."
Yan Xiaojun wasn't convinced but he decided not to pursue the topic further. "So when will you treat me Wu Lina?" he tried to lift the mood.
Wu Lina eyes glinted and she said, "As soon as I join the company!"
They had finished the lunch by then and Yan Xiaojun bade her goodbye. He wanted to hug her but he kept his arms at the sides of his t.h.i.g.hs…
They separated ways and on his way back to the office, he stopped at the Cartier jewelry showroom. The sales manager came running to him.
"Welcome sir, how can I help you?" he asked.
"A ring," he replied, dead set on giving it to surprise Wu Lina. But that was for later.
The sales manager understood and took him to the exclusive counter where their most expensive collection was displayed. He unlocked the glass cabinet and extracted a beautiful diamond ring, which had various hued gems surrounding a huge 5-carat diamond in the form of a rose. The diamond and the gems shone brilliantly through the glass display.
Yan Xiaojun's gaze fell on a different ring that was tucked in the corner. It had diamonds that were set in the shape of a lotus. It looked ethereal, just perfect for Wu Lina. He pointed at it and said, "I want that one."
The sales manager coughed, "Umm… sorry sir but that ring has been sold. We will be engraving the name and sending it to the customer in the evening. It is 7 million yuan and all the diamonds are of VV1 quality. The one I am showing you is 3 million yuan and it's equally beautiful…"