chapter 37

Ai was so nervous that she couldn’t look at Lu. Her eyes tried to evade Lu so she didn’t kiss the right place. Her lips touched Lu’s nose and then they stared at each other with embarrassment. Ai’s face turned red immediately.

She stood up and swallowed the water, saying in haste, “I..I am sorry. I…”

Lu could only force a smile.

“Let me do it again.” Ai got the medicine again in her mouth. But she looked solemn as if she were going to sacrifice for the country. This time, she didn’t evade Lu but closed her eyes instead. So she kissed Lu’s jaw. It was still the wrong place.

Lu started to be disappointed. “Who knows when he can get close with her like now next time.”

Seeing Lu’s dull eyes, Ai was stunned first and then felt guilty. ‘It was just to pass the water. Why did I act even more reluctantly than Lu?” Actually she was the one who thought too much all the time. Whatever she did was destined! So she would rather do it earlier.

Thinking all about this, Ai inhaled suddenly and held water in her mouth. She then held Lu’s head and pressed her lips on Lu’s with a rush.

Lu opened his mouth instinctively. He felt there was sweet and tepid liquid flowing down where their lips pressed together and flowed into his mouth. Ai then sat down on the farthest sofa, saying coldly, “OK. It’s finished. Now you can have a rest.”

Look. She blushed just a moment ago, but now she looked indifferent again like before. Lu sighed secretly. “It will still take me quite a lot of time to let her accept me. It must be a tough job and I have to keep trying.’

Ai decided not to talk with Lu anymore for she was taken advantage of by Lu. She kept down her head playing her phone, not even giving a look at Lu.

Lu was anxious. This was not what he expected. Rarely did he get hurt for one time. He had to take advantage of it.

He suddenly got an idea. He didn’t talk but just tossed and turned on the bed, groaning from time to time. It didn’t have to be too loud. He just wanted to let Ai hear it. And if he lowered his voice, he would sound like being suffering from the pain, so that she wouldn’t doubt.

Seeing Lu was painful, Ai couldn’t sit calmly on the sofa. She hurriedly stood up and went to him to check, asking, “are you OK? Is the wound starting to hurt?”

Lu muttered with his teeth clenched, looking strong, “I am OK!” He stressed every word he said to show he was in pain. He was neither lying nor acting. If he began to complain about it to make his acting look real, Ai would definitely be suspicious. But now he didn’t complain at all, pretending not to be painful. The last doubt in her mind vanished. She said immediately, “I’ll call the doctor to give you another anesthetic shot.”

“Don’t…” Lu stopped her in time, “I can go through it by myself…”

Ai stopped her steps.

Lu added, “And, anesthetic shot will do harm to body. I don’t want…”

It sounded reasonable. Ai turned around to console him, “It will be easier to do with pain soon when your would heal in a couple of days.”

Lu nodded his head. A restrained but painful expression flashed across his face, “Please…please talk with me. Maybe I will be better if I am distracted…”

“Oh…OK…” Ai went back toward the sofa.

Lu saw Ai didn’t act as the way he expected and started to get into a flap. “How could I get closer with her now?” But Lu didn’t want to say it. He groaned lightly, with his hand on his chest.

As he expected, Ai went back to him. She asked, “How do you feel now? It hurts again?” Lu inhaled deeply to show his pain, “I am alright. I just feel a little bit cold…There seems to be wind blowing in through my chest…”

His words sounded scary to Ai. She could imagine if she was shot on the chest and there was a hole after the bullet was taken out…It was too terrifying for her to continue her imagination. Ai clenched Lu’s hands, “Let me turn up the air conditioner.”

Lu knitted his eyebrows, shaking his head, “No…Too dry…” He didn’t like feeling dry. He had already been dehydrated. If she turned it up, that would be too uncomfortable.

Ai agreed. So she suggested, “What about asking the nurse for another comforter?”

“Too heavy…” Lu refused again with an excuse he made up.

Ai had no idea of what to do. She had to ask, “So what do you want?”

Lu seemed to be troubled. He said after thinking, “What about you coming up and sleeping beside me?”

Ai looked at him with suspicion as soon as he put forward this suggestion, “Are you acting?”

Lu’s eyebrows went down. He closed his eyes and pretended to sleep, “Nothing.”

And he didn’t talk with Ai. Ai was standing there in silence.

Ai stared at him for a while. She was afraid he was lying but what if he wasn’t? But she couldn’t figure it out by just staring at it.

After hesitation, she asked tentatively, “Do you really feel cold?”

Lu still kept his eyes closed, with an I-am-hurt expression.

Ai was in a dilemma, staring at him. She thought, “He was terribly sick now. Can he do anything to trick me? No…He was shot by a gun. Maybe he just feels cold.”

Walking back and forth in the room, Ai then decided to take off her shoes and lie down beside Lu. She said after an unnatural cough, “OK. Listen. Here is our agreement. We just sleep on one bed. Nothing else will happen.”

A smile flashed across Lu’s mouth corners, but he put on his poker face soon. Lu didn’t want to fail at the last moment. However, he finally couldn’t restrain himself, saying jokingly, “But I don’t want to sleep…”

Ai was frightened with a tremble. She sat up front the bed at once, saying nervously, “Don’t play with fire. You’ve an injury on your chest.”

Lu opened his eyes, looking at her imploringly, “But I want…”

“Never. Don’t even think about it.” Ai refused without mercy.