Chapter 3

[I can’t explain it either. I want to know too!]

[Yarden called her and asked for the address. He is driving to the construction site now.]

I stared at the chat and forgot what I was about to do. Something in my chest felt a little empty. I walked to the wine cabinet. I wanted to take a bottle.

The chat floated across my vision again.

[Stephen drinks too much. Now that his son is back, what if he gets drunk and hits the kid?]

[Right. Ruby still doesn’t know that the child has been found. In the later story, she has no child. This kid must have been killed by Stephen.]

I paused and quietly put the bottle back in the cabinet before locking it. My phone suddenly buzzed.

Ruby sent a message.

[Remember to eat dinner. Don’t drink on an empty stomach. Don’t sit in the dark and use your phone. Don’t stay up too late.]

I looked at the message for a while.

All of a sudden, I did not want to divorce her anymore.

…

A week later, I received a bank notification.

Ruby had transferred me some money. She had also left a note.

[This is two weeks’ salary. Take it and use it first.]

The amount was not large. The numbers were uneven.

I stared at the message for a while as the chat instantly flooded in.

[Ruby really left herself only enough for bread!]

[She has blisters on her hands and still thinks about her ex-husband.]

I slowly got up from the couch.

I touched the photo in my pocket and said slowly, “Casper, your mom looks like she is about to starve.”

Then, I walked into the kitchen. I had barely stepped into it in these past three years. Ruby had always cooked all kinds of dishes for me. I only knew how to cook instant noodles, and I often burned them.

I searched for recipes. I nearly cut my hand and forgot to add salt.

After two hours of struggle, I finally made a pot of soup.

Then, I went to the pharmacy and bought antiseptic as well as bandages.

I followed the scattered hints from the chat about the “new development area in the south of the city” and took a cab there.

The construction site was full of dust.

I stood at the entrance in soft home clothes and sneakers. I held a thermos. I looked completely out of place.

The chat laughed at me.

[Stephen looks kind of cute like this.]

I was looking around when a white car pulled up.

Yarden got out. He held a neatly packed food box.

He saw me as well. His smile stiffened for a moment before it returned to its usual elegance.

“Mr. Wilson?” he walked over. “What are you doing in a place like this?”

He looked at my thermos and chuckled.

“Bringing food for Ruby? Her stomach is weak. She can’t handle anything too oily.”

I looked down at my soup.

“It’s chicken soup. It’s not oily. I already skimmed the oil off.”

Yarden stepped closer and lowered his voice.

“Mr. Wilson, there are some things you may not understand. Ruby is at her hardest stage right now. She needs someone who can help her rise again. Not someone who only knows how to make soup.”

I thought about it for three seconds.

“But she is carrying bricks right now. Carrying bricks needs strength. Presently, helping her to ‘rise again’ isn’t relevant.” I paused and added, “I’m not someone who only makes soup. I can earn money myself. I just haven’t figured out how to do it yet.”

The chat was stunned.

[Yarden got completely shut down.]

[Stephen’s logic is always strange, but somehow you can’t refute it.]

When the atmosphere froze, Ruby walked out of the construction site.

She wore a dusty work uniform and had bandages on her hands. Sweat covered her forehead. She saw us and clearly paused.

Yarden immediately moved toward her. “Ruby, I brought you food…”

Ruby walked straight past him and came to me instead.

Her brows were slightly furrowed. “Why are you here? There is too much dust here.”

I lifted the thermos and the bag of medicine.

“I brought you soup and medicine.”

Ruby’s eyes softened. When she took the things from me, her fingers trembled slightly.

Yarden’s face turned pale. “Ruby, I came here specially…”

Ruby turned to him. Her tone was polite and distant.

“Mr. Smith, thank you for your kindness, but I don’t need it. Don’t come again, please.”