CH 66.1

Hot chocolate.

‘Du Yi, why do you think that rich woman comes here every day?’ Jiu Tu asked. ‘Do you think she’s sick or is she waiting for someone?’

‘Make her a hot chocolate,’ Yue Gu Zai said.

‘She ordered a coffee,’ Du Yi said.

‘Hot chocolate,’ Yue Gu Zai said.

Yue Gu Zai brought a cup of hot chocolate to Zhen Zhen’s table.

‘Mrs Yue, your drink,’ Yue Gu Zai said.

Zhen Zhen smiled because she loved hearing the waiter’s voice that sounded like Yue Gu Zai. She took a sip and she frowned.

‘I want to drink coffee,’ Zhen Zhen said.

‘Drinking too much coffee isn’t good for you,’ Yue Gu Zai said.

‘What’s your name?’ Zhen Zhen asked.

‘Du Yi,’ Yue Gu Zai said.

The next several days, Zhen Zhen ordered hot chocolate. Yue Gu Zai thought she looked skinner by the day. Some days he would order her a meal, and she would take a bite.

Mr and Mrs Yue asked Zhen Zhen to come home but she declined. For a year there was no news of Yue Gu Zai or their daughter. There was no reason for her to restore her sight. She didn’t want to accept Yue Gu Zai and their daughter died. That day she was happy she finally received news about their daughter.

‘Mrs Yue, your hot chocolate,’ Yue Gu Zai said.

‘Thank you,’ Zhen Zhen said. ‘Can you sit with me for a while?’

Yue Gu Zai didn’t know if it was right for him to sit.

‘Sit,’ Zhen Zhen said. ‘I’ll reimburse the owner for your pay today.’

Yue Gu Zai sat opposite Zhen Zhen.

‘You don’t like to talk,’ Zhen Zhen said. ‘He doesn’t like to talk either. Can you talk a little more today?’

‘Is he your husband?’ Yue Gu Zai asked coldly.

‘Yes,’ Zhen Zhen said. ‘Your voice sounds exactly like my husband’s voice.’

‘Is that so?’ Yue Gu Zai asked. ‘Why do you come here every day?’

Yue Gu Zai was jealous of Zhen Zhen’s husband.

‘Do you come here to wait for him?’ Yue Gu Zai asked.

Zhen Zhen didn’t know why the waiter made her feel like she was sitting with Yue Gu Zai.

‘After today, I’m not coming here anymore,’ Zhen Zhen said.

Yue Gu Zai teared the napkin in half.

‘Why?’ Yue Gu Zai asked.

‘I can’t stay here forever,’ Zhen Zhen said. ‘I need to accept my reality.’

Zhen Zhen received news that Shu Tang Jue was raising a one-year-old baby girl. If the baby girl was her daughter, she wanted to her daughter back.

Zhen Zhen and Yue Gu Zai sat in tensed silence until closing time.

‘Du Yi, the woman closed her account here and she also left a generous tip,’ Jiu Tu said. ‘What did you two talk about? Why isn’t she coming back?’

‘Jiu Tu, do you want to turn into a gossiping mother hen?’ Yue Gu Zai asked.

‘Hey, if you don’t want to tell me then you don’t have to,’ Jiu Tu said. ‘There’s no reason to be angry.’

Yue Gu Zai walked outside. He saw Zhen Zhen was still waiting for her driver. Usually her driver picked her up at the back of the restaurant because there were more street lights.

‘Mrs Yue, where do you live?’ Yue Gu Zai asked. ‘I’ll take you home.’

‘You don’t have to,’ Zhen Zhen declined.

‘Fine,’ Yue Gu Zai said coldly.

A second later, Yue Gu Zai pushed Zhen Zhen away and a car crashed into him.

‘Miss, are you OK?’ a man asked.

‘Miss, is he your husband?’ a woman asked. ‘Someone call an ambulance. There’s a car accident.’

A minute later, Bai Yu Tian arrived at the restaurant. He was shocked to see Yue Gu Zai lying on the ground, and Zhen Zhen holding Yue Gu Zai’s hand.

‘Boss!’ Bai Yu Tian called.

Bai Yu Tian knelt on the ground and he examined Yue Gu Zai.

‘Mrs Yue, let go of boss’ hand,’ Bai Yu Tian said. ‘The ambulance is here. We need to take him to the hospital.’

Zhen Zhen followed Yue Gu Zai into the ambulance. She couldn’t see him, but she felt she was holding his hand. He wasn’t Du Yi if Bai Yu Tian called him boss. Was he really Yue Gu Zai? If he was Yue Gu Zai, she didn’t want to let go of Yue Gu Zai’s hand.

***

End of Chapter Sixty-One (Part 1)