Flash Marriage: Married To The Sour-faced General

Grey storm clouds hovered over city hospital to settle there, a cool breeze pushed open the doors, flooding through the lobby sending chills down anyone's spine. Some crows even perched on top the hospital's roof, selling the errie aura.

"Doctor...tell me the truth, am I going to die today?." A frail voice whispered, their fingers clutching tightly to the white bedsheets underneath them.

"Yes." The doctor replied him, looking into his clipboard, a disapproving look perched on his face, as he swayed his head from side to side.

"Auntie Ran will show no mercy when she sees these!." He blurted out, flashing the lab results in front of his patient.

The aged man clasped his palms over his head, pleading with the doctor before him, to hand over the test results to him.

"Won't you help your uncle out now?. It was an honest mistake, shall not happen again." He begged, discreetly trying to snatch the test results away from the doctor.

"Mistake?. You were drunk and got hit by a bicycle on the sidewalk. Auntie Ran should put a lease on you and your insatiable drinking." The young man scolded, folding the lab results into a white envelope.

"It was not my fault!. Who let a young girl ride such a big bicycle, almost broke your uncle's back. Seek Justice for me instead, she should not be on the street if she's still a rookie." The old man argued, raising his fist in the air.

"Rookie you say?." He pinched his temples, "she's a local cycling champion, who was merely practising. When a drunk old man jumped in front of her, out of nowhere. You were lucky she did not press charges, then, Auntie Ran would be the least of your problems." He lectured, placing the envelope on the table beside an ancient flowerpot.

The old man blinked twice, having the situation analysed to him in his sober state made him sound like a pitiful character in a webnovel, who only appeared to make mischief and cause problems.

"Tang-yuan, this uncle promises on his hip bone to turn a new leaf. Let this be my final warning." He pleaded, hurriedly attempting to stand on his knees to beg, abandoning all shame. Only to have his aged hip fail him!.

He yelped out in pain, holding the side of his waist for support, "ah...ah..." He moaned, his doctor swiftly rushed to his aid, helping to balance the man's weight.

"You are always up to no good uncle, don't go around causing trouble in broad daylight. Here." He picked up the envelope and placed it on next to his grabby fingers.

"Today is a good day for me, so I'll spare you, but if this is to repeat itself, I won't condone it." The doctor sternly warned his patient, knitting his brows against each other.

"Good day you say?." The old uncle asked, roughly stashing the white envelope into his clothing, a wide grin spread across his face.

"Is it perhaps an important event?. Like an anniversary?. Little, Tang-yuan are you being naughty?." His cheeky smile was so wide that it exposed his gap set of teeth.

"Please do not call me that in front of others, you'll give people the wrong idea and they'll spread bad gossip around." He spoke softly, an all knowing look plastered on his face.

This man was speaking from bitter experience, he knew all too well about how the nurses chatted about Surgeon Mo and his wild love life with his patients.

His message wasn't passed across to this uncle, for all this uncle wanted to hear, was lewd narrations about his personal life.

"How long have you been together?." The uncle pried, getting far too comfortable on the hospital bed.

"You're too interested, go bother somebody else." He evasively replied him, failing to hide the blush that painted his pale cheeks.

He couldn't help himself, he was a hopeless romantic, who gave his whole heart to his first love.

"Ever since my early years of childhood, my Yaoyao and I have truly come a long way. She's coming back home today from the states, her flight should land in an hour or so." He had not realised yet that he was babbling on about his childhood sweetheart to a loose tongued patient.

"When she arrives, I shall finally ask her on a real date, a proper date and then..."

Whilst our lovestruck doctor spewed out his love life in a daze, little did he notice the disgusted face made by his patient.

"Tang-yuan, I didn't expect this from you, you've shamed this uncle."

He turned to look at his patient, whose demeanor had dampened drastically. His comedic smile was replaced with a firm scowl of disappoinment.

"What did I do wrong?." He furrowed his brows, anxious about his administration of the treatment. He knew better than to leave the elderly dissatisfied with his services.

"How dare you remain a virgin till now?!!!." His black bellied patient cried out, reaching for the collar of his white lab coat.

"It's wrong for youngsters to waste time in these delicate matters. Imagine how your sweetheart must have felt, sleeping alone at night..." He lectured, his face barely inches away.

"Pueh!. Pueh!." He spat, spreading his corrupt virtues to others, in hopes to convert him into one of his perverted pupils. "Auntie Ran does not indulge my fantasies, youngsters like yourself should take advantage of the strength in you." He lectured, strengthening his grip on the doctor's collar.

"Aish." He pinched his temples, breaking free from this uncle's tight grip, muttering profanities under his breath.

"I'll have to leave you now uncle, there's only fifty five minutes left now." He announced, taking his swift retreat, failing to realise his name tag fell face front to the floor.

"Mei Deng." It read in black characters, laying idly on the white hospital tiles, it's owner running amuck all over the hospital.

**********

Mei Deng's prediction about the traffic was absolutely correct, something the young man was ungrateful for.

The line was so long, that one could make hotpot and catch up on a drama, without it moving significantly. If not for the cooling from his AC unit, this doctor might have lost his composure.

A bouquet of Roses sat on his passenger's seat, reminding him to be patient for his love was worth it.

The traffic miraculously started to move again, much to his satisfaction. And at great speed, he smiled, glad that he would make it to the airport just in time.

*Airport*

Since Yaoyao was his childhood friend, her family permitted him to be the one to pick her from the airport. Playing the role of cupid, for the two snails in love.

Mei Deng arrived some minutes later than expected, and could not find his sweetheart. He looked around a while, before thinking to text, only to find two new texts from her.

Yaoyao: Airport is too crowded, pick me up at my favorite eatery.

Yaoyao: Try and guess where I am uncle.

He smiled at her message, his Yaoyao was the only one who would call him uncle. And have him guess where she was hiding, without a doubt in his mind, he rushed to his car, wasting no time to drive off to his beloved.

While driving, he thought of how long they separated, she had left him to become a professional photographer. He chuckled at how funny their departure was, eight whole years ago.

He was covered in bandages and used two crutches for support, he had tried to show her how defenseless he was without her, in hopes to convince her to stay.

But all that did was make him come off as desperate.

At first, it was being sent to an all boys highschool that separated them, next, it was her travelling to the states, following that was med school. But now...

"I shall confess to you, heaven be my witness." A smile spread wide across his cheeks, at the thought of reuniting with his love.

********

Mei Deng pulled over at the other side of the road, too nervous to even hold the bouquet properly. At first, he thought he was mistaken and considered two other potential places she might have visited.

But the moment his eyes caught sight of a familiar face waving their hands frantically at him, Mei Deng was more than sure, he was at the right place.

The first thing that popped into his head at the sight of his childhood sweetheart, was how much she had matured over the years. Especially in the chest region, she was no longer the young woman crying over puberty.

He nervously waved back, pushing a strand of hair behind his ear as she excitedly smiled at him. Mei Deng made a movement to walk to her, but a text halted his movement.

He looked into his phone, it was a text from his mother, asking after their whereabouts. Before he could even move his thumb to type a reply...

*Smash*

A slam and an ear deafening shriek stole his attention, causing him to look at the sight in front of him.

His fingers lost their grip on what they were holding, his phone and bouquet fell miserably to the street. For a split second, he stood in place, still in a daze about what just occured.

For the first time in this doctor's life, the sight of blood caused him fear, real horror spread across his ever so gentle face. At the gruesome sight, of his Yaoyao's lifeless body oozing blood unto the streets.

*********

The day bled into night fall, the scene shifted from the panicked street to the tranquil rooftop of city hospital.

Where, Mei Deng sat on the roof, swinging his feet listlessly above the fast moving cars and people beneath him. A can of beer in each hand, he not only reeked of alcohol, but the blood stained on his white shirt.

Flashes of the surgery played in his head, images he wanted nothing more than to forget.

"If only these hands... only if they were firmer..." He cursed under his breath, staring at his wobbly hands that could barely hold a can of beer firmly.

He was a lightweight with no control over his alcohol, four sips and he was already tipsy. His phone had been vibrating, his and her parents had been asking after them, getting worried.

Hot tears streamed down his face, an evidence that he had just lost his childhood sweetheart, in an operation, he knew he was unfit to perform, at least, not in his state.

"I could have..." He took a pause and stood on his two feet, looking down on the world. "Saved her." He whispered to only his hearing, gulping down both cans of beer on a whim.

"I should have saved her!." Mei Deng cried out, venting out his frustrations to the wind, letting it carry out his pain, and feed it to the world.

Though he stood in a perfect spot for suicide, the thought had never once crossed his mind. Mei Deng, believed that only cowards would walk that path, but the infamous crows did not agree.

A flock of crows pecked fiercely at him, blinding his vision with their black feathers and sharp beaks. He used both hands to shield his face from being attacked, trying his hardest to maintain his balance and not tumble over.

One mischievous crow, flew in fast and hard, tipping one foot over the building, causing his whole weight to recline backwards. And before he knew it, his feet were off the floor and his whole body in the air, falling miserably to his demise.

'So this was how it felt...' He unconsciously thought, as his body fell into paralysis, from the shock of being pecked off the rooftop, to the cold hard streets.

Into a pool of crimson red blood mixed with cheap beer, hence, dying a dog's death.