Chapter 16.2: A different side of you

The match lasted quite a while as they watched till the end when Ryu's team won. Andrew and Sandra were willing to resume their extra curricular thereafter leaving Ivy who felt a nostalgic feeling of considering to take up basketball into her extra curricular. As she pondered further she shrugged away the idea knowing her busy schedules were already bothersome. She decided to send a congratulatory text message to Ryu before she left the court to join Andrew and Sandra.

Jason didn't get to see Ivy in the morning as he slept in till late morning after an exhausted week filled with events. Not having much appetite, he decided to continue with his work in his room after feeding Lucky.

When Ivy arrived at his place from lunch with Andrew and Sandra, she was exhausted that she took a quick shower and a nap with Lucky. It was close to three in the afternoon when Jason's stomach finally grumbled but he still didn't have much appetite and decided to fix a light lunch of oatmeal.

He noticed Ivy was home as he went up to check on her but she was still napping. As he stepped out from her room, the sight of the music room reminded him of his practice for an upcoming band battle which was signed up last minute by his ex band leader, Will. He was dreading it but because Will told him it would be their last time, he didn't want to upset all of his band members and had to agree to it.

He ran on the piano an old record for a while which woke Ivy who recognised the haunting melody which was one of her favorite songs.

She went towards the music room and saw him enjoying himself on the piano. She stepped in and sat next to him to join in with his rhythm part till the end of the song.

"You play the piano so well! Do you take lessons?" Jason praised.

"Not really. Just a little when my friends used to perform at their birthday parties." She said as she recalled the good times she had when Belinda, Laura and Lance would teach her the basics of piano.

"So, you play by ear?" Jason prompted. "Yes. I actually prefer the drums. It's the easiest to practice in the air and without notes." She stood by the side of the drums set and hit a chime before skipping towards the exit of the music room.

"Ivy…" He called out and grabbed a ticket from his music notes file as he walked closer when she stopped midway of skipping out of the room.

"Come and watch my band perform two weekends later." He passed her one concert ticket as she looked at the details.

"Oh, it's a competition! Good luck! I will…" She exclaimed excitedly as she skipped out of the room and he trailed her from behind. A sudden dizziness overwhelmed him when he took a few steps down the stairs with Lucky by his side. Ivy noticed he nearly slipped off the stairs when she caught him.

"You're alright? There, slowly. " She helped him to stand back up on the step and could feel the heat from his body. "You didn't know you had a fever?" Ivy questioned as he tried to make his way down the stairs slowly.

"I will be fine. I will just take some medication from the first aid box in the kitchen" He mumbled. "I will take you to the doctor." She insisted as she knew he needed more than just fever tablets from experience especially when he couldn't even walk properly.

He finally noticed the blue black bruise on her left arm. "What happened there?" He pointed at her bruise which Ivy didn't want to explain and it triggered him to press on it resulting in Ivy yelling in pain. "Ouch!" She smacked him as he chuckled at his tease being successful.

"Well I'm a healthy man you see. I rarely fall sick. So there's no need to worry about me. As for you, put some ailment on it before it gets ugly." She rolled her eyes at his nuisance and excuses that she went to grab her car keys and pulled him towards the main entrance before forcing him into her car.

"Told you I will be fine. It's just a common cold and fever…" Jason whined while Ivy drove. She was thinking about his schedules in the office. It has been so packed that he hasn't had any emcee jobs for a few weeks. She wondered if tutoring her was taking the toll on him.

"So, you have been busy not travelling on weekends for the band competition?" He nodded in silence although it wasn't the main reason as he continued to enjoy the scenery. He felt tired and wasn't in the mood to explain to her. Ivy raised an eyebrow as she wondered if it was true. She tried to pry further as she was worried if she was the cause of him falling sick.

"Is the company doing alright? You have been so busy lately." Ivy asked as she stopped the car while waiting for the red traffic lights to turn green. Jason was caught off guard at her question as the troubles with his growing business demands flooded his mind.

"You know the first time I saw you and you mocked me about my business, I was wondering if you were a spy." Jason recalled as Ivy laughed while keeping her eyes on the red traffic lights.

"You still remembered what I said? Oh please, forget all of it. I'm sorry anyway. I know I went overboard that night because I thought we would never cross paths again." Ivy apologised as she continued driving when the traffic lights turned green.

"It's alright because all that you pointed out on the cash flows, the business failing was spot on." Jason said, sounding down. "The Romance part was spot on too…" He added on in his mind.

"Oh, bad cash flow? How bad is it?" Ivy prompted.

"Not that serious anymore. It's just a matter of time an investor will fund the company. It's just that he is looking for his missing shareholder to discuss the merger." Jason tried not to give away too many details for fear she would figure something from her past which could destroy his plans.

"Missing shareholder? What do you mean?" Ivy raised an eyebrow trying to pry while turning into a corner.

"One of the significant shareholders was the owner's missing daughter. In order for the merger to be successful, the missing daughter has to agree to the merger. Although her shares are held under custody by her father but by now, she should be old enough to exercise her rights and her father respects that. I, as a third party, should respect the potential investor decision too. Hence, I'm trying to look for alternatives or the missing daughter." Jason explained while trying to watch Ivy's reaction if there were any changes but Ivy's look gave him an affirmation that she had no clue at all of the situation he just spoke about.

"That's very noble of you. Well, get down. Let's get you checked first." Ivy said after parking the car and alighted to drag Jason to the clinic.

After the consultation, Ivy prepared a simple porridge dinner for the both of them as he rested the entire afternoon. She remembered to prepare Lucky's meal too which consisted of half a chicken breast, an omelette and some fish oil designated for dog's food.

Jason, who was awake from the fragrant smell of dinner while asleep at the couch the entire afternoon, greeted Lucky who was enjoying his meal.

"Oh, you're awake. Here, I'm not a great cook and you didn't have much in the kitchen. So…" Ivy explained as she scooped the porridge while he took a seat and waited for her to serve.

He was reminded of the video recording from her debate which he recorded. "Here.. try some." She served his porridge portion and there was an omelet on another serving plate. He scooped a mouthful of porridge and found dried scallop pieces. She was watching him and waited for an expression but he kept eating quietly.

"Sorry if it's too bland because there…" She stopped talking when he put down his porcelain spoon and checked his phone.

"Ivy…" He said as he watched her twitching her mouth.

"Thank you. It's delicious. I have a gift for you." He said in a playful tone as he showed her his recordings of her debate.

She watched with excitement. "Thank you! Can I send it to myself?" Ivy asked with her eyes glued to the video.

Jason was looking at her while waiting for her to look at him with her question before answering but he was reminded, she always has that bad habit as he rolled his eyes. "Yes, please…" He mumbled on purpose while washing the dishes.

"Alright, done!" Ivy, who heard his soft mumbled which sent more excitement into her, subconsciously hugged him from behind while hitting the send button on his text message to her. Jason's annoyance was cut short when he was caught by surprise at Ivy's gesture as he stood letting the water from the tap floor while staring at Ivy who was already skipping away with Lucky into the living room.

It's been awhile since someone ever hugged him which made him forget what it felt like or how it was like to do simple gestures to please others. He recalled the reason he agreed to the band competition for the last time which sent him a bittersweet feeling.