Taming The Tiger

47. Worried Sick

Yu Hua was lying on a thin mattress with his clothes on.

"Yu Hua!" Hu Jing Yao shouted with panic and rushed in. He slumped on the cold floor next to the mattress and patted the actor, who was out like a dead man. The CEO realised that his clothes were soaked from head-to-toe, and as expected, he was burning with a fever.

"How stupid you are?! Did you leave me with that woman to get sick alone at home?!!" Hu Jing Yao roared and rose to his feet. First he turned the light on and then checked the small cabinet to find some clothes. In the second drawer, he found worn out black cotton pyjamas and grabbing them, the concerned man slumped on his knees next to the mattress again.

With no little difficulty, he moved the sick man off the wet mattress and straightened Yu Hu up into a sitting position, making his burning head resting on his shoulder. Then he stripped him with doubled effort and laid him back to deal with his pants. Once he was done, he put the pyjamas on him and after laying the other mattress on the floor, he tucked Yu Hua in as it was freezing inside the house.

Not knowing what to do next, Hu Jing Yao rose to his feet again. Taking a few deep breaths, his logic came back and he rushed to the bathroom and grabbed the hand towel. He wetted it with the ice cold water and placed it on the actor's forehead after pushing his damp bangs back. Yu Hua shivered slightly, but his eyes remained shut.

Okay, what next?

Should he call the doctor there or was it better to take him back to the hotel?

The anxious man rubbed his face with annoyance and then he looked at the house carefully for the first time.

Well, if you could call it a house...

It was approximately the same size as Hu Jing Yao's bathroom and had not much furniture, if not counting the small floor table, the portable metal hanger and the small cabinet. The kitchen consisted of a tiny counter-top, a sink and a gas stove. As if it wasn't bad enough, the house was colder than outside and apparently there was no hot water. How was Yu Hua taking a shower?

Not wishing to think about it, Hu Jing Yao continued to look around to distract his mind and his shocked eyes soon spotted a big bag which was hung on the hanger. Unwittingly, he went to check its content as he recognised the bag.

Neatly-folded; a lilac knitted jersey, black pants, a black fabric coat and a pair of black booths... Even the underwear and socks...

The ones he bought for the actor.

"Do you cherish these clothes this much?" Hu Jing Yao asked the unconscious man, not waiting for an answer, "is it because of their worth or it is because of me?"

Deciding it was both favourably, the CEO grabbed the shopping bag and put it near the mattress. He took off his coat and wrapped the sick actor with it before lifting him in bridal style. He also grabbed the shopping man and left the house.

He laid his partner on the back seat carefully and hit the gas towards the hotel. On the road, he called Dr. Chen and asked him to meet them at the hotel.

With great timing, the doctor arrived the moment Hu Jing Yao tugged Yu Hua in the bed. After he examined the sick man, he put him on a drip and left him some medicine.

"Don't worry, he is okay, just let him take a good rest," Dr. Chen patted Hu Jing Yao's arm reassuringly. Despite the situation, it was so nice to see that the human emotions were back to the young man's face.

"Thank you, Dr. Chen," the CEO sent the doctor and slumped on the corner of the bed, his eyes focused on the still pale man.

"You sure like to make me worried sick," he reprimanded the sleeping figure as he adjusted the quilt. Then he grabbed the hotel phone and ordered a plain congee in a thermos. When his order came, he put it on the bedside table alongside a glass of water, the medicine and Yu Hua's phone.

When he was done, the CEO took another shower and changed into a new set of tracksuits. He prepared himself a cup of coffee and drank it absent-mindedly as his focus was solely on Yu Hua.

Later that night, not minding his cold could be contagious, Hu Jing Yao lay next to the still a bit warm figure and wrapped an arm on his waist.

"Everything got so tangled... I don't know how much we can continue like this," he whispered with so much emotion in his voice before he drifted into sleep.

When the CEO woke up the next morning, he received a message saying Mr. Lin had an emergency so the shooting was delayed the next day.

"Oddly good timing," he mumbled and put his hand on Yu Hua's forehead to check his fever. Luckily there was no fever, but he still looked a bit pale. The CEO called the hotel doctor to pull out the drip needle of Yu Hua's hand and took a shower. When he appeared, ready for the work with his cream suit, the doctor was already gone.

The CEO wrote a message for Yu Hua, saying he shouldn't leave until he arrived and left it next to the thermos. After caressing the sleeping man's soft locks for a few seconds, he left the hotel to attend his first meeting of the day.

One hour later, Yu Hua opened his eyes and looked around with confusion until he realised he was at the CEO's bed.

"What?" he asked with a hoarse voice. Wasn't he at his house last night? Did the CEO come and bring him there back? But why? Wasn't he with his ex?

Drowning in his jumbled thoughts, the actor sat on the bed with difficulty. All his muscles hurt and he had a nasty headache. He checked around with his eyes and saw the yellow note. Sighing helplessly, he put the note back and got his phone to check the messages. He was overjoyed reading the message about the cancellation of the day's shooting as he didn't feel well. After the phone, he got the food thermos and saw it was a plain congee.

"You are determined to ruin me completely," he said into the empty room and started to eat alongside his tears. However, his eating halted as the door was knocked.

With great difficulty, he rose to his wobbly legs and almost fell down because of the bag on the floor.

My clothes?

The angry knocking brought his wandering soul back and he rushed to the door, being happy that he was in his pyjamas, not naked.

"Good morning, Mr. Yu."

"Good morning," Yu Hua replied hesitantly as he looked at the black-suited bulky man.

"Mr. Hu wants to see you," the man announced with a commanding tone.

"Hu Jing Yao?" Yu Hua asked, confused. Why would he send a man to fetch him? Didn't he write to him to stay in the hotel?

"No, his father."

Yu Hua's breath stuck in his throat...