FEW DAYS LATER
"Good morning" Holding a basket of fresh fruits and white rose bouquet she entered Zeng s.h.i.+hong"s room in the hospital and greeted him with her chirpy voice and bright suns.h.i.+ne smile. "What a bright sunny day, isn"t it?"
"Ah, my little munchkin! Yes… such a beautiful day it is. I"m enjoying it thoroughly. This hospital is so well constructed, keeping in mind to let the fresh air and light come in"
Watching his lovely granddaughter early in the morning, Zeng s.h.i.+hong"s face lit up. Lu Xion rolled his eyes at this dual treatment. Just a few minutes ago this old man was doing salsa over his head complaining over the dull color of walls, bitter medicines, boring atmosphere, no fun, no play, bland food, harsh sunlight, dirty air, and whatnot.
Despite this is the best hospital of the country and everything is top-notch, but at this old man"s demands, Lu Xion has changed many things in the room, including a wall painting, because grandpa complained that he doesn"t like the color of the eyes of flying birds in that painting. Can he really saw the color of birds eyes from this distance? He even got a flower vase changed as he wants to keep the flowers that Xiu Mei got for him daily in his favorite antique 16th-century vase….. How lame!
"Good morning, little tomato"
"X, help me set up the breakfast table," Xiu Mei asked while pruning roses to set them perfectly in the vase and discard the old ones. She checked Mr. Zeng"s health watch and Sync it according to the doctor"s prescription to timely remind him of medicines. She checked the diffuser and replaced it with fresh Ylang ylang essential oil fragrance. She picked the doctors chart and scanned all the reports with her phone to keep it in her record.
Zeng s.h.i.+hong was following her every move but hung his head low like he"d been wronged. He knows why she is doing all this.
"C"mon grandpa let"s eat breakfast. Hope we"ll survive this tomato"s cooking" Xion tried to help Mr. Zeng to get up from his bed, but earned a painful smack on his shoulder. "Shut up you punk! Dare you say anything against her!?"
"But grandpa, she is really a disaster queen when it comes to cooking" He answered it as if it"s a universal truth. "Remember, last time she almost set the house on fire while trying to cook braised pork in the microwave. I mean who does that?"
"That was not my fault. That…. That… that was… that was…"
"Ya… ya… that was poor pork"s fault that it ended up in your hands after being butchered" Xiu Mei was still trying to figure out how to answer when Lu Xion teased her.
"Fine don"t you dare touch this food, I"ll chop your hands off" she stared at him and felt the rush to hit him hard when he gave a wicked smile. Stomping her foot in anger she helped Zeng s.h.i.+hong to the breakfast table, "Eat this congee, Mr. Zeng, it"s really healthy for you. And this soya milk, it"ll be light on your stomach. And some fresh fruits with nuts and roasted oats" Zeng s.h.i.+hong obediently accepted everything served by her, without any tantrums.
"By the way, Aunt Mary has made a particular buffoon"s favorite steamed buns with lots of meat. Poor he, it"s all mine now" She looked at Xion with a smug smile and took a bite of a steamed bun and moaned at his face, "Mmm…. So yummy… So soft…" Lu Xion pretended to be indifferent, but inwardly he was drooling over those freshly steamed buns. Aunt Mary cooks world"s best-steamed buns…
In no time, all the steam buns were inside Xiu Mei"s stomach as she let out a satisfied burp while Xion was left with an empty plate to gawk at. "Little tomato, these steam buns won"t digest in your system properly. You dare eat all the buns, now you"ll definitely get a stomach ache" He growled looking at an empty plate.
"Oww… He cursed me. My stomach really hurts… Oww… Now how will I leave for Country B?" Xiu Mei"s fake acting make Lu Xion grumble, "Drama queen" She stuck out her tongue at him.
Xiu Mei frowned when she turned her face to look at Mr. Zeng, whose face had turned sad the moment she mentioned Country B"s name. For the last few days, this old man was brooding on the fact that she is leaving for Country B alone. Although, he had prepared everything for her in secret, his heartfelt restless over the fact she is going there again. He would handle everything and she would be safe, but he knew her too well, she is just as stubborn as he was in his youth.
"Mr. Zeng, can we please not discuss this topic again. I promise to call you daily and keep you updated. You know how important it is for me to go there. Not only to settle scores with Kong"s but to investigate about my mother too. Don"t you want to know who that man was who brought me there? And most importantly from where? Why? What were his motives? All my answers are hidden in that country. If you"ll behave like this how am I going to concentrate on my work? I"ll be….."
Before she could say anything else, Zeng s.h.i.+hong pulled her in a tight hug. He was aware his granddaughter is fully capable to handle her enemies, but being a grandfather he cannot stop himself from being worried for her.
Through the stiffness of Mr. Zeng"s body, she could feel how worried he is and gently patted his back. "I know my departure will be troublesome for you. You want to spend more time with me, and trust me i want it as much as you do. But there are some questions I"m looking for answers and have no other choice"
He pulled back from the hug and cupped her face, "Go! Bring those Kong"s to our torture room. My hands are itching to practice some new methods on them" She chuckled and hugged him back while Lu Xion and Zeng s.h.i.+hong shared a knowing look with each other and nodded.