Chapter 33 - Teasing

Song Luli was stunned.

She approached him quickly, abandoning the food on the table, and instinctively, she checked on him. She roamed her palm on his face. His head was abnormally warm, his breathing ragged.

Song Luli felt suspicious since the phone call. His voice was unusually deeper; he had been working day and night on his project. Bringing food was an excuse; she wanted to make sure he was all right.

She shook his arm. "Long Jie," she whispered.

He didn't wake.

She then decided to lift his upper body, forcing him to sit upright. His head lolled. She cupped his face with body hands, caressing his cheeks softly with her fingers. "Long Jie," she whispered again. "Wake up."

He opened his eyes slowly, blue and deep as the storming sea. He was breathing heavily. "Luli," he said, darting across her face, searching for her.

"I'm here," she said to him.

Long Jie reached out for an embrace, hugging her tight. She was taken aback. But his arms limped, and his weight nearly pinned her down. She hung his arm over her shoulder, urging him to stand. Long Jie listened, swaying side to side. She supported him when they reached the elevator and towards the car.

Song Luli opened the back door for him, and he went in to lay down. Song Luli didn't bother fastening his seat belt. She dialled her cousin's number shortly after.

"Don't take me to the hospital," she heard Long Jie say from the back seat.

Song Luli hesitated. Before Su Xiang could pick up, Song Luli hung up the ringer, gritting her teeth.

She drove home, and inside, she helped him to his room. After placing him under the covers, she quickly grabbed some medicine, water, and cloths and made some soup for him. She tended to him in that order, waiting to see if his cold had gone down.

She took his temperature, and he was warm. She decided to call her cousin again, afraid that he would get worse.

Su Xiang came over forty minutes later with a bag of tools. She performed a thorough check on him, and said, "He's fine. He is sleep deprived and has a cold with slight dehydration. I urge you to encourage him to get more rest," she said.

"Thank you," Song Luli responded.

At that, Su Xiang left with her things.

Song Luli checked on Long Jie, who was fast asleep. She watched the shallow rise and fall of his chest, glad it was nothing serious. He pushed himself, working hard. She knew.

Song Luli knelt on the floor next to him, pushing his dark auburn strands away from his closed eyes. She glanced at him under the faint lamplight. His skin was smooth and unblemished, perfect.

Song Luli placed a cloth with warm water over his head, dampening his hair. She continued the movements, and when she turned away, she glanced back at him, and he was staring at her with low-lidded eyes. It stunned her.

She continued her movements as he watched her.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Better," he said, low and throaty.

"That's good," she responded.

Silence stretched between them; only the sound of Song Luli twisting the cloth and spilling water was heard. When she reached out to dab his forehead again, he caught her wrist gently, and Song Luli stopped.

Long Jie sat up against the headboard of the bed frame, looking at her.

"You don't have to help me," he said.

"Why not?" she asked.

"It's not necessary," he said.

Song Luli furrowed her brows, puffing up her cheeks. "Let someone help you for once," she snapped.

Long Jie's eyes widened. He always felt like he didn't need anyone. Why would he if he was so used to being alone?

Song Luli stood, tucking him in, ensuring that he felt comfortable with the bedding. He glanced at her face, freckles on her cheeks and nose. Her hair grew an inch below her collarbones. She was wearing a black nightgown that hugged her delicate figure. She was full and round in some areas.

"Stop stealing appreciative glances," she said to him, without looking at him directly.

Long Jie cleared his throat, "Sorry."

Song Luli smiled slyly. "I was only teasing. I didn't know you were."

Long Jie flushed, gritting his teeth. "I am a man, you know," he said.

Song Luli approached him carefully, unexpectedly. Her face was close to his; her palms laid flat on both sides of him. She trapped him with her arms. She stared into his eyes, and Long Jie stared back, unwaveringly.

"Don't think I am the one who is holding you back," she said with a breath of whisper, causing him to shudder throughout his body. His eyes widened from her words.

"What?" he said more than ask.

Song Luli's face was calm, serious. She then burst out a laugh. "I'm teasing again. You do take everything seriously," she said.

Long Jie set his jaw. In his dazed state, he reached out, cupping her face, capturing her lips with his. Song Luli's eyes widened in shock.

He pulled her in, bending down, deepening it. He paused to glance at her. Her cheeks blushed, her breathing haggard. "Can I?" he asked.

Song Luli didn't say anything. So he bent down again, and she instinctively closed her eyes. He felt her chest pound as he neared her lips, not quite kissing her, but more like breathing each other's air, daring another move, but not making one.

She gripped his shoulders, anticipating another move, so Long Jie retook her lips, pecking them, letting himself in. His tongue moved against hers, twirling them together. Song Luli moved her hands towards his shoulders, circling them. He deepened each kiss, so intensely, that he couldn't help but want to feel more of her. But he broke it off within the next instant.

Song Luli glanced at him, dazed and red, wondering why he stopped.

"I was just teasing you," he said.

Song Luli stood up, wiping her lips with her sleeve. "You win," she said before closing the door shut behind her as she left.

Long Jie lifted his knees up, running a palm down his face. What was wrong with him?

It was clear she wanted him. But they were supposed to be friends...How could he mess that up? With the threats against him, how could he let her in?

Long Jie sighed, slumping on his bed. He shut his eyes, but couldn't sleep.