CHAPTER 65: CHAPTER 65

~Fan Xiao~

The moment they opened that stupid door and pushed Lee Know out like he was some forgotten delivery package, I almost punched the guard in the face. Not because I’m violent...okay maybe I am but because Lee Know looked like a kicked puppy pretending everything was fine, and that made my stomach twist.

He blinked at me, all tired and pretending he wasn’t shaking.

"Don’t look at me like that," he muttered.

"Oh, sorry," I snapped, grabbing him by the arm before he could fall on his face, "should I look at you like someone who didn’t almost die in a basement?"

He groaned. "I didn’t almost die...."

"Oh my God, shut up," I said, already dragging him straight to the car because I wasn’t giving him a chance to argue. "You look like a ghost who hasn’t slept in five years."

"I always look like this."

"That’s not the flex you think it is."

He snorted in this pathetic way that made me want to wrap him in bubble wrap.

He leaned on me, barely noticeable, but I felt it.

I felt everything, too much, all the time, especially when it came to him.

"Why are you so quiet?" I asked, sliding in beside him.

"I’m tired."

"You’re never this quiet unless you’re about to pass out or cry."

He turned his head slowly. "Do you want me to cry?"

"No...what...why would you say that?"

"Because you’re asking me stupid questions."

"Okay, so you’re still rude. Good. You’re alive."

He rolled his eyes, but his hand stayed pressed on his stomach. That small movement hit me harder than anything else. Like he was making sure the little thing inside was still there. Still safe.

It pained me that he’d been scared alone.

I hated that I wasn’t there.

I hated everything.

So I told the driver to move and held Lee Know’s wrist like I was afraid he’d disappear again.

The entire car ride he stared out the window and didn’t say a single word.

I kept glancing at him every three seconds because I’m paranoid and dramatic and I had every right to be.

"You hungry?"

"No."

"You hurting?"

"No."

"You lying?"

He glared. "Always."

***

When we stepped into the hospital, I swear the lights made him look even paler. I didn’t care if people stared at us. If anyone even breathed too loudly near him, I was ready to throw hands.

A nurse approached. "Do you have an appointment...."

"He was kidnapped," I cut in, "and I need someone with a medical license and a brain to check him and my...our...baby before I lose my mind. Please. Kindly. Before I burn this building down."

The nurse blinked, obviously not paid enough to handle someone like me.

Lee Know tugged weakly on my sleeve. "Stop threatening arson."

"I said please."

She guided us to a room, probably just to keep me from causing a scene.

Too late.

I already was a scene.

Lee Know sat on the bed and I stood right in front of him, arms crossed, staring him down.

He frowned. "Why are you looking at me like I committed a crime?"

"Because you look like you’re about to faint."

"I’m not fainting."

"You’re literally swaying."

"I’m fine."

"Say ’I’m fine’ one more time and I swear..."

The door opened.

The doctor finally walked in.

She smiled politely. "Alright, let’s check you...."

"He needs everything," I said immediately. "Blood test, scan, whatever pregnant people get when they’ve been through hell."

The doctor looked at me, then at Lee Know.

"Is he usually like this?"

"Yes," Lee Know muttered, "he’s dramatic."

I gasped. "I’m dramatic? You got kidnapped and didn’t even scream my name after seeing me."

"Why would I scream your name?"

"Because you love me!"

The doctor cleared her throat like she regretted coming in.

"Alright, let’s do a scan first."

I helped Lee Know lie down even though he kept saying, "I can do it myself," but his hands were shaking so he wasn’t fooling anybody.

When the cold gel touched his stomach, he flinched.

I grabbed his hand.

He didn’t pull away.

Then the machine started making sounds.

I held my breath.

Lee Know held mine, apparently, because he wasn’t breathing either.

Then...

Two tiny heartbeats. Fast. Loud. Real.

My brain blanked.

My mouth dropped.

I think I choked on air.

The doctor smiled. "Congratulations. Everything looks okay so far. And... yes. It appears you’re having twins."

I swear my soul left my body and came back doing backflips.

"Tw....TWINS?!" I yelled so loudly the doctor jumped.

Lee Know squeezed my hand hard. "F-Fang..."

"Oh God, oh no, no no no..TWO?! TWO?!" I clutched my head. "Why didn’t the universe warn me?! Do you KNOW what two babies means? Double diapers? Double crying? Double food? Double school fees? Double....risks for my boyfriend! Can one stay?"

"Fan Xiao you think we’re in china with over population and it’s my body, don’t tell me what to do, are you even fucking okay?

"Bro..."

Lee Know smacked my arm. "Bro sybau, shut your bitch ass up, shut up!"

"YOU DID THIS TO ME!"

"TO YOU?! THEY’RE IN MY BODY!"

"YES EXACTLY WHICH IS WHY I’M FREAKING OUT..."

The doctor cleared her throat again.

"Please stop yelling in my examination room."

I slapped my hand over my mouth. "Sorry."

Lee Know glared at me, but his eyes were shining a little. Not tears...no he would never admit tears but something softer.

"Twins," he whispered.

And then my chest did that warm twisty thing again and I hated how much I loved it.

I grabbed his face gently. "Hey. They’re okay. You’re okay. I’m here."

He stared at me like he wanted to believe it but was too stubborn to admit he did.

"Don’t be sweet to me," he mumbled.

"I’m never sweet."

"You’re being sweet now."

"I’m being honest. There’s a difference."

He pushed my hand away but leaned into it first.

The doctor left us alone for more tests later, and while Lee Know rested, I sat in the little chair beside him and my brain, of course, decided to replay every embarrassing moment of how I fell for him in the first place.

I wasn’t supposed to fall in love.

I was a hacker.

One of the most hated, hunted, talented ones in China.

People wanted my head.

I lived off adrenaline and caffeine.

Romance wasn’t in my vocabulary.

Then I saw Lee Know.

He was on some business trip, broke as hell, wearing this ugly shirt that looked like he fought a washing machine and lost. He was ranting at a vending machine because it ate his coin.

He kicked it.

Swore at it.

Threatened it.

And I swear the machine almost spat out a bottle in apology.

I stood there thinking, who the hell is this chaotic mess?

He noticed me staring and shot back with, "What? You never saw a man fight for his juice before?"

I should’ve walked away.

I should’ve minded my business.

But no.

I opened my stupid mouth.

"You’re going to break your ankle before you get that drink."

"And you’re going to mind your business when?"

I blinked.

He blinked.

And that was it.

We started arguing like two idiots on the street for ten straight minutes.

He pissed me off instantly.

He was; too blunt.

Too loud.

Too stubborn.

Too much of everything I had ever hated.

I followed him for no reason.

He yelled at me for following him.

I yelled back that he looked like he’d get robbed if I didn’t. He looked like a cute puppy that needed guidance. I felt like he’d attract the world’s most evil men and they’d want to fuck him even if they’re straight.

He told me he was perfectly fine.

He tripped on a step two minutes later.

I caught him.

He pretended I didn’t.

We spent the whole day fighting.

Then the next day too.

And by the third day, I realized something horrifying:

I liked him.

I actually liked him.

His stupid rants.

His sharp tongue.

His tired smile at night when he

I honestly didn’t understand how the hell I fell for Lee Know because, for days, the guy annoyed me like it was his full-time job. And I wasn’t even exaggerating. Every time we met, it felt like he woke up specifically to ruin my peace.

The second time, he bumped into me outside that convenience store near my apartment and spilled hot coffee on my hoodie. It may sound like a cliche scene straight out of a kdrama, but no. This was real, it actually happened. He didn’t even apologize. He just stared at me like I appeared out of nowhere and messed up his morning.

"Watch where you’re walking," he said.

"I was standing still," I replied.

"Then watch where you’re standing," he said again, grabbed a new drink, and walked off like a drama queen on a mission.

And I stood there thinking, Wow. I hope he trips and falls into a sewer.

But the universe had a sick sense of humor because we kept running into each other. Same store. Same street. Same bus stop. Same freaking chicken place. At first I thought he was stalking me, so one day I asked him straight up.

"Are you following me?"

He snorted. "Why would I follow you? I don’t even like your face."

"My face is perfect."

"It irritates me."

"You irritate me."

"Good," he said, and walked off again.

He always walked away first. I hated that. I hated how he’d just leave in the middle of an argument and I’d be standing there like an idiot, repeating the conversation in my head because I didn’t get the last word.

But somehow each meeting became... less annoying.