Behind closed doors

Joreen felt something was wrong. She took another bite. "Why does it taste like dad's?"

The exact same question was in Sara and Jianjun's mind. It no doubt tasted the same. "Where did you get it from?" Jianjun asked Sara. He had not bothered to ask earlier since he knew she wasn't in the mood to say much tonight.

"From Delight." Everyone knew Delight so she didn't bother explaining further.

"You really went to delight?" Joreen asked in surprise.

"Yes" She didn't want to recall how she had felt there or what had happened there so she left it at that.

Jianjun was thinking about something else. If it tasted exactly like his, even the secret recipe which he used was included. Then it meant something, the chef must have worked with his parents.

He flashed back to the happy moments with his parents. Where he was in his early twenties and his sister, Cixi, still a teenager. His parents both loved their jobs. They worked tirelessly to build the restaurant to the point where it was recognised both locally and internationally. His parents loved them. They loved each other. He so much envied the relationship between his parents that he decided that he was going to be a chef also and swore to marry a chef himself. Even after studying accounting in school. Cixi Wang on the other hand, didn't have such ambition. She wanted to be a doctor and their parents had sent her to the best medical school.

They all worked and lived happily. And there, he had actually met, not just one apprentice who worked for his parents, but two women.

All of that, shattered. The happy moments, the sweet promises, the lovely smiles. All vanished into thin air. He had wanted to leave. To take his own life. But then, there was Sara and his younger sister. He had to be strong for them. He looked at Sara who was eating her food quietly quietly. How time flies. It felt like yesterday when he held her cold little body on his hands. Now here she was, all grown up and pretty and had her own problems.

He excused himself and went inside. Sometimes, men do cry. And when they do, it was behind closed doors.

Sara looked at his retreating figure. She knew something was wrong but knew it wasn't the right time to ask a question. It wasn't the right time for anyone to ask any question that night. Even if she asked, he wouldn't tell. She had obediently accepted every explanation he had given to her about his past. Cixi also didn't mention anything. She had not been bothered. But now, she was. And she was going to uncover everything. He didn't have to bear any burden alone.

She looked at Joreen, whose eyes were also on her. "Just eat. It's okay" Sara said to her.

*

Thursday came with a good weather bit a bad mood for everyone. Sara had deliberately gone to the Li's place later than usual. As expected, Muchen had gone to work.

"Are you okay?" Heya asked worriedly when she the shadows under her eyes.

She hadn't been able to sleep that night. She was thinking about her self, her life, her father, her aunt–who she hadn't heard from for days now and desperately needed to confirm something from her. She was also thinking about Muchen.

The credit alert she received that night had also complicated the way she was feeling. The amount had shocked her. It was enough to but an apartment for them, a small building for her father's restaurant and sufficient miscellaneous to go shopping with if she chose. At that point, she really had no idea how to feel.

She remembered his sad smile, his sad look when he watched her. He just kept popping repeatedly no matter what. She needed a distraction–she thought. A really good distraction.

Even after putting her entire mind, body and soul into working out, it didn't still help her. She remembered how he had been standing so close to her just the evening before. She could still see him sitting on that chair in the gym room, facing the window.

"Sara stop it! What's wrong with you? You've been jumping rope for the past hour" Heya held her hand.

Sara sat on the floor, dazed. She used her hands to massage her temples. "I don't... I really don't know" She managed to say. Why on earth would she keep thinking about him all day? It was driving her crazy.

"Wait, I'll call Big bro—"

"No! No. Don't call him!" She rejected firmly. She didn't know what was wrong with her all of a sudden, or why her heart was beating faster. She wanted to see him. But at the same time, she didn't want to.

Heya could not understand what was happening. She didn't know how to help either. She could only sigh in frustration.

Muchen's state was not better either. He kept finding fault in everything. For hours, they've been having a board meeting in Li corporation. Everyone was tired but could not complain about it. But unlike Sara, he knew exactly what was wrong with him. 'Sara Wang, you are gradually driving me crazy'