62 A Win For Changying, Bad News For Baozhai

"I just want to go home and forget it happened. They're all making a mountain out of a molehill," Changying complained into the phone. "Tell Dante to let me go home please Wang, he's silly, I am fine."

"So she just accosted you on the street for no reason?" Wang was confused.

"She's mad about losing her job, she doesn't have a fabulous boyfriend with a huge family to help her out," Changying tried to play down the reason for the confrontation. "We both said some horrible things, and honestly, I'm more than a little embarrassed by it. I just want to go home and have a long hot shower and crawl into bed."

"Put Dante on the phone," he said after listening to her story. Changying handed the phone to Dante.

"Yo Lil' bro," Dante said in his easy going tone.

"Let her go home she's had a rough day," Wang with an air of frustration.

"Not until Jack checks her out. Then I will drive her home and tuck her in myself," Dante looked meaningfully at Changying, who began to protest.

"It got physical?" Wang asked in disbelief. "Never mind I'm on my way."

"Yeah that didn't work out the way you planned did it?" Dante passed back her phone. "You should have just been patient now Wang knows and it wasn't me that told him. A win for me, bad news for Baozhai."

"He doesn't need to know that part. Gosh, I've dealt with worse bullies at high school. Just drop it. It's not a big deal," Changying said for the hundredth time.

"Our family doesn't work like that," Dante said. "How's your face?"

"I doubt there is even a mark now," Changying shrugged. In truth, her hip hurt badly from where she had hit the ground, and she considered that there might be more than just a bruise but she wasn't about to tell anyone when they were over reacting in this way.

"Ben wants a word or ten," Jack grimaced at Dante as he entered the small office.

"Great," he rolled his eyes.

"Can I go home now that Jack is here to declare me healthy?" Changying asked before he left.

"Wang is on his way, her fault not mine." He put his hands up as if in surrender.

"You called Wang?" Jack sounded surprised.

"Of course, I called Wang, his brothers have taken me hostage, and I want to go home. This is ridiculous, we had an argument, it's over, no big deal. Everyone needs just to let it go," Changying was beginning to feel overwhelmed by the feeling of being trapped here with all these people. She was used to looking after herself, Chunhua had never been a hands-on sort of parent, and she had always been able to escape into solitude and lick her wounds when hurt or upset in the past.

"That was a pretty big fall you had, how are you feeling?" Jack asked sensing her anxiety.

"I'm fine I just need to go home," she sighed and seeing his frown shook her head. "I'm an only child with parents who barely acknowledged my existence growing up. I need to get out of here, and away from all this fuss, please let me go home." It hadn't even occurred to Jack that he or his cousins were the source of her anxiety.

"Okay, but then you let me examine you properly. You hit the ground pretty hard from what I saw," he agreed.

"Yes, anything you want yes, just get me out of here," Changying went to stand up and winced as her hip flared in pain as she rose to her feet.

"Your fine huh?" he shook his head as he moved to help her. "Where does it hurt?"

"I fell on my hip, but it's fine, look I can move my leg it's just a bruise. I was just sitting for too long before moving it again," Changying hastened to reassure him. His fingers dug into her hip, and she winced again but moved her leg as he instructed to show there was no serious damage.

"No bump to the head or anything else to worry about?" he asked stepping away to make sure she could put weight on her leg without wincing.

"I'm fine honestly," Changying said again grimacing as she tried to bear weight on her sore hip. At that moment Wang burst into her office and looking up into his worried face, she burst out crying for the first time since the incident had occurred.

"I'm sorry, it was all my fault. I feel so bad. I'm so embarrassed about all the fuss. Please take me home," she cried into his chest as his arms wrapped around her.

"It's okay, I'll take you home now," he crooned stroking her back and murmuring softly into her ear. He looked over her head to Jack, who shook his head.

"She's hurt her hip, I'd like to look at it properly so I can take her and you can follow after you've talked to Ben," Jack said softly, but his demeanour and body language told Wang that this was not negotiable.

"No, please. Just let me catch a cab home, my home," she whispered in a ragged breath. "You can call Chunhua to meet me there. She turned back to Jack. Ice packs and rest and if it's not better in the morning, I'll call you I promise."

"What the hell happened?" Wang's confusion turned to anger.

"Let me take her home and you can get the whole story from Ben, I'll wait with her until Chunhua gets home," Jack said picking up Changying's wallet and purse from the small couch. "Come on, Little Red, you can call Chunhua from the car."

Changying took a step and winced making Wang pick her up in his arms again and walk with Jack out to the street where he loaded her into the car promising to come as soon as he could to check on her. As soon as they moved away he stalked back into the building to his brothers office bursting through the door angrily.