Crimson Instinct

*Bai Li*

Long Hu and Xin Lei slowly helped me out of bed, and I stepped out of my ward.

There I saw Cocoa standing in front of the door. He immediately stood in attention as he looked at me.

"Arf."

I smiled.

I looked at Long Hu and Xin Lei. "It's okay. I can walk now."

They left my arm, and I slowly walked to his side. I kneeled in front of him and ruffled his head. 

"Hey, buddy. I didn't see you inside with everybody else."

"Grrr…" he softly growled.

Cocoa slowly leaned his face towards me and sniffed me. Then he lowered his head and sniffed my body. It seemed like he was checking me from head to toe.

"Arf…" he faintly howled and nudged his head on my chin.

I patted his head and brushed my hand on his furry body.

"Are you okay? See? I am all fit and fine now. And you know what?"

I held his face and looked straight in his eyes. "I can even see you now. I can see everything. Isn't it like magic?"

"Grrr…" He wagged his tail furiously.

I chuckled. "Well, I always wanted to see my annoying buddy. And I must say...you are not quite bad looking yourself."

"Arf!"

He softly chomped on my hand in distaste.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up. Xin Lei softly smiled and bent on her knees too. She ruffled his head, and Cocoa immediately jumped on her lap.

I sneered. "You just abandon me for a beautiful woman now."

Cocoa simply ignored me and enjoyed nudging against Xin Lei's soft body.

Xin Lei softly whispered. "Why didn't he come inside?"

I stared at Cocoa for a moment and said, "The whole incident shook him up. He was afraid to see if I was in bad condition. I saw it in his gaze and felt it in his body language. Maybe he was scared that he lost me, so kind of...he didn't want to face the truth."

She widened her eyes. "Really?"

I nodded. "He did that three years back too. In a mission, I got injured in my leg, and it was a pretty serious injury. That's what the doctors said. I was close to passing out, and Cocoa was there with me at that time. When I woke up, the doctor said that he refused to come inside. And that's when I knew when I met him outside. It took me a while to realize it because I thought maybe I am a narcissist. Maybe I am giving myself too much credit."

"But I met another woman who also had a dog. She told me that Cocoa must be terrified to see me in that state. Maybe he thought I wouldn't wake again. She said that dogs are sensitive, emotional, and very loyal. It affects them just like any other family member when the owner is injured. So, I went back to Cocoa and just hugged him to let him know that I was alright. He eased up a lot after that."

Xin Lei's eyes teared up.

"Hey, hey! Don't cry."

"Arf!"

Cocoa glared at me and stood defensively for Xin Lei.

My mouth twitched. "Look, he is glaring at me now."

Xin Lei said, "It's nothing...I never thought that Cocoa would feel like that."

I said, "Yes. Last night was the same. We escaped, but I got hit by a slab and tripped. Then the debris hit my eyes, and I passed out. I heard Cocoa barking and trying to pull me away. He did his best to help me, but I had already passed out. That must have given him a scare. Plus, the exploding building and seeing all the fire wasn't helping. He must have gotten more afraid with the loud rumbling and all the fire."

"Awww…"

Xin Lei tightly hugged Cocoa and patted his head. "Bai Li is so mean, right? He made all of us worry and cry."

"Arf. Arf."

My brow twitched. "Hey...How could you agree to her?"

"Grrrr…arf!"

That's it. Cocoa didn't belong to me now. He was officially Xin Lei's. 

Xin Lei giggled. "What do you say, Cocoa? Should we punish him? He deserves it."

"Arf," he licked her cheek and wagged his tail furiously, apparently thrilled at the idea.

I whined. "You are all ganging up against me…"

"Shut up."

Lin Zihao said from behind. "You deserve it. We should all beat the shit out of him."

I smiled. "Sure. I will beat you into a pulp anytime."

"Haah! Look at your miserable self. Even a kid will win against you."

"Alright. I will show you. Let's take it outside."

"Stop!" Xin Lei said, exasperated. "You are fighting like children!"

I shrugged. Then I remembered something and asked, "What about the other woman and Rodey? What happened to them?"

Xin Zhen said, "The woman is safe. Her cousin is admitted for surgery. She was tortured a lot by those men, so her condition is critical. Rodey was in a critical condition but now isn't."

I frowned. "What happened to him? Didn't you all already escape before Xin Lei and us?"

"One of the minions was still in hiding, and he suddenly lunged towards Ying Yue, that woman with a knife. But Rodey pushed her away and took the stab."

I blinked my eyes. I looked at Xin Zhen, failing to understand what he said.

"Wait. You say that he took the knife for her? He risked his life to save Ying Yue?"

"Yup. Unbelievable it is but is the truth."

"Why would he do that? Rodey has killed people till now, not saved anybody which reminds me why and how he sided with us and went against Zhang Ning? When did he have a change of heart?"

Xin Lei spoke, "I don't know...Even I was shocked to know that Rodey was helping us to escape from the place, not drag into it."

Long Hu said, "Actually, he didn't want to save us. He only wanted to save Ying Yue. He had made that clear, but she refused to leave without us. So, he had no choice."

I raised my brow, and curiously looked at Xin Lei. She nodded as if she understood my unsaid question.

It was still hard to believe it.

Now, I really wanted to know how and when Rodey fell in love?