Side Story
Cheng Yi asked Fei Yan Niao to give Cheng Yi a mission. Fei Yan Niao showed Cheng Yi different weapons to trigger Cheng Yi’s memory. Cheng Yi didn’t remember his past, but remembered how to use the weapons.
Gu Jiao Wu carried Qiao Tan Yuan out of the car.
‘Today you’re wearing a dress,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘If you want to give everyone a peep show, keep kicking your legs.’
Qiao Tan Yuan immediately stopped kicking her legs.
‘Gu Jiao Wu, what do you want?’ Qiao Tan Yuan asked.
Qiao Tan Yuan suspected Gu Jiao Wu was in the mood to toy with her.
‘Nothing out of the ordinary,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. He carried Qiao Tan Yuan into the restaurant. ‘Only an ordinary dinner.’
‘I don’t want to eat dinner with you,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
‘Sir, Madam, welcome,’ a waiter said.
‘You… put me down,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
Gu Jiao Wu didn’t put the embarra.s.sed Qiao Tan Yuan down. He looked around the crowded first floor, and couldn’t find a free table.
‘Is there a free table on the second floor?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked the waiter.
‘Sir, there’s one table left,’ the waiter said and acted like seeing a man carrying a woman into a restaurant was a common sight. ‘Follow me.’
Qiao Tan Yuan felt the customers’ eyes were looking at her. She didn’t want anyone to recognise her so she buried her head into Gu Jiao Wu’s chest.
Qiao Tan Yuan felt light in Gu Jiao Wu’s arms, he effortlessly carried her upstairs. Because she buried her head into his chest, he could smell the usual rose shampoo she used to wash her hair.
In contrast Gu Jiao Wu’s body scent made Qiao Tan Yuan sad. She thought about the rare times he held her in his arms. The first time was in the elevator on the day Xiao Bao was born, and the second time was when she twisted her ankle at the park reserved. During their marriage he never held her in his arms, slept with her or even paid attention to her. Why did he hold her in his arms, and slept with her after they divorced? She didn’t know what the relationship between them was. But she was certain the Gu Jiao Wu holding her in his arms wasn’t the same Gu Jiao Wu in the past, and she wasn’t the same Qiao Tan Yuan in the past. She didn’t want to love him anymore, she wanted to learn how to forget him and let go of him so they could live their separate lives.
Gu Jiao Wu felt Qiao Tan Yuan loosened her hold around his neck. He looked down at her vulnerable face, and he held her tighter.
After Gu Jiao Wu put Qiao Tan Yuan down on a seat, she surveyed their surroundings. Their table was in a corner next to a window, and the screens around their table gave them privacy.
A waitress gave Gu Jiao Wu and Qiao Tan Yuan menus, and poured tea for them.
‘Sir, Madam, what would you like to order?’ the waitress asked.
Qiao Tan Yuan didn’t want to let Gu Jiao Wu order food for them. Unlike Gu Jiao Wu, Shen Cheng hired a chef to make delicious nutritious dishes for her after she gave birth to Xiao Bao. If Shen Cheng took her out to eat at a restaurant, Shen Cheng would order her favorite dishes. The rare times Gu Jiao Wu sat at the same table with her at a restaurant while they were married, he would order for them two bowls of soups so he could eat quickly and get away from her faster.
Qiao Tan Yuan accepted Gu Jiao Wu didn’t care about her so he wouldn’t care about what she liked to eat. She would have stood, and left if she wasn’t shocked by the words that came out of his mouth.
‘I want to order the steamed fish on the menu,’ Gu Jiao Wu said. ‘What nutritious dishes do you recommend?’
‘The ginseng chicken soup, yam and blueberry sauce and cuttlefish soup are the most popular nutritious dishes on the menu,’ the waitress said.
The waitress thought Gu Jiao Wu must have doted on Qiao Tan Yuan by the way he carried Qiao Tan Yuan so Qiao Tan Yuan didn’t need to walk, and the way he thought carefully about what healthy dishes he should order for Qiao Tan Yuan.
‘Um, add the ginseng chicken soup to our order…’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
Qiao Tan Yuan sat frozen in her seat. Gu Jiao Wu was seriously checking the menu for nutritious dishes for her.
The waitress walked to the kitchen after Gu Jiao Wu chose another four nutritious meals.
Qiao Tan Yuan was more shocked to see the worried look on Gu Jiao Wu’s face. Why would he be worried about her? Why did he care about her health?
Gu Jiao Wu was relieved Qiao Tan Yuan wasn’t making a commotion. He watched her looking at him suspiciously. She sat quietly unlike the way she acted like an angry little girl throwing a tantrum outside. Her hair was messy, but she didn’t look as pale as before. He was about to touch her face to see if she had a fever, but the waitress returned with their dishes.
Gu Jiao Wu nodded his head at the waitress, and scooped a bowl of ginseng chicken soup for Qiao Tan Yuan.
‘The ginseng chicken soup will help boost your energy,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
The way Gu Jiao Wu was holding the steaming bowl of ginseng chicken soup almost made her face drop. Why did he look like he cared about her?
‘Gu Jiao Wu, do you have a terminal illness?’ Qiao Tan Yuan asked.
‘What nonsense are you saying?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked.
Qiao Tan Yuan didn’t think it was safe to eat the bowl of soup Gu Jiao Wu scooped for her.
‘I’m Qiao Tan Yuan, not Chu Da,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said.
‘Of course you’re not Chu Da,’ Gu Jiao Wu said.
Qiao Tan Yuan pointed at the bowl Gu Jiao Wu was holding.
‘Oh… then did you suffer brain damage today?’ Qiao Tan Yuan asked.
Gu Jiao Wu looked at Qiao Tan Yuan like she was crazy. It made her uncertain who the crazy one between herself and Gu Jiao Wu was.
‘Are you worried about me?’ Qiao Tan Yuan asked.
‘Is it wrong for me to worry about you?’ Gu Jiao Wu asked.
‘Um, I’m Qiao Tan Yuan,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. ‘The woman you hate the most. Why would you care about me?’
Qiao Tan Yuan doubted Gu Jiao Wu was aware he took her to see Ling Hu, and to eat dinner at the restaurant.
Gu Jiao Wu didn’t understand why Qiao Tan Yuan was suspicious he cared about her.
‘You don’t need to win my favor,’ Qiao Tan Yuan said. ‘No matter how you act like you care about me, don’t dream about me giving Xiao Bao to you.’
Gu Jiao Wu didn’t understand why he cared about Qiao Tan Yuan either. But seeing her looking sickly made him worried about her. He didn’t know why she would rather overwork herself than come to him for help made him unhappy. She was a mother, yet she didn’t know how to take care of herself. He took her see Ling Hu to take away the uneasy feeling in his heart. But thinking about her not eating dinner upset him so he dragged her to the restaurant. He thought his heart would be at peace after he saw her eat a nutritious dinner. He didn’t expect she would be suspicious about him caring about her. What win her favor? Why would he need to win her favor?
Qiao Tan Yuan thought Gu Jiao Wu lost his brain while he thought she lost her brain.
End of Chapter Sixty-Four