Chapter 10

The blaring sounds of honks filled the air. The sky was overcast with grey, leaden clouds and people on the streets were carrying umbrellas of all colours with them, to shield them from the rain that could be coming down at any moment now.

The time was around 5 pm, the street was filled with students in their school uniforms scurrying homes before it could rain, lest they become drowned rats - tired to the bones drowned rats.

Overlooking this bustling scene from behind a floor to ceiling glass window, sat Chu Ruilin in a cafe. Placed on the table infront of him, was a half filled glass of an iced latte with an add on of hazelnut shot.

Chu Ruilin was an avid frequenter of this cafe, as it was near his hospital and the coffee they served here was slightly better than that of their hospital's canteen.

It had been less than a week since his wedding. Inspite of it, for Chu Ruilin, the world was the same as it was the week before or the month before or the year before.

The only two noteworthy things that took place in the last week was Shen Zichen's bizarre behaviour on the wedding night and the death of the lady he'd performed a surgery on the very same day.

Chu Ruilin didn't deign to consider his wedding noteworthy or remarkable. He'd only seen Fang Yunzhu in passing the next day of the wedding before he got busy with his work again. Returing home late from work, he'd head to his old room to catch on a few hours of sleep while his wife would sleep in the new 'couples' bedroom that the Chu family had prepared for the newlyweds.

It was unknown if the old man Chu was aware of this fact or not. Even if he was, what could he even do about it? The two families were united in name and how the the relation between the husband and wife progressed was none of his business.

As Chu Ruilin silently sipped at the sweet hazelnut flavour, he felt that the barista had gone a little overboard with the sugar today. He was craving to eat something savory now to appease his tastebuds.

As he was about to stand up to order, he suddenly had the feeling of being watched. Turning around to take a look from the glass window, he saw two familiar figures standing amidst the passing people.

It was a man and a little boy. The man seemed to be in his 30s. He had a normal build and a square shaped face with short stubble on the chin. The clothes he was wearing looked cheap at a glance. He was holding the little boy's wrist rather forcefully.

The little boy was even more familiar to Chu Ruilin. It was the son of the female patient that died the week before.

After Chu Ruilin realised who it was that had been staring at him, he felt a minor headache coming.

The day after his wedding when he'd come to the hospital, the man, who was now standing outside the cafe had come up to him with a fierce expression. He had cursed and shouted at him with his raucous voice, claiming he had killed his wife.

He was the female patient's husband and the father of the little boy. He was nowhere to be seen when his wife was admitted in the hospital or undergoing the operation but after receiving the news of her death, somehow 'love' and 'affection' for his wife had reared inside him once again.

He had pointed his index finger at Chu Ruilin, yelling obscenities at him and calling him incapable and dishonest. He had demanded that he pay the hospital bills and compensate him an exorbitant amount above that for killing his perfectly fine wife.

However, Chu Ruilin's impassive reaction to his yelling and foul language

seemed to have enraged him even more. As Chu Ruilin was about to turn around and leave, he had grabbed a nearby vase and was to about to hurl it at the back of his head when the security guards had caught him and 'escorted' him out of the hospital.

After that day, he had frequently waited outside the hospital to catch that annoying, stone faced doctor again. However, he'd only ever manage to catch a glimpse before the tall and slender figure of the doctor would stroll to his car in the parking lot, skillfully driving away.

He couldn't catch the doctor there due to the security guards standing guard. So he could only watch the doctor leave. He had no vehicle to stalk him with and neither did he have the taxi fare to pay for a taxi.

However, today was special. He'd finally caught sight of the doctor walking leisurely to this cafe with a pair of headphones on. Today he'd even manage to grab his son along with him to stalk the doctor.

When he saw that Chu Ruilin had taken notice of him, he didn't bother hiding. Instead, he curled his lips in a menacing smile, clutching his son's wrist even tighter.

The little boy wanted to move that rough hand that was clutching him mercilessly away. However, his little, frail body was utterly powerless against that man's strength. Tears were threatening to fall from the boy's round eyes.

As Chu Ruilin saw this scene, he frowned imperceptibly. This was his first time seeing the little boy after the day of the surgery.

Instead of standing up to order again, he sipped the rest of his drink quickly. Chu Ruilin wasn't one to waste food.

He had paid the bill when ordering, so with a tongue reeling from the sticky sweetness of hazelnut, he walked out of the cafe, with a briefcase in hand.

Standing at the glass door of the cafe, he glanced at the pair of father and son for a moment.

This time, he didn't ignore the man like he had before. Instead, he made his way to the man, his polished black leather shoes thudding softly against the paved ground.

After stopping 5 feet away from the stubbled man, before the other man could yell at him again, he spoke, "Loosen your grip on the boy's wrist. You're hurting him."