38 A warm pot of tea

'She is awake. She is finally awake.'

That thought had been swirling in Julian's mind since he checked Zhi Rou's condition in the hospital's private database. It seemed like she had suffered some trauma, but at least she was awake.

It had been one year, seven months, and twenty-three days since she collapsed and not a moment had gone by that he did not think of her. In the middle of the night, nightmares of her body falling to the ground would wake him up with cold sweats. The day did not give him any relief, as the stress from work only served to imprint the memories of her laying in a hospital bed deeply into his mind.

Unable to stop himself, Julian planned a trip to Beijing and flew there a week later. He knew it was irrational, but it would be just for a moment. Just a fleeting glance by the window to see if she was okay, and then he would leave.

***

As the butterfly inside him gently shook its wings, Julian entered the hospital for the first time in over two years. Not much had changed, but as he walked down the hallway his presence was incomparable to before.

Unlike the fearful kid he was before, he now was a cold and confident adult. Covered by his white dress shirt with the cuffs casually rolled up, his toned muscles gave his lean body a powerful aura. Any immature features that he used to have were gone, replaced by a sharp jawline, delicious-looking lips, and cold, heartless eyes that gleamed under the fluorescent lights.

While heads turned to take a better look at him while he walked by, Julian's cheeks started to heat up, giving his cold face a touch of emotion. He did not care about the people staring at him, by now he was long used to it, but as he walked closer and closer to her room his heart naturally started to beat faster.

Speeding up, he noticed a stranger staring at him from afar. Someone staring at him was nothing new, but his position made Julian frown.

'Why is he standing in front of her room? Is he just passing by or does he know her?'

As he drew closer, the other man quickly turned around and walked off, not giving Julian a chance to observe him longer.

Snorting, Julian decided to focus on the door in front of him. Whether that man knew Zhi Rou or not was inconsequential. She wouldn't belong to anyone other than him anyway. He would make sure of that.

With a couple of small steps, Julian was in front of the same window that Zhang Wie had been occupying just a few minutes before. His fingers gently reached up and touched the glass as he looked inside. The room was simple. Adorned with only a bed, window, and medical equipment, but it was beautiful to Julian.

Or, more precisely, it was the woman laying on the bed that made everything beautiful. Like a beacon of light, she illuminated everything around her.

With her hair spread out behind her, Zhi Rou was sleeping peacefully. Her soft lips parted slightly as her chest rose and fell in a calming rhythm. She had become even more charming since the last time that Julian saw her. Even the strand of drool falling from the side of her mouth managed to make his heart race.

Trapped in a daze, Julian stared at her for much longer than he intended. Her face captivated him as he tried to imprint the little details and sweet emotions that he was feeling deep in his mind.

It was only when she shook softly in her dream that he managed to force himself away. He had already stayed too long, but he could not help but stay for just a few more seconds.

Taking a deep breath, he pulled himself away from the glass. The total time that he spent in front of the window was just a few minutes, but it was enough time for the fatigue that had been building up inside Julian to wash away.

After taking his first hesitant step away, Julian glanced back one last time before striding down the hall. He just needed a few more months, after that nobody could stop him from being by her side for every single moment his life. Even if he had to give up everything else, he would make sure she was safe and happy.

***

After her first collapse, Zhi Rou became addicted to the feeling of letting everything go. By pushing herself beyond her limits every day, she could receive the intoxication that came when she first fainted.

Starting with her waking up at 4:30 AM, Zhi Rou packed her day full of activities to keep herself busy. Unfortunately, her muscles could not keep up with her brains plans, and so she needed one of the nurses to help her with her studying and meals.

By the time that she got to sleep at night her body was too exhausted to even complain any more. Any thoughts or dreams that might have been wanting to emerge were unable to muster the energy needed to form a coherent idea before they dissipated into the darkness which lay in the depts of Zhi Rous mind.

Day by day, she pushed herself forward. The heartbreak that she once felt seemed to fade away and the shock of losing two years of her life wore off with successive visits from the hospital's therapist.

Despite the many inconveniences that the coma had caused her, like the obvious memory and body issues, it had also given her an unstoppable resolve. Starting with her body and then her mind, Zhi Rou was determined to make sure they wouldn't fall short of any of her old classmates. After seeing her best friend from the first time since she fell asleep, Zhi Rou finally became aware of how far she had fallen behind. Even in things as simple as a casual conversation she could notice the difference.

While she had been trapped in the dark, Jie Fang had been learning, maturing, and living. Even her English had improved to a level where, while it couldn't match Zhi Rou's, it was close.

Now, Zhi Rou was trying to bridge that gap between them as fast as she could. With being excepted to a major art school as her main goal, she put everything else aside and only focused on recovery and improvement.

As the hot Beijing summer ended and the cold weather came again, Zhi Rou made tremendous improvements. Standing in front of an easel, Zhi Rou moved her paintbrush gently, gliding it over the large canvas which was before her. The viscous oil paint slowly spread as a hazy portrait of a man could be seen. The black, grey, and white tones of the painting made two gleaming green eyes pop out like lanterns in the dark.

Behind her cold mask, Zhi Rou pushed every ounce of her emotions into the painting to create a monster. Dark but luxurious, the figure that seemed to come alive when you looked at it was the fruit from the last half a year of her hard work.

Compared to her work before, her portraits now contained some sort of spirit. Like they could live and breath among us as real humans.

However, they would be damned to live a life of sorrow. Adorned along the walls were countless painting that Zhi Rou had made since she had woken up and even though it was plain to see the difference in quality between her old and new work, they all carried a tragic emotion.

Even in the smiling eyes of a dog, painted in brights colours, you could still see the hurt and betrail that its previous owners had left upon it.

As her brush gently dabbed and brushed, the man sitting quietly behind her gradually started to notice something. There was something off about the painting that she was making. While it carried the same tragic undertone, in the eyes there was a hidden spark clashing with the rest of the painting.

There wasn't a hint of the sorrow woes, but instead, a fiery passion to ignite the world in flames.

The longer Zhang Wie stared at the painting, the more he could feel the confusing and conflicting emotions existing inside the canvas.

Slowly, as if not to disturb the woman in front of him, Zhang Wie walked to grab a pot of Oolong tea. Even though he was still paying her to teach him how to paint, it was just an excuse for him to keep supplying her materials and making sure she ate properly.

Two years had passed, but his artistic skills hadn't improved a single bit. The only thing that had improved was his ability to make delicious drinks and snacks.

After entering the kitchen and letting hot steam lightly spreading warmth to his face, Julian smiled contently. Compared to the lonely mansion, he preferred the one where he could always make a cup of tea for someone else much more.