The Actor's Bodyguard

20. All Ends Well

Luo Hua was pacing up and down for an hour in front of the operating room where his lover was. He had never felt such a fear in his entire life and guilt gnawed at him. The possibility of Cheng Hao dying made him shiver, his knees went weak and he collapsed to the floor, crying his heart out.

It was the scene which Li Jun, Mei Mei and Mrs. Ling witnessed. Seeing him on the floor with blood covering his hands and clothes, the trio thought Luo Hua was shot as well. Li Jun darted forward to check on him while the women were frozen on their spot.

"Are you okay? Did you get hurt?" Li Jun cried out.

"I-It's not my blood..." Luo Hua sniffed.

"It is good then," Li Jun exhaled the breath he didn't know he was holding. One of his friends being shot was more than enough. Then, he carried his friend's trembling body to the metal chair while Mrs. Ling sent Mei Mei to her room to grab a blanket and something warm to drink.

"It is my fault... It should have been me..." Luo Hua started to repeat, his bloody palms covering his face.

Mrs. Lin sat onto the chair next to Luo Hua and gathered him into her small arms. "It is not your fault, he will be fine," she reassured him, rubbing his back.

A few minutes later, Mei Mei came back with a blanket and some herbal tea. They covered Luo Hua with the blanket and forced him to drink the hot beverage. Only after the cup was empty, he recollected himself a bit. Before long, the doors of the operating room were opened and the doctor came out.

"How is he?" The four pairs of hopeful eyes were focused on the doctor.

"The bullet hit near the left shoulder and luckily didn't damage any nerves. He lost a lot of blood, but he will be fine, don't worry."

"Thank you, doctor," Luo Hua could finally breathe. Hastily, he put his arms around Mrs. Ling, enveloping her into a tight hug.

Although they tried to convince him, Luo Hua didn't waver and insisted on staying in the hospital near Cheng Hao. In the end, the trio was defeated; therefore, Mei Mei went to ask for a bed in Cheng Hao's room and Li Jun went back to Luo Hua's apartment to prepare them a bag with necessities.

When Cheng Hao was brought to his room, Lu Hua pulled a chair next to the bed and sat on it for the entire night, holding his lover's pale hand. Although the bodyguard looked deadly pale, his face was peaceful as if he was just sleeping. Still, the actor didn't let go of his hand, anchoring his lover to the earth.

The next morning when Cheng Hao opened his eyes, he found his lover sleeping on the chair in an uncomfortable position, his head resting on his bed. He looked at their interlocked fingers and smiled tiredly.

"Hua Hua," he called out with a hoarse voice.

"Hmm?" came a weak response but no action.

Cheng Hao wanted to caress his sleepy head with his free hand, but the action made him hiss with pain. Hearing it, Luo Hua raised his head immediately.

"Are you okay?" His eyes widened, hazel orbs quivered in fear.

"I am fine, come here," the actor gestured to him to come closer. Letting out a relieved sigh, Luo Hua complied with his request and in a blink of an eye, he found his head on Cheng Hao's chest, the latter caressing his auburn messy hair.

"I am so happy that you are unhurt, Hua Hua," the bodyguard whispered to the actor's ear and kissed his hair softly.

All the tension left Luo Hua's body. Carefully, he hooked an arm around his lover's waist and snuggled on the crook of his neck. After a while, he whispered "if you do it again, I will kill you by myself."

Cheng Hao chuckled, hearing the threat, "but it helped me, you know."

"What do you mean?" Luo Hua tilted his head a bit upwards to look at his lover.

"I have never felt such an ease for a year," the bodyguard confessed, "I think my trauma disappeared for good."

"Really?" Luo Hua smiled with content, "it is good that it only took a single bullet, otherwise who knew how many times I had to shoot you?"

Cheng Hao chuckled again and tightened his hug, "Hua Hua, you are such a merciless angel."

The couple was finally happy and at peace, but Li Jun had more on his plate to spill. The following day, he pulled Luo Hua out of the room when Cheng Hao was sleeping and told him that the condition of Mrs. Ling was deteriorating.

"There should be something we can do," Luo Hua uttered with panic as she was not only Cheng Hao's but also his mother.

"There is a way, but..."

"But what?"

"That treatment is highly expensive," Li Jun said.

"I don't care how much it is," Luo Hua grabbed Li Jun's arm, "I will pay it now and you won't utter a word to Cheng Hao."

Nodding wholeheartedly, Li Jun took Luo Hua to the accounting office.

However, as nothing can be hidden forever, soon Cheng Hao learnt about the situation. Indeed, he was proud, but his pride wasn't more important than his mother's health. Therefore, he thanked his lover genuinely and promised to pay the money in time, but Luo Hua's answer surprised him.

"She is also my mom, how can you offer to pay me back?"

With that, the topic dropped and Cheng Hao fell in love with Luo Hua one more time. He was the luckiest man in the entire universe and he had no intention to let this angel slip away from his hands. Each day, he was showering his lover with love and care, to the point Luo Hua wanted to quit his job and stayed at home with him forever.