As the hours were passing by, Lin Shen’s stress was increasing. For the second time in his life, he felt helpless. When he lost his mother to a brain tumor that was the first time he realized how helpless he was and that pushed him to become the world-renowned neurosurgeon. But today, even after becoming the best in his field, he was once again helpless seeing his brother like best friend losing his battle with life right before his eyes.

  He didn’t realize when a single teardrop escaped from his eye. "Shen, get a grip man! If Xiao Mey saw you crying like this, she’ll tear everything apart." Li Qiao had to remind him. Lin Shen wiped his tear and nodded his head trying his best to get a grip over his emotions for the sake of Xu Mey.

  Xu Mey had sat beside Wu Wang’s bed for all night. She had a feeling that her best friends were hiding something from her and that’s why she even tried asking Dr. Yang Ziyi but she didn’t get any concrete answer from her either.

  After 36 hours of painstaking waiting, Wu Wang opened his eyes slowly to see He Jian and Li Qiao talking in a corner while Lin Shen kept rubbing his temples on the couch. As for Xu Mey, she had her head placed beside him while she held his hand.

  Feeling the movement of his fingers, Xu Mey looked up at him and without notice, jumped on him to hug him. "You used to always tell me to stop drinking. Look what you did yourself?" Hearing her complain in a choked up voice, Lin Shen ran up to Wu Wang’s side. "You really don’t care about me or any of us. Do you know how worried we were?"

  Wu Wang listened to her laments in silence with a tender look in his eyes. "Why aren’t you saying anything?" Xu Mey looked at him with a sad face that broke Wu Wang’s heart. He opened his mouth to speak when Lin Shen interrupted him.

  "Don’t try to talk, Wang. Because of the tracheostomy tube in your windpipe, you won’t be able to speak clearly. Save your breath." Listening to Lin Shen’s advice, Wu Wang stayed quiet but lifted his hand slowly to caress Xu Mey’s hair, silently telling her to cheer up.

  Seeing the anxious faces of his friends whom he loved more than life itself, Wu Wang felt a warmth gushing in his heart. This was the family that was bonded by heart and blood wasn’t of any importance. He could reckon from their lethargic looks that none of them had slept because of him and he didn’t know how to say thanks to them for loving him unconditionally.

  "You better stop drinking now!" He Jian glared at him as he spoke sternly. Wu Wang could only blink his eyes in response silently agreeing.

  After a while, Wu Wang made a hand gesture to shoo them away. "You want us to leave?" Li Qiao asked in disbelief. Wu Wang blinked his eyes again. "We’re not going." Li Qiao answered straightforwardly.

  Wu Wang knew their nature. therefore, he didn’t argue in this condition and closed his eyes again feeling drowsiness taking over him.

  When his breathing was controlled, the doctors removed the breathing tube from his neck. While he stayed two days in the hospital, none of the others moved away from his side. So, when he could finally talk slowly, the first thing he said was, "I’m tired of seeing such ugly faces of yours. Go away and take some rest. Also, bring back some cabbage soup on your way back." The last one was directed at Xu Mey. Before they could argue, he added, "Do you want me to take discharge?"

  Knowing Wu Wang’s stubborn personality, they didn’t delay for a moment and left his side not before Lin Shen instructed the staff to take extra special care of him. Wu Wang was really tired of seeing their puffy panda sleep-deprived eyes. Behind them, he turned his face to one side as if lost in some thoughts when he heard the sound of the door.

  He shifted his eyes to see a petite figure walking inside with her high ponytail swinging with her each step. She had a toothy grin on her small face and her hands were in the pockets of her white coat as she sauntered up to his side. "Finally, I’m seeing you awake." Yang Ziyi spoke with her infectious cheery tone.

  Wu Wang didn’t speak but his eyes were stuck on her even when she was studying his reports. "Well, everything else seems good but you need to take rest and have to take proper diet. Also, there might be some headaches, nausea, stomach cramps or even tremors. As for anxiety, that you already have otherwise you wouldn’t be here, right?" She stopped smiling when she realized that Wu Wang’s eyes had narrowed at her last statement. She dry coughed a bit and continued, "Anyways, you need special care since alcohol poisoning can attack again."

  Wu Wang still didn’t respond to her words. "Are you looking at me because you forgot about me or because you remember me too well?"

  This time, Wu Wang didn’t stay quiet as he responded, "If I could forget easily, I wouldn’t have been on this hospital bed."

  "Fair enough." Yang Ziyi remarked and added, "That means you remember me, right?"

  "I certainly can’t forget the girl who locked me up in a women bathroom." Yang Ziyi choked on air at his words as she bit her tongue.

  "I’m sorry about the last time, it was just a mistake." She said sheepishly. "But it was your own fault for hitting on my friend." She argued righteously.

  "In the past 10 years, I’m tired of telling you that I’ve never even approached a girl myself." He felt a fury brewing inside of him as he tried to burn the girl before him with his eyes because he couldn’t raise his voice.

  "Okay, fine! It was the other way around but I didn’t know at that moment. Sorry about it." Yang Ziyi felt wronged at the moment for being under his burning gaze. "Oh, by the way, I just realized that we have met 15 times in the past 10 years and yet, we never officially introduced ourselves. I’m Yang Ziyi."

  Wu Wang looked at her fair hand stretched out and after pondering, he shook it lightly before yanking her hand away as if it burned him. "I’m……" He was about to introduce himself when she interrupted him.

  "You’re Wu Wang. I know, I read the file already." Yang Ziyi spoke cheerfully. Wu Wang glared at her hatefully but Yang Ziyi shrugged it off as always.