Author Notes: Hello again, everyone! Can Princess charm the next person she meets? Let's see :)

Beta & Co-author: jeangirlmy

- Chapter Start -

During the taxi ride home, the events of the past half hour or so catches up with PiaoPiao, compounded by Pang Zi's emphatic warnings about Xue Wu. Delayed shock sets in and PiaoPiao starts trembling when she imagines what could have happened.

If Princess hadn't gotten the attention of that Warehouse 11 employee, could PiaoPiao have outrun Xue Wu's men?

If they'd caught up with her and dragged her back to him, what would Xue Wu do to her?

And if something happened to her, who would take care of Xiao Mei?

PiaoPiao almost bursts into tears right there and then, but the curious glances from the taxi driver through the rearview mirror makes her pull herself together.

"Thank you, Princess. You saved my life," she whispers to her handbag and pats the single finger waving about.

The taxi drops her off at her hair salon. While she's paying the fare, her phone rings. It's Pang Zi returning her call. As soon as he hears what happened, he tells her to pack a few things for herself and Xiao Mei. By the time she comes back downstairs with a hastily packed suitcase, he's waiting for her. They lock up her salon and go back to his apartment with Princess riding on Pang Zi's shoulder.

"Don't worry about a thing," he says once they're inside. "I've called a good friend of ours to assist."

"I can't possibly impose on anyone," PiaoPiao protests.

"I can," Pang Zi says very seriously. "PiaoPiao, I have to help Tianzhen look for his second uncle which means I can't be with you all the time. Working for Xue Wu is risky enough, but now that you've taken something from him, he's not going to let you go."

PiaoPiao stares at him. She's never seen this side of Pang Zi before - dead serious, grim faced and implacable. He holds both her hands in his large strong ones.

"PiaoPiao, I meant what I said last night after we... well, you know." His face grows bright red, but his eyes never leave hers. "I want to build a new life with you and Xiao Mei, but I can't just think of myself or us right now. Tianzhen needs my help. But I have to make sure that you and Xiao Mei are safe too."

PiaoPiao gulps and nods.

"I understand and I'm worried for Xiao Mei. I just don't want to cause problems for anyone."

Squeezing her hands, Pang Zi gives a reassuring smile.

"Xie YuChen and Tianzhen go way back. They're almost as close as Tianzhen and I are. We can trust him."

"But won't you and Wu Xie be in danger from Xue Wu too?"

All at once, Pang Zi's smile disappears and his eyes turn hard.

"We can handle him. Trust me."

Just then, his phone beeps with a text message. He reads it and nods in satisfaction.

"Xie YuChen's here. Let's go."

They go back downstairs to find a sleek black car pulling up. The front passenger window rolls down to reveal a handsome young man who exudes both wealth and charisma.

"Pang Zi, how've you been? And this must be Ye PiaoPiao."

"Yes, I am," PiaoPiao says faintly. "I'm so sorry to trouble you like this."

"Think nothing of it," he says, smiling. "My name is Xie YuChen. Wu Xie and Pang Zi are good friends of mine."

"Owe you one, Xie-ye," Pang Zi says, ushering PiaoPiao in the backseat before sliding in himself.

"No trouble at all," Xie YuChen assures him.

"Oh, this is Xiao Mei's school address." Pang Zi hands over a piece of paper. "She should be out soon."

Xie YuChen takes it and passes it to his driver.

"You have my word that PiaoPiao and her daughter will be protected until Xue Wu is taken care of," he promises.

- o -

A couple of days later...

"Huo DaoFu!" Pang Zi hollers. He's on his knees, ignoring the gawking onlookers and heavy rain alike.

Wu Xie collapsed after Xue Wu hired two trucks to surround them with cement dust. Wu Xie barely managed to stuff Princess inside his jacket before collapsing and vomiting blood. Before falling unconscious, he insisted that Pang Zi take him to someone called Huo DaoFu instead of the hospital.

"Please help Wu Xie!" Pang Zi screams. "He's dying! You're the only one who can save him!"

The tall and prissy looking man in a pristine chef's jacket continues to fry breadsticks while insisting that he's no doctor.

When Princess crawls out to Pang Zi's shoulder, Huo DaoFu blinks twice but still maintains that he can't help. Undeterred, Pang Zi starts kowtowing to him while shouting for his help. Princess copies each bow he makes, looking like she's about to topple off each time.

At last, Huo DaoFu wipes his hands on a towel.

"Bring him in. Leave the creature out."

Princess dives inside Wu Xie's jacket at once.

- o -

Pang Zi piggybacks Wu Xie upstairs into a sparsely decorated apartment and places him on a rectangular wooden table. Huo DaoFu frowns down at the shellfish emerging from Wu Xie's jacket.

"I thought I told you to leave that out."

Princess wraps her fingers around Wu Xie's throat and sticks close.

"It's fine, it's fine," Pang Zi says hurriedly. "Please save Wu Xie! He's dying!"

"I can't check his pulse with that creature choking him," Huo DaoFu says tightly.

"Ah. Right. Come here, Princess."

Princess ignores him.

"Princess, come here."

Pang Zi makes a grab for her, but fails when she scurries to Wu Xie's chest. He makes another grab for her and misses again. The two of them then engage in a brief bout of serpentine all over Wu Xie's prone body while Huo DaoFu looks increasingly thunderous, especially when Pang Zi grabs his hand by mistake.

Finally, Princess leaps to Wu Xie's head and clings to his bangs like a large pink hairclip. Pang Zi gives up.

"Fine. Stay there and don't move." Sweeping his wet hair out of his face, he turns to Huo DaoFu. "Right. Please go on."

"It's obvious who wears the pants in your strange family," Huo DaoFu sneers before nodding at Wu Xie. "What's his diagnosis?"

"Suspected pulmonary fibrosis," Pang Zi recites at once, letting the insult slide off him; Huo DaoFu isn't exactly wrong. He retrieves his phone from his leather jacket which he'd folded under Wu Xie's head earlier.

Meanwhile, Huo DaoFu carries in a large trunk from the next room, takes out a stethoscope and puts the ear pieces around his neck. Princess perks up at once and starts moving from Wu Xie's forehead down to his neck. As Huo DaoFu listens to his heartbeat and lungs, Pang Zi shows him a photo of Wu Xie's medical report and explains what happened today.

Neither of them see Princess stealthily making her way to Wu Xie's chest, keeping close to Pang Zi's side.

"He needs a long rest and lots of fresh, clean air," Huo DaoFu states. "He mustn't catch a cold or be exposed to dust."

He also says that Wu Xie is too weak to undergo surgery despite Pang Zi's generous offer of a lung and part of his liver.

"As for this creature, what exactly is it and where did he get it from?"

"It's a her. She's a shellfish. From a... tomb," Pang Zi says helpfully.

Huo DaoFu's eyebrows shoot up.

"I never would've guessed," he says dryly. "I take it she's reasonably clean?"

"She's been with us for several weeks so... yes. Yes, she is."

"Hm." There's a world of scepticism contained in that one word. "I'll make a reckless move for Wu Xie, but don't blame me if I can't save him."

"Anyway, we both depend on you," Pang Zi agrees. "You must save him."

"Don't touch anything," Huo DaoFu says and leaves the room.

"We won't," Pang Zi calls after him. He turns to see Princess happily sticking one of the stethoscope's ear pieces in her mouth. "Princess!"

- o -

The reckless move turns out to be flooding Wu Xie's lungs with oil to wash out the cement dust. Apparently, it's a native method used for miners in Borneo who have severe pneumoconiosis due to breathing in dust.

After hooking Wu Xie up, Huo DaoFu places his stethoscope in his ears again only to yank out both ear pieces with a grimace. He sticks his pinky in his right ear, takes it out and looks at the shiny residue in dismay.

"What-"

"Ah," Pang Zi says.

Huo DaoFu scowls at the very innocent looking shellfish sitting in Wu Xie's hair. He fishes out a packet of anti-bacterial wipes from his pocket and proceeds to disinfects the entire stethoscope very thoroughly before listening to Wu Xie's lungs.

The good news is, Wu Xie starts coughing a couple of minutes after that and vomits out the oil. The not so good news is, he remains unconscious.

"Tianzhen! Can you hear me? Tianzhen! Doctor, why doesn't he wake up?" Pang Zi cradles Wu Xie against his shoulder while Princess sits on Wu Xie's shoulder and pats his face.

"The next twenty four hours are critical," Huo DaoFu says, staring at the rather domestic scene. "Take good care of him. If this happens again... well."

When he turns to his trunk, Princess leaps onto the lid. The two of them trade stares for a long moment while Pang Zi holds his breath.

Then Huo DaoFu holds out a steady hand. As soon as Princess leaps onto it, he grabs her with his other hand and examines her closely. Princess doesn't struggle, but her eyes never once leave his face.

Finally, he sets her back down on the trunk lid.

"Interesting," he murmurs.

Emboldened, Princess leaps onto his chest and scuttles up to his shoulder. She attempts to squirm inside his turtleneck sweater, but fails and loses her balance, falling onto the trunk lid with a small thud.

"Is this a habit of yours?" Huo DaoFu asks with a smirk. "Sticking to people's necks?"

Princess very carefully turns her back on him. If she had a nose, it would be up in the air.

"Go on, take Wu Xie home," Huo DaoFu tells Pang Zi. "Don't let him die at my place."

Pang Zi maneuvers the unconscious Wu Xie onto his back and nods at Huo DaoFu.

"Thank you," he says gruffly. "Come on, Princess."

Leaping onto Wu Xie's shoulder, the shellfish casts a longing look at Huo DaoFu's well covered neck, making him huff in amusement.

"Keep me updated on his condition," he tells Pang Zi. "Now, go. I have hungry customers waiting."

Pang Zi carries Wu Xie and Princess downstairs, out into the rain and into the van, paying no mind to the curious onlookers.

"Huh. That Huo DaoFu has the worst bedside manners of any doctor I've met," he tells Princess on the way home. "Still, I'm grateful for his help. As for you, you're lucky you didn't end up swimming in his wok!"

Princess just dives inside Wu Xie's jacket and wraps her fingers around his neck again.

"Yeah, I hope he wakes up soon," Pang Zi says.

- Chapter End -

A/N: Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment if you enjoyed this chapter :)