It took a long time for Ye Jie to compose himself. He didn't realize that it was already midnight by the time he came down from the rooftop.
Before going to Xu Cheng's room to accompany Xu Mey, he went to the washroom to dash water on his face. And when he entered Xu Cheng's hospital room, he spotted Xu Mey fast asleep beside her father's bed. Her head was laying on the hand which was gripping her father's hand.
A few strands of hair fell over her tired face. Ye Jie paced up to her side and tucked her loose hair behind her ear gently to avoid waking her up.
His gaze lingered on her sleeping figure and stuck on her pink cherry lips that made a buried memory to rush back to his mind.
*Flashback*
From the time Ye Jie came across Ru, he started spending the summer out of his house in a summer camp which was actually a training camp under Ru's family clan administration. It was in a secluded area in the forests where they taught different skills to the youth. The camp had a peculiar system of choosing their students from all around the world. The only way for Ye Jie to enter the camp was the young master Ru of the clan.
When Ye Jie was 15, as always, he went to the 'Warriors Training Camp'. During his stay at the camp, he occasionally went out with Ru for hunting or fishing or simply to escape from the strenuous training.
One day, he was going back to the campsite after hanging around with Ru. Treading his way through the mahogany-brown forest which appeared to be a woody paradise, he could hear the creaks of branches along with rustling of leaves.
Walking on the twigs and fallen leaves, his foot stumbled on something and he fell to the ground. It was evening time and nightfall was just around the corner. He turned his head to look at what he just stepped on and saw a muddy figure wearing a knee-length frock.
For a moment, Ye Jie was frozen and had the urge to see whether the person was alive or not but suddenly the figure's black eyes opened and looked straight at him. "Help!" Ye Jie heard a small whisper from the mud-covered figure and moved closer to check.
For a long while, Ye Jie just stared at the skanky person before him with a thick layer of mud sticking to her hair and face and all her body. Taking a deep breath, Ye Jie picked up the girl off the floor and walked back the path he came from.
Earlier he was in a dilemma about where to take the girl since taking her to camp was a huge risk - Outsiders were not allowed at any cost. Therefore, he decided to take the girl to Ru since he knew she'll be able to help.
When he came to their usual hideout spot, Ru was still sitting at a tree branch sharpening the edge of the arrow in her hand. Hearing the rustling sound, she looked at Ye Jie who was carrying a small figure in his arms and jumped down the tree.
"What's that?" Ru asked looking at sticky mud.
"I found her in the woods on my way back," he explained.
Ru nodded and asked, "Why did you bring her here?"
Ye Jie looked at Ru as if looking at an idiot saying, "Certainly, I want you to help her."
"What if helping her got me in trouble one day?" Ru question, crossing her arms before her chest exuding an imposing aura with her tall figure.
"Ru, look after her. I can't stay anymore. It's already quite late and I've to get back to the camp." With that, Ye Jie left in a hurry before passing the muddy figure in his arms to Ru.
Early in the morning on the following day, he came running back to Ru to inquire about the girl's health.
"How's she?" He was panting as he ran up to here but still this was the first question he asked as soon as he caught sight of Ru boiling some herbs in a pot.
"Do you want me to be honest with you?" Ru questioned in return still keeping her focus on the herb pot.
"Isn't that a given that I want to know everything truthfully?"
Ru dusted off her hands and rubbed them on the lapels of her black ancient style robes before standing up from the stone. She looked straight into Ye Jie's eyes and said, "The girl you have brought last night is seriously sick."
"Can't you help with everything you learn all day long?" Ye Jie asked, anxiously.
Ru sighed audibly. "You're not getting what I mean."
"Then explain it in words."
"That girl is not just physically injured. She has much worse damage to her head." Ye Jie was taken aback by her words as she went on, "All the wounds on her body are either self-inflicted or she got hurt while running away from somewhere... The problem is that she'd been consuming some wrong drugs for years and they have severely damaged her nerve cells. If I'll be blunt with you then in other words, she's almost insane now."
Ye Jie staggered back until his back hit a tree. "But she's so young." He only managed to say. "How can someone be cruel enough to turn a small child..." He didn't continue any further.
Ru patted his shoulder and said, "Relax! She's still holding onto some part of her sanity. She's unconscious for now and I think, it'll take days for her to wake up."
Ye Jie walked inside the small bamboo hut and saw a girl's figure laying on the blanket on the floor with a white curtain around it. Through the curtain, Ye Jie couldn't make out the features of her face but he could tell that she was very frail and malnourished.
He frowned as he spoke out softly, "Someone must have hurt you so badly that you decided to numb yourself with all the wounds on your body."