Miss Ordinary: I Was Reborn To Love You! - Chapter 66

“Lu Fei is almost here,” Eric Wu announced as he approached Bella Lim who was still staring at the documents in her hand.

“What are you thinking?” he asked in a solicitous manner. The first thing he thought upon waking up was the most appropriate method to tell her about his concern and doubt. To his surprise, it was she who initiated the talk over the matter. He remembered the anguish in her eyes when she came to him. Her swollen eyes told him that it wasn’t an easy night for her as well.

Bella Lim looked up as she displayed a faint smile on her face. Her eyes were wondering at the space behind Eric Wu. “Where’s little pumpkin?” she asked as she put down her injured ankle which was rested on a stool.

“Today is his first private lesson, remember?” Eric Wu reminded. He noticed her eyes flickered in joy.

“It’s good that little pumpkin is studying. Thank you for your help with the tutor,” he heard her said. It was a week ago when she asked if he had someone he could recommend to become little pumpkin’s tutor. She explained her worries about letting him attend a public school. Since it was a good idea, he had sought out one of the elites among his people and had him tutored little pumpkin. At least, someone could look after him while Bella Lim was working in his writing studio.

Eric Wu noticed that the joy in her eyes had disappeared as she lifelessly looked at the documents in her hands again. He decided to take the documents from her and put them on the table nearby. However, she stubbornly reached for them again.

“You’ve been reading this since morning, your eyes need a rest or it’ll start bleeding blood soon,” he said, a bit stern as he took the documents before her hand reached them. He settled down on the sofa opposite her.

Bella Lim sighed when he saw the documents were now out of her reach. She clenched her fists as she tried to calm down. She knew what she did was meaningless. Those papers scattered on the table next to the sofa opposite her was her insanity. The one that kept reminding her about how impossible it was to continue being sane under conditions of absolute reality. Sanity was simply a cozy lie and she knew it was hypocrisy if she tried to deny the truth.

“I always have the feeling that I know where I was born, but there is only a blur when I think about the details,” Bella Lim spoke and slowly, she leaned against the sofa. She looked weary, more so than Eric Wu had ever seen her.

“I hope you haven’t done the DNA test so I could carry on with the lie,” a derailed laughter followed after as she closed her eyes. Eric Wu thought that he would see tears next, however, Bella Lim suddenly stared sharply at him. Her desperate voice was heard next.

“Please don’t tell anything to little pumpkin,” she pleaded.

“Don’t worry, everything will remain as it is,” he ȧssured. His hand that was hidden from her sight balled into a fist. This was the moment he wished he could give her the comfort she truly needed. He remembered how quick she hid the despair in her eyes when little pumpkin asked to be pampered. The fact that a moment ago she had just confirmed the harsh reality of their relationship… the amount of grief she kept by herself was just unthinkable.

Eric Wu stood up and walked to his writing space, this was the time he needed a distraction. However, a request by Bella Lim made him froze in place.

“Your first book ‘Talking to the star’, how did I influence your writing of the book?” she asked. Eric Wu could feel her gaze on his back. He walked to his desk, pulled the last drawer and took out an old khaki notebook. He stared at it before he passed it to Bella Lim. For Eric Wu, his notebook was like a diary, something he wouldn’t show just to anyone. Even his mother hadn’t had the chance to read any of his notebooks. Except for the young girl which as of now confirmed to be Bella Lim.

“This is?” Bella Lim muttered when he saw the notebook right in front of her eyes, held by Eric Wu still.

“My first notebook,” Eric Wu answered. “You’ll find the answer you need in there,” he clarified and sat at the same spot he was sitting earlier.

Bella Lim inhaled, exhaled and nodded as she took the notebook from him. Somehow, pure nostalgia was evoked at the touch of its surface and an unknown yearning dėsɨrė built up deep inside her. Her eyelashes fluttered, dancing along with the nervous energy that enveloped her body. Despite her failure to recall the memory ȧssociated with the book, her body didn’t.

‘Enlai Gong #1’

Bella Lim read the words that were written on the cover before she turned to the first page. It was anecdotes of the day he first came to Kastache, written elegantly in cursive writing. It continued until she reached the twentieth page in which terrible handwriting, almost unreadable greeted her eyes. Thankfully, there were drawings underneath each sentence which somehow correlate with what was written.

“This…” she took a deep breath.

This was her writing. Although she refused to admit that her writing was horrendous, it was indeed the only quality that made her writing recognizable and memorable.

“Do you recall something?” Eric Wu couldn’t help but wish for that to happen. Eagerly, he waited for her to respond. When he saw the subtle nod of her head, he left his seat and settled next to her. He tried to see what made her said so. When he looked at the pages she was reading, a smile bloomed on his face.

He remembered how horrified he was to find someone who couldn’t produce neat, properly written letters on paper.

“Do you remember what happened back then?” he asked.

“No, but this writing is exactly like mine. Let me show you,” she said and took a pen and a piece of paper from the colorful organizer on the table next to her. She wrote the same sentence which was written in the notebook and drew the same drawing underneath it. Eric Wu took the notebook from her hand and compared it with the writing she just did on the piece of paper.

“This… it is awesome how terribly similar both are,” he chuckled. He folded the paper and inserted it inside the notebook. He looked at her side profile and was content to see the corner of her lip touched by a smile.

Bella Lim let out a small laugh. “It’s good that meeting you isn’t a lie,” she said, almost whispering to herself, though was still heard by the man sitting beside her. “That’s comforting,” she added, head tilted to an angle so that she could see him.

Those few sentences sent Eric Wu in disarray as he felt something was gripping his ċhėst. His hands subconsciously reached for her pale soft cheeks. His thumbs ċȧrėssed the redness that could be seen on the skin under her eyes. A look of pain was visible on his brownish eyes when the proof of her suffering refused to fade away under his touch.

“Be strong,” he whispered.

“I will,” she answered.

For the sake of little pumpkin and for the sake of the kindness he had shown her, she wanted to be strong. No, she will be strong!

“Bro, Bella! I’m here!”

And of course, such an intimate moment would always end with someone’s interference. Bella Lim instinctively pushed Eric Wu’s hands and scooted to the end of the sofa, creating a distance between them.

Eric Wu stared at her with a lopsided smile, taking some time for both of them to suppress the heartbeat that seemed difficult to tame. When he saw her relaxed, he called for Lu Fei who was still calling from outside the room. “Lu Fei, over here!” he shouted. Not long after, Lu Fei entered the room with a big bag on his left hand and a briefcase on the other.

“I’m going to stay here for one week. Bella’s issue, I know the reason behind her memory loss,” he spoke and threw the bag to the floor, revealing the price tag that was hidden under the slightly opened zip.

“What? this is my supply of clothes,” he said when he realized the pairs of eyes that were staring at the big bag laying on the floor.