"Yup. All fine."
Jack Si said as he completed Xiaosi's checkup. "His condition is much better than when he was discharged. That is a good sign which says his condition is improving."
Caihong beamed. "That's good news!"
"Yes. His brain scan shows that the tumor is still in a little delicate position. So we still have to take care that his brain is not triggered with any sudden shocking news or such. It's slowly adjusting to his memory loss too which can gradually come back. We should have patience for that."
Caihong nodded.
Then she hesitated a bit as she clasped her fingers. "Um...And about his…" she bit her lip, "l-lifespan...What about it? Last time, you said that he doesn't have much time left…"
Jack Si was solemn. "The threat is still there, sister-in-law."
She pursed her lips.
"That's why, this is a crucial period where we have to be extremely careful. It's fine if he knows that he has a wife and daughter, but the past...he is still not ready to handle it. So make sure that nobody spills out anything about what happened seven years back. Even when talking about your college days or memories, you should be really cautious of what you are revealing."
"En. I will."
He smiled. "Great then."
Just then, Xiaosi stepped out of the checkup room too. "Is everything okay?"
"Yup. I was just talking about the general precautions you should take."
Caihong's phone buzzed.
"Zizi."
"Caihong. Are you free right now? I want to go shopping! Let's go together."
"Shopping so suddenly?"
"Hehe yes. I am going on a trip to Shanghai with Yunru."
Caihong widened her eyes, surprised. Then she slightly coughed. "You mean...that kind of a trip?"
Jack Si and Xiaosi leaned in curiously.
"I wish!" Zizi sighed in exasperation. "But unfortunately, it's not. Yunru has a conference in Shanghai so I am tagging along. So, shopping is necessary! I asked Xinyi too but she is busy."
She laughed. "I see. What about Shuang?"
Jack Si's ears invariably perked up by her mention.
"Ah...Shuang…" Zizi's voice sounded a little uncomfortable.
After how Zizi had confronted her on the reunion gathering night, she hadn't properly talked to her. Her ex-boyfriend was now Zizi's fiance so things were awkward between them. But apart from them and Yunru, nobody else knew about this complicated relationship.
"She is also a little busy haha…"
Caihong sighed. "Must be playing games again…"
Jack Si raised his brow.
"Well... Actually I came with Xiaosi for his check up."
"Oh. Aww, so you aren't free?" Her voice fell.
Xiaosi whispered from her side. "What is she asking?"
"It's Zizi. She wants to go shopping and is inviting me."
He nodded. "You should. My checkup is done here."
"Um but…"
He smiled and nodded in reassurance. "I am fine."
"Okay," she smiled.
Caihong agreed. "Sure."
"Yay! Cool. Let's meet at J.J shopping center in an hour."
She hung up and Xiaosi said, "Let's go. I will drop you."
They thanked Jack Si and left. He thought about Shuang for a moment but quickly waved his hand.
"Ah handsome doc, back to work," he said to himself and sighed.
---
"Caihong!" Zizi smiled and hugged her. "And Xiaosi."
"Hey."
Caihong chuckled. "You are so excited for this trip huh. Are you planning to...jump on Yunru?"
Zizi coughed. "I won't! It's just that I don't want to lack anything."
"Alright, alright."
"Why don't you join us too?" Zizi gleamed as she looked at Xiaosi.
"Me? I just came to drop Caihong…"
"So what? It's a good chance for you to spoil your wife with your credit card hehe~" she winked.
Caihong rolled her eyes. "You…"
Xiaosi thought about it and brightly smiled. "En! If you don't mind."
Caihong has been taking care of me a lot these past days. I should show my gratitude, he thought.
Xiaosi was also excited at the prospect of shopping with Caihong and getting to know more about her tastes and likes. Since he had forgotten everything, he knew nothing about Caihong as a person and her interests.
Caihong saw the sparkling expression on his face and was speechless. Somehow, she felt that he looked like Chyou when she was also excited about something.
He can make that kind of face too... Really, like father, like daughter, she softly chuckled.
Inside, as they browsed around the shops, Zizi asked, "Hey how is this dress?"
It was an elegant peach dress that fell down to the knees with frilly sleeves at the shoulders.
Caihong nodded. "En. It's pretty."
"Will Yunru like it?"
She raised her brow. She took a step forward and raised her chin. "Zizi. You look beautiful in everything." She said, mimicking Yunru's voice. "This is what he would say," she chuckled.
Zizi slightly blushed and they burst into laughter. "You sounded just like him haha."
When Caihong looked back, she choked seeing all the stuff that Xiaosi put in the basket. Mostly, they were all dresses, handbags and shoes.
"D-Did you grab the whole shop?" She asked in disbelief.
Xiaosi scratched his head and smiled. "I didn't know what you would like so I thought to bring everything and then ask you."
"..."
Even so, this is too much…
Zizi snorted. "Pretty much showing his status as S3 CEO hah!"
Xiaosi coughed. "I am not."
Caihong helplessly smiled. "Let's see."
From the dozens of clothes in his cart, she hand-picked a few. Xiaosi carefully observed and registered the pattern in his mind.
She likes light colored dresses. Mostly sunny and off-white. She doesn't like too showy designs. I see...
"There," she sorted it out.
Xiaosi nodded.
Caihong said, "I will be back in a minute. Restroom."
"En."
Zizi chuckled as she went away. "So. Got to learn something about her?"
He softly smiled. "En. A lot actually. Thank you for inviting me."
"Haha. As your gratitude, I will gladly accept you sponsoring our lunch."
His mouth twitched. "I didn't know that you are actually stingy despite being the Han family's heiress."
"Hey!" She fumed.
"You…"
They turned upon hearing a soft voice from beside them. A beautiful, elderly woman was staring at Xiaosi in shock. She tremblingly pointed her finger at him as she turned pale.
"W-why are you here?"