"Ni Shi Zhong Mei Li Kai Guo Wo De Xin, Wo Ai Ni, Ni Dong Bu Dong?"
Chapter 8
A fragrant aroma filled the air. The smell of eggs and cup noodles. Err…eggs and cup noodles?! Wei Lian sat upright on his bed immediately and faced the direction of the makeshift table in the middle of the room. He was stunned for a while and realized someone was slurping very loudly. Slurping on food. Fried eggs and cup noodles. He is sure.
Fang Qi sat on the chair with one foot on the chair itself. She was slurping down the noodles from the Nissin cup noodles and her other hand with a metal fork, poking at the eggs she had just fried. Looking up at the guy who had just woke up from his sleep, she took another mouthful of noodles before continuing. “Wake up liao ah? Not bad leh, you can sleep quite long lor. I just fried some eggs and made some cup noodles. Seafood flavor. I found them in the cupboard and fridge lor.”
Wei Lian, still in his sleepy state, shuffled his feet towards the table. Fang Qi got up from her chair and pressed him down onto the seat. She walked towards the cupboard and opened the cupboard door, peering inside. “Wah, only left Tom Yam flavour. Can la hor?”
Without even waiting for an answer, she ripped the plastic off the cup noodles and started to pour hot water into the cup. She pushed the cup of noodles and a plate of fried eggs in front of Wei Lian and thrusted a pair of chopsticks into his hands. Wei Lian was too stunned for words all this while. He didn’t know what to do or say. This girl invaded his private space, made herself comfortable on his sofa and now she is serving him breakfast in his house. What is this??
“Eat lay, waiting for what? Waiting for dinnertime ah? Now only three plus in the afternoon la, you later then eat ah? Don’t tell me I must feed you lor.” Fang Qi joked.
Wei Lian said nothing. What can he say? He poked the chopsticks into the cup of noodles and began eating. Three plus in the afternoon. He slept that long? This is the longest sleep he ever had in the past few months. He thought quietly inside him. Suddenly he remembered something, “Eh, you planning to stay how long?”
His tone suggested frustration.
“I ya I tell you already what. I wont disturb you one what. I just dun want to go home cannot is it?” Fang Qi poured herself a glass of water and gulped down at one go.
Won’t disturb? Her presence is disturbing enough lor. This is him. He just cannot tolerate just anyone intruding into his life. It has become a practice for him to guard against people somehow. It is a form of his life and he doesn’t like just about anyone from the streets to come and intrude into his life.
“You don’t happen to be running away from loan sharks do you?” Wei Lian asked straightforwardly. Remembering the fact that she is a big time gambler, as described by Jason, what else would she be running away from? Other than owing the loan sharks money, he seriously couldn’t think of any other reasons.
The water Fang Qi just gulped down choked her. “Pu!! Er…” She coughed hard and tried to smooth the uneasy feeling in her chest from the choking.
Fang Qi rolled her eyes. Of course she didn’t owe anyone money. Her savings is more than enough to live off comfortably without working for a few years. Besides, mum left behind a huge sum of money for them when she passed on.
She had sneaked out of her room at daybreak and wandered in the streets before deciding to come to the beach house. She didn’t know where to go. She doesn’t want anyone to know where she is. Out of boredom and also curiosity, she had sent out an sms to Jake’s old number. She couldn’t bear to delete away his number. Very often, she would stare at his number.
“Where are you? When will you be back? Are you fine? I missed you….” She typed.
“Soon. Next week.” That was the reply that came after a one hour-long silence.
Soon. Next week. That is too fast for her to react. Jake is coming back next week. She couldn’t handle the truth.
“Eh.” No response from her. Wei Lian’s gaze met the air.
“I ya. Here la.” She snapped her fingers. Wei Lian followed the direction of her voice and turned to face her. “Ha! Don’t worry, I didn’t owe anyone money so I wont drag you down la. I just can’t think of anywhere to go but here.”
“Y?” He is puzzled.
“Y? Because I have nowhere else to go la.” She quipped, at the same time gobbled the last bit of her noodles and drank the soup base.
Better dun have anything to do with this girl! Women are nothing but trouble! They only know how to harass him and give him trouble! Once they know that he can do a lot of things more than what the normal people could do, they tend to take advantage of him and try to cover up their intentions by giving excuses for liking him. Except for Cherie. Wei Lian thought inside himself quietly.
Fang Qi. A girl whom he met four times but yet, all four times came across like a disaster to him. He never knew she is his buddy’s sister but he heard that his sister is a sweet girl. Err…but the way he knows her, she certainly doesn’t seem like one. More like a compulsive gambler and drinker. What happened to her, he never really know. Guess Fang Tong gave up asking and talking about her to others.
Hai! Whatever, since she want to stay for a few days, so be it la. Cannot be bothered. She is tight-lipped and determined to keep mum about why she ended up at his doorstep. Ask more also no use la. She better dun come and trouble him or disturb him. If not, if not….. “Ya what?” He came out of his thoughts.
“I asking if you got extra clothing and towel la.” Fang Qi yawned lazily and stretched her limbs.
Huh? Clothing? She wants to borrow clothing too?? I ya whatever. “Eh, u never bring your own clothes meh?”
“If I brought I still need to borrow for what?” Fang Qi looked at him with a “you- purposely-ask-the-obvious-is-it?” look. Her face is painted with the expression, “You kiam pa ah?”
“Eh, can you don’t be so rough anot? You behave like a boy you know.” Wei Lian really cannot stand her behaviour and dissed her directly.
Without waiting for him to say another word, Fang Qi has already made her way to the wardrobe, opened the wardrobe door and peered inside. Her hand flipped through the row of clothing hung on the rack and stopped. She turned and stared at the guy who is facing her direction. She made a funny face at him. She heard from Fang Tong that he has been visually impaired since he was born.
“Eh, you don’t keep on eh eh me can a not? You don’t know my name meh?” she asked with impatience.
“Huh? Why should I know what is your name lay? You also eh eh eh me what.” Wei Lian felt his way to the sofa and picked his guitar up. He strummed it softly and tried to fine-tune the guitar. Hai! Too bad, this is what you get when you disturb my peace and quiet. He quietly smirked inside him but his look of indifference angered Fang Qi.
“Ai shi ni yan li ....OEI!” He sang softly but stopped and let out a muffled groan when he felt someone stomping on his left feet.
“Eh! Eh! Eh!!! I eh eh eh you because I don’t remember your name what.” Fang Qi challenged him.
“I also eh eh eh you because I don’t remember what.” Wei Lian threw her words back at her. Actually he knows her name, but he is just not used to calling people by their names. Especially not in a situation like what he and Fang Qi are in. He really can’t tolerate this type of girls. Bad attitude plus rude. One word - Bad. Towards such people, he just can’t help making a dig at her.
“Eh. Can you move aside ah? I want to do my things.” His tone showed impatience. He waited for a while but could not hear any reaction from her. ‘Oei.” Suddenly he heard no one.
“Eh, this girl is the one you love is it?” Silence broke when Fang Qi peered closely at the yellowed photographs that were slid under the panel of glass on the small coffee table and questioned Wei Lian.
“But this photograph is so old lor. Which one is you ah? Wah, these are newer.” Fang Qi scrutinized the photographs. There are dates on each of the photos. She turned back and found Wei Lian sitting there with an indifferent expression again. He was holding his guitar strumming softly again, his face turned away from her direction.
“Oei, stoning ah?” She kicked his leg. He shifted, uncomfortable that she mentioned Cherie. “Wah, you looked so toot last time lor. Now more good- looking.” She assumed the identity of the two guys and a girl in the photographs. The girl smiled happily with the other guy; therefore the other guy is Wei Lian, for in some of the photos his gaze never met the camera.
“Err..Cherie?” Fang Qi mumbled under her breath. She was looking at one of the pictures. It was dated 20 June 2001.
Huh? Cherie? Wei Lian stopped strumming the guitar strings. His palm hit the guitar surface. She knows Cherie? He doesn’t remember there are any names on the photographs. As far as he knew.
“Cherie is the girl you like ah?” Fang Qi looked at him with annoyance. She hates it when she asks so many questions and there is no response. It’s like talking to the wall.
A look of pain flashed across his face. Fang Qi caught it and got up from the floor. “But she loves the other guy right? The one whom I saw you with at the cafe the other time.” She couldn’t help but continue probing despite seeing his forlorn expression. Hai! Another love-smitten guy! She thought.
She had known Cherie from school. They shared the same classes for psychology in school. She didn’t talk to her often, but she had heard that she had two guy buddies from young and they studied in the same school. And all she could last remember was that she and Cherie both left school at the same time. That was the year Jake left her.
She could tell that Wei Lian is wondering how come she knew Cherie. But she did not intend to tell him. Lazy lah. She felt it a chore to explain things. She grabbed a shirt and a pair of khaki pants and strolled to the bathroom. Hearing Fang Qi walk away, Wei Lian went back to his guitar strumming. “Ai Shi Ni Yan Li De Yi Shou Qing Ge……” He sang softly.
Chapter 8
A fragrant aroma filled the air. The smell of eggs and cup noodles. Err…eggs and cup noodles?! Wei Lian sat upright on his bed immediately and faced the direction of the makeshift table in the middle of the room. He was stunned for a while and realized someone was slurping very loudly. Slurping on food. Fried eggs and cup noodles. He is sure.
Fang Qi sat on the chair with one foot on the chair itself. She was slurping down the noodles from the Nissin cup noodles and her other hand with a metal fork, poking at the eggs she had just fried. Looking up at the guy who had just woke up from his sleep, she took another mouthful of noodles before continuing. “Wake up liao ah? Not bad leh, you can sleep quite long lor. I just fried some eggs and made some cup noodles. Seafood flavor. I found them in the cupboard and fridge lor.”
Wei Lian, still in his sleepy state, shuffled his feet towards the table. Fang Qi got up from her chair and pressed him down onto the seat. She walked towards the cupboard and opened the cupboard door, peering inside. “Wah, only left Tom Yam flavour. Can la hor?”
Without even waiting for an answer, she ripped the plastic off the cup noodles and started to pour hot water into the cup. She pushed the cup of noodles and a plate of fried eggs in front of Wei Lian and thrusted a pair of chopsticks into his hands. Wei Lian was too stunned for words all this while. He didn’t know what to do or say. This girl invaded his private space, made herself comfortable on his sofa and now she is serving him breakfast in his house. What is this??
“Eat lay, waiting for what? Waiting for dinnertime ah? Now only three plus in the afternoon la, you later then eat ah? Don’t tell me I must feed you lor.” Fang Qi joked.
Wei Lian said nothing. What can he say? He poked the chopsticks into the cup of noodles and began eating. Three plus in the afternoon. He slept that long? This is the longest sleep he ever had in the past few months. He thought quietly inside him. Suddenly he remembered something, “Eh, you planning to stay how long?”
His tone suggested frustration.
“I ya I tell you already what. I wont disturb you one what. I just dun want to go home cannot is it?” Fang Qi poured herself a glass of water and gulped down at one go.
Won’t disturb? Her presence is disturbing enough lor. This is him. He just cannot tolerate just anyone intruding into his life. It has become a practice for him to guard against people somehow. It is a form of his life and he doesn’t like just about anyone from the streets to come and intrude into his life.
“You don’t happen to be running away from loan sharks do you?” Wei Lian asked straightforwardly. Remembering the fact that she is a big time gambler, as described by Jason, what else would she be running away from? Other than owing the loan sharks money, he seriously couldn’t think of any other reasons.
The water Fang Qi just gulped down choked her. “Pu!! Er…” She coughed hard and tried to smooth the uneasy feeling in her chest from the choking.
Fang Qi rolled her eyes. Of course she didn’t owe anyone money. Her savings is more than enough to live off comfortably without working for a few years. Besides, mum left behind a huge sum of money for them when she passed on.
She had sneaked out of her room at daybreak and wandered in the streets before deciding to come to the beach house. She didn’t know where to go. She doesn’t want anyone to know where she is. Out of boredom and also curiosity, she had sent out an sms to Jake’s old number. She couldn’t bear to delete away his number. Very often, she would stare at his number.
“Where are you? When will you be back? Are you fine? I missed you….” She typed.
“Soon. Next week.” That was the reply that came after a one hour-long silence.
Soon. Next week. That is too fast for her to react. Jake is coming back next week. She couldn’t handle the truth.
“Eh.” No response from her. Wei Lian’s gaze met the air.
“I ya. Here la.” She snapped her fingers. Wei Lian followed the direction of her voice and turned to face her. “Ha! Don’t worry, I didn’t owe anyone money so I wont drag you down la. I just can’t think of anywhere to go but here.”
“Y?” He is puzzled.
“Y? Because I have nowhere else to go la.” She quipped, at the same time gobbled the last bit of her noodles and drank the soup base.
Better dun have anything to do with this girl! Women are nothing but trouble! They only know how to harass him and give him trouble! Once they know that he can do a lot of things more than what the normal people could do, they tend to take advantage of him and try to cover up their intentions by giving excuses for liking him. Except for Cherie. Wei Lian thought inside himself quietly.
Fang Qi. A girl whom he met four times but yet, all four times came across like a disaster to him. He never knew she is his buddy’s sister but he heard that his sister is a sweet girl. Err…but the way he knows her, she certainly doesn’t seem like one. More like a compulsive gambler and drinker. What happened to her, he never really know. Guess Fang Tong gave up asking and talking about her to others.
Hai! Whatever, since she want to stay for a few days, so be it la. Cannot be bothered. She is tight-lipped and determined to keep mum about why she ended up at his doorstep. Ask more also no use la. She better dun come and trouble him or disturb him. If not, if not….. “Ya what?” He came out of his thoughts.
“I asking if you got extra clothing and towel la.” Fang Qi yawned lazily and stretched her limbs.
Huh? Clothing? She wants to borrow clothing too?? I ya whatever. “Eh, u never bring your own clothes meh?”
“If I brought I still need to borrow for what?” Fang Qi looked at him with a “you- purposely-ask-the-obvious-is-it?” look. Her face is painted with the expression, “You kiam pa ah?”
“Eh, can you don’t be so rough anot? You behave like a boy you know.” Wei Lian really cannot stand her behaviour and dissed her directly.
Without waiting for him to say another word, Fang Qi has already made her way to the wardrobe, opened the wardrobe door and peered inside. Her hand flipped through the row of clothing hung on the rack and stopped. She turned and stared at the guy who is facing her direction. She made a funny face at him. She heard from Fang Tong that he has been visually impaired since he was born.
“Eh, you don’t keep on eh eh me can a not? You don’t know my name meh?” she asked with impatience.
“Huh? Why should I know what is your name lay? You also eh eh eh me what.” Wei Lian felt his way to the sofa and picked his guitar up. He strummed it softly and tried to fine-tune the guitar. Hai! Too bad, this is what you get when you disturb my peace and quiet. He quietly smirked inside him but his look of indifference angered Fang Qi.
“Ai shi ni yan li ....OEI!” He sang softly but stopped and let out a muffled groan when he felt someone stomping on his left feet.
“Eh! Eh! Eh!!! I eh eh eh you because I don’t remember your name what.” Fang Qi challenged him.
“I also eh eh eh you because I don’t remember what.” Wei Lian threw her words back at her. Actually he knows her name, but he is just not used to calling people by their names. Especially not in a situation like what he and Fang Qi are in. He really can’t tolerate this type of girls. Bad attitude plus rude. One word - Bad. Towards such people, he just can’t help making a dig at her.
“Eh. Can you move aside ah? I want to do my things.” His tone showed impatience. He waited for a while but could not hear any reaction from her. ‘Oei.” Suddenly he heard no one.
“Eh, this girl is the one you love is it?” Silence broke when Fang Qi peered closely at the yellowed photographs that were slid under the panel of glass on the small coffee table and questioned Wei Lian.
“But this photograph is so old lor. Which one is you ah? Wah, these are newer.” Fang Qi scrutinized the photographs. There are dates on each of the photos. She turned back and found Wei Lian sitting there with an indifferent expression again. He was holding his guitar strumming softly again, his face turned away from her direction.
“Oei, stoning ah?” She kicked his leg. He shifted, uncomfortable that she mentioned Cherie. “Wah, you looked so toot last time lor. Now more good- looking.” She assumed the identity of the two guys and a girl in the photographs. The girl smiled happily with the other guy; therefore the other guy is Wei Lian, for in some of the photos his gaze never met the camera.
“Err..Cherie?” Fang Qi mumbled under her breath. She was looking at one of the pictures. It was dated 20 June 2001.
Huh? Cherie? Wei Lian stopped strumming the guitar strings. His palm hit the guitar surface. She knows Cherie? He doesn’t remember there are any names on the photographs. As far as he knew.
“Cherie is the girl you like ah?” Fang Qi looked at him with annoyance. She hates it when she asks so many questions and there is no response. It’s like talking to the wall.
A look of pain flashed across his face. Fang Qi caught it and got up from the floor. “But she loves the other guy right? The one whom I saw you with at the cafe the other time.” She couldn’t help but continue probing despite seeing his forlorn expression. Hai! Another love-smitten guy! She thought.
She had known Cherie from school. They shared the same classes for psychology in school. She didn’t talk to her often, but she had heard that she had two guy buddies from young and they studied in the same school. And all she could last remember was that she and Cherie both left school at the same time. That was the year Jake left her.
She could tell that Wei Lian is wondering how come she knew Cherie. But she did not intend to tell him. Lazy lah. She felt it a chore to explain things. She grabbed a shirt and a pair of khaki pants and strolled to the bathroom. Hearing Fang Qi walk away, Wei Lian went back to his guitar strumming. “Ai Shi Ni Yan Li De Yi Shou Qing Ge……” He sang softly.
