Chapter 157 - She Spoke

The neurology ward of the first hospital was in absolute chaos,

The patients and staffs were anxiously staring at the empty bed at the end of the long corridor,

The girl who was supposed to be lying on the bed, Li Juan, an amnesiac patient with a broken leg, was nowhere to see,

On the foot of the bed, a worried-looking Chi Yan knelt on the ground as he continuously tried to coax Li Juan who remained with an extremely volatile expression,

She was a bed-ridden patient who remained silent all the time, however half an hour ago, she created havoc in the ward and hid in a corner like a wounded beast, no matter how hard the doctors and nurses tried she didn't nudge from her position,

Left with no choice, Chi Yan made a call and requested Lee Tae Yang for help.

Fifteen minutes later, Lee Tae Yang's haggard figure pulled open the glassdoor of the neurology ward,

He was still in his home wears and slippers, even his ruffled hair had glossy wetness indicating his recent shower.

When he got the phone call from Chi Yan, he immediately rushed to the hospital without even changing into something more appropriate.

"Dr Lee," The duty nurses looked at him like a saviour.

Lee Tae Yang gave them a sidelong glance and quickly searched for Li Juan, who was absent from the crowd who remained in the ward with a startled look.

When Chi Yan saw the man who is walking towards the far end of the ward, he rose into his feet and rushed, "Thank God, you are here,"

"Where is she?" Lee Tae Yang cut the chase,

"Over there," He pointed towards the empty bed, " She is sitting under the bed,"

"What happened?" he asked.

When he left the hospital Li Juan was totally alright, what could have happened in this short period of time?

"After you left, she took the medicines and fell asleep. However, she woke up yelling that someone got murdered. When a bystander tried to comfort her, she started shouting and throwing things at whoever tried to approach her. She said that they are trying to kill her." Chi Yan reported in a breath,

After hearing the whole story Lee Tae Yang walked towards the bed, which is now surrounded by several bottles of medicine and broken glass pieces,

In the narrow gap between the bed and side table, a vulnerable little girl sat with tightly shut eyes and ears covered with her palm.

A channel of crimson blood oozing out from her nose, staining her pale lips red in colour,

When Li Juan sensed some one's presence near her, she fervently pulled open her bloodshot eyes with an alarmed look on her face,

Lee Tae Yang slowly moved towards the corner and knelt beside her,

"Li Juan," he called in a low voice, "Don't sit on the floor, it's cold,"

Her eyes were reserved and cautious as it focused on the person who is approaching her,

Her frail fingers groping the medicine bottle lying beside her, preparing to attack the stranger,

Lee Tae Yang took a deep breath before assuring her,

"Xiao Li, it's me," His voice softened as he reached out for her palm,

When she recognized the warmth and tone of familiarity Li Juan slowly raised her arm and touched his palm, 

Her eyes brimming with tears,

There is only one person who would lend her a hand,

It was him...the man who saved her...

Lee Tae Yang carefully moved the table and lifted her in his arms, like a terrified little bunny, Li Juan cradled on to his shoulders,

The entire ward, "..."

Everyone tried hard to the verge of collapse to stabilize the situation, yet Lee Tae Yang came and handled it within two minutes?

Lee Tae Yang made her sit on the bed, but Li Juan who appeared terrified by the situation refused to let go and buried her face on the nook of his shoulders.

"What happened?" He inquired,

"They..killed...her...," She said in a stuttering breathy voice as she withered into tears, "They...will..kill..me..too,"

Warm tears fell on his neck, scalding him like molten metal,

"I'm here, I won't allow anyone to harm you," Lee Tae Yang reassured while wiping the blood oozing out of her nose and swept a glance at Chi Yan.

Chi Yan who understood the situation, immediately called a nurse to bring over the sedatives to put her into sleep,

However the moment, the nurse came with the syringe, Li Juan's shrank back to Lee Tae Yang's side, refusing to get shot,

"Xiao Li," He tried to call her,

"Loud...its..too loud," Li Juan mumbled with a face scrunched up in irritation,

The whole ward was filled with people, they were whispering and talking about the turn of events.

"Chi Yan, can you get her room?" Lee Tae Yang took his wallet to pull out a black platinum card and handed over to Chi Yan,

Within ten minutes Li Juan was shifted to the VIP room in the hospital,

Once she was left alone from the scrutinizing eyes, Li Juan agreed to get the sedation shots without any hesitations.

Lee Tae Yang sat beside the bed and looked at the girl who is lying like a lifeless doll,

"Don't...leave," She said in a drowsy voice and tightened her grip over his palm, "Don't...go..,"

"I am not going anywhere," He assured her with a smile and gently patted her shoulders while he hummed a lullaby as if he is trying to put a baby to sleep, 

After hearing his soothing voice for a while, Li Juan slowly drowsed off into deep slumber,

Lee Tae Yang reached out for the medical reports kept on the side table and picked up his phone to give a call to Chi Yan,

"Since she was showing the improvement, professor decreased her dosage, maybe that is the reason for her erratic behaviour," He reported, "Half of her drugs are hallucinogenic and its natural for-"

Lee Tae Yang interrupted his friend and asked the question which has been troubling him from day one,

"Where is her bystander?"

It has been a week ever since he met Li Juan, whether it was ICU or the neurology ward, she was always alone. Not even for once, he has seen someone sitting with Li Juan and taking care of her.

"Her mother went to work,"

"Work?" Lee Tae Yang's eyes flared in anger, "Is work is more important than their child? What kind of parent leaves their child unattended? When did making money became more important than taking care of their daughter?" He didn't try to control his words as he let out the anger boiling inside him.

"Tae Yang...Tae Yang," Chi Yan abruptly cut him off with a hinge of doubt in his voice, "Don't you know that Li Juan's medical expenses are taken care of by the charitable trust run by our hospital?"

"Charitable trust?" Lee Tae Yang was a loss of words. The charitable trust in the first hospital was set up for patients who couldn't afford the hospital fees and other paid services and he himself often donates a huge amount to the trust. 

"The charitable trust can only bear half of the expenses, in order to meet the other half, Li Juan's mother does various part-time jobs and she comes here on the break between the work to look after Li Juan," Chi Yan told whatever he knew. Thanks to his gossipy nature, he went around and collected the details from the nurses and Li Qin about their family background.

"What about her father?"

"Li Juan's father passed away in an accident while she was a child. They don't have any relatives to rely on. Its just Li Juan and her mother,"

"Hmm, thanks for taking care of her," Lee Tae Yang immediately said,

"Yeah, thank me now and kill me tomorrow," Chi Yan giggled, "I will come there once I become free,"

"Okay," Lee Tae Yang ended the conversation and glanced at the skinny hand clutching onto his arm before slowly raising his eyes to the little girl sleeping on the bed,

In the beginning, when he found Li Juan in the ICU in her weakened state, as a doctor he saved her from death, but he never expected that it will leave a strong influence on her.

Apart from her name, he knew nothing about Li Juan and yet, within a short period of time, she has become someone important for him.

The way her eyes sparkles on the sight of him, how her frost facade melts and exhibit various emotions in front of him,

She never uttered a single word, yet he could understand her. It was like two of them shared a tacit understanding, an unspoken rapport.

The attraction and affection he felt towards Li Juan made no sense,

It felt she is someone whom he knew from the past,

Apart from his family members, he never thought about getting associated with a woman, but this girl has created her own way to his heart, spreading an unknown warmth and contentment,

He still doesn't know what are those feelings were called, but one thing was incomparably clear to him, 

He wanted to be with her,

No matter where or when, he wanted to do everything he could to keep her happy, to fight with everything he had to protect her,

He does not want to tag those feelings under the name of friendship or love, but he knew, he knew that whatever he felt in his heart has already made him tie together with Li Juan.

The overwhelming emotions in his minds were broken by the faint knock on the door,

It was Chi Yan,

"Go home, I will sit here," He suggested as he stepped into the room, flexing his arms to shook off the tiredness,

"What if she gets another nightmare?" Lee Tae Yang bit into the thought,

Upon hearing his reply, Chi Yan puffed, "You have to catch an early flight tomorrow, go home and get some sleep,"

However, even after listening to Chi Yan's words Lee Tae Yang hesitated to leave and remained immovable like a mountain.

"I know that you are worried about her, but Tae Yang, tomorrow is your parent's memorial day," Chi Yan tried to remind him as a matter of fact, "Her mother will be here in an hour and she is under sedation, nothing would happen to her,"

He nodded and moved closer to adjust her blankets,

"Sleep well, Xiao Li" He mumbled and placed a pillow beside her before leaving the room,

"Call me if something comes up," He said to Chi Yan and walked away,

----------------------

When Li Juan woke up, her mother was the only person present in the giant room,

"Ma...," She called in a groggy voice,

Li Qin jolted awake from her sleep when she heard Li Juan's voice,

"Lili...my child..!!!" Li Qin couldn't control her happiness as tears started to roll down from her cheeks,

When the duty nurses told her about the havoc Li Juan created, she couldn't help but feel happy for a minute.

She spoke,

"Where is he?" Li Juan inquired, "That man,"

"He left when I came back," Even before Li Qin could finish her words, a knock was heard from the outside and Luo Ben Cheng with his juniors entered the room,

"Good morning, Miss Li, you look a lot better than yesterday," He was exhilarated to see her like this, 

"Where is he?" Li Juan suddenly asked, "Where did he go?"

"Oh wow..." Luo Ben Cheng was taken aback for a moment, "Last night's shock must have helped you to get over from the inhibition from speaking. I even heard that you jumped from the bed and walked around? Mother Li, it seems like your daughter has her own methods to ail herself,"

However, Li Juan's eyes were wandering off the group of doctors accompanying professor Luo,

"Are you looking for doctor Lee?" Chi Yan asked with a smile, "He went home,"

"When will he come back?" She asked again with an anticipated look on her face,

"Probably on Monday,"

Li Juan bit her lips with a solemn look on her beautiful face,

He promised that he will not leave her and yet he left without a word?