Lu Zhilan is a tennis prodigy and Lu Xia's older cousin. Zhilan was expected to become a professional athlete until a career threatening injury. With no other choice, she's forced to go to Germany for surgery and rehabilitation. She's been there for...
"Would it kill you to say that you need help?" Zhilan asked exasperated at watching Siyang, who tried and failed to open a water bottle. She took it from him and opened it.
"Thanks." He mumbled.
She couldn't decide if she was supposed to laugh or roll her eyes at him. "You've just started therapy. Give yourself more time before you find your grip again."
He didn't respond as he looked at his arm. "This is really..."
"Frustrating? Disappointing? Makes you feel like a child?"
"Something like that"
Zhilan laughed, knowing how he was feeling all too well. "It'll pass. Take it easy. You'll get better."
Siyang nodded. "How's your recovery going?"
"It's getting there. I'm doing more like jumping and jogging. It'll still be some more time before I go anywhere."
"That's good news. You must be happy."
She hummed. "It's better than accidentally falling every time I take a step forward."
"Baby steps?"
"Baby steps. Although, I don't know what to call it in your case. More like baby grabbing?"
He scoffed lightly at her words. Zhilan held her hands up. "Sorry. It just goes with the territory of surgery. It's like you're a baby learning how to move. Except a baby looks cuter doing it."
They said nothing else as they continued their lunch. Of course, Siyang was having trouble eating with his right hand. Zhilan waited patiently for him and helped him when he needed it.
He looked down in embarrassment when she lent him a hand.
"Please just ask for help. I don't mind. That's what I'm here for."
"I'll try." He mumbled.
"I see you two are finally getting along." Both of them turned to see their doctor standing by their table.
"Doctor Martin." They acknowledged.
"Don't let me interrupt. You two take care." With that, he walked off.
Zhilan shrugged off the interaction. "Are you ready to go?"
Siyang nodded. "Courtyard?"
She looked at her phone. She still had another hour to kill before a checkup. "I got time."
They walked in comfortable silence to the courtyard and sat down at a bench. Siyang rubbed at his arm and Zhilan frowned. "Are you in pain?"
"A little. I'll be fine."
She wasn't quite convinced, but she didn't say anything.
Suddenly, her phone rang out with a notification. She pulled it out of her pocket and noticed it was a text message from her cousin, Yingjie.
'Hello from England!!'
Attached was a photo of him posing with his tongue sticking out at the camera. Zhilan rolled her eyes at his childish behavior and replied.
'Doesn't matter where you are, you're still not cute.'
'Rude!'
She stuffed her phone in her pocket. "Silly boy."
Siyang turned to her with a raised eyebrow.
"One of my cousins. He's seventeen, but I think he has the mind of a four year old."
He laughed at her. "What a kind way to talk about your family."
She smiled at him.
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"Still making good progress. Everything looks normal. There's not really much to go over." Doctor Martin said as he looked through Zhilan's latest x-rays and lab work.
"Thank you, Doctor."
He nodded in satisfaction. "By the way, I wanted to ask you something."
She looked at him, waiting.
"Would you like to take a little field trip outside the hospital?"
Zhilan tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Doctor Martin smiled. "We were thinking that if you'd like, we let you out into the city next Saturday. Explore a bit. Go shopping. That kind of thing."
Her mouth formed into an 'o'.
"Alone?"
"If you want to be. Perhaps, you would like to go out with Siyang. It's your choice."
She furrowed her eyebrows in thought. "If he wants to go out, it'll be fine. I don't think I would do well on my own."
The doctor smiled. "I'll mention it to him and if you do go, we'll arrange transportation for your day out. I imagine a whole day in the city will be a nice change of scenery for you."
Zhilan nodded in agreement.
A day in the city. That sounds all right. I could do that.
Author's Note
A little filler chapter here. I've sprinkled in another cousin (Yingjie) for a later purpose. Also, yes. Next chapter is gonna be a nice little outing for Siyang and Zhilan. So stick around for that. I still haven't quite decided how long this story is gonna be. I'm surprised I've managed to get up to 13 chapters. That's it for now. I hope you enjoyed reading this. - Violet
