16 months ago (Episode 20.)

"So just like that, huh?" Zhào Yúnlán asked.

"Yeah, pretty much, just like that. I made him my friend faster than he could magician his way out of there." Chéng Xīnyán chuckles. "Funny though, for a military man, Wēi gege didn't seem to take well to high school."

"You've seen my Wife in uniform?" Zhào Yúnlán asked. His interest... and slightly perverted mind piqued.

"Um, no, but one of the graves he used to visit is for a military officer." Chéng Xīnyán shrugs. "On top of that, he is so authoritative, I just assumed."

"Wifey, in uniform," Zhào Yúnlán hums under his breath, "that would be a sight. And with a BFF, bias list must have one hell of an algorithm."

"Why, hoping to make Honourable Mention?"

"Aiyo, Chéng yisheng, you wound me!"

"Oh, it's okay. I am sure I have a Hello Kitty Boo-Boo kit around here somewhere."

The office fills with the sound of Zhào Yúnlán's laughter. Sobered, Chéng Xīnyán continues, "In this regard, literally and quite figuratively, Shěn Wēi keeps much close to his vest. He has always been that way." She shrugs slightly, "I have and will always respect his choice to share or to not share what is important to him."

Zhào Yúnlán's face was purposefully relaxed as he stared at her, but his gaze deliberate and focused. Chéng Xīnyán does not allow her smile to waver and endures the scrutiny. She had the sense that he was looking directly into her soul. It felt oddly familiar.

When Zhào Yúnlán spoke again, his tone was light but his statement quite laden. "There are not many who would be willing to do such things for a person like Shěn Wēi without recompense. Especially one they admittedly, barely know."

"One of my favorite authors, LuvLaws wrote, 'Soul meiteuneun yeon-in il pil-yoneun eobs-seubnida.' One can be soulmates without being lovers. I find it to be a truth often ignored for the sake of archaic social nomenclature." Chéng Xīnyán's eyes challenged the unseeing ones of Zhào Yúnlán. "Zhào xiansheng, you are a police officer. Believing everyone has an ulterior motive is to be expected. From a psychological standpoint, all of us do. However, please don't let that fact jade how you view my relationship with Shěn Wēi. That isn't something I would want."

His eyebrow arched and then he gave a slow nod. "So what is it that you want?"

Chéng Xīnyán stares at him for a moment. Her mind screams, 'Get it right this time!' But she refrains from speaking those. With him, she needs to choose wisely.

"I want..." she starts, leaning forward, "I want to go back and take the blue pill because there has obviously been a change in the Matrix."

"A change in the..." Zhào Yúnlán chuckles. The unknown emotion gripping his heart eases and he once again relaxes. "Not likely Chéng yisheng, if you could go back, you would most definitely choose the same. Besides, don't let that Dead Fatty fool you into thinking the conspiracy is real. It's his favorite scene from the movie."

"Who? Uh, or what?"

"Ah, never mind, just referring to an old friend," as Zhào Yúnlán waves away the question, there is knock at the door.

"Chéng yisheng?" said one of the young nurses from earlier as he sticks his head in. "There is a Da Qing here for Zhào juzheng. He is in the family room, shall I escort him over?"

"Speaking of the Dead Fatty..."

"Ah yes, please." Chéng Xīnyán ignores the odd comment. "Zhào xiansheng, you leave first and I will come to find you a bit later?"

Zhào Yúnlán stood, "Of course! I am looking forward to another history lesson."

Chéng Xīnyán chuckles as the nurse guides Zhào Yúnlán through the door.

"Nurse, excuse me. You seem to have such a gentle disposition; I thought that perhaps you could help me. Are you single?" Zhào Yúnlán asks bluntly.

"Zhào juzheng, you aren't going to tell me about the house you bought for your fiancé again are you?" the nurse asks, words kissed with a hint of vinegar.

"Oh, have I mentioned it before, eh? No matter, I was actually going to ask about house warming gifts. I am looking for something romantic. What do you know of poetry?"

"Hmm," the nurse thinks a moment, "Have you heard of the English poet Shakespeare? I think you'd like him, he was known to be quite shameless."

"Shameless, really?" mused Zhào Yúnlán.

'Shameless, indeed!' thinks Chéng Xīnyán as she closes the door.

~~~~~~~~

Chéng Xīnyán is saying goodbye to her last consult when her phone pings. She opens her messages.

"Running late, arriving in an hour. - X"

Typing a quick affirmative, Chéng Xīnyán decides to forego her usual tasks of answering emails and heads toward the family waiting room.

Chéng Xīnyán finds Zhào Yúnlán sprawled comfortably across the couch.

His socked feet propped on the table as he chats with Da Qing. They are having what seems to be a serious exchange when Da Qing begins smacking himself in the head.

Zhào Yúnlán explains the headaches and memory loss at the doctor's inquiry while she begins to assess Da Qing's condition. She places her fingers on his wrist and recoils from the heat of his skin. He was not visibly perspiring but his temperature was at least several degrees higher than it should be.

"Da Qing xiansheng, you seem to be running a slight fever but not sweating. Your pulse and respiration are elevated. Have you ever had an anxiety attack?" Da Qing shakes his head. "Let's go back to my office to rest a bit, okay?" After some coercion, Da Qing agrees and Zhào Yúnlán decides to excuse himself.

"Chéng yisheng, I will leave this little foolish thing to you," Zhào Yúnlán said.

"That's fine. But I will tell you now, I am only a neurologist."

"Shěn Wēi believes in you, I believe in you," Zhào Yúnlán states firmly.

Chéng Xīnyán smiles, knowing they had come to an understanding.

"Shěn Wēi has not returned, how will you get home?"

Zhào Yúnlán replies confidently, "I can get home myself."

"With your eyes like that, are you sure?"

"My dear Chéng yisheng, the real path? Cannot be seen with the eyes." Zhào Yúnlán puts on his shades. "I'll head out, first."

'Zhào Yúnlán-a, Zhào Yúnlán,' Chéng Xīnyán muses, ' Every path leads somewhere. Who are we to say what the real path is and what is not? Isn't the one to Hell paved with good intentions?'

~~~~~~~~

Chéng Xīnyán is engrossed in paperwork regarding Da Qing's follow up when there is a knock at the door. "Come in," she says without immediately looking up. If she had, she would have seen the brief look of panic that flashed across the man's face.

"A'Yan?" Shěn Wēi inquires.

"Wei ge, you're here," her smile falters slightly. "Why are you here? I thought you would be headed home"

"I finished early and came to escort Zhào Yúnlán home." The polite and almost shy smile Shěn Wēi was known for was absent from his lips.

With Chéng Xīnyán, that mask was not needed.

"Really?" she cocks an eyebrow. Shěn Wēi's neckline tinges pink.

"Yes, back to his apartment so he can rest," Shěn Wēi recovers.

Chéng Xīnyán nods as a knowing smirk plays at the corners of her lips. "I understand, but he has already gone ahead." Shěn Wēi's body visibly stiffens.

"I saw Da Qing leaving on my way in, he was alone." Frost crystals were forming on the edge of his words.

"Zhào Yúnlán left a couple of hours ago. I thought that perhaps he would want to wait for you but he said that he would be able to find his way on his own..."

"On his own?" Shěn Wēi asked, not sure if he heard correctly. "You let him leave on his OWN?"

Chéng Xīnyán could feel the temperature in the room drop a few degrees. "Wēi ge..."

"Why would you let him leave on his own? He cannot see and I left him in your care."

"Zhào Yúnlán is resourceful. He is not helpless and he sees more than you real..."

"Unacceptable!" Shěn Wēi turns to leave but hesitates with his hand on the handle. His eyes are closed and when he speaks, his voice is barely above a whisper "If anything..."

Chéng Xīnyán begins to circle the desk. Shěn Wēi's back straightens and his next words stop her cold.

"I will not accept your apology." With that, he was gone.

Chéng Xīnyán exhales shakily. Her breath is visible in the frigid air. She stares after the closed door.

"Shěn Wēi'a, Shěn Wēi, you never do."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: 

Dàjiā hǎo! 

I think that I am back at it. Hopefully with a better understanding of how good story telling works.  I will be making grammatical edits for the previous chapters but not changing anything that will disrupt continuity. Thank you for you patience... Lurve you all bunches and bunches!

Links to Author's that are so damn good I had to quote can be found here:

Vocabulary can be found here:

Love letters may or may not be found here: