When Su Zhan entered the bedroom with the food that he had prepared, he spotted Qin Ya playing with the fish with a wide grin on her face. He hadn’t seen her smile that way for some time.
How long has it been since I’ve last seen her smile?
It has been ages.
He didn’t want to disturb her quiet time alone, so he leaned against the door and watched her silently.
Su Zhan only stepped into the room when Qin Ya finally noticed him.
“How did you find this place?” inquired Qin Ya.
“There are many rental apps out there. As long as you have money, you can find anything that you’d like,” uttered Su Zhan.
Qin Ya nodded. This place wasn’t as big as their home, but it was certainly quieter and more comfortable. At home, she would have to be careful with her words to avoid offending Grandma Su.
I might suffer from depression if I remain at home.
When she rose to her feet, she nearly stumbled, as her right leg had gone numb. To her luck, Su Zhan was swift enough to catch her.
Looking up, Qin Ya met Su Zhan’s gaze. The man asked in a concerned voice, “Are you alright?”
She shook her head. “I’m fine. My leg has gone numb because I sat for too long.”
Su Zhan hauled her up into his arms. Qin Ya tried to struggle, but Su Zhan merely tightened his arms. “Don’t move. Let me hold you. I haven’t held you in a while.”
He lowered his gaze. “You’re much lighter now.”
The corners of her mouth quirked up. “Am I skinny now?”
“Yes.”
Su Zhan put her down on the chair in front of the table. There were three simple dishes— stir-fried chrysanthemum, steamed egg, tofu with shrimp, and seaweed soup.
Qin Ya looked at the dishes in disbelief. “Did you really cook these?”
“I can’t lie, can I? I still have to cook for you every day,” replied Su Zhan.
He got some tofu for Qin Ya before adding, “I used to cook a lot, but I stopped cooking later on.”
Among his friends, he was the only one who could cook.
Qin Ya took a spoonful of the food and tried it. It wasn’t as delicious as a chef’s cooking, of course, but she could only eat simple food for now.
After all, her mouth only got to taste bitter stuff for the past month.
Su Zhan urged, “Eat up. After that, we can head out.”
“Where are we going?”
“My law firm,” explained Su Zhan.” We’ve only been to the hospital and home recently. I’ll bring you out for a walk.”
Qin Ya hesitated. Even if I were to stay at home, I’ll most probably sleep. I’d rather head out to get some fresh air. ”Okay,” she agreed.
After the meal, Su Zhan cleared the table. He picked out a new set of clothes for her to wear.
Qin Ya was confused. “I think that my outfit is alright.”
She looked at herself. She could go out in this outfit, no problem.
Su Zhan gave her a brand new outfit and told her to change into it.
“It’s so that you can be in a good mood,” he claimed.
Qin Ya took the clothes and retorted, “Oh? I can be in a good mood after changing into new clothes?”
“At least it’s a change,” returned Su Zhan.
Qin Ya played along with him. She changed into the new clothes and headed out with him. They held hands as they walked out of this unfamiliar neighborhood. She couldn’t help but glance at the unfamiliar surroundings.
They were in a huge neighborhood. The buildings were located a distance away from each other. There were rows of greens all around. The entrance was also guarded.
Su Zhan extended his arm so that Qin Ya could hold it.
Qin Ya didn’t take it. “We’re not dating. There’s no need to stick together,” she muttered.
“Why can’t we be dating?” responded Su Zhan as he forcefully placed her arm into his.
He told her, “My law firm is nearby. Let’s walk there.”
“Sure.”
The weather was just nice as they strolled to Su Zhan’s law firm. The leaves of the birch trees lining up the sidewalk ruffled in the breeze.
Soon, they arrived at the law firm. Someone was wailing pitifully inside the office. Upon hearing the commotion, Su Zhan tensed up and stopped in his tracks.
Qin Ya didn’t know what was going on, while Su Zhan perked up his ears.
Poking his arm, Qin Ya asked, “What are you doing?”
Su Zhan was afraid that Grandma Su would have come to his office to kick up a fuss after he had disappeared earlier.
The house was a mess, so he could imagine the old lady coming here and wailing about how unfilial he was.
Upon listening carefully, he realized the voice sounded younger than his grandma.
He patted Qin Ya’s hand to comfort her. “Nothing. Let’s head in.”
Qin Ya stared at him. You’re the nervous one, not me!
Upon heading in, they saw an elderly lady sobbing in the waiting room.
A lawyer was sitting beside her helplessly. He couldn’t even help her as she was wailing without saying anything.
Su Zhan asked the receptionist. “What is going on?”
“Mr. Su, she has been here for some time. She wants us to help her with her daughter’s case. Mr. Chen came to assist her, but she kept wailing and refused to tell us the details. Mr. Chen has become her tissue paper holder now.”
The receptionist mused. I wonder what has happened that has made her sob so sadly.
Su Zhan approached them as he told Mr. Chen that he would take care of this case.
He didn’t question the elderly woman at once. She was clearly too emotional and needed some time to calm down before she could explain why she was here.
Calmly, he asked Qin Ya. “Are you thirsty?”
Qin Ya pitied the elderly lady and reminded him. “Shouldn’t you ask her what’s going on?”
Su Zhan didn’t reply to her question. Instead, he went and got two cups of water. One was for Qin Ya, and the other was for the lady.
He told Qin Ya, “Why don’t you rest in my office?”
Qin Ya shook her head. She wanted to know why the elderly woman was sobbing so pitifully.
As Mr. Chen had left, the elderly woman had no idea who they were. “Who are you?” she inquired.
Su Zhan helped Qin Ya to the sofa before he answered, “I’m a lawyer here. You can tell me the reason that you’ve come. If you haven’t made up your mind, you can go home and think about it. You can come another day.”
