Xiu was dumbstruck for a while. Nora, however, was excitingly jumping around.
"Oh my G.o.d! This is huge! I mean, you finally remember. How much do you remember?" When Xiu didn"t answer for a long time, Nora shook her a bit. "Xiu, what"s wrong?"
Xiu held her head in her hands and tried to walk through her memory lanes but to her dismay, she couldn"t figure out how she knew about that c.o.ke incident. It was like a new piece of memory was added in her mind. But that was it, apart from that once particular scene, she couldn"t recall anything else.
And she knew that part wasn"t from her own memory.
"Sss-" A sharp wave of pain made her hiss in pain instinctively as she fell back on the couch. She was straining her mind to dig up any other clue related to Bai Xiu"s life but couldn"t do so.
Seeing her condition, Nora panicked a little as she kneeled down before Xiu and said, "Xiu, it"s okay. Don"t strain yourself. If you can"t remember then it"s alright. I must have overreacted."
When Xiu opened her eyes, she noticed Nora"s disappointed look and pursed her lips feeling guilty again. Holding Nora"s hands, she said, "I"m sorry. But I really can"t remember." She didn"t know what she was sorry for. Was it because she wasn"t Bai Xiu? Or was it because no matter how hard she tried she couldn"t become Bai Xiu?
Nora tried to smile at her in response and replied, "Aiyo, it"s alright. Even though you have lost those old memories, we have made so many new ones. It"s all worth it. What matters is that you are with me."
Xiu couldn"t even bring herself to smile in rea.s.surance at Nora. The Bai Xiu Nora was looking for wasn"t there and only Xiu knew that. Even though the body was there, the spirit was gone along with memories. But for the first time in years, Xiu had a hope that Bai Xiu"s memories weren"t lost forever. There was still hope.
However, could just a bunch of memories really make any difference? Even if it couldn"t she still wanted to find those memories.
"What are you both doing?"
Both Nora and Xiu turned their heads simultaneously to look at Darren and Nora"s eyes widened in surprise, "Darren, why are you coming from inside?" She got up and circled around him with a suspicious look. "I thought you left but you"d been inside with Xiu. Interesting. Very interesting. And here I thought, you guys were gonna take it slow."
Darren licked his lips while looking around and said, "I dozed off for a bit. Don"t work up your mind so much." Taking a pause to avoid Nora"s scrutinizing gaze, he added, "I should leave, Ms. Sherlock."
"Didn"t you plan to spend the whole day with Xiu?" asked Nora in amus.e.m.e.nt. "Then why are you leaving so soon?" she sniffed around Xiu"s body and smiled slyly, "Why is his cologne all over you? What did you guys do?"
Xiu pushed her away forcefully and said, "Quit it already." Then she looked at Darren, "Don"t listen to her, just stay," said Xiu and as she threw a cus.h.i.+on at Nora, she went on, "Nora is just teasing you since she has nothing better to do today."
Eventually, Darren didn"t leave and Xiu was the one who ended up suffering. Because Nora was watching a doc.u.mentary on penguins and the way she and Darren were immersed in the poor and hard life of penguins left no room for Xiu to interfere. She could only curl up on the couch with her blanket and watch her best friend and her boyfriend being weird kind of geeks.
Even when the doorbell rang, both of them had no reaction. Eventually, Xiu had to push herself to open the door and when she did she almost slammed the door back at the face of the person who showed up. However, Dylan had quick reflexes as he managed to hold the door with his hand and said, "I knew you have the worst manners. Is this how you treat a guest?"
"Sorry, I thought I saw a ghost," was Xiu"s answer making Dylan"s face twitch. "Besides, if the guest looks as unpleasant as you, then yes, this is exactly how I treat that guest," replied Xiu without a hint of fear. "What do you want?"
Dylan gnashed his teeth in anger and said, "I believe you kidnapped my best friend." Xiu narrowed her eyes at him dangerously making Dylan take a step back as he said, "I mean to say that Dazi is here, right?"
"He is," replied Xiu calmly.
"Then can I come inside?" asked Dylan with a smile.
Xiu blocked his path and said, "No, you can"t."
Dylan lifted his hand and waved a lunch box before her saying, "I brought wonton soup for you."
"Are you bribing me?" Xiu looked at him while crossing her arms before her.
"I feel like it"s a ransom to see my best friend," said Dylan in a low voice but when he saw Xiu"s expressions, he smiled at her and added, "I mean, it can"t be counted as a bribe. It"s my sincerity." When Xiu didn"t budge for a long while, he went on, "It"s homemade. My mom spent hours making this herself for you. It"d be your loss if you didn"t taste it."
Xiu"s body relaxed a bit as she questioned, "Your mother made it herself?"
"Yup," nodded Dylan.
Xiu moved aside and said, "Come inside." Xiu locked the door when he entered and came back inside. But the scene that surprised her, even more, turned out to be when even Dylan joined both Darren and Nora. Xiu huffed to herself and s.n.a.t.c.hed the lunch box from Dylan"s hands before sitting back in her seat to eat.
Since everyone was focused on penguins, she didn"t bother offering anyone to join her. Especially because the homely warm taste of the food made her selfish self become even more selfish. It was not every day that she"d get to eat something prepared with so much love and care.
For a moment, she was forced to wonder why she was acquainted with these weird people.