Chapter 16 Best friend
Chapter 16 Best friend
Aaron Gu frowned; his attention was still seized by that bowl of messy soup; he spoke indifferently to phone: “Okay.”
He took out a money from the wallet and handed it to the chef after hanging up the phone; chef did not take the money but laughed at him: “That girl has already paid for you, remember?”
Aaron Gu seemed a bit surprised and looked up into the smiling eyes of the chef, his face cold and expressionless as usual.
Seeing him turn around, the boss said politely after him, "Take your time and come here often when you are free. Do not try spicy jelly if you are not ready; I have only seen two girls who could do hot to that extent; one was a girl who has not shown up for years with her boyfriend, and the other, the girl who sat across you...Well, that’s something...hahaha...”
As if he had not heard what he said, Aaron Gu walked into the noisy crowd and felt a little lost.
All is quiet at dead of night; Amanda sat in the open air on the flower bed, looking at the bright neon in the distance, feeling like a homeless ragpicker; she was still living the moment of their meeting in the snack bar; she had long made up her mind to be a sweet and obedient lamb in front of Aaron Gu if she was to meet him again. But when she met him in the bar, she found it impossible.
He had been acting like that he was mistreated and abandoned by the world. Was it because Amanda had died and disappeared from the world forever?
He he, Amanda was amused by her own thought; she had been dead for over three months; Did Aaron Gu get the news till today? If he was saddened by her death, what had he been up to in this three month? The memory they shared, the happiness they had, what did they mean to him? Was it a bit too late to mourn for her and their past.
Yeah, everything was too late, long before her death.
Everyone passing under the neon seemed a ghost with no face to Amanda; suddenly as if reminded of something, she stood up and rushed for Jingdu Airport; she was told that the latest flight had taken off; someone suggested her to take the high-speed train, “You would make it to S City at the first light of tomorrow morning if you depart now.”
At the Southern Train Station, holding the ticket, Amanda’s heart was jumping like crazy; She mechanically checked in, waited in the lounge finally hopped into the train. Everything seemed so surreal; outside the windows of was a black void; she closed her eyes and wondered whether next time she opened her eyes, everything would turn out to be just a nightmare of hers and she was still lying in her own bed in Juan’s villa?
Not many people was onboard at such a timing; steward pushing a cart passed her seat from time to time and asked if she needed snacks or anything; everything was quiet except for the rhythmed sound of the train galloping. The first light of the dawn came through the window as expected and shined on the face of Amanda. Soon, the train came to a halt.
The familiar S city logo, the familiar Southern accent, even the humidity in the air, made Amanda feel like she had been away for a lifetime. Her first destination was her home, one of the city's top villas, where her family once lived and where she and Bill Fu never moved out.
At the entrance of the villa, Amanda did get out of the taxi. She looked out of the window at the villa; the villa was under renovation with the overall layout being changed, the color of the wall being changed and the roof....Everything changed.
The driver looked back at her and asked, "Little girl, are you looking for someone or something?
Here we are." However, seeing this luxurious and vast villa, the driver did not hurry to go; he said with contempt: "Well, is it really more comfortable to live in such a big house? After death, they are also
caged in an small urn, isn’t it? Even if the urn is made of gold, some graver robber may dig them out in a few hundred years. In my opinion, rich or not, life is still equal; look how bored they are, renovate a already brand new and beautiful villa!"
Amanda didn't answer; her full attention was caught by the house. The flowers she planted in her little garden had been swept clean and the house looked like a completely new place to her...Bill Fu and Lily Shen were doing a great job in erasing her and her family...The name of a lovely husband and great son-in-law did not allow him to sell the house, so he was going to reconstruct it into a love nest of him and Lily Shen...This villa had changed the owners from Juans to Fu and Shen.
"Sorry, sir, I mistake the place. Could you take me to this place..." Amanda came back to herself, smiled at the driver and gave out another address.
"Okay!" The driver turned around and laughed. "Little girl," he said, "I was just thinking, you must be in the wrong place. This is the district for rich people. Everyone here owned a large house and with high security guard!"
Amanda knew that if it was not because of the renovation, they would not be able to get in this district in the very first place.
But she did not agree with what the drivers said; they were rich, but they were kind and good people. She may be a bit arrogant and domineering but she had never done anything to hurt others. She worked hard to earn her own money as well. No one should have taken the lives of her family simply because they were rich.
The taxi stopped at the entrance to a neighborhood, and Amanda paid the fare and got out.
She stood at the door and rang the doorbell. Amanda's heart was in her mouth. The call had never got through and that worried Amanda sick. She wished to see Lydia Du open the door and be foul- mouthed, blaming her for disturbing her sleep in such a early morning.
The door was opened from the inside; through the crack of the security door Amanda saw a gaunt and haggard middle-aged woman; she looked at Amanda narrowly and asked: "Who are you looking for?"
It was Lydia Du's mother. Amanda knew her. ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .
But obviously she did not know Mia.
With her voice a bit trembling, Amanda squeezed her own palm and asked: “I...
I'm looking for Lydia..."
At the name of Lydia, her face darkened immediately: "My daughter passed away two months ago in a car accident." She said extremely plainly, looking up at Amanda, whose tears were streaming down like crazy. "Can I help you?...Little girl, do you know my daughter?" She asked.
Amanda choked back her tears as she made up a story: "I...I was one of her students when she was a volunteer teacher in university. I have always liked Miss Du a lot. This time I happened to be in S City on business, so I wanted to visit her..."
Amanda knew almost everything about Lydia Du, so her lie was flawless. "Come in and have a seat, girl," her mother said with a smile, as if she were remembering something far away.
With that, he opened the security door and let In Amanda.
Lydia Du’s room stayed the same as last time she visited her. The only difference was a black-and- white portrait hanging on the wall of Lydia Du smiling at her, her eyes glaring at her.
"Here, drink." Lydia’s mother brought her a cup of tea and followed her gaze to look at the photo of Lydia. “Don’t cry, girl. That’s her fate; I have never thought that she would die before me either. But it was late that night when she attended the funeral of her best friend. It must be her grieve that
distracted her and she crashed into a big truck full of goods on it...When her father and I got to the hospital, it was almost...I can...I can barely recognize her...” She cried.
Funeral of her best friend...