"I'm here… I'm here… Everything is fine now…" Jingwei said, murmuring reassurances in her ear. Jingwei couldn't turn back time to prevent Ya Ren from landing his filthy paws on her, and that failure will eat away at him for the rest of his life.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Xue Ning said robotically, as though trying to convince herself.
But Jingwei felt Xue Ning shiver in his arms. He knew she was lying, and his eyes darkened.
'I'm going to destroy Wu Shang Jing, he vowed to himself. I'm going to become someone so terrifying, no one will ever dare touch a hair of Xue Ning's head in future! '
"Xue Ning?" Jingwei whispered. "Are you feeling alright?"
Xue Ning took a deep breath and smelt the metallic tang of dried blood. It immediately brought to mind Ya Ren's grinning face and his touch on her, and the soft give of his palm as she stabbed the knife in.
She began to feel herself hyperventilating. No, she was not fine. She just stabbed a man twice. He deserved it, but that did not make the smell of his blood any easier to bear,
"Xue Ning!" Jingwei called out in worry. He grabbed her hands and was surprised at how cold they were. Her eyes were unfocused and her breaths had become shallower.
Something had to be done. Xue Ning clearly wasn't in the best state of mind. Ignoring Captain Mu who was still waiting in the room, he pulled her to the empty bathroom in the hospital room.
Here, the smell of blood was less strong, and the mix of clean white marble and peach tiles had a comforting effect on most people. Best of all, as it was a VVIP ward, so the bathrooms were equipped with a state of the art shower and bath.
"Xue Ning, here, wash your hands first," Jingwei said softly, as though coaxing a wounded animal to listen to him. He put her hands under the warm running water, and they watched as the water turned reddish-pink.
Xue Ning then helped herself to the fragrant hand soap, scrubbing frantically at her hands as though they could wash off all traces of Ya Ren and his touch. No, just soap wasn't enough, and it wasn't only her hands that needed washing.
"Xue Ning, if you scrubb any harder your skin will fall off," Jingwei commented gently, holding them tight with his own hands. Her hands should have felt warm in his hold and after the warm water, but all she felt was numbness.
Her entire body felt unclean.
"I want a bath. Or a shower at least." Xue Ning blurted out as she broke out from his hold. She stared at the marble sink unblinkingly. "I… don't feel clean."
"Okay, then you can take a shower. I'll get someone to bring you a new change of clothes." Jingwei said, an easy smile on his face. He suspected that Xue Ning might be having a panic attack, even if she wasn't aware of it.
Not that he could blame her. It's not everyday she gets touched by a pervert and stabs someone twice. And this was all Jingwei's fault - if he was a more capable man, he wouldn't need her to protect him and she wouldn't have to endure such suffering!
"Okay." Xue Ning said, and proceeded to not move from her spot. She knew logically that she should chase Jingwei out of the room so she could bathe, but part of her didn't want to be left alone after such a harrowing encounter.
Even though Captain Mu was outside and could probably protect Jingwei, she still wanted him in front of her for her peace of mind!
So she continued hesitantly, "Can you…"
Jingwei smiled, getting the hint.
"Of course! I'll go out first and get your clothes for you, and a new towel." Jingwei said eagerly. He turned around to leave, only to be surprised when Xue Ning's hand instinctively reached out to curl into his sweat-stained bloody shirt.
"Xue Ning?"
"Stay." She mumbled, staring at the floor, feeling her cheeks heat up in embarrassment and shame. God, why was she acting as such a weakling? She shouldn't have blurted out something like this - what kind of bodyguard was she?
She had to be stoic and strong, she couldn't hide him away, or hide away in his arms forever.
"Nevermind. I know it's stupid. Just get me the towel and I'll take care of things myself. You don't have time to worry about me, you should be handling this mess -"
Meanwhile, Jingwei's eyes softened as he heard her words.
"No, nothing is as important as you. If you want me here while you shower, I'll be here. If you want me here while you take a bath, I'll also be here. You can take as many baths as you want! In fact, you can even take a shit and I'll still be here!" Jingwei declared fervently, meaning every word.
That made her lips quirk up into a smile. Jingwei could only cheer internally in relief. At least Xue Ning was still capable of smiling!
"I'll draw the bath," Jingwei said eagerly, and proceeded to do that. A quick glance at the basin made him frown, there was just one generic shampoo and shower gel, not even anything suitable for a bubble bath!
There wasn't even a bath sponge! If this was the state of VVIP bathrooms, Jingwei feared for the C-class ward patients. They probably had to share shower stalls.
Xue Ning would just have to make do with this meagre assortment of toiletries for now. Perhaps when they got home, Jingwei could really spoil her with multiple bath bombs and premium bathing salts.
"Can someone get us some clothes and towels?" Jingwei called out, his head popping outside the bathroom to see who was listening outside, which in this case would be poor Captain Mu and his men, along with the two unconscious corrupt officers.
"Got it, Young Master Sun,"Captain Mu said. He could only sigh before calling one of his spare men to get whatever they wanted.
Jingwei smiled and gave him a thumbs up, before turning back into the bathroom.
Captain Mu would roll his eyes at the lovebirds taking a shared bath together, but after what they've been true, they were entitled to be more touchy with each other!
(And it wasn't as though Old Master Sun could disapprove. He was lying on bed hooked up to a heart monitor, getting his much needed rest while his oldest son plotted a corporate takeover of all his assets. Everyone in this family truly had their priorities in order.)
Besides, this impromptu bathtime gave his men and the hospital staff some time to clean up the room. It was starting to look like a gory crime scene, and he knew from personal experience how hard it was to scrub bloodstains out from the walls and curtains.
Meanwhile, back in the bathroom, Jingwei could only blink repeatedly, his mouth gaping like a fish out of water as he tried to look at everywhere but Xue Ning.
Maybe he was dead. Maybe Ya Ren and Lu Sheng had actually killed him, and this whole thing was just a hallucination from his afterlife, or just God's way of making up for his terrible adolescence.
How else could he explain the sight in front of him?
"Xue Ning? Why are you naked?"
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