The 3 B's- Beauty, Brains and Bravery

Rong Xinghe woke up at two in the day, an exhausted yet content smile across her mouth. As the memories of their first time floated in front of her eyes, like some flashcards, she giggled, turning to one side of the bed. Of course, he wasn't there. 

The girl sat up on the bed and as she did so, a sharp pain shot up through her head. "Ugh!", she groaned, rubbing her temple lightly. But the headache wouldn't go away. A warm bath might help, she thought, as she got down and put on her slippers. 

About half an hour later, the woman stepped out of the dressing room, her hands cold. She had Xi Yuan's gray sweatshirt on along with one of her favorite warm woolen pants, her hair falling over her shoulders, unfettered. 

As the girl reached the Kitchen entrance, she stopped in her tracks. Huang Biu was pouring her darling a cup of coffee, as he looked at his laptop screen, focussed. "The last time I visited Auntie Jungah, she told me she'd been worried about your health.", she said to him, her tone shamelessly concerned, "You should have more green vegetables in your meals, you know." Xi Yuan didn't respond. He didn't even bother to look at her. 

Rong Xinghe didn't mind such trivial things as well. What struck a nerve for her, though, was when the woman placed her hand upon his left forearm and leaned against him from his behind, peeking into the document he'd been going through. What a bi*ch! The girl clenched her fists as the throbbing pain in her head intensified for the worse. She felt as if someone was hammering her skull at the moment, her throat closing in.

"Yuan...", she barely whispered, tipping to the left side of the doorframe. But Xi Yuan heard her. He could recognize her voice even in a stadium full of people, let alone a small room like this. She didn't need to be loud to reach him, at least. Turning around, the man strode toward her worriedly, leaving Huang Biu behind. "What is it, Baby?", he questioned her, pulling her in his arms, "Where is it hurting?"

Only when the man had helped her sit down on one of the dining chairs did the girl smile at him, "It's just a headache.", she answered, "And my back and legs are a tad sore too. But I'll be okay."

"Okay? Are you even listening to yourself?", Xi Yuan pinched the space between his brows as he took off his overcoat, "Wear it. Now.", he said, stretching it open for her to sink in her hands one by one into its sleeves. The man then picked his phone up from the table and dialed a number, turning its speaker on next, he placed it back. While he waited for the other person to accept the call, he placed his hand against her forehead calmly, attempting to catch her temperature.

"What is it, Yuan?", the call went through at the fourth ring, a familiar voice resounding through the device, "I have a crucial surgery to perform right now. Make it quick."

"Her head is aching.", Xi Yuan informed, "Could it be--"

"Does she have a fever?", Su Rogguang cut in.

"Doesn't seem like it."

"Try with a thermometer, Yuan.", the girl's brother laughed, "Anyway, provided that she's been doing well for the past two weeks, it's unlikely for things to go downhill now. It might just be Scotland's weather. 

"Do we have any other problems?"

"Her legs and back are hurting too."

Su Rogguang did not say anything for a while as the girl covered her face with both her hands anxiously. Did he even realize that he was talking to a 'Medico Luminary' at the moment? A man who had studied the human body all his life couldn't just shut his eyes to the unhitched functioning of a frame. And certainly, not of his own patients. 

"Hmm.", Su Rogguang tried to sound professional, irrespective of a change in his tone, "Check her temperature. And if it is above 38C, give her a dose of Indocin and Advil. Alright?" Never in the history of Neurosurgery had a patient been afflicted with back or leg pain due to a Burr Hole operation. And he knew his sister's physical condition better than anyone else in the world. There was no way that this pain of hers was the result of a surgery.

He had figured it out, hadn't he? Just the thought of it sent a chill down the girl's spine. God! This was embarrassing. 

"Got it.", Xi Yuan replied, looking at Rong Xinghe shaking her head, with a muddled expression. 

"And give the phone to her.", the girl's brother added, "With the speaker off."

"Sure."

The girl squinted her eyes at her fiancé akin to an infuriated little kitten as she brought the device to her ear, not daring to utter a word to her brother. 

"Kiddo...", the man said softly, waiting for the girl to say something.

"Hel... hello, bro Su.", the girl managed to speak half a minute later, a pinch of unease and apprehension in her voice. 

Su Rogguang just sighed, for his speculations had finally met their end. Inhaling a long deep breath, the man laughed casually, "Just use protection, okay, Kid? You two can't be careless, given your positions and repute in Country X. 

"And don't worry, I won't tell the other brothers."

Rong Xinghe was stunned. Of all the possible reactions from him, this one was not even in her list, "You aren't--"

"Nope.", the man interrupted the girl, walking towards the Operation Theatre leisurely, "Yuan and you are in love, Kid. It's not really my place to judge or comment on you. None of your brothers would ever do that to you. And you should know that. 

"You're allowed to make your own choices, Xinghe. Without worrying about how your brothers will react to them. We are family, honey. We stick together, no matter what. So even if you screw up, I want you to know that you will have us. Ad infinitum. Okay?"

"Oka.", the girl smiled, a tear rolling down her right cheek, "I love you, brother.", she said to him. 

"I love you too, Kiddo.", the man said before disconnecting the call and handing it over to one of the assistant surgeons standing behind him, as he grabbed a clean scalpel from the tray filled with medical instruments.