The man was sitting quietly by Xu Mei's side, looking at her like she was an exotic animal.

Xu Mei had seen him previously at some of the events her grandfather forced the girl to attend, but she has never spoken to him directly. She wasn't sure what was his name, so she didn't try her luck but pretended he was a total stranger.

«My name is Xu Mei,» she said.

«Nice to meet you. I am Lin Longwei.»

Ah, so he was one of the Lins. Lin Longwei... She thought for a bit and then remembered why that name was familiar. He was one of the candidates for the Governor position. He already had a job in the government, probably working in the Senate.

She looked at him while replying: «Nice to meet you.»

The girl had noticed immediately that Lin Longwei was quite tall. He was strong enough to carry her without much effort, and he had big, intense eyes with long, long eyelashes.

Insanely long, she thought while examining his face.

For the rest, he had masculine traits and thick sexy lips. His hair was a bit longer than the current trends, and it curled on the tips, giving him the air of a fallen angel.

When Xu Mei was satisfied with the examination, she moved her gaze away. Indeed, that man was quite handsome. Looking for too long surely wasn't so good of an idea.

«The doctor said you need to rest. She will be back tomorrow. If she agrees, I will arrange for you to go back home after her visit. Do you want to talk to your family now?» he asked, keeping his voice low to not scare the girl.

She shook her head. She didn't want to call her mother in that state, she didn't want to worry her.

As to her grandfather, she was sure he didn't expect her to contact him by herself. It was always him that used to send her orders.

«I'll let you rest then,» Lin Longwei said after some minutes of complete silence.

He took out a blanket and helped her to cover, fixing the pillows to make her as comfortable as possible. She didn't want to sleep in that unfamiliar environment, but her eyes shut as soon as she put down her head. Her body was still trembling, and the bruises hurt like hell, but the last time she actually managed to sleep was three days before.

She was so tired that she didn't have any dream.

When Xu Mei woke up, she wasn't on the couch any more. Instead, she was lying on a soft bed, between smooth silken sheets of the colour of peaches.

It was nearly evening, and the light of the sunset filled the room.

At a table nearby, Lin Longwei was reading some documents with the laptop open in front of him. He was sipping coffee. The girl knew it was coffee because it was the scent that woke her up. She wanted to ask for a cup of the dark liquid, but she was sure that they wouldn't let her have it. However, she had another problem she needed to solve sooner.

She turned in the bed, looking for water in the offing.

A cup of tea, already cold, was on the bedside table.

She tried to grab it, but her arms were shaking, and she spilt all of it on herself. The noise of the cup falling down and breaking in a hundred pieces distracted the man from his work.

«You are awake,» he noticed.

Tell me something I don't know, she thought nearly crying. She was so thirsty, but she just wasted her source of water.

He didn't seem to notice her grief. He got up and took a clean glass from the table, filled it with still water and helped her to drink.

«Slower,» he whispered when Xu Mei almost choked.

If only she wasn't so thirsty, she would have refused all that attention. At that moment, though, she couldn't think about her pride. She was barely able to drink, let alone be arrogant.

When she finished the glass, she asked for one more. And then one again.

«I think it's better if you eat something now. I told the cook to make some ginger soup. Do you like it?»

Xu Mei laid back on the bed and nodded, while a maid took care of the mess she had caused.

The following day, the doctor allowed the girl to eat something substantial. Xu Mei was finally able to feed herself, even if her hands were still trembling.

The doctor also said that she would be better in a week time and that she could go back to class after that.

«I think it's better if you make some tests to be sure there is no neural damage, but your reflexes seem fine to me. You need to rest and relax a bit.»

The doctor then turned to Longwei. «If you want her to recover faster, you should take care of her like a little child, making sure she eats and drinks, and that she's warm all the time. Until her nerves return to normal, she may not be able to perceive accurately.»

The man nodded, seeing the doctor to the door. Xu Mei looked at his back, wondering how she ended in his house just days before the Governor elections.

«This morning, I called Prime Minister Xu. He asked me to take care of you for a couple of days more. Then, he will come to see you,» he informed her before leaving the room.

When Xu Mei heard that, she shivered.