Chapter 8 - 10
I lay on the hotel bed my mind still in the sky.
Until the phone rang.
Chi Xiao's cold voice pulled me back to the ground.
The housekeeper said you moved out?
I was stunned. Ah yes.
Zhu Qingyao our deal besides you being Song Lehan's substitute what else have you forgotten?
I stared at the ceiling my voice steady.
I take care of your life but Mr. Chi...
Song Lehan comes to you from time to time so I will not be the third wheel.
After I finished only shallow breathing remained on the line.
The time on the screen jumped.
Finally Chi Xiao's suddenly colder tone came.
It is up to you.
The call ended.
I looked at the newly added money in the account and stood up to pack.
I should go home.
I booked a bus ticket for the early bus the next morning.
I did not take the plane so I slept very early.
When Chi Xiao's call came the Headmistress from the Children's Home called me in the dream too.
"Hello?"
She was the only relative who had ever been good to me.
In front of the Headmistress I could completely be a child. I would pout and throw tantrums.
But I had not seen her in a long time.
I thought it was a dream and could show my different side without restraint.
Therefore the drawn-out ending carried a hint of coquettishness.
Chi Xiao's fingertips curled slightly. He did not speak for a moment.
I am going to sleep.
In the dream I smiled with my lips but spoke in a playful tone.
"Where is the medicine box at home?"
"Chi Xiao?"
I suddenly woke up and sat up from the bed.
My voice stammered. Mr. Chi?
I thought you would call me by my full name.
Embarrassed I bumped my head on the pillow to avoid his words.
The medicine box is in the third drawer of the cabinet on the right side of the storage room.
Thinking about it for my professional conduct I asked one more question.
"What happened?"
Chi Xiao seemed to have just had a sudden impulse for a cold joke.
"Nothing. Just stomach pain."
I opened my mouth but did not know what to say.
Chi Xiao was the actual controller of the company and also had a president illness.
These years I had kept him eating on time and it had not recurred for a long time.
The two of us fell into silence again.
Chi Xiao did not hang up.
As his subordinate I could only keep him company while he waited.
Fortunately there was the sound of rummaging through boxes on the other side.
I let my mind go blank and heard Chi Xiao say.
"There is no medicine box."
"How could that be? I instinctively denied. I put in new medicine only two days ago."
"After a pause I continued. The housekeeper knows. Why don't you ask him?"
"He asked for leave and is not at home."
I pursed my lips. Then wait for me for a moment?
"Okay. Chi Xiao adjusted his voice."
The best solution was for Chi Xiao to call the family doctor.
But I looked at Chi Xiao and he seemed to have forgotten the pain?
Thinking about it I called the family doctor and asked him to come over.
Then I put on a mask and slept.
I was not a doctor and had only stood there before. Who knew it would show me Chi Xiao and Song Lehan's intimate scene.
I did not want to.
The next morning I boarded the bus and took two days and two nights to return to the Children's Home.
The place was strange. The once lively gate of the Children's Home was now full of rust.
I rented a small room with a yard in the village.
I pulled weeds and bought flowers. In half a month I turned the barren yard into a small garden.
In the early morning I stretched lazily and went out.
I saw Chi Jinming covered in dust and immediately softened.
Too many questions made me blurt out.
"How come you look so disheveled?"
His lips were cracked his eyes dim and his clothes had several holes.
He looked like someone who had escaped from a deep mountain.
Chi Jinming's eyes brightened. Then he gave me a resentful look.
"Give me something to eat. I am starving."
Chi Jinming wolfed down his noodles.
I tried to pass him water but he did not open his mouth to drink.
I did not dare to ask why Chi Jinming appeared here or what he came for.
When he finished eating I took out my phone to book a ticket for him.
"Sleep a while and go back."
Chi Jinming's hand holding the tissue paused. Then he wiped his mouth.
"You have a heart of stone. You do not even ask why I became like this before sending me away."
"What a heartless woman."
I held back my temper. Then why?
Chi Jinming's eyes flashed.
"It is a long story. It is my fault for being too kind."
"In short I will not go back. You still owe me. Do not think you can drive me away."
I was puzzled. When did I ever owe you something?
Chi Jinming reacted even more fiercely his eyes glaring.
"You actually forgot that night?"
"That was my first kiss. I was drunk and you took it from me. I had not even felt it yet. How precious a first kiss is in this era do you know? You owe me right?"
I stood there stunned by his shout.
Chi Jinming changed his tone.
"Zhu Qingyao I am so tired."
"I am going to sleep."
"In short Chi Jinming just stayed."
I did not manage to ask him how he got himself into such a state.
I asked because men cared about face and I gave him some face to save.