Huian was restless. Since the moment she got that dreaded second letter, she felt like all the peace from her life had been taken away.
That one truth was enough to bring her whole marriage in shambles. It could destroy everything she tried so hard to build up till now. And what happened with Jinhai and Nana on their anniversary just fuelled her worries.
Even if the job was over, it hadn’t meant that Nana was out of their lives. She was still connected through Jianyu, and inevitably to them. She felt a sense of foreboding like she never had before.
—
At Natsukashi.
Jinhai sat on a chair and Nana hurriedly went to fetch the first aid.
It was the first time Jinhai visited her restaurant, and he really liked it. He could feel the love and care she has for this place.
A minute later Nana arrived.
“Mr. Liu. Please sit still. I will clean up your wound.”
She took some cotton with antiseptic and started pressing it on his bump.
“It may sting a little.”
“En.”
She was standing so from his position he could see her chest a little closely. He quickly shifted. But it made Nana slip.
“Um..please don’t move.”
“Sorry.”, he averted his eyes.
She finished treating him.
“It’s done. Don’t wet that part. Thankfully it’s not serious so it will not take much time to heal.”
“En.”
“Oh yes. Your father asked for ramen right? I will make it now and get it packed for you. Do you want to have something?”
“Anything is fine.”
“Steamed buns?”
He nodded.
“Okay.”
She wore her apron and went into the kitchen.
Jinhai was looking around her place when his phone rang.
“Huian.”
“Jinhai. Where are you? Why don’t we go to dinner tonight?”
Huian was feeling anxious the whole time. She was always on edge thinking if that mystery man would try to contact Jinhai and tell him everything.
Jinhai felt conflicted. He always had less appetite and Nana’s steamed buns would have filled him more than enough. So he was going to skip dinner tonight. Plus Nana had already started cooking so it would look bad to waste her efforts.
“Um sorry Huian. Can we go tomorrow night?”
She panicked. What? Is he avoiding me? Does he know something? Did that man already…
“W-why? What happened?”, she asked fearfully.
“I’m already having some snacks right now so I won’t be much hungry for dinner.”
She felt relieved.
“Okay. We can go-“
“Mr. Liu. Here are your steamed buns.”
“Ah. Thank you.”
Huian froze. That voice sounded like Nana. Why is she there? Where is he? She got that bad feeling again.
“That…seemed like Nana. Where are you?”
“I’m at Natsukashi. Dad told me to bring him some ramen packed for him made by her. So here I am. I thought I could eat something since I’m already here.”
“Oh…I see.”
She was still uncomfortable even after his explanation. She got a little annoyed with Father Liu. They got a chance to be together because of him.
“Huian?”
“Ha? Oh yes. I got it. We can go tomorrow. Don’t worry.”
“En.”
The call ended and Nana said, “Here’s your shoyu ramen.” She kept the packed container on the table.
“Thank you. And the steamed buns are really delicious. I’m glad you are working with us now.”
Her heart skipped a beat. She felt more elated than usual when Jinhai praised her. She smiled. “Thank you.”
After a while, he stood up to leave.
“I will leave now. We’ll meet tomorrow.”
She nodded.
He left and when she came back she found his button that was ripped off.
“Ah! His button. I was going to sew it.” She sighed.
I will keep this button I guess. Who knows when he will remind me of his ruined shirt. I will sew it at that time.
—
Golden Sea villa.
“Jinhai! What happened to you?”, Mother Liu asked seeing a band-aid on his forehead.
“Nothing Mom. Don’t worry. It was just a minor accident.”
Huian couldn’t say anything.
Father Liu asked, “What happened?”
“It was just a drunk biker. He suddenly came in front of our car so we had to take a sharp turn to avoid the impact. I just bumped my forehead.”
“Dear Lord. The bikers these days! How can they drink and drive?”, Mother Liu was angry.
“It’s okay now.”
Father Liu asked excitedly, “So where is my ramen? You didn’t forget to bring it, did you?”
“How can you think about food when your son is hurt!?”, she asked exasperated.
He shrugged. “He is fine now. I can’t keep harping on it the entire night you know. Might as well fill my hungry stomach.”
She facepalmed.
Jinhai sighed. “Here it is.” He handed him his ‘delivery’.
He snatched it and dashed into the kitchen.
“Such a child.”, Mother Liu shook her head. “Come, dear. We will also have our dinner.”
Huian said, “I will come in a minute.”
“Mom. I’m not so hungry. You go ahead.”
She didn’t know what to say about the two important men in her life. One ate too much like his life is dependent on it and one practically ate nothing like he can go on without food for hundreds of years.
They left but Huian didn’t move. Her thoughts this entire time were going in a totally different direction.
Is this accident perhaps planned by that man? Does he want to give some kind of warning?
