Chapter 2: Water Under The Bridge

As the man’s mind was dawdling on his past and present, a melodious voice sounded through the room, "If you're not the one for me, then I'll come. I can bring you to your knees.

And if you're not the one for me, why do I hate the idea of being free?

And if I'm not the one for you, you better stop holding me the way you do.

Honey if I'm not the one for you, why have we been through what we have been through.

It's so cold oo out here, in your wilderness, I want you oo to be my keeper but not if you are so reckless.

If you're gonna let me down, let me down gently

Don't pretend that you don't want me

I love ain’t water under the bridge

If you're gonna let me down, let me down gently

Don't pretend that you don't want me

I love ain’t water under the bridge

Oh ooo o oh ooo o ooo o

Say that I love ain’t water under the bridge

And what are you waiting for

You never seem to make it through the door

And who are you hiding from?

It ain’t no life to live like you're on the run

Have I ever asked for much?

The only thing that I want is your love

If you're gonna let me down, let me down gently

Don't pretend that you don't want me

I love ain’t water under the bridge

If you're gonna let me down, let me down gently

Don't pretend that you don't want me

I love ain’t water under the bridge

Oh ooo o oh ooo o ooo o

Say that I love ain’t water under the bridge

It's so cold oo out here, in your wilderness, I want you oo to be my keeper but not if you are so reckless.

If you're gonna let me down, let me down gently

Don't pretend that you don't want me

I love ain’t water under the bridge

If you're gonna let me down, let me down gently

Don't pretend that you don't want me

I love ain’t water under the bridge

Oh ooo o oh ooo o ooo o

Say that I love ain’t water under the bridge

Oh ooo o oh ooo o ooo o

Say that I love ain’t water under the bridge"

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

The man felt the woman move off him when she finished singing, but she climbed into the sheets beside him, wrapping her arms around him, and closing her eyes. His eyes opened and after a moment of hesitation he asked her, "What is your name?"

He felt the woman’s smile through his shirt as she questioned him, "How could you forget the name of your girlfriend? Did you really lose your memory Ah-Rui?" The man frowned. ‘How does she know my name? I for sure didn't lose my memories.’ The man, Yuan Rui, raised his arm and looked at her from underneath it.

The woman smiled at him then pulled his arm to rest around her waist, moving closer to him. "Switch off the lights honey, it's time to sleep," she told him.

"You switched them on, didn't you?" Yuan Rui groaned.

"Mn, and it's your job as the husband to finish his wife's job," she yawned with droopy eyes. Yuan Rui regarded her with a glance then reached up ahead of him and turned off the lamp above his head then covered them properly with the blanket.

Ten minutes passed and the woman was still here. ‘Is she really not leaving?’ Yuan Rui wondered. ‘Who are you and why are you disturbing my sleep with this nonsense? You're lucky I don't have the energy to deal with you.’

Narrowing his eyes, he reached for the drawer and pulled it open without moving much, pulling out his phone. Yuan Rui tapped the screen, switching the camera on and then he took a photo of the woman silently. Viewing the picture he took, he sighed then he extended his arm to take another of the two of them together.

In the picture he took of them, he noticed that her hair was long. Moving his eyes over to her sleeping figure in his arms, he couldn't see it clearly. Placing the phone down on the blanket, he pulled her hair from under the blanket and rested it across him, covering her face.

The woman felt him run his fingers through her hair gently. Opening her eyes, she smiled then closed them again, 'I wonder what expression he’s making,' she thought.  Yuan Rui entangled his fingers in her hair until he became drowsy and closed his eyes. Low snores danced in the room as they slept.

*

"Morning Mr. Zhao. It's time for breakfast," a nurse interrupted his sleep. She stood by his bedside, looking down at him with a smile.

Yuan Rui opened his eyes then rubbed the sleep out. He got up, scrunching his nose, and sneezed. The nurse's perfume was burning his nose. He glared at her, "Did you take a bath in perfume?'' he asked her in disgust.

The young nurse looked at him in shock, "N-no," she stuttered, embarrassed. She stepped back and looked away from him.

Yuan Rui ignored her and looked at the food that was prepared for him. Pulling the tray and table closer to him, he started eating, and seconds later his eyes widened in realization. He started looking for the woman who was in his room last night.

His head snapped in the direction of the nurse. She looked at his cold expression as his voice boomed out, "Where is the girl that was in my room last night?"

"Girl? What girl?" she asked him, tilting her head. 

Yuan Rui stared at her blankly as he thought about it. "Get out!" he commanded. She jumped at his yell and stumbled out of the room.

Yuan Rui reached for his phone and went through his images. He sighed in relief when he saw the two pictures he took of the woman last night. ‘So I wasn't hallucinating? But when did she leave?’

8 a.m. arrived and in walked Yuan Rui’s best friend with a get-well basket. The man grinned as he looked at Yuan Rui happily, but inside he was overwhelmingly worried for his friend and just wanted him to get well.

Yuan Rui looked at Huang Yunshen and felt all his energy leave. He didn't want to see anyone he knew. 

"How are you feeling today?" Huang Yunshen asked Yuan Rui.

"Fine," Yuan Rui answered with no emotion.

‘What could have happened?’ Huang Yunshen thought. ‘Four days ago, he was well and all, so why did he relapse and try to kill himself?’ Huang Yunshen looks at his friend.  

Yuan Rui was looking out of the window at the birds' nest on the tree; the mother bird was sitting on her eggs, keeping them warm.

As he watches the bird, Yuan Rui’s mind trailed off to last night at the odd meeting between him and his so-called wife, his body slumping slightly. He was wondered where she was and when she left when he suddenly was pulled out of his thoughts by Huang Yunshen.

Huang Yunshen saw that Yuan Rui's mind was somewhere else, suddenly becoming depressed and his body starting to slump. He started shaking Yuan Rui. "Come now Rui, please don't become depressed all of a sudden, everything will be okay. Look, I'm here and Jiang Hui Yin will be here soon, so please be careful," he begged.

Hearing Huang Yunshen mention Jiang Hui Yin's name, Yuan Rui’s body stiffened. Yuan Rui shrugged Huang Yunshen off from him, but before he could tell his friend to let him be, Jiang Hui Yin walked into the room. Her eyes landed on Yuan Rui and immediately she became teary-eyed.

She ran up to him, pushing Huang Yunshen aside and hugging Yuan Rui. "Ah-Rui, my poor Ah-Rui," she cried.

'This bitch!' Yuan Rui thought. He looked at Huang Yunshen, mentally asking his best friend to get her off him, but Huang Yunshen wasn't telepathic and looked on hoping for the best. Yuan Rui sighed as he didn't have the energy to deal with her right now, especially after what he had overheard her say before he tried to kill himself.

His mind wandered and as he was becoming depressed. He saw hope in the one standing behind Huang Yunshen. Yuan Rui’s eyes lit up for some reason. She was here again, so it wasn't his imagination, but she was looking at Jiang Hui Yin holding onto him.

She had an unreadable expression and although he wanted to call her, he didn't know her name and to call her wife out of the blue with these two here, he couldn't. Her eyes trailed over to him, and she smiled slightly.

Turning around, she left the room just like that, appearing unannounced and leaving just the same.