6 hours after Arxan blackout...
Didi woke up suddenly. He was normally a deep sleeper. He was not sure what woke him up but now that he was up, he would need to take some time to sleep back. His tummy rumbled. Damn. Why this time?
He threw his blankets aside and grabbed his sweater and torchlight. It was gonna be a long night for him. First dealing with the blackout, an almost ugly confrontation between Kido and Wu Yi, being in the cold and now his rumbling tummy.
He opened the door and shivered a little. It was chilly outside in the small living room as the heater only heated the rooms. He shone his torchlight. As he turned towards the staircase, he noticed a tiny silhouette at the couch.
"Hello? Who is it?" he called out.
"Didi, is that you?" A small soft voice responded.
"Shen Yue?"
He moved closer with his torchlight and shone at her face.
"Hey, watch that." She raised her arm to shield her eyes.
"What are you doing in the dark?" He noticed that she was bending forward, with her hands on her tummy. Her face looked pale.
"I dunno. I woke up with tummy cramps. I'm trying to find out if this is gastric or food poisoning. Didn't wanna wake anyone up so I came out." She grimaced.
"Lie down." Dylan instructed.
"What?"
"I said lie down. Let me check."
"Oh, so now you are a doctor?" She sneered.
"I studied paramedic subjects and first aid in school. As flight attendant, we need to have basic knowledge if passengers fall sick. Now stop bickering with me."
"Oh..."
She lied down on the couch as Dylan hovered over her. He put down his torchlight and kneeled down. His hands were now on her tummy.
"Tell me if it's painful when I press. Here?"
He pressed at the side. She shook her head.
"What about here?" He asked pressing in the middle.
"Ouch!"
"Oh, you got gastric. Let me get the meds for you. Don't get up, okay?" He said, standing up.
"Didi, you amazed me." She said softly, with a smile.
"What about?"
"You're so prepared." Her ache intensified as she turned her body to the side trying to make herself feel better.
"Don't talk. I will be right back."
She nodded and closed her eyes. She suspected gastric earlier and thought woofing down a pack of biscuits would help. But the pain intensified.
She could hear him coming back. Dylan managed to find a small lamp in the living room so the room now was dimly lit. He grabbed Yue and gently sat her up.
"Here, take two of these. It will relief you in no time."
"How would I know that you are not poisoning me?"
"Yue, stop being ridiculous and do what I tell you." This woman will be the death of me. Even in her pain, she still wants to bicker!
She swallowed the meds and drank the water that Dylan handed over to her. He put the glass down and pulled a blanket over her.
"Okay, I need you to lie down and rest. Come here."
Dylan sat on the couch and pull her towards him and positioned her head on his lap.
"Didi...you don't have to do this. You can go back to bed." She protested.
"You are sick. Let me take care of you. I need to make sure you are well so you don't skip your chores tomorrow." He said, raising his eyebrow at her.
Yue shook her head and smiled. She could not find the strength to rebut him so she kept quiet. His hand caressed her hair and she shuddered unexpectedly.
"Why are you doing up so late?" She asked, trying to divert herself not to focus on her pain.
Just then, his tummy rumbled. She giggled. "Oh, the monster is awake."
"Yes, very unfortunate. I could use some good sleep tonight after what happened yesterday."
"Yeah, I know. Watching Kido almost close to fighting with Wu Yi was something. He is always so patient but last night he was really mad." Yue paused thoughtfully, remembering how Kido raised his voice and clenched his fist when Wu Yi refused to wake the guests up.
"Well, it is over now. They made up by the way." His tummy rumbled again.
"Didi, there's some biscuits right there. I was eating it earlier but it didn't help."
Dylan moved himself out and grabbed the biscuits before sitting back down placing Yue back in his lap.
"Hmmm, I can really count on you to provide food," he said munching on the crackers gently, trying not to as quiet as possible.
She smiled. "The snack queen. That's how I put on weight."
"You don't need to lose any more weight, Yue. You seem too skinny for me."
"Since when my appearance bothers you?" She teased.
"Since forever? That's why you have gastric. Stop abusing your body." Yue sensed the concern in his voice.
"And eat like you?" She snickered peering up at him as he munched.
"See, I don't gain weight, right? 'Cause I'm happy when I eat."
"Lucky you," Yue said sarcastically.
He laughed softly. With the only light shining at one corner of the room, they were actually in semi-darkness. Yue scrutinized his profile. She would never grow tired of just watching him. This was something she secretly did when they were filming. Her ears grew warm and she shuddered.
"Are you warm enough?" He asked, pulling the blanket to cover her more. "Has the pain subsided?"
Dylan looked at her searching for any signs of pain.
"Still there but bearable."
She closed her eyes to focus on breathing. Breathing would help. Dylan watched her. In the dark, she looked so helpless like a child. Suddenly, a wave of emotions rushed through him. He was annoyed that she was not taking care of herself. For how long must I worry about her? He clenched his jaw, remembering the fainting incident during MG filming.
"Didi, I'm sorry that I made you upset last night when I shared about my grandma. I didn't mean to affect you too. She seemed like a wonderful person."
"Ya, don't worry about it. We all missed our grandmas. When she passed away, she told my mom to pass all belongings to my future wife."
Yue giggled softly. "Your future wife is one lucky woman."
"You have no idea how much I will pamper her." Dylan bragged.
"I cannot imagine."
"Yue, don't undermine me. Am I not taking care of you now?"
"After the bullying, yeah.." she coughed suddenly, from accidentally swallowing her saliva.
"Hey, are you ok?" He peered down to look at her.
"Yes I just choked." She felt uneasy having him leaned so close to her. She cleared her throat. "So, what about your grandpa then?"
"He passed away when I was little. It was just my grandma. She lived hard life bringing up my mom and her other children." He paused. Yue waited.
"It must be very tough for her. I always think that women should not be left behind alone."
The tone of his voice made her turned her head to look at him. Her neck strained a little but she wanted to see his expression.
"I mean if I die before my wife, I want her to be happy and live life to the fullest. Maybe, she can even remarry." He shrugged. "I just don't want her to be sad for me forever. She deserves happiness."
Something tugged at Yue's heart and she felt the urge to comfort him. She took a deep breath and reached for his hand and squeezed it.
"Didi, I'm sure your grandma never regretted living her life that way. She did well raising your mom and keeping the family together."
Dylan was taken aback when he felt Yue touched his hand. He had forgotten how soft her hand is. He had missed their physical contact. He felt warm suddenly and his ears were burning. He cleared his throat.
"You think so?"
"I know so." She beamed. He responded by pinching her cheek softly.
"Hey, what is that for?"
"I cannot resist."
"Up to this point, I really thought you are a good friend and a good doctor." She turned back and looked up at the ceiling, pretending to be upset.
Dylan loved when she is mad at him. For some strange reasons, he was drawn to her even more when they play, banter or tease each other mercilessly.
"Yue, we have few more days before going back to Beijing. What do you plan to do?"
"Rest. Play games. Shopping. Eat. The usual stuff when I'm not working." She smiled thinking of home.
"Can I see you?"
He saw her eyes widened, questioningly.
"I mean can we go out sometimes? For drink or play games? I know it sounds strange but I have been wanting to ask you out."
"On a date?"
"Erm...not date but you know just catching up after MG." She could see him grinning sheepishly, his hand scratching his ear.
She smiled. "Yes, it s been a while."
"You are always so busy!"
"Give me a break, Wang He Di. I had to work, okay? Besides, An Sheng's role is challenging for me. Her character goes through so many seasons of life."
"Do you prefer being An Sheng or Shancai?"
She paused thoughtfully. "They are different. Shancai groomed me to be An Sheng. Because after her, I felt that I can be anything that I want to."
"You made her sound invincible."
"She is, otherwise Daoming Si won't fall in love with her." she smiled, thoughtfully.
At her mention of Daoming Si, his heart skipped a beat. He continued looking at her. Her eyes are closed again.
"Yue, you haven't answered me."
"Gosh Didi! You are super persistent, aren't you? A girl's trying to rest from pain here."
"Haha! Dui Bu Qi, Shen Yue Lao Shi."
"Okay, Didi."
"Okay??"
"Which part of 'Okay' you didn't understand? Now, please leave me alone."
Her face grimaced and he could tell she was still in pain.
"All right, rest some". He stoked her hair and within minutes he felt her body resting on him fully. She was asleep.
Oh boy. He had to wake her up. But I will let her sleep a little first. Dylan's eyes felt heavy and soon both of them were asleep.
**********
Without knowing why, Yue jolted from her sleep. She realized that both of them had been sleeping on the couch, her head still on his lap. What time is it? Dylan had his head leaning back on the couch. It must be super uncomfortable for him. She raised her hand and touched his face. He startled. She checked his profile - his sharp nose, his lips, his jaw line. Perfect. Their position reminded her of the time they were in the elevator scene. But this time it was reversed.
"Didi, wake up."
"Huh? What?" His eyes darted around and stopped when he realized they had dozed off. "Yue, do you feel better now?"
"Yes, much much better. Thanks Dr Dylan."
"We better head back to our rooms and catch some sleep."
He moved Yue's shoulder up and made her sit in an upright position.
"Are you still hungry?" Yue asked.
"No. I need to sleep," Dylan yawned, stretching his arms and legs.
"Let's go then." She pulled herself up and felt so herself lighter without the pain. As she turned towards her room door, Dylan pulled her hand.
"Yue? Remember your promise when we go back to Beijing."
She made an Okay with her fingers. "Let's get the gang too."
"Sure!" He ruffled her hair and gave her arm a squeeze. "Let's sleep!"
As Yue's back turned, Dylan pumped his fist in the air and muttered "Yes!"
It had been a long night. But it ended just fine.
—————
Author's note:
This is the reason why Didi couldn't wake up the next morning! My delusional mind.
There were so many bad editing during breakfast the next day when Hunan Tv editor tried to confuse us by putting different shots together so we won't guess that Dylan actually asked Yue "did you sleep well?" with that loving gaze. I believed he did because Yue was sitting there the whole time! Watch episode 11 of The Inn 2 again. It's one of my favorite episodes. 😀
P/S pardon my grammar. I wrote this in the spur of a moment!
Love,
Hsien