Chapter 97 A Quick Check-Up

"Xue Ning, don't look so stressed," Jingwei cajoled, making sure to look as alive and healthy as possible.

If he could do a cartwheel to prove his fitness, he would. But since he had never done any sort of gymnastics in his short life, his spine would probably shatter in the attempt and then Xue Ning would really kill him if he wasn't already dead.

"Look, I'm perfectly fine!" He continued, smiling brilliantly at her while sitting on the chair.

"You nearly weren't. If I hadn't found that Epi-pen in time, you'd be a goner." Xue Ning confessed harshly, shivering as she recalled how close Sun Jingwei came to death.

"Come here and take a closer look at me then," Jingwei said, still smiling. He puffed up his chest proudly and pointed at himself. "You'll see that I'm in the peak of health. I can climb Mount Everest now."

Xue Ning let out a disbelieving snort, but the ends of her lips lifted into a reluctant smile.

"Please, you can't even climb Mount Everest normally. In fact, I doubt you can even climb up a hill." She retorted. So far, all she has seen that man do is eat and flirt!

"Hey! I'll let you know that I'm in peak physical condition!" Jingwei protested, before waggling his eyebrows at her. "In fact, my dear wife, you should know that better than anyone."

Xue Ning glared at him warningly, but he was undeterred.

"After all, you got both an eyeful and a handful just last night! How could you forget about our magical night together?" Jingwei continued to lament, grabbing her hand to place on his pecs, right above his steadily beating heart.

"You - what magical night - "

She flushed and tried to pull away, but he held her hand firmly, his eyes fixed on hers, willing her to look at him.

"Xue Ning, I'm fine. Really. And I cannot thank you enough." He said, now completely sincere, without his usual brand of joking cheesiness. The whiplash made her head spin. Why did he keep trying to subvert her expectations of him?

"You can feel my heart right?"

The world suddenly seemed to shrink to only focus on their connected hands and his strong heartbeat under her skin. Slowly, she felt the tight knot in her shoulders relax as his heart continued to beat strongly under hand, its steady pulse the best physical proof that he was alive.

Unknowingly, their breaths synced. Their breathing was loud in that quiet house.

"You hold my heart in your hands." Jingwei murmured. "You always have."

Somehow, even if she had an emotional range of a teaspoon, she managed to get a feeling he wasn't just referring to the recent allergic reaction.

"I - "

Before Xue Ning could respond, the loud ringing of the doorbell shattered the strange mood that enveloped the both of them. Xue Ning pulled away her hand, and made for the door, while Jingwei slumped against the back of the chair harshly in frustration.

Goddammit! He was so close to actually confessing!

But it was probably for the best that it didn't happen like this, with him nearly dying and Xue Ning nearly crying in panic, even though she pretended that she was perfectly fine.

She had kept on looking at him from the corner of her eyes, as though expecting him to keel over any minute.

If he had sprung his feelings on her like this, Xue Ning's brain might have just rebooted in shock!

It would be better for him to wait for a more cheerful, happy time. After all, he had many ideas floating in his mind about when would be the most ideal time to confess.

They range from being silhouetted by the setting sun as they held hands while walking on his family's private beach, to them taking his private jet to a more mountainous region so that they could properly stargaze without light pollution interfering. He also needed time to harvest enough rose petals to rain on her.

So it was for the best that he was interrupted, he thought morosely to himself.

He knew that, but deep down, he felt regretful anyway. The moment they shared just now was nothing like he planned, but it still felt so right that he had to give voice to the feelings bubbling inside him, threatening to overflow like an erupting volcano.

"Excuse me? Mrs Sun, I've received a call from this apartment -"

"Yes, yes, are you the paramedic? Can I see your ID?" Xue Ning asked, looking it over. Sensing nothing wrong (her job as a bartender meant she saw her fair share of fake IDs), she let her in, but not before she took a quick look downstairs from the window.

True enough, there was an ambulance waiting on standby at the carpark. It was attracting curious glances among strolling onlookers.

She felt more reassured that this woman wasn't out to stab Jingwei, but she still kept a close eye on both of them as the paramedic took Jingwei's pulse and examined him for signs of swelling or rashes.

Jingwei caught her glances and winked at her. "Don't be jealous, darling."

Xue Ning rolled her eyes and asked the paramedic. "Do you need to give him any additional injections? Can I stab him with the needle?"

The paramedic giggled softly at her words.

"No need, Mrs Sun. Your husband is fine. His pulse is normal and the swelling in his airways has receded. Good thing that you've managed to administer the epinephrine in time. Your quick action saved his life."

"I know right?" Jingwei agreed. "Isn't my wife so cool?"

"You keep quiet," Xue Ning scolded, "someone who nearly died from cookies shouldn't be talking."

Jingwei pouted. "My wife is mean to me."

The paramedic smiled. "As long as you keep a supply of Epi-pens on standby, you should be safe. I would still advise being more careful about the food you consume, because food allergy reactions are inconsistent. Next time, you might not be so lucky."

The both of them fell silent at her ominous warning, which was delivered with a soft, motherly smile.

"You see? You heard the paramedic!" Xue Ning exclaimed, smacking his arm now that she had proof Sun Jingwei was indeed hale and healthy.

"Yes dear, you were right, I was wrong. I shall never eat anything without you feeding it to me with your fingers," Jingwei replied, grabbing her hand as he stared at her, amusement in his eyes.

Even if they were pretending to be married, his words were a bit too much!

"Are you a baby? Or a pigeon that poops outside? Why do I need to feed you by hand?" Xue Ning complained.

A giggle interrupted them. They stared at the paramedic, who was shaking in laughter. "It's good to see that the both of you have a loving relationship.

"Thanks!" Jingwei beamed in reply, holding Xue Ning's hand while Xue Ning could only nod dumbly. What part of their conversation seemed loving? She called him a pooping pigeon!

After a final check, the paramedic gave him the all-clear, along with a cheerful wave goodbye.

"One more piece of advice!" She said cheerfully to Xue Ning before leaving for good.

"Make sure to rinse your mouth if you ate what he was allergic to - sometimes, couples kiss with tongue and then one party gets an allergic reaction even if they didn't eat the food. We see that happen more often than you think."

Xue Ning choked at her words. Kissing Sun Jingwei?! With tongue? Her?

Meanwhile, Jingwei threw his head back and laughed wildly, giving her a thumbs-up. "Got it! Thanks! I'll write a good review for your service!"

They watched as she left and the ambulance pulled away.

"Xue Ning, what do you think of honey?"

"Why?" She asked warily. "Is this another one of your stupid pet names?"

"No, I meant as a food. Because you've heard the nice paramedic - you're not going to be able to eat any of it now. So sorry." Jingwei said in mock sadness, his eyes looking at her with unbridled amusement.

"Why not?" Xue Ning asked, less amused. She had a feeling some bullshit was going to materialise from his mouth.

"Because I have a feeling we'll be kissing a lot in future!"

And there it was.

"Prepare to be disappointed." She retorted. "I haven't agreed to kissing you yet - in fact, I never agreed to kissing you! Don't be so over-confident!"

"Want to bet on it? We haven't discussed the terms on that other contract yet, do you feel confident enough to make such a wager?"

Suddenly, the memory of their first desperate kiss floated in her mind, unbidden. The softness of his lips, paired with his harsh grip on her, as he locked her in a loving embrace as though kissing her was the only thing that mattered in his life.

As though kissing her mattered more than his own life.

"Cat got your tongue?" Jingwei asked, as he watched Xue Ning's face grow reader without her saying a word. "I guess you're not confident after all."

"Who said so!" Xue Ning blustered, shaking her head to free herself from that memory. That was just a one time thing, she insisted to herself.

"I'll take that bet!"