She was filled with warmth

So where were we?... Aha!

Back to Bai Chen!

He had been in the cafeteria again chatting with an old woman who works there.

"Say Grand ma Sue, do you normally bake?" He asked, his interest piqued. He had a sweet tooth for baked goods.

"Well I was for a while but I stopped." She replied as she turned to him smiling." Quite in fact I loved baking pies and now this rusty old brain can't remember the steps."

"Aww... man! I really wanted to learn to bake from you!" He pouted deflated. He really wanted to learn to bake so that he could be making for himself.

The old woman chuckled and rubbed his mint head affectionately. "I'll teach you on weekends if that's alright" and he brightened up instantly, his eyes sparkling which mad granny to cover her eyes laughing.

Such a good looking kid. Might as well cause the downfall of girls.

" Okay" He chirped. When he was with her, his childish side always sprouts. That was simply how he was towards his closest person.

The bell suddenly rang signalling for break time.

She wiped her hands clean and started to put the remaining raw foods into the freezer for the following day as she prefers to do them together with the staffs there. Usually the school supplies a lot of food ingredients and raw food materials like cabbage, meat, tomatoes etc for her staffs to use and cook for the students. She was really excellent at cooking as the head chef of the school.

"I guess I better get going Grand ma Sue... I'll see you tomorrow." He stood up and went out. She smiled and waved.

He normally don't like eating with the students of this school.

As she bent over to carry her bag and notes after inspecting the cooking staffs, she paused at what she saw.

A pack of fresh heart shaped buns from a popular girls food shop.

"That little stubborn boy." She sighed softly and laughed. No matter how she tells him to stop, he keeps giving her his own food.

She was filled with warmth as her callused hands picked up the buns and ate them. That boy never seemed stop caring about her.

They were never really related at all. It all started when she was working as a minor cook in another school when she was in charge of the vegetables sections. As she was the lowest ranked of the four cooks of the school, she was also given tasks of loading huge groceries and serving students food.

Everyone were especially hostile to an old woman from the village like her. Her accent was really different from the people in the City.

As she worked day and night for a long time, no one seemed to bother about her or even speak to her. And the Food Master of the school, an impatient man in his forties, was always chiding her for one minor thing or the other, deducting her salary from the principal and delaying her till she finish wrapping up the other's jobs.

The kids and the cooking staffs disrespected her and she silently bore the situation. All she needed was money to pay her rent and feed herself as she had recently lost her only hope and means of survival- her late son who had been a painter working in a factory.

So, there was no one to share her sorrows to and as each day passed, she lost happiness and joy only robotically working till she grew shriveled and numb.

Until one day, she fell seriously sick.

At that time, the school was admitting new first years. She was was lifting a cartoon of cabbages and fell down because of the pain in her chest.

She was taken to the hospital and the doctor told her that she was too old for any strainous activity and should rest for a few months but she refused to stay as she had no money to fool the bills.

So she stayed in the hospital for a few days. No body sent her any recover gift or cards or foods. Only the hospital food were given to her. Nobody visited her and sadly, no body even cared...

After she was discharged from the hospital, the following day she was faced with the sudden payment of her monthly salary and a request for her to resign. She had been indirectly fired.

She was at loss and decided to go to the principal office to speak to him about this and ask for help.

Not only did he paid no attention to her,he also called the school guards to send her out because this job wasn't fit for her in the first place.

Such kind of treatment was terrible for her.