Chapter 5: 5. What if I am not able to walk?

"I did, and he scolded me," Mingxia added sadly. She had no idea why she felt this way. It was not her concern, especially when it came to his personal life. She only met him today, and she was demanding a lot. "Never mind, it is not a big deal anyway." She wailed her curious self and laid back on the bed. She noticed that Bai Yuming was gone and exhaled.

… This was her new life. A life where she depended on a wheelchair. For her movements, it could not be worse than this. Could it truly be? Her mind drifted off to her death, and she shouldered it in regret. If only she could rewrite her past, then he would not have gotten away with it! Her whole career and life have been in smoldering ruins since that day. How was she supposed to become a lawyer when she could not walk again?

No, she was never going to give up! Not until her final breath.

The creaking noise of the door brought her out of her trance as Mingxia stared at the long-legged man in front of her. She had not known how long he had been staring at her while she was still thinking. Her loosened hair fell on her shoulders, and she pushed the strands behind her elf ears.

"I am sorry," She apologized, only realizing that she had forgotten to ring the bell when she was dressed. Her eyes lowered, refusing to make eye contact with Lixin. "I was lost in my thoughts."

"I see because I stood there for over five minutes watching you mumble word after word." His beautiful smirk was hardly seen. His mask perfectly hid his face, and Mingxia could only guess from his voice that he was being sarcastic. "Mingxia, I did not mean to scold you the last time."

"I know, and I should not have pried into your personal life; I am also at fault too."

"Hm," He paused and helped her up, resting her back on the fluffy bed. Seeing that she was good to go, he brought out some pills from the kit and handed them over to her. "Huang Yichen asked me to give you this. I hope that this medication can help you recover. This is not a rare case that Huang Yichen has dealt with over the years, and it will not be the last. Rest assured, you will be able to walk again. It might take months or years, but you will be able to stand on your feet."

"And what if I don't? What is it? I may not be able to do so. I am petrified, Lixin. I lost everything. My mother, sister, Luo Yuxuan, and best friend are all gone. I thought if I were nicer, they would not leave. Nevertheless, they did! And I am afraid too that you'd abandon me too," Mingxia scrunched up tighter in the cozy blanket. Speaking truthfully, she hated her life as much as anyone would ever do.

"That is a risk we are willing to take and overcome, Mingxia." He ignored her last statement, gave her the cup of water, and waited until she swallowed every single one of his medications. "You'd be fine. Go to bed." Lixin commanded her. "You cannot sleep."

His eyelids did not move a bit when he noticed how cold Mingxia's body was. It could not be a fever, could it? Lixin touched her forehead and felt its hotness. He reached for his phone to dial Huang Yichen's number.

"It's midnight! Calling him now would make me look troublesome. I do not want to be a burden on anyone as well as you." Mingxia placed her pale fingers on his cell phone, stopping him from making the call.

"You are not a burden to him; that is what he is paid for!" Lixin shot her a glare, and at once, her hands fell from his cell phone. He moved closer to the balcony in her room and made the call. "She is having a fever right after the drug. Her body is reacting to it."

"It must be her first time. The drug's effect is taking place. It might cause fever, weakness in the limbs, and headaches for the first eight days. She would get used to it in a matter of days. Keep her from eating heavy meals. She has been on an intravenous drip for close to two years; her body might reject solid food. Despite that, she can take liquid or semi-liquid food for starters."

"Is there anything else I should know about her condition? I still think it would be best if you would come and handle her fever tonight. I am not the doctor; you are! I can send the driver to pick you up, and you can sleep over at my house."

"I work for you, Mr. Mu, and with that, you cannot treat me as your servant. I also work in a hospital full of patients, and they are waiting for my aid too. Bye…" Huang Yichen hung up and, within some seconds, sent an emoji and some necessary things he might need to help her cool her fever down. He sighed at the long night awaiting him, and he braced himself, thinking of doing this for his mother. His mother came first, and no other person did.

Having noted some things, he sent for Bai Yuming, giving her a list of items that were needed occasionally. It was in the middle of the night, but that excuse did not stop him from executing his mother's last wish—taking care of Yvonne Zhou's daughter, Mingxia!

"I am really fine!" Mingxia cried out when he saw the long item list he handed over to Bai Yuming to fetch in the night. "You are being stubborn, Lixin. I know my body very well. It sporadically gets a fever at night."

"At least I care about your health, nothing more. It is my responsibility to take care of you, remember. I cannot let anything happen to you. Besides, this is an estate; there is a supermarket just an inch from the mansion. It is not like she is going kilometers away!" After a series of arguments, Mingxia let Bai Yuming leave the house for a short run to the supermarket. Her lashes fell close, and she shivered coldly under the blanket.

"Water!" She called out, and he rushed towards her with a glass. She sipped some in, fell back to the bed, and tugged at her stomach hurtfully. Pains began to swirl in her lower abdomen, and she let out a pained moan. "It hurts,"

"Where?" Lixin asked, concerned about the sudden ache in her lower abdomen. Huang Yichen had not mentioned any stomach aches in his medical descriptions, so, therefore, he panicked. "Does it hurt much?"

"A little," Mingxia groaned loudly, clenching her stomach firmly. She could not hold back the pain any longer. "Lixin, it hurts badly. It hurts." She sobbed softly, gripping his arms. The pain was quite too much for her to handle.

"Stay put; I will get Adie to get Huang Yichen." Lixin stood up from the bed and rushed out of the room to make a phone call to his driver. His instructions were simple: if he had to drag Huang Yichen out of the hospital, he should do so!

...

Giving her the last sedative treatment, Huang Yichen yawned and itched his jaw. He was in doubt that his best friend was heartless to him only for a woman! A woman who they had found almost dead two years ago. He masked his displeasure with Lixin's behavior with a bright smile. He walked away from her bed and slumped on the couch.

"Lixin, you are crazy! How can you make me work overtime just because of a random woman?" He cried out, running his hands through his hair in frustration. Huang Yichen's gaze landed on the peaceful sleeping woman, and he shook his head in disbelief. He had never, for once since Lixin, been this worried about a living being talking less of a woman! A woman was in his bed!

"She is not a random woman," He sighed and sipped his coffee. His soft gaze landed on Mingxia, and warmth sprung right from his cold heart. "She is my responsibility!"

"That is what you said the last two years, and I thought you were drunk that night. What the shit are you sprouting? Have you ever met this woman before? The answer is NO! Why Lixin? Why all this unnecessary fuss for her? You brought back the best surgeons all over the world just to ensure her surgery was successful, and you are still inviting more. I suppose there is some time you are hiding from me." Huang Yichen rolled his eyes and faced the stonehearted man as he sipped on his drink.

Mu Lixin was cruel and heartless to everyone; nevertheless, this woman was an exception. He treated her with so much care, respect, and love that even his aunt, who had taken care of him since his mother's death, never got it. He wailed painfully and rubbed his sleeping eyes.

"You will never understand." He cut him off from saying anything else, brought out his checkbook, wrote some figures on it, and pushed it toward him. "That is for today." Lixin nodded his head and left the room.

"I cannot be bought with money, my dear Lixin! However, I will manage this one.