128 Always and Forever

The moment Zheng Ren came out of the room, Yan Mei rushed into his arms. Zheng Ren heaved a sigh and patted her back gently. Yan Mei clutched his shirt.

"Fa-Father…"

Her words broke up and all she could utter was shattering sounds. Hot tears streamed down her face and soaked her father's shirt, piercing straight into Zheng Ren's heart.

Yan Mei felt like she was drowning in a pool filled with acid. She could feel herself struggling to breath. She held her father's shirt tightly for dear life.

Zheng Ren said nothing and just held her. His precious daughter was once a bright woman full of life and happiness. Zheng Ren could still remember how her smile could brighten his day anytime he stared at her in the shadows.

Yet, one day. Everything changed. Her smiles ceased and the light in her eyes disappeared. When she smiled, she looked like she was doing tedious work. She became an empty can whose eyes were always in a haze.

Her once confident body radiated the exact opposite in her aura. Until she met him. Even though Zheng Ren was against the flash marriage, he saw how happy this man made his daughter.

And as a father that was all he wanted; to see his dear daughter happy so he didn't say anything and allowed them to be together. But fate as usual had to be cruel to his daughter.

Yan Mei pulled away from her father and looked up at him. Looking at the dull and empty eyes of his daughter, Zheng Ren felt like he was dying as well.

He stared at her as the tears slowly fell down from her face. Her shoulders were slumped.

"P-please, father..." She was choking on her words as her tears didn't cease. "S-save him," Yan Mei pleaded; her voice cracked and caught in her throat. "S-save him," she said once more, her clear tone was now undercut with a choking heaviness that forced her to pause several times.

She closed her teary eyes as she waited for her father's response. If anyone can save Lei Zhao at this moment, it was her father.

"XiaoMei…"

Her father called her out gently. Yan Mei opened her eyes and her chest tightened looking at the look in her father's eyes. She felt like someone was sitting on it and she couldn't breathe.

Yan Mei stepped back and a mad smile spilled from her lips.

"Y-You… don't w-want to, f-father," she said as she wiped her eyes but the tears flowed out more. Her bottom lips quivered and her shoulders dropped in resignation.

"XiaoMei… you know it is dangerous," Zheng Ren said, trying to make her understand the dangers in waking up a dead person.

Complete hopelessness slammed through Yan Mei.

"NOO!" Yan Mei screamed, her shrieking voice echoing. "BRING HIM BACK!"

She had demanded as a great tremor overtook her. Yan Mei fell on the floor in a disheveled heap as her grief poured out in a flood of uncontrollable tears. Gut-wrenching sobs racked through her chest.

"MY HUBBY, THE LIGHT IN MY DARKNESS. Please bring him back to me!"

Yan Mei bellowed but slowly her pleas turned into a feeble whimper and a helpless whisper.

Edward Wu stared at the woman in a disheveled state who was heartbreakingly asking them to bring her dead husband back and he felt sour in his heart.

He never believed in love but seeing Yan Mei's intense emotion crying for Lei Zhao, he began to ask himself if one day if he were to die, would someone also cry like this for him? He looked away and his chin trembled, a solemn tear fell down his chin.

His body looked calm but his heart and mind were tangled in a mess. With a shaking hand, he brought his fingers on his face. Feeling the hot liquid on his cheeks, a sad smile spilled from Edward Wu's lips.

Edward Wu didn't remember the last time he cried. He didn't cry when he lost his cat when he was a kid. He didn't cry when he was kidnapped and tortured at the age of fifteen. For people, he was a block of wood with no emotions or whatsoever.

Yan Mei sat on the floor and mumbled incoherent things to herself as she choked on her sobs, her noisy sobs echoing in the quiet hallway.

The bodyguard who had been trained not to show emotions, his eyes were red, as he stared at the woman sitting on the floor in a hospital gown crying for her dead husband. Her face was puffy and tear-stained. She seemed to have lost weight in a blink of an eye.

Flashes of her happy memories with Lei Zhao flashed through her mind.

"Let me make you happy, okay?"

"Wifey... you're gorgeous, so f.u.c.k.i.n.g gorgeous and you're all mine."

"Wifey… let me worship you, okay? A woman like you deserves to be worshipped."

"Yes, I am… I'm crazy in love with you, Wifey."

"You mean everything to me, Wifey. And we are going to grow old together."

The words of Lei Zhao echoed in Yan Mei's ears.

Hearing how his words echoed in her head repeatedly like a broken record, anger flashed in Yan Mei's eyes as she still felt despair over his disappearance.

"Liar!" She roared, her voice surprising the people around her. Yan Mei bowed her head as she muttered, "I can't believe I fell for his lies." Yan Mei's throat fell swollen and she stuttered as she continued to mumble to herself.

Suddenly she felt someone lift her chin. Yan Mei looked up and her eyes slammed into a pair of familiar ones. His signature smirk was plastered on his face.

'Isn't he… isn't he dead?'

Her eyes landed on those familiar eyes that she knew best. Her eyes scanned on every inch of his body, her hands touching him hesitantly and when she felt that they were real, she blinked her eyes a few times, not believing that the person she cried on and on for appeared right before her eyes.

As if nothing happened!

"Lei Zhao?"

Yan Mei said his name, her voice full of uncertainty.

"Wifey…"

Lei Zhao called out affectionately with a soft smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"Are you… no… you are dead. I held your cold and lifeless body in my hands," she mumbled, her eyebrows arching up in disbelief. Seeing this, Lei Zhao chuckled and flickered her nose.

"Maybe I'm really dead… or maybe I'm just a fragment of your imagination."

Yan Mei stretched out her hand and touched his face this time. His warmth coursed through her, hitting her straight in the heart.

"I-I can touch you. You're here," Yan Mei rasped.

"Silly, of course you can!"

Yan Mei chortled, the vision she had began to swim in front of her as tears welled from deep inside and coursed down her cheeks.

Seeing her tears and disheveled state, Lei Zhao felt his heart shattering into a million pieces. He pulled her into a hug and Yan Mei hugged him with so much strength… afraid of losing him again.

She was afraid… afraid that everything was just an illusion and he would evaporate the moment she lets him go.

Yan Mei's tears soaked his shirt as she breathed in his scent. With a strong will, Lei Zhao pulled away from the hug and trailed his fingers under her eyes wiping away her tears.

"Ugly," Lei Zhao commented, making Yan Mei roll her eyes at him.

"Who are you calling ugly," Yan Mei retorted making Lei Zhao chuckle and grasp her cheeks with both of his hands.

"Have you forgotten what I told you on our third meeting?"

Yan Mei's brows furrowed. Seeing the confused frown marring on her forehead, Lei Zhao smiled as he found his wife was really the cutest.

"You look beautiful when you laugh… you should laugh more often were my exact words."

Yan Mei smiled and leaned her cheeks in his palm.

"See, Wifey… it's not hard to smile. Smiling is the easiest thing to do," Lei Zhao said as he caressed her cheeks.

They gazed into each other's eyes. Yan Mei doesn't know how long they stared at each other's eyes. Suddenly, she busted into a manic laugh.

"You're not real. You're dead. Everything is my hallucination," Yan Mei whispered, her voice thick with sadness.

"Hmm. Or Maybe it is your subconsciousness. Or maybe it is your mind's way of preventing you from accepting the truth. Who knows," Lei Zhao said as his eyes gleamed with amus.e.m.e.nt.

Yan Mei just stared at him with disbelief in her eyes. She just stood there silent as Lei Zhao continued to speak.

"Wifey…I didn't know you love me this much. I have to admit I'm happy," Lei Zhao chortled. "Guess my patience and endless love paid off. And oh, let's not forget the great s.e.x." Lei Zhao added as he threw her a subtle wink.

Yan Mei snickered. He is still shameless as always.

"Now I can die peacefully," Lei Zhao said as his lips twisted into a sad smile. Hearing this, Yan Mei's smile turned into a frown in an instant.

"You can't leave me. You promised me that we would grow old together. I-"

"I never said I would leave you. I would always be with you. In here, " Lei Zhao said as he pointed his finger on her chest.

"Always and forever."

Yan Mei's eyes flickered to his. She saw the intense emotion in his eyes and her heart skipped a beat.

"I love you, Wifey… even death can't stop me from loving you," Lei Zhao said as he planted a kiss on her forehead.

And then he was gone, leaving her all alone on the cold floor.

Yan Mei opened her mouth to let air in as her shoulders shook with grief. More tears fell on her already wet cheeks as she began to whimper.

"Please," she pleaded. "Don't leave me," she begged but it was no use. Everything inside her shut down. Her eyes stung and her body trembled.

"Don't…leave...me. I love you," she muttered to herself, darkness invading her completely.

"Yan Mei!"

Her father quickly held her before her head could hit the cold floor.

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

Yan Mei had a beautiful dream while in coma. In the dream, she was watching the sunset with Lei Zhao. Her head was rested on his shoulder as the chilly wind blew her hair around. Lei Zhao put an arm around her as they were silently appreciating the moment.

Suddenly the mellow voice of a child sounded, breaking the tranquility.

"Mommy… I hungry…"

A child about three years old ran towards them. Lei Zhao picked her up and placed her on his lap.

"Go call your brother, then we will eat together," Lei Zhao said, ruffling her hair.

'Da, can I have choclate after dinner?"

Yan Mei frowned, "N-"

"Yes. Of course, my little princess can have anything she wants."

The child beamed and run away to call his brother.

"You spoil her too much," Yan Mei complained as she rolled her eyes at him.

Lei Zhao chuckled and kissed her.

"If I don't spoil my daughter. Who would?"

Yan Mei's lips curved into a smile.

***

Suddenly she felt someone planting a kiss on her forehead. Yan Mei opened her eyes and saw a pair of warm eyes staring back at her.

"Wifey... you finally woke up."