Part V

It was two a.m. and Wu watched Lijuan slowly doze off. As her head lolled onto his shoulder, her eyelids finally slipping closed; Wu smiled. The rest of her slowly leaned into him. Wu finally got to see her sleep.

Without her worrying and thinking about complex things like her work, she looked so vulnerable and childlike. Her breaths were even and calming, her expression no longer stressed but relaxed. Wu carried her and placed her in bed, he'd tell her once she wakes up that Xin had found Jessica.

*

"Yeah... She's with me. Did you tell Miss Qin?" 

Jessica's eyelids fluttered, and the first thing she saw was a half-naked figure a few feet away from the bed she was on. Her vision was hazy, but once her senses were finally composed after long hours of sleep, she got a lucid view of the man in his underwear. Strong arms, bold thighs and calves. He was too busy with the call to notice she was awake, until Jessica jerked, with eyes growing wider than usual in search of any signs of danger, to examine herself and where she was. 

Her heart raced as her eyes ping-ponged around to the slightest detail, and most importantly she checked if her underwear was still on. There was no telling what he'd done to her while she was out cold.

She felt a sharp pain in her head when she tried recalling what exactly happened, but her memories were hazy. "You're—" She remembered him. Her kidnapper. That meant she was kidnapped again.

"What do you want?"

"Nothing."

She tilted her head, and her face wrinkled in disgust at his single worded answer "Nothing? Is that all you have to say?"

"I just brought you here because you passed out in my arms, and you seemed to like me carrying you." 

She tried getting up, but her body ached. Her muscles weren't aiding her wish, so she remained there, eyes fixed on him.

"Why did you bring me here? Why are you being nice?" 

"Believe me. I wanted to toss you into a trash can, but it's against the so-called gentleman ethics. I can't do that to anyone, even though I was tempted to do so to you. I believe this is a way of appreciating you for keeping Wu's secret."

"I didn't do it for you or him."

"Whatever reason you had to keep it, thank you. Now, take this" he picked up the mug on the side table and moved it to her direction "Drink something. You don't look good like this." 

She declined, not believing what was in there. To demonstrate he had no underhanded aims, he put it to his lips and took a sip. He offered it once more, and this time, she accepted it however requested a napkin to clean the spot his lips contacted.

She pulled her knees towards her chest, making sure they were as close as possible. Her hands gripped the white mug, resting the bottom in between her legs to stabilize it. 

She was mindful enough to not let any of the liquid spill onto her or the bed, whether it belonged to her or not. She slowly brought the edge of the cup to her lips, feeling the warmth radiating from the cocoa burn her mouth. It tasted so sweet, like nothing else she'd ever had. 

Her tongue sneaked out of the mouth to clean the whipped cream from her upper lip. The hot, earthy colored liquid went down her throat, and she could feel it warming her inner parts. It was late, but she realised it was the only thing she'd taken for the longest time.

Her stomach growled, and she fidgeted in her place. 

"You shouldn't be starving yourself. It's unhealthy."

"Says someone that smokes. Which Is more deadly?" 

She said it just in the time. He was in the mood to put a cigarette in his mouth. "You have a point, but your life isn't a throwaway like mine." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" 

"You should take care of yourself more."

"I don't think you're the type of person I'd take advice from."

He sighed "What's going on with you? Your friend has been worried sick. After your text, she could barely sleep. You lost your grandmother right?"

Her face wrinkled in anger "Did she tell you?" 

"No. Wu did. You're free to hate on him, not her."

"I'd never hate precious Lijuan."

"So back to you. How do you feel?"

"Why do you care? It's not like you can relate!"

Xin pulled out a seat and moved it near the bed "Trust me. I can relate beyond what you can actually envision. Is it true that she was all you had left? No other relative?" 

She didn't respond. 

"If you bottle up your pain, you'd regret it. Feel free to talk." 

His dark eyebrows sloped downwards to aid a serious expression as he attempted to convince her again, "I can prove to you I can relate." He remained in his boxers because he wanted her to know a thing or two. He stretched out his hand and raised the pillow. A black notebook was underneath. He opened the book and an old photograph fell out.

"That's my grandpa and I" He showed her as he picked it up. "I lost him when I was sixteen. My mother abandoned me, and I don't know who my father is. He was the one who raised me." 

From the photo, Jessica could see that the old man had a missing arm, and the boy next to him was nothing like the man he turned out to be.

"This tattoo..." He pointed at his dragon tattooed chest. He turned around, so she'd see his back, and the rest of the ink that swirled to his neckline. "I had to join a gang to save him, but all was in vain. He died before I could get him the money I saved up."

A question came to her mind and she didn't hesitate to ask "You were part of a gang?"