Chapter 9

After buying a new pair of shoes to replace his old ones, Liu Wei was walking down the street when he suddenly noticed Zhao Lusi coming out of a bookstore.

He recognized her as the girl who bumped into him two nights ago and whose ID he has.

In the next moment, he noticed her scrunched up eyebrows and how she was pressing her stomach. She was in pain but was trying to not show it.

He speeds up his pace and went to her. He gently put his hand on her shoulder and asked her, "Are you alright?"

Hearing someone's voice and feeling a hand on her shoulder, Zhao Lusi turned around to see who it was.

She recognized the "handsome man" she met two days ago. He was standing in front of her with an earnest face. His eyebrows were drawn together very slightly. Before she could notice anything more, her pain got worse.

"It's alright. Thank you." She replied. Even though it was a visible lie. She didn't want to trouble anyone.

"How could it be? You are clearly in pain." Liu Wei continued, "Please let me help you. I'll take you to the hospital."

"No, it's not needed. I'm just …" the pain got worse. Now she knew that she had to go to the hospital.

"Don't worry. I have a car and the hospital is only ten minutes away." Liu Wei assured her.

"Then please bear with me." Zhao Lusi said in embarrassment. 'He looks like a good man, what bad could happen.' She thought.

Liu Wei went to take his car and brought it to where she was standing. She settled in, and they hit the road.

She was suffering from hunger pangs from the age of eighteen. And she was the sole person responsible for her health which she ruined in the previous three years. If she let her stomach empty for more than three hours then her stomach would rumble and give her warning of what will happen. Initially, she didn't know. After that warning, her stomach would start aching terribly to the extent that she would neither be able to sit, stand, or lay down. It would sometimes continue for two to three hours. It reduced her to tears many times.

She knew that she had to go to the hospital because she was out in the street. She won't be able to drive her car back home. And she won't be able to eat anything before the pain subsides down. Therefore, she agreed to go to the hospital with him.

Even though Liu Wei would have a poker face most of the time, that doesn't mean that he would ignore anyone in pain. Even if the other person was a beggar, he would have helped him.

He looked at the girl sitting beside him, she was looking outside the window with a scrunched-up face and looked in pain.

"Just five more minutes, and we'll be there." He told her.

She looked at him and said sincerely, "It's alright. But thank you so much for your help. I might have suffered badly if not for you."

During her college times in States, she had taken many car rides which were provided by students studying in the college. They would be complete strangers, but she was not uncomfortable to have a conversation with them. Similarly, she didn't feel shy or awkward talking to Liu Wei.

"No problem. But what is exactly wrong?" He tried to make small talk to distract her from the pain.

"Yeah, it's hunger pangs. It's because of an empty stomach for hours." She briefly explained.

They soon reached the hospital. They both got out of the car and entered the hospital. They went to show the doctor after a few minutes when their turn came.

"I'll be outside. If you need anything, let me know." Liu Wei told her.

"Thank you so much. But if you want to go, please go ahead. I'll be alright now since I'm in a hospital." After talking, she went inside the doctor's office.