The Overnight Chosen Wife: darling, kiss me deeper

"It’s a gunshot!" Someone cried, and Cheng Yu rushed to check on Xiaoshi.

"Call an ambulance!" She shouted at someone, and the onlookers sprung out of their shock to follow her instructions.

Cheng Yu wasn’t sure what to do with Xiaoshi who had been shot in the stomach, her mind filled with chaos. "Xiaoshi..."

"I’m okay." The girl smiled weakly, her eyes drooping like they could shut at any instant. She was losing too much blood.

"Please hold on. The ambulance will be here soon." She held her hand tightly, desperate to pass on the warmth from her hand to Xiaoshi’s.

"Why did you jump infront of me?" Luna finally spoke after being silent the whole time. Her tone was full of blame. "Why?"

Xiaoshi turned her eyes to look at her boss without tilting her head and didn’t know what to say. Luckily, the corridor soon filled with the patter of doctors’ footsteps and it cut off the awkwardness.

___

At the hospital.

Lanni rushed all the way to the ninth floor and found Luna sitting on a bench outside a bench in the company of Cheng Yu.

"Luna! Are you alright?" She was relieved to see her not lying in the ward but sitting on a bench.

"News does travel fast." Luna smiled, making Lanni frown in displeasure.

"You are still in the mood to joke around? Tell me, what happened?"

"Nothing. I’m alright." Luna didn’t want her sister to worry about her, but her words made Lanni want to explode in anger before looking quizzically at Cheng Yu.

"It was premeditated..." Cheng Yu explained the entire situation, still in shock. "I don’t know where Xiaoshi was but she shielded Luna at the crucial moment." she sighed.

Although she was relieved that Luna was alright, Xiaoshi was hurt, leaving her with mixed feelings. She was not fond of the girl but she didn’t dislike her to the point of wanting her dead.

Lanni let out a breath when she heard the entire story. There wasn’t any need to speculate to know who was behind it.

"We have to lock in the news." She said, then asked, "Does her family know?"

"I called Xiehan." Xingyu responded. He didn’t know how to face the Yun family yet since Xiaoshi had gotten hurt while saving Luna. He could only hope that her life was out of danger.

Cheng Yu checked on Luna once in a while and held her hand that was turning cold from anxiety. "Luna, it’s not your fault."

"I know." She whispered, but her mind was not filled with guilt as Cheng Yu thought. To be exact, she was indeed guilty but not for the reason that Cheng Yu imagined. It was because all along she had thought Xiaoshi secretly hated her and held malicious intentions—considering the fact that they loved the same man. She had never thought about it before but she would have assumed that Xiaoshi would be happy if something happened to her; if she died and left Xingyu’s life. Who would have thought that at such a time, the person to jump in and risk their life to save her was that very girl she thought of as a rival?

She had misunderstood her all along...

Lanni understood what her sister was thinking after studying her for a while. She placed a hand on her shoulder. "It’s not your fault that you didn’t trust her. She did seem too good to be true."

To be honest, Lanni had been somewhat suspicious of her too. It was only after studying her for a while that she started to believe that there was someone as kind as Xiaoshi, whose kindness was not a mask to disguise ill motives. She couldn’t blame Luna for not believing her.

Even so, Luna still blamed herself. "I would never forgive myself if anything happened to her."

"Nothing will happen to her. Come here." Xingyu pulled her to rest on his shoulder, understanding that Luna would feel this way no matter who was lying in the ward in her place.

The operation had been going on for over an hour now but there was no sign of the red light above the door dimming. Every second of it brought torturing anxiousness and by the time it was over, the group waiting on the benches was about to collapse from nervousness.

"She is out of danger. She will wake up in a few hours." Announced the doctor, making everyone sigh in relief.

...

When Xiaoshi finally regained consciousness, the first person she saw beside her was Xiehan.

"Cousin." She strained out two syllables and saw the man visibly brighten up looking happier.

"You’re awake." Xiehan held her hand.

"How is Luna?" The other asked, making Xiehan frown at her.

"No matter whether you are working or playing, you always have a way of making me worry to death, mmh? At this rate, I will age faster because of you."

She managed a slight, weak laugh. "Even if you age, you will still be handsome enough for cousin-in-law to remain smitten."

"You smooth-talker." Xiehan was speechless at her way of trying to sweet-talk her way to avoid his lecture. Even so, he still had something to say. "How could you throw yourself in the path of a bullet?"

"I don’t know. Instinct." She made it sound like she would have done it for anyone when in truth, it was because the first thing she thought about when she saw that Luna was on the verge of getting shot was the baby. It didn’t matter that the person in front of the gun barrel was a woman she was not in good terms with. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Xiehan frowned down at her, not knowing whether to be happy or sad about what she did. "Don’t try to save anyone if you cannot get both of you out of danger. Your life is important too, okay?" He lectured.

"Understood." She nodded obediently, then looked up at him with puppy dog eyes as though she had something to ask him for.

"What is it?" He knew she wasn’t acting cute for nothing.

She thought about what she wanted and blushed, then shook her head in embarrassment. Forget it.

Xiehan took in her expression and frowned slightly. What was she thinking about? Massaging his eyebrows, he decided that she would talk when she was ready to. "Ruby is taking care of the discharge procedure."

"I am being discharged?" Her eyes lit up in joy, as though she couldn’t wait to leave this place.

"Yes. I know you hate hospitals." He confirmed, much to her relief. He waited for her to finish rambling and brown nosing him for being the best cousin in the whole world before he proceeded to explain. "You will stay at my mansion and my friend will take care of you. Is this alright with you?"

"Your... Friend?" She asked, her eyes growing big.

"Han Xichen. You have met him before." Xiehan explained, and it made the young woman’s cheeks stain scarlet. Not only had they met before, they were friends now and they had even kissed once. Trying not to make herself so obvious, she nodded and remained silent.

Xiehan found it strange nonetheless. Not only did his cousin dislike hospitals, she would grumble about having to take any medicine. Having a doctor take care of her was no different—he had expected a hundred excuses and pleas and he had even prepared to counter them. Why did it seem like she was happy about being under medical observation?

Ruby entered the room with a small folder and gave it to Xiehan before smiling at the woman on the bed. "Shishi, how are you feeling?"

She was about to joyously say that she was much better but she frowned before the words left her mouth. If she said that she felt better, her cousin might conclude that she could recuperate without the need of a doctor. That would wreck her chance of being taken care of by the handsome Han Xichen. Hence after thinking about it, she weakly smiled. "A little better."

Xiehan shot a look at her. Was it just him, or was his little cousin acting strange?

...

By the time Han Xichen made his way to Xiehan’s villa after being informed of what had happened, Xiaoshi’s heart was beating fast in anticipation, and she was all impatient from having waited for too long.

In truth, she had not waited for that long—the man had hurried over as soon as Xiehan mentioned that it was about Xiaoshi. She only thought it was long because it had been a while since she last saw him.

Her cheeks flushed when she heard the voices of two men—Xiehan and Han Xichen—followed by their footsteps pattering towards her room. The door opened and the two walked in.

"Check on her. She’s awake now." instructed Xiehan, and Han Xichen walked towards her.

"What happened? You were in one piece when I last saw you." The man made fun of her as he prepared his equipment.