Chapter 19

After returning to the hotel, they squinted their eyes for a moment, then were awakened by the alarm set by Emily.

Michael yawned as he began packing his bags. Emily brewed two cups of instant coffee, also yawning as she called her brother back — Teng Jie had called several times while she was asleep.

Teng Jie asked where she was. Without much thought, Emily replied, "I'm at the hotel."

"With friends?"

"Yeah."

Teng Jie fell silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Sis, is your friend male or female?"

Emily's mind raced. Sleepiness dissipated, and she instinctively thought to lie, "Female... female... a female."

Outside the bedroom, Michael listened to the stuttering voice, slowing his actions silently.

He couldn't help but curl his lips in resignation.

She can't even spin a convincing lie and still wants to keep it a secret?

Teng Jie didn't expose his sister's lie. He sighed and asked if she would come home for lunch.

Emily tugged at her dress, murmuring softly, "I have to stay with my friend. I won't eat lunch. I'll come home after I finish eating."

"...Alright."

Michael didn't have much to pack, and he finished quickly.

There was only one condom left in the box. Michael scratched the back of his head, feeling a bit embarrassed now.

Truly wild, not much different from a young buck in rut.

He twirled the thin slice of condom between his fingers a few times before ultimately tossing it into the trash.

Carrying his luggage to the living room, Michael saw Emily sitting on the sofa, holding a cup of coffee but not drinking it.

He walked over. "What's wrong? Still tired? You can sleep for another hour in the car."

"Not tired. I just suddenly thought, is it necessary to tell my brother about this now..." Emily shifted uncomfortably, making space for Michael on the couch, her voice low, "If he and his wife find out, they'll definitely worry about me."

The sofa sank slightly as Michael sat down, taking the porcelain cup from her hand. "Since you've already made a decision, does it make a difference if you tell him sooner or later?"

He took a sip of coffee, his other hand resting on the back of the sofa, running his fingers through her slightly tousled black hair out of habit.

Michael spoke softly, "Are you thinking of changing your mind?"

Half joking, half probing, his tone was as ambiguous as usual.

Emily elbowed him, not answering his question, instead retorting, "Maybe it's you who's changing your mind."

Her hand shook, causing a few drops of coffee to spill onto his black T-shirt, though they didn't show.

Setting down his cup, Michael raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Confused, Emily handed him several tissues. "I dreamed the night before last. I dreamed that Miss Amanda handed me an invitation..."

Michael casually wiped his fingers, somewhat surprised. "Is she marrying Anderson?"

"The invitation had both your names, a joint wedding, and she asked me to come early that day..."

Knowing dreams are unreal, she could still talk as if they were true.

Michael rolled his eyes, reaching over to pinch the back of her neck. "Shouldn't the invitation in your dream be red?"

Emily was puzzled. "It's red."

Michael pretended to be shocked, gasping, "Ah? Shouldn't it be green?"

Realizing, Emily laughed out loud, her eyes squinting into two beautiful lines.

She couldn't stop laughing, feeling tears in the corners of her eyes.

It was strange. Other people and things should have intruded into her dream that night.

Yet she could only remember this one scene.

Only remembered, when Amanda left the dream, she held the large red invitation, tears dripping down.

She laughed so much her head hung low, hiding her face from Michael.

Michael pulled her to his side, resting her head on his shoulder, gently patting it twice. "Is it that funny?"

Like soothing a child.

With a nasal tone in her laughter, Emily just made a sound of agreement and said nothing else.

After a while, she suddenly stood up, smiling brightly. "I'll pack up and check out."

Michael's arms suddenly empty, his chest felt like half the air was drawn away.

"Yeah, go ahead," he said.

Emily kept her promise and treated Michael to beef hot pot at noon, but not at Teng's hot pot restaurant.

She quickly dipped the pork belly, whispering like a soliloquy, "This place competes with our family's, can't let my brother know I came here to eat..."

Michael laughed until his shoulders shook, making a zipper gesture over his mouth, "Okay, I won't tell anyone."

After lunch, Michael took Emily to her brother's house.

The car stopped at the entrance of the community, and Michael took the initiative to say, "I'm going to find a gas station to fill up. I'll be back here around three o'clock to pick you up."

Emily unbuckled her safety belt and marked the navigation on her: "There's a gas station over here. After refueling, if you want to find a place to rest, there's a shopping mall nearby. You can sit in a cafe."

"Okay, I'll find my own program, and you can go in."

"...Good."

She got out of the car, closed the door, suddenly turned around, and seriously said to Michael, "Thank you."

Michael was stunned, and quickly raised his hand: "Yeah, go quickly."

Watching Emily walk out of the community, Michael left.

Once she got into the car, Michael asked, "Why did it end so quickly?"

Emily shook her head with a smile, "My brother told me to return to Eldoria quickly, pack my things, and move out as soon as possible. He'll take care of some work at the shop tomorrow, then he and my sister-in-law will come to Eldoria to help me with the divorce."

When she got home, her brother and sister-in-law were waiting in the living room, with her niece taking a nap upstairs. The housemaid was sent away to give Emily some privacy.

Emily was straightforward, explaining that there was a third party in her marriage with Anderson, though she refrained from showing the prepared evidence to spare her brother and sister-in-law's feelings.

Her brother and sister-in-law seemed somewhat prepared for this revelation and didn't show much surprise. However, when Emily mentioned a fourth person involved and that Anderson had brought this person home, Teng Jie exploded with rage, leaping up and threatening to kill Anderson.

Later, Teng Jie went to the yard and smoked several cigarettes. When he returned, he was calmer but still angry, saying that Emily should do whatever she wanted and they would support her unconditionally. He kept muttering about breaking Anderson's leg.

At this moment, Emily let out a long sigh, feeling some of the weight lift off her shoulders.

At last, she felt a sense of safety.

She fastened her seatbelt and said to Michael, "Anderson just messaged me to confirm the arrival time of the high-speed train. We'll make it, right?"

The act must be carried through to the end, and every play must eventually have its curtain call.

She had purchased a ticket for the train arriving at the East Station at 8:30 PM. It was now 2:30 PM, and Michael, pressing the gas pedal, smiled slightly, "What's my nickname again?"

That childish, adolescent nickname had become their little secret. Emily looked at him with a sparkle in her eyes, "The Road God of Eldoria."

Throughout the journey back, Emily's phone kept ringing.

Her brother called, nervously reminding her to protect herself over the next few days. Wang, the lawyer, called to discuss the drafting of the divorce agreement. Her sister-in-law called, secretly telling her that Teng Jie had red eyes after she left, kneeling before the ancestral tablets and knocking his head several times, blaming himself for not taking good care of her.

Her sister-in-law laughed, saying there would always be a room for her at home, and if she wasn't happy outside, she could always come back.

Emily couldn't help but be moved, her eyes welling up with tears. She took the tissue handed to her and wiped her eyes.

She realized that dusk had fallen without her noticing.

They were driving westward, and the sun they watched rise that morning was now about to disappear at the horizon.

Emily also noticed that Michael had grown increasingly silent, much like the setting sun.

Michael stopped at a rest area once, where they bought McDonald's meals and ate in the car before continuing on their way.

A five-hour drive on the highway was cut down by over half an hour by Michael. Emily didn't know how many speeding tickets he would get, and she tried to lighten the mood with a joke. Michael, in a detached tone, said, "I still think it's too slow."

Returning to Eldoria, the closer they got to the city, the brighter the artificial neon lights became.

The sky was crimson, starless and moonless, like a rusty, torn cloth, unlike the ink-dark, star-studded night they had seen at the seaside the previous night.

Michael didn't take her directly to the station but drove into the underground parking lot of a nearby mall, finding a corner spot and engaging the handbrake.

Emily finally heard him speak, "Alright, now we have an extra half hour. Let's talk."

"What do you want to talk about?"

Due to the long drive, Michael's eyes showed fatigue, and his lips held no smile. "When you were on the phone with your brother or sister-in-law, did you mention moving out?"

Emily bit her lip and nodded, "You understand?"

She had been speaking in their hometown dialect.

"Yeah, I understood about sixty percent."

A wave of indescribable frustration welled up in Michael's chest, making it hard for him to breathe.

He continued, "After the divorce, you're going back to Shui Shan, not staying in Eldoria?"

Emily didn't want to hide it from him. "Yes... I decided from the beginning that I would return home after the divorce."

"Where will you stay?"

"What?"

"Where will you live when you go back?"

"Oh, I'll stay at my brother's first and then look for a place."

Michael pressed on, "So the little restaurant won't be here either?"

"Yes..."

"No wonder you didn't answer when I asked where you wanted to open it." Michael tilted his head back and laughed, "Is there nothing that can make you stay here? Hm?"

Emily remained silent.

Since college, she had been in Eldoria, leaving traces of her life with Anderson all over the city. She couldn't erase them without a trace and was too tired to create new memories to cover them up.

Moreover, she feared running into Anderson, Amanda, or Sophia on the streets.

Even though she was not at fault, she had suffered greatly for a long time because of it.

Her silence infuriated Michael further.

He suddenly grabbed the back of her head, forcefully kissing her, invading her moist mouth, their tongues entwining in a wild dance.

Emily quickly regained her senses, struggling against him, her hands pressing against his solid chest, refusing to let him get closer. "No... no..."

Her refusal only fueled his aggression. Half his body pressed onto the passenger seat, his hand skillfully slid under her shirt, quickly reaching her soft waist.

Emily's alarm bells rang, her hands trying to stop his advancing hand, but it was futile. Michael easily grabbed her breast, kneading it heavily through her bra.

Unsatisfied, he pushed her bra up, her breasts springing free. He teased her nipple with his fingers.

"Really don't want it? It seems to like my touch."

Emily was both angry and helpless.

Even though Michael was so forceful, his touch ignited a wave of pleasure within her.

But clarity prevailed, and she steeled herself, slapping him across the face.

"Slap!"

Michael was stunned. Emily seized the moment to push him away forcefully, crossing her arms protectively over her chest, her voice hoarse with anger. "I said, no!"

In the dim light of the parking lot, the two of them were hidden in shadows.

Michael's vision cleared slightly as he watched Emily silently adjust her disheveled bra.

A bitter taste filled his mouth, knowing he should apologize, but his lips betrayed him. "Emily, I thought I was heartless, but you're even colder. You flirt when you want and leave when you please."

Despite her trembling fingers, Emily tried to maintain her composure, her words sharp, "I thought... you could handle it."

Michael scoffed, "Why do I feel like I'm the serious one here?"

Emily looked up, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, "But I can't afford to be serious, nor can I manage it."

Michael's heart softened instantly as he leaned in again, "Then after your divorce—"

Emily raised a hand to cover his mouth, shaking her head repeatedly, "Actually, I think we both need to calm down and handle our own issues first. Perhaps by then, you'll realize it was just loneliness and solitude playing tricks on us."

Her hand trembled, but her voice remained steady, "These past few days have been the wildest of my thirty years. I've been happy and have no regrets. But I can't continue this recklessness; there's so much I need to attend to."

So what if her heart had stirred?

She was long past the age where love was everything. She preferred to focus on her life and work rather than indulge in fleeting relationships.

Her heart felt as if it were being pierced and twisted.

Michael leaned back slightly, sitting upright, "Alright... I understand your point."

He lit a cigarette inside the car, inhaling deeply before exhaling a heavy cloud of smoke. The cigarette burned quickly, its glow flickering.

The smell of smoke irritated Emily, making her frown and cough.

Michael finally lifted the cup in the holder, extinguishing the half-burned cigarette in the leftover soda. "I was hasty earlier, and I apologize."

With a click, the car doors unlocked.

He avoided her gaze, "It's time. You should go."

The fireworks were too dazzling, blinding them to the fact that they were merely strangers passing by.