“Mister Xia, a toast to you.” Wei Guanyi held the wine glass with both hands and gave a toast to Xia Lei in an upscale Chinese restaurant.
Xia Lei had a drink and started the conversation. “Doctor Wei, I don’t think Doctor Ning has fully recovered. She seems mentally unstable. What do you think?”
“I think so too. Her examination results were normal. However, there was something off about her, I just can’t describe it. Anyways, I’ll observe her for the time being,” said Wei Guanyi.
“I suggest that she undergo continuous observation and treatment. We shouldn’t let her be discharged just yet. She must have asked to be discharged, right?” asked Xia Lei.
“Yes, she did, but I told her it wasn’t my decision to make.”
“It’s best to not discharge her. I’m worried about her condition after I met her yesterday. She’d be better off doing the treatment.”
“I’ll do my best.” A smile appeared on Wei Guanyi's face. Xia Lei paid him a large amount of money to continue treating Ning Jing. It was obvious that he didn’t want Ning Jing to leave the hospital.
At this moment, Wei Guanyi’s phone rang.
“Excuse me, Mister Xia.” Wei Guanyi headed towards the exit of the room but he didn’t leave. Instead, he stayed beside the door and answered his phone.
Xia Lei watched Wei Guanyi as he picked up the phone.
Wei Guanyi let out a shout three seconds after he picked up the call. “What? Doctor Ning…disappeared?”
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Xia Lei’s mouth.
“Alright, I’ll be right back!” We Guanyi hung up the phone and faced Xia Lei. “Mister Xia, I’m sorry. I just received a call from the nurse. She mentioned that Doctor Ning is missing. I’ll need to head back to the hospital now.”
Xia Lei was shocked. “Disappeared? What’s going on? Wasn't she there when we left?”
“Yes, it’s weird. How could a person disappear just like this?”
“Do you need me to come with you?”
“It’s fine. I’ll need to head back there immediately.” He didn’t inform the hospital that he had received the extra salary from Xia Lei. If he headed back to the hospital with Xia Lei in such a condition, he was worried that it would raise the suspicion of the heads.
“Alright, just give me a call if you need anything,” said Xia Lei.
“Of course.” Wei Guanyi left the room.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Xia Lei’s phone rang.
Xia Lei looked at his phone and picked up. “Did you leave anything there?”
“You don’t trust me?” Qin Xiang’s voice rang.
“Where are you? Let me know your location through Baidu. I’ll come right away,” said Xia Lei.
After one minute, Xia Lei got hold of their location through his mobile phone. He paid for the meal, left the restaurant and headed towards the suburb. He stopped by a small-scale hotel in the suburb.
Qin Xiang, who was waiting by the door greeted him. “I booked a room. Follow me.”
“How did you get her out of there?” Xia Lei was curious about the process.
Qin Xiang explained it to Xia Lei as he walked. “I got myself a nursing attire, pretended to be the nurse and slipped into her room. After that, I brought her out of the room and hid her inside a plastic bucket for medical waste. Then, I left the hospital from the back door with the plastic bucket.”
“No one stopped you?”
“Who would doubt a beauty like me?” Qin Xiang replied with a poker face.
Xia Lei was about to laugh but when he thought of Ning Jing, he stopped.
Qin Xiang brought him to the room. “I brought her some clothes. She was dirty, so I asked her to take a bath before changing her clothes. She’s almost finished now. You may go in and I’ll be on the lookout for you.”
Xia Lei rolled his eyes. “Lookout? I’m not doing anything bad, why should you look out?”
Qin Xiang didn’t bother to argue with Xia Lei. Instead, he opened the door for him.
Xia Lei walked into the room.
Qin Xiang closed the door.
Ning Jing just got out of the bathroom as the door closed. She was wiping her wet hair with a towel. The towel was supposed to be covering her body. However, she was using it to wipe her hair which meant that her body was on display.
She got thinner. However, fat remained in the right place. For example, on her breasts and her buttocks.
Their eyes met, Ning Jing let out a scream and anxiously covered her important body parts with the towel.
Xia Lei turned around awkwardly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were still in the shower.”
“It…It doesn’t matter.” Ning Jing’s voice was shaky.
“I’ll wait for you outside,” said Xia Lei.
“No need, you can just stand right there. I’ll get it done in no time,” said Ning Jing.
The sound of clothes rustling came from behind.
Ning Jing’s body appeared in Xia Lei’s mind. She was thin and skinny, but her breasts and buttock were plump. However, the only thoughts he harboured for her were ones of pity. She was probably the most ill-fated woman he had ever met. Her parents treated her as merchandise. They didn’t even care about her feelings and happiness. It wasn’t long after she freed herself from the control of her parents and lived independently, she went crazy due to the Alloy X Project. And now, she was stuck in such a weird situation. How could anyone not pity her?
“I’m done.” After a few minutes, Ning Jing’s voice rang.
Xia Lei turned around to face her.
Ning Jing was wearing the clothes bought by Qin Xiang. It was a pair of light blue skinny jeans and a white sweater. Apart from that, she was wearing a pair of New Balance’s sneakers. Her outfit gave off a youthful aura.
Ning Jing let out a shy smile. “Do I look okay?”
Xia Lei smiled in response. “You look beautiful.”
Ning Jing was silent. She looked at Xia Lei affectionately.
Xia Lei felt like he was face to face with the real Ning Jing. He wasn’t sure about the reason but he felt that the Ning Jing he was facing now was the real her. A question appeared in the mind of Xia Lei. Did she recover?
They were staring at each other without saying anything.
Finally, Xia Lei was the one who broke the silence. He smiled and said, “Why’re you looking at me like that?”
“I’m not sure.” Ning Jing shook her head. “I feel like I haven't seen you for a long time. I was just too happy to see you.”
Xia Lei was about to reply to her with ‘Didn’t we just met in the evening?’, but when he saw the smile on her face, he decided to keep it in. He was just standing there, allowing her to look at him.
“Thank you.” Ning Jing’s voice was tender and soft.
“Thank me for?”
“You helped me to get out from there. I hated that place. I felt like I was going to go insane.”
As he heard the word ‘insane’ from her, sadness hit him hard.
“Give me money, ten million dollars. I want to go to India.” Ning Jing’s voice was suddenly sturdy, her expression also changed.
“What?”
“Give me, give me. I don’t want to listen to that voice anymore!” Ning Jing seemed anxious.
“Did you hear that voice again?” Xia Lei grabbed on her hand. “What did it say?”
Ning Jing shook off Xia Lei’s hand. Then, she suddenly lifted her sweater and exposed her breasts.
“Give me the money. You can do anything to me. Do you want me? I’ll give you everything you want.”
Xia Lei’s heart hurts as if it was pricked by a needle.
Ning Jing reached for the belt on her jeans. She seemed more anxious and worried than anything.
Xia Lei stopped her immediately. “I’ll give you ten million dollars. Stop being like that.”
“Really?” Ning Jing stopped taking off her jeans and smiled. “Thank you, you are a good person.”
Xia Lei took out his wallet and drew a black credit card from it. Then, he handed it to Ning Jing. “Although this card was issued by the domestic bank, the withdrawal limit is ten million dollars. The consumption limit is twenty million dollars. You can withdraw the money at their branch in New Delhi. I’ll call ahead to ensure they are ready.”
Ning Jing clutched the card firmly in her hand as if she was worried that Xia Lei would take it back.
Xia Lei took out a pile of American dollars from his wallet. “This should be enough for your trip to New Delhi. If you need anything else, let me know.”
“ I just need the money. I have to leave now and I’ll be back.” Ning Jing was leaving.
Xia Lei kept silenced and watched her as she left.
Ning Jing turned around to take a glance at Xia Lei and left the room.
“Miss Ning, where are you going?” Qin Xiang’s voice rang.
Ning Jing didn’t reply to her. She left in a hurry while keeping her head down.
Qin Xiang shrugged and peeped in at the door. “That’s it?”
Xia Lei didn’t reply to her either. He pulled out his satellite phone and dialled a number. Then, he spoke into the phone. “She just left, please carry out the plan.”
“Roger that, boss.” Anjum Khan’s voice rang.
“Protect her. Don’t let anything happen to her.”
“Don’t worry. India is my hometown. I’ll take care of her.”
“Let me know immediately if anything happens.”
“Roger that. I saw her. I’ll hang up now.” Anjum Khan ended the call.
Xia Lei kept the satellite phone and walked towards the windows. As he drew the curtains, he saw Ning Jing, who had just got out of the hotel and was waiting beside the road. She looked at the junction of the road anxiously. Her hair fluttered amid the night breeze, it was a peaceful and refreshing scenery. Upon seeing her like this, it was impossible to relate to her with all the weird stuff.
“Why is she going to India? Why would she want the money?” These two questions lingered in Xia Lei’s mind.
A cab stopped in front of Ning Jing. She opened the door and got on it. Then, the cab headed towards the city.
Shortly after, an engine roared from the junction. The driver was wearing a helmet, waving his hand at Xia Lei, then he hit the throttle and followed after the cab.
Xia Lei averted his gaze from the windows and turned around to look at Qin Xiang. “Sometimes, I choose to hide the truth from you to protect you, I hope you’ll understand me.”
Qin Xiang laughed. “It doesn’t matter. You don’t need to tell me everything, I would do anything you want for you.”
Xia Lei patted on his shoulder as a reply. “Let’s head back.”
“What about this room?”
“You can stay if you want. I’m heading back,” said Xia Lei.
Qin Xiang rolled his eyes. “What a waste.”