《A Go Go Squid story》"We need to call the police"
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Han Shangyan was looking at her, his arms still wrapped around her, as if he wanted to protect her from the rest of the world. Her sleep hadn't been peaceful. But everytime she was waking up, he made sure he was there, awake, ready to swipe the single tear she once had on her cheek, to gently caress her forehead to calm her heartbeat, or to offer her a comforting look, when her eyes were half open. When she seemed scared, he whispered to her ear: "I am here, you can sleep, don't worry", and everytime she fall asleep again. It took her a few hours to really wake up from her not so peaceful resting time. Of course, Han Shangyan hadn't moved and was smiling at her tiny face still hidden into his chest.
"Hey little squid", he said, trying to give her a positive energy. He waited for her to let go of his body to take a step back, letting her breath a little bit better and emerge from her sleep. She smiled back at him, slowly tracing the locks of his hair with her small fingers.
"Hey", she answered. "How long did I sleep?"
"A few hours, it's dinner time now... do you want me to bring you something to eat?"
"Yeah... eating would be good". Tong Nian removed the blanket that was covering her, and tried to get up, grabbing one of her husband's K and K sweater, in the dressing next to their bed.
"And what exactly do you think you are doing?". Han Shangyan was half amused, half worried to see the small lady trying to move from a bed she was not even supposed to leave in the first place.
"Getting ready for my dinner", Tong Nian was clearly teasing him, in the way she was always doing it. She loved his fake annoyed look on him, that was always ending with his brightest smile. Even when they were not a couple yet, even when he didn't want to show any interest in her, he couldn't help but smile, just looking at her. How many times did he feel awkward seeing her being all fluffy around him when his boys were there. The girl even jumped in his arms, in the middle of a hotel corridor, in front of his team, his best friend, and some random people. He had to threaten her to kiss her in front of them all to make her let go. He would never forget either that day she told him she would wear whatever he wanted and loved, not even realizing what she had just said. "You have to be careful of what you say in front of men, it could be taken the wrong way", he had warned her, barely suppressing his embarrassment. Her awkwardness, her joy for life, and her teasing personality were so opposite to him. That's why he needed her so bad.
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"I don't think so, young lady", he answered playfully. He tried to make her lie down on the bed again, but she was absolutely not in the mood for this. "I'll bring you food, you can just watch a DVD or listen to music", he insisted.
"What if I allow you to carry me ? Would you let me eat downstair?"
Once again, Han Shangyan couldn't suppress his smile. He wanted to please her, he wanted to make her feel better, but he also remembered that the doctor asked her to rest.
"Please", she insisted again, mimicking a kitty face.
"Fine. But I have a few rules. First, you can't put your foot on the ground, secondly no one except me is allowed to carry you"
"They wouldn't even dare, they don't want to die", she whispered, immediately acting innocent as if she hadn't said anything. He gave her a playful disapproving look and grabbed her, bridal style again, trying his best not to press too hard on her bruised skin. A sad reminder that even if they were trying to be light and positive, something had happened. A sad reminder that he still didn't know who and why someone would hurt his wife.
"Are you gonna be ok?", he asked, serious again, and concerned about her reaction while going back downstair, where everything happened the night before. "They cleaned up the room but it's only been a few hours..."
"I can't live in our bedroom right?", her tone was determined but he could feel the tension in her voice. "The sooner the better I guess", she added, uncertain but still convinced that she needed to already face her own fears.
The boys had indeed quickly cleaned the computer room, and thrown away all the broken pieces of equipment. "Sister in law!" they all happily screamed when they saw her in their boss arms, going down the stairs.
"Hi boys", she said, trying to keep a straight voice, waving at all of them. "Your Boss, slash God of videogames allowed me to leave the sacred room for dinner, would you join me?" Han Shangyan was not pleased at the idea but didn't say anything. He knew her and understood that she needed some time to relax and think about something else. And his dumb boys were the best entertainment. He also knew she didn't want to be a burden to him, and that her dinner time would give him the opportunity to breath. "Demo, I remember you cooked something for me?", she asked.
Han Shangyan would never tell this anyone but he created a special bound with Demo. The youngest of the team, talented but still shy and insecure, was like the little brother he never had. Even his grandfather loved him. Demo was such a good kid, it broke Gun's heart to see him sad because of his divorcing parents. But of course, Demo could never know. He was his scary boss after all.
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"Yeah, sure, I'll go heat up the food for you", Demo was so happy to be allowed to help her. He went to the kitchen, grabbed the meal he had prepared for her, he even added a yellow flower he had picked earlier in the day, when she was sleeping, in a small glass placed on a tray. While Demo was preparing the food, Han Shangyan helped Tong Nian to sit down on a chair in the meeting room, where they usually all eat. He installed a stool with a pillow, under the table to let her rest her foot, and served her a glass of water. It didn't take long for Demo to bring her the food, and to sit down next to her.
"What are you doing?" Tong Nian asked. "Are you going to watch me eat? Please, all of you, just come and join me to eat with me". It took them a few seconds to know what to do. They were unsure of their boss's reaction, would he be pissed to see them all around her when she needed some rest, would he allow them to talk to her... Well, of course he would. When it came to their sister in law, his natural authority was useless. Imagine that they even started teasing him after they discovered he had a girlfriend. Kids our days...
The whole dinner was going well, they were all chatting with Tong Nian and he was pleased to see that she was smiling again, a true sincere smile. He was glad that they were there and he even complimented Demo's food.
That's when he received a text from Little Mi. "Join me in your office" was the only thing written.
Knowing Little Mi, he would have never asked him to leave Tong Nian, or the boys, if it was not important. He excused himself, trying to discreetly leave the room, only whispering to his concerned wife that he would quickly come back, kissing her on her forehead.
Little Mi looked worried when Gun entered his office.
"What is going on?" Han Shangyan was friend with him for more than ten years, and they had been competing together for the same amount of time. He knew all of his facial expressions by heart, he knew when he was happy, worried, sad, angry, ready to start a fight, ready to win, ready to lose, he knew when he was mad, pleased, sick. And right now, Little Mi's face was saying: "I have something to tell you and you won't be pleased"
"I have the CCTV from last night. I haven't watched them yet, I wanted to talk about it with you before. I think we should watch what's on it and... "
"No", Han Shangyan interrupted Little Mi with a deep, harsh voice.
"Sorry, what?" Little Mi was confused at his friend's reaction. He had been worried to tell him to come because he knew that the videos would be hard to watch, but he never imagined that he would actually not want to watch them at all. "I mean, I think we should watch them and call the police so that they can start an investigation, because we need to know what happened there", he tried again. With no success, once again.
"I won't watch the videos, and none of us will watch the videos, and the police won't watch the videos for now". Han Shangyan was staring at his friend, in his old cold manner, intense, strong, not opened for any debate.
"Gun, we need to see what..."
"Stop it already!" Han Shangyan was not especially known for his patience and everyone knew how he could sometimes get mad - Solo still remembers the night he punched him after he dissolved the team - but Little Mi needed to understand why watching the videos was such a big deal. It could help the police, it could help discover the truth.
"Gun, why are you reacting like this, the videos could really be helpful..."
"I said STOP", it was too much for Han Shangyan. He exploded, his voice loud, full of frustration and anger. Full of pain too. "I won't watch the videos until Tong Nian tell me what happened to her", he screamed. "I won't break her trust and watch her being attacked if she is not ready yet to tell me her story ! And no one will. I'll wait for her, I don't care if takes one day or one year! That's not our decision to make !"
Lost in his anger, Han Shangyan, didn't hear Tong Nian entering the office. That's her voice who stopped his long rant.
A confident voice saying : "I will."
Confused, Han Shangyan turned around to see his small wife, crutches under her arms, calm, determined.
"I will tell you what happened. And I will tell the police too. And then, we'll give them the videos". It was a statement. A statement to say that she was strong enough to go through this and that her husband deserved to know.
Han Shangyan slowly approached her, placing his hands on her shoulders, looking intensely into her eyes. And with a soft voice that was not suiting his still dark face, he whispered : "You don't have to do anything if you are not ready. It's only been a day..."
"Like I said earlier, the sooner the better, right?", she weakly smiled. "We need to call the police. I love you so much, so much, for what you just said to Little Me. I love that you are always on my side, and that's exactly because you are always on my side that I am finding enough confidence to say this right now". She was looking at him like he was her king, with pure adoration, her loving eyes talking for herself. She grabbed his hands, gently caressing his warm palms, sharing a silent conversation with him.
We'll be fine.
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