Eleven looked at him and couldn’t understand why he was apologizing for such trivial things. From the way he was holding her wrist, Eleven felt that the atmosphere had become too ambiguous. She was embarrassed and pulled away her hand immediately.
Anthony returned to his senses and realized that his behavior was inappropriate. He kept quiet and looked down. She couldn’t see his expression.
“Anthony, it’s nothing. You don’t have to worry about it.” Eleven said. Anthony acknowledged with a nonchalant expression.
Mrs. Kurt’s cheerful voice came from the kitchen. “It’s dinner time. Ladies and gentlemen, you can come over now.”
Mrs. Kurt’s voice broke the silence between the two of them. Eleven acknowledged and the both of them walked to the dining hall together. Eleven helped Mrs. Kurt bring the dishes out.
They had a sumptuous dinner. Potatoes and rye bread were their essential staple food, but there were also caviar, braised beef, cheese and more… Almost every dish was prepared differently. One looked bland, while the other looked heavily seasoned.
Russian food are usually heavily seasoned. Eleven had originally thought that she wouldn’t be able to eat a lot, and she didn’t expect that Mrs. Kurt would make her portion of food blander.
“Mrs. Kurt, why are there two portions of the same food?” Anthony asked, feeling puzzled.
Mrs. Kurt smiled. “Little Seven doesn’t look good. I don’t think she can eat spicy food, so I made some light food for her. Both are delicious. Anthony, you can try some too.”
Eleven was touched. Not only was the old lady lovely and thoughtful, she had even helped her solve her problem. Such a virtuous and understanding old lady like her was really rare.
“Thank you very much, Mrs. Kurt.” Eleven said with a smile. She rushed over to Mrs. Kurt, held her and kissed her hard on the cheek. “You are so kind.”
Upon seeing how harmonious the two women were, Mr. Kurt shook her head.
Mrs. Kurt was so happy that she was smiling from ear to ear. Anthony’s gaze darkened. He was jealous of Mrs. Kurt, who was kissed by Eleven.
“Don’t you like spicy food?”
“How did you know?” Eleven asked curiously.
Antony paused. “I guessed it. Since it’s cold, it’ll be nice to have something hot.”
Eleven chuckled. “It’s not that I don’t like it. It’s just that I can’t eat it now. I need to avoid certain food.”
Anthony understood as soon as he heard her. ‘It must be because…’ There was pain in his eyes, but he had concealed it calmly. His heart seemed to be pulled by something. The pain was unbearable.
The atmosphere during dinner was great. The white snow outside was still falling, but the room was warm, as though spring had came. Mr. Kurt and Anthony chatted and drank at the same time.
“Mr. Kurt, you are getting old, you’d better drink less alcohol.” Eleven said. Vodka was too strong for an old person like him. Unlike him, Anthony was young and it didn’t matter how much he drank.
“It’s alright. I’m still young. Men ought to drink some alcohol.” Mr. Kurt was flushed, but he wasn’t drunk. He was in a high mood, and Anthony was talkative, which cheered him up.
“I’ve been nagging him on this for years and he’s been drinking less these days. He used to drink more.” Mrs. Kurt said and she poured a small cup of wine for herself. It was actually quite comfortable to have a drink in the winter. “Little Seven, have some.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Kurt. I’m allergic to alcohol.” Eleven found an excuse to reject her. Mrs. Kurt expressed her concern and she replied to her seamlessly. She turned her head and saw Anthony staring at her.
He had many drinks and his cheeks turned slightly red. His hair fell on his forehead, which made him look younger. He had deep eyes that seemed to be able to communicate and give off electricity.
Fortunately, she was an electrical insulator.
“What are you looking at?”
“Are you allergic to alcohol?” He asked in Mandarin.
Eleven shook her head and said, “No, I just can’t drink.”
Anthony nodded and continued talking with Mr. Kurt.
The heater was working pretty well, and the atmosphere was high. Everyone felt warm. It might be because there was a new member in the house, Mr. Kurt and Mrs. Kurt were very happy. Mrs. Kurt had a few drinks while Mr. Kurt was half drunk.
After dinner, Mrs. Kurt helped Mr. Kurt upstairs so that he could rest. Anthony went over to help him. As the old lady went upstairs, she couldn’t stop nagging Mr. Kurt about how much he drank, and Anthony quickly and cleverly admitted that he shouldn’t have drank so much with him. Mrs. Kurt’s attitude changed immediately and told him that it was okay.
Eleven didn’t know whether to cry or laugh.
When they all went upstairs, the smile on Eleven’s face faded, and she had a cold expression.
‘Anthony, who exactly are you?’
The more she looked at his back view, the more frightened she was. She had examined his face carefully and found that it was a human skin mask. She couldn’t help laughing at herself. Five years ago, she had slept in Mo Ye’s arms every night, but she didn’t even realize that his face was fake.
But if he was Mo Ye… He shouldn’t have made up such a story to cheat Mr. and Mrs. Kurt even if he had arrived early and needed a place to stay due to the snow.
Eleven thought about all the possibilities that could happen, but rejected of them eventually. The sound of footsteps came from the stairway. She took a sip of the juice, turned around. With a smile, she asked, “Do you need to eat? You’ve been drinking all night.”
“Of course.” Anthony sat next to Eleven, at the position where Mrs. Kurt had sat. He had sat opposite her earlier. He took his utensils, cut a steak up and ate it with relish, as if he was really hungry.
“Why didn’t you eat more when you were hungry earlier on?”
“Hungry people usually eat the least.” Eleven laughed and joked, “I still like rice.”
“You’re very picky.”
“Do you like noodles?”
“I’m okay with it.”
“Do you not have any pursue in life?” Eleven pretended to despise him, and poured him a glass of Vodka. Anthony quickly waved his hands, “I’m not drinking anymore. If I drink anymore, I’ll be drunk.”
“I think you’re a good drinker.”
“But I’m not a massive drinker.”
“It’s okay if you get drunk since we have nothing to do at night. You could sleep till the sun rises.” Eleven smiled. If he was drunk, she could take a look at his chest, or she would always suspect if he was Mo Ye.
“I can’t. There’s a beautiful woman opposite me, I’m afraid I would do something bad when I’m drunk. Aren’t you worried that I would knock on your door in the middle of the night and strip you?” Anthony laughed sexily while teasing the naive Eleven.
Eleven was stunned and she rolled her eyes. “Despicable.”
“No, nine men out of ten are lustful.” Anthony laughed and saw Eleven blushing. He felt surprised as it was a rare scene.
Eleven was full after eating a few more boiled potatoes. Anthony was almost full as well. Mrs. Kurt was upstairs looking after Mr. Kurt. Before she came down, Eleven helped to clean the table and kitchen.
“I’ll help you.”
“Come on, I’m not counting on you for this. You look like you can’t do anything. Go away.” Eleven said impolitely.
“Are you looking down on me? Sit and watch.” Anthony put his arm around Eleven’s shoulder and let her sit on the chair. Then, he went to clean up the place himself. Eleven watched him clean the table and sort out all the knives and forks in astonishment.
He was really fast and the place was tidied up in no time.
The man raised his eyebrows proudly, as if he was showing off his achievements. Eleven smiled and gave him two applauses.
What a modern family man.
Mrs. Kurt went downstairs and was surprised to find that she had cleaned the place up. The lovely old lady exclaimed, hugged Eleven and kissed her a few times. “My Little Seven is so lovely and sweet.”
Eleven was ashamed. Anthony jeered and raised his thumb. “That’s right, Little Seven is so lovely and sweet.”
Eleven was speechless.
‘This man…’
She wasn’t getting quality sleep for those few days and it was days since she had a good sleep.
She wasn’t sure when the virus would recur. Eleven laid in bed, thinking about the virus. The virus in her body has not recurred for the time being. Su Man had given her three tranquilizers for her to inject herself when she loses control. However, she hadn’t lost control in those few days.
Su Man had said that a dose of tranquilizer can last for a long time, so she didn’t have to worry too much about her body.
She was still afraid of losing control. If she hurt the kind Mr. and Mrs. Kurt, she would feel guilty all her life.
She shall leave when the snow stops. No matter how warm that place was, it was not a place that she should stay for a long time.
The next morning, Mrs. Kurt got up to make breakfast for them. A night had passed, but the snow outside didn’t stop. Instead, it got heavier. When Eleven got up and pulled the curtains open, she knew that she wouldn’t be able to leave that day judging from the heavy snow.
Anthony had woken up too early and already had his breakfast. He was wearing thick clothes, ready to go out. In the winter, everyone dresses themselves in thick clothes. Hence, it was hard for her to see traces of Mo Ye in him.
“You’re going out?”
“Yes.” Anthony smiled gently. “Little Seven, good morning!”
That beautiful face of his was glowing. Eleven smiled. “Good morning!”
Mrs. Kurt called Eleven over for breakfast. Anthony was ready and said that he was leaving before he went out. Eleven looked at his back view. ‘Where is he going?’
“Anthony said that he was going out to find his lover. He had went out the day before yesterday as well. He’s really a loyal man. The snow storm had been heavy these days, what if something had happened?” Said Mrs. Kurt.
“Mrs. Kurt, do you really believe his story?”
Mrs. Kurt smiled. “Of course. We should trust each other. Otherwise, suspicion would cause everyone to feel uneasy, and the world would be in a mess.”
Eleven smiled and kept quiet. ‘What a lovely and optimistic old lady.’
People like her would live a happy and contented life.
“Little Seven, are you going out too?”
Eleven nodded, “Yes, later. Mrs. Kurt, I might have to stay here for a few more days.”
“That’s great. Welcome. You can stay as long as you wish.”
“Thank you.”
“Let’s eat, or the food would turn cold soon.” Mrs. Kurt urged her to take her breakfast.
“Sure!”
After breakfast, Eleven changed into a thick coat and put on a scarf to go out. Mrs. Kurt told her to be careful on the way and reminded her to remember the way back. Eleven replied with a smile and walked out.
It was really cold outside.
The wind was blowing while snow was falling. It was white everywhere and the world seemed to be filled with coldness.
The river in front had frozen up and there a few mischievous children were ice skating and their laughter could be heard from far. The ice was thick and could bear heavy weight without cracking.
She once did ice skating for entertainment years ago.
She was not used to such a low temperature as she grew up on an island that had four seasons. Moreover, she had been avoiding cold places and went mostly to tropical countries.
It was tiring for her to go out in the cold weather.
After watching the children play for a while, she left and tried finding the way to the hut base on her memory.
She remembered that the hut was somewhere not far from the terrorist headquarters, beside a small forest. It was a small hut built by someone unknown and the space was really confined. Even the windows couldn’t be opened.
However, the location of that place was secretive and suitable for hiding.
Five years had passed, the place had changed a lot, and the surroundings had become unfamiliar to her. The path in her memory had disappeared as well. She was extremely confused.
It was snowing heavily. Eleven thought that she must have lost her way due to the harsh weather. The roads were all covered in white snow, which made it difficult for her to see the paths or the scenery clearly.
She searched for the road that led to the hut stubbornly and met several villagers along the way. In fact, the village was not big, and there were not many people living in it. However, there were many families living along the river.
A young man and woman passed by and found it strange that she was walking alone in the snow. They kept turning back to look at her although they had already went far away. Eleven didn’t care about what others thought of her.
The snow was getting heavier, which made walking in the snow harder.
Eleven’s heart sank. ‘Have this place really changed completely?’ She looked at her watch. She had been walking for more than an hour already, but the hut was still nowhere in sight. She had only spent half an hour finding the place with an injured Mo Ye by her side then.
‘Did I take the wrong path?’
‘Have I taken the wrong path right from the start?’
Just like her and Mo Ye, they had taken the wrong path right from the beginning, which led to more mistakes and put them in this irreparable situation today. The more frustrated she was, the more eager she was to find that place.
She didn’t know why she was so obsessed, but she knew that she had to go. Otherwise, her trip to Eastern Europe would be meaningless.
The horizon was endless in the vast snow.
The further she walked, the less people she saw. It seemed that she had been walking into a remote place.
Eleven was very sure that she must have lost her way. She had taken the wrong path right from the beginning.
After all, this place had changed a lot. Moreover, it was snowing heavily. It would definitely look different if it was a sunny day.
