Renee took the bus back to her little wooden house at the foot of the mountain.Her neighbor, Mr. Jones, came running out with a panicked expression. "Joan, you're finally back! Please check on Van right now. Something's happened to him!""What?!" Renee narrowed her eyes and quickly got out of the bus, rushing into her home.As she hastily picked up her pace, she accidentally tripped and fell, scraping her knee and throwing the groceries in the bag all over the ground."I was just going to get some juice, but Van just climbed up a cherry tree for some reason! He ended up falling, and now he's unconscious!" Jones explained the situation as he ran with Renee.Apart from the rows and rows of sunflowers, there was a tall cherry tree in their garden as well. Since it was summer and cherries were in season, the tree was brimming with large, juicy fruits.Renee had been eyeing the cherries for quite a while, but the tree was just far too tall to climb, which made harvesting quite a diff
As a blind person, the scariest thing that could happen was a change in environment, not the fact that he couldn't see. The little wooden house had always been his shell for the past six months, and hiding within this shell brought him a sense of safety and comfort."Please calm down, sir. You have injured your back. That's why you'll have to be hospitalized for a short period of time. Don't worry. We will make sure to take good care of you," The nurse consoled him patiently.Despite this, Jovan flung his arms like he was in a manic episode and yelled, "Get lost! I don't need your care! Get lost right now!""Where's my guardian!? Where is she?! I only want her!" The man's voice was filled with anger and desperation as if he was a child, worried that he had just been abandoned.The nurse frowned sadly. "I'm sorry, I… I don't know where your guardian is, either. You were alone in this ward when I came."Jovan's face turned pale as a sheet, and he begged the nurse, "I'll pay you to s
Jovan finally fell asleep shortly after, with a faint and sweet smile plastered on his face. Like an actual child, he treated Renee as the center of his life.When Renee was around, everything was sunshine and rainbows. Even the air tasted sweet to him. However, on the contrary, it felt as if the world was ending once she left his side. He wouldn't even have the will to live on without her.He knew that it was absolutely insane to feel this way, but he couldn't help it. Her presence was far too addictive. Renee silently watched the man sleep and sighed. She would be lying if she said she wasn't tired. In fact, she was both physically and mentally exhausted.Jovan had always been a madman, and his methods were rather extreme. Back then, he had always been an 'all-or-nothing' guy and loved creating chaos in any situation.Yet now, he was as tame as a little kitten. He was no longer reckless or arrogant and had placed her on a pedestal. It was as if he had completely turned into a
"Oh, yeah, it's you, Joan! I can finally see properly. Hey old friend!" The two were especially friendly with her.Nearly everyone in the hospital knew who Renee was, as she had been frequenting the place with Jovan for his medical treatments and checkups. Hence, all of them were familiar with each other by now.The woman then continued to talk to them for a bit. With that, not only did she find out where Seraphina's surgery was ongoing, she even found out which hotel they were currently staying at in the town."I'm going to check up on Van now. Bye, guys!" Renee nodded softly at the nurses and left the stairway once she was done smoking. Initially, she was going to head back to Jovan's ward, but her body walked toward the operating rooms unconsciously.She hid around the corner, peeking out of the wall carefully. She quickly noticed Stefan, who was standing by the doors.He was still wearing the casual white dress shirt she had seen in the morning. However, it was now drenched
Watching as Stefan happily finished the dumplings, Renee started smiling behind the wall around the corner as well.'That's right! Good food always helps to melt your worries away!'A couple of hours later, the doors to the operating room finally swung open. As the doctors exited, Stefan immediately approached them nervously."Don't worry, she's still alive, but her back and legs are severely injured. The patient will be required to stay in bed for a while," the doctor spoke up. "As her guardian, you'll have to take care of her during this period of time.""Thank goodness she's okay." Stefan let out a sigh of relief as a weight instantly got lifted off his chest.Renee, who was still standing in the corner, gulped. 'What? Seraphina hurt her back too?! This is such a coincidence!'Moreover, she had no clue that all the orthopedic wards were on the same floor, which meant that… Jovan and Seraphina's rooms would be near. 'That means we're going to bump into each other no matter wh
"Mr. Hunt, here are your dumplings. Have some while they're still warm!" The nurse then placed the bowl down on the table."Thanks." Stefan nodded, feeling as if he was about to drool at any moment. Habits were indeed quite an odd tendency, as the man soon got used to eating them, despite only having them for four days.Sensing a threat, Seraphina shot the nurse a dirty glare. She asked coldly, "Where did these dumplings come from? Isn't it Aeos cuisine? Can I have some too?""Uhm… No!" The nurse refused without any hesitation. After all, Joan had specially bought these dumplings for Stefan. She couldn't possibly make another bowl."Why not? Could it be that you've been personally making these for my fiance? Aren't you being a little too considerate then?""No… I…" The nurse felt awkward and failed to explain herself.Stefan quickly came to the nurse's defense. "You're still recovering, and seafood is prohibited.""Yes, yes! Eating seafood may affect wound recovery, which might
Still doubtful, Stefan intentionally headed to the hospital food court during dinner."I'd like some seafood dumplings," he said to the staff through the window.The staff was immediately confused upon hearing his order."Do you guys not have seafood dumplings?" Stefan asked again, emphasizing his words this time."No." The staff glared at him as if he were a fool, pointing to the menu. "Everything's on the menu. Order anything you want."Scanning through the piece of laminated paper, Stefan realized that it was, in fact, filled with foreign cuisine. There wasn't a single dish originating from Aeos, let alone seafood dumplings. 'So that nurse was lying?'Stefan returned to the main hospital building and found the nurse who delivered those dumplings to him every day."I think we need to talk."The nurse's expression stiffened anxiously. "Mr. Hunt, what… what would you like to talk about?""You know why I'm here.""I don't know. I don't know anything at all." The nurse shook
Renee then stood up and stubbed out her cigarette, her slender figure disappearing into the dark…Stefan, on the other hand, waited for an entire day but never received the bowl of dumplings he longed for.He was still able to endure the wait when he realized that the dumplings hadn't arrived in the afternoon. However, as supper time arrived, he just couldn't believe that none had been delivered to him.The man was losing patience."What happened? Why are there no dumplings today?" Stefan stopped and questioned the patrolling nurse while Seraphina was resting."W… Well…" The nurse rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "They stopped serving it. Why don't you check out our other offerings, Mr. Hunt? We have steak, hamburgers, spaghetti…""I don't want any of that. I just want dumplings, seafood dumplings." Stefan completely shed his image as a CEO and started demanding for his food like a child. The nurse was speechless. "Please don't tell me you haven't eaten for the whole day.