Chapter 81 Birthday Party in the House of Family Gu


    Once Arvin''s Porsche had recededpletely from view, Stanley patted Gage on the shoulder and


    said, "I''m afraid you get used to it. It''s just the way he is. Let''s go!"


    They locked their arms around each other''s shoulders, and divided up. Only Derrick lingered, looking


    on at Nita who stood motionless. "Nita, you should have... noticed his indifference a long time ago."


    Nita simply shook her head. She touched her forehead with one hand and said, "Derrick, I thought...I


    don''t know...if Rosa was gone for good, Arvin would choose me..." But a thought shed through her


    mind. ''Even if Rosa doesn''t return, he still doesn''t love me! He''s in love with someone else!''


    Looking at her sad face, Derrick felt a little pain. "Nita, he only loves Rosa. Even if there are a lot of


    women around him, they are just passersby."


    "Maybe I''m also a passers-by for him... but I don''t want to be a passer-by! Derrick, what should I do?"


    Nita looked at Derrick with a deep and unrelenting sadness.


    Derrick was almost thirty years old. He looked more mature than others. He was the president of a


    transnational group and therefore, shouldered more responsibilities and pressures.


    He hesitated and told her, "Love him... and don''t give up."


    It may have been well-concealed, and he had taken pains to guard it so, but actually, Derrick loved


    Nita. He wanted to help her seize her dreams. So, could he do but demand she not give up, as he


    hadn''t. He had loved her for about ten years. He still thought about her, never giving in to defeat...


    " Nita! Derrick!" A sweet voice came to their ears.


    Nita took a deep breath, turned over and smiled when she heard the voice. "Lulu, what are you doing


    here?"


    Lulu took Nita''s arms intimately, and announced, "I just went to the washroom! And when I came out,


    nobody was there? Why was the birthday party over when I came back?"


    Nita and Derrick nced at each other and they didn''t know how to answer the question. Lulu''s


    innocence was too great to handle. Finally, Derrick exined to her, "You know your brother doesn''t


    like party."


    Lulu''s head made an ineffablyical movement that conveyed how intangible such a statement was


    to her. But when she found Nita''s pale face, she asked her aloud, "Nita, what''s wrong with you?"


    "Nothing..." Nita didn''t want to give herself away to Lulu.


    "The reason your brother left the party, " said Derrick seriously, "was because of another woman! "


    "A woman?" Lulu was surprised. Since Rosa disappeared, she haven''t heard any rumors about Arvin!


    Suddenly, she thought of one girl! Last time, when she went to the hospital, she met a girl who called


    Arvin a pervert...


    Nita stared at Derrick, who finally found that he had crossed a line he shouldn''t have. Derrick made an


    impromptu excuse to leave, and slinked away as fast as he could.


    "Okay, see you, Derrick!" said Lulu. Lulu waved at Derrick.


    Derrick nodded to them, and left the house.


    Nita closed her hand around Lulu''s, and said, "Lulu, the woman who is after your brother is..."


    Oh, good Lulu, innocent Lulu! There wasn''t a cockroach on the that feared her kitten-soft hands!


    Nita knew this about her. So, to Nita, it only made sense to try to take advantage of their good


    rtionship. She wished to keep her close so she could gain Arvin''s affection. It would work, she


    convinced herself. It had to...


    Shengfeng Mansion


    The table was expertly set. Ang put a bowl of well-cooked noodles on the ce mat, basking in the


    hot steam. She was afraid that the noodles might get cold so she covered it with the stic wrap.


    Looking at the delicious noodles, Ang swallowed unconsciously. However, she only cooked one


    bowl of noodles. No noodles were left at all.


    ''Forget it! When Arvin eats them up, I''ll go outside for some food!''


    Looking at the watch, it was already seven ten but Arvin didn''t show up. She looked at the box in her


    hand. She would have to wait to give it to him.


    At seven thirty, Ang got a call. "Nancy, " she answered.


    Nancy sounded very excited, "Ang, how about the birthday party for Doctor Gu? I asked my brother,


    but he didn''t tell me!"


    Ang listened to the wordsing over the receiver in fixated bewilderment. Arvin''s birthday party?


    She looked at the quiet apartment. "There''s no party here! Where is your brother?"


    "My brother took a photo of the birthday party! But I didn''t find you there. So, I said I''d call you to find


    out myself!"


    Ang''s heart broke. It was like a loss of something vitally important and nourishing.


    He said there was no party! So, he had lied to her after all...


    "Ang...why are you so quiet? Is something wrong?"


    Ang smiled bitterly, "Nancy, send me the photo."


    "Sure thing. Have you given your gift to Doctor Gu yet, by the way?" She wished she had, because at


    least if she had handed it over before this, it would have been meaningful.


    Ang shook her head. Arvin haven''te back. There would be no gift. "No, I..." croaked Ang,


    ter..ter..."


    "Later? Okay...then I''m not going to bother you! But just so you hear this from a friend, Nita was there


    too. She looked beautiful. I would have helped you select one beautiful dress if I knew you were in the


    birthday party!" Nancy thought for a bit. Ang was wearing sportswear today. Maybe she was


    unaware of the birthday party?


    Ang''s stare zed over and she held the phonezily. "Don''t forget to send me the photo!" she said


    distantly.


    "Okay, have fun! I can tell you''re a bit spaced, so I''ll leave you be!"


    After the call, Ang leaned against the ottoman with disappointment. She was thinking of everything


    and the disorder of it pained her a great deal.


    She bit her nails and paced around the living room apprehensively. Should she stay or leave? Either


    way she was resigned to a knotted stomach. It was ceaseless. Later, she tried to call Lily, but failed to


    get through the phone...


    It was hopeless. All her avenues were closing. She felt cast adrift from the world and its excitement. A


    minuteter, amidst a swarm of humiliating thoughts, Ang''s phone buzzed. It was Nancy again, who


    sent the photo to her WeChat.


    The photo was a little blurry, but the main features could be made out. Ang''s eyes scanned around


    andnded on Arvin, his handsome face among the others. Oh, how he wished she could lump his face


    in with the mashed effect of the blurry ugliness, that it might be a boon to her unfriendly thoughts. Arvin


    seemed to be passing the cake to what looked like Teresa.


    And beside him, there was Nita, looking at Arvin''s face with a sweet smile, who looked very graceful.


    The surrounding forest of people were made up of the likes of Gash, Stanley, and so on.


    It would be impossible for Nancy to find her at the party. Ang was in Arvin''s apartment, with a bowl


    of noodles creating condensation over a stic veil, while the festivities went on in the Gu family


    home...


    Eventually, Ang could sustain her insufferable thoughts no longer. She moaned. At eight o''clock, she


    stood up from the ottoman and tried to find her dolls.


    She noticed that two of her dolls were on the sofa in the bedroom, ranked very neatly together, as if he


    had set them there. She pretended not to feel anything and gathered them up, and searched for the


    others.


    In total, she collected nine dolls and jammed them in her bag, along with her pajamas, toothbrush, and


    some other sundries, and slung it all over her back. She put a hand on the door handle, then looked


    back to the kitchen. The bowl of noodles remained, its stic cover sweating. She left.


    Property belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.


    Arvin was driving his ck Porsche at a racing speed through the downtown thoroughfare. Lines of


    traffic began to materialize, and he slowed down. Soon enough, it had turned to gridlock. Stopped at a


    red light, he called Ang.


    Odd, he thought, as the call went to voicemail. He couldn''t get through.


    When he hurried home, he found nobody was in the apartment...


    Arvin threw the gift given by Nita on the table casually.


    He looked high-and-low for her, including his private research and development room, but there was no


    trace of Ang. He went into his bedroom and immediately noticed the figures of the two dolls were


    gone. Ang had disappeared like a sneak. No note. No nothing. Only a bowl of uneaten noodles.


    Arvin stood arms akimbo in the living room, raising his face to the ceiling, with his eyes closed. ''Peace,


    peace, '' he beckoned, ''let it wash over me. Have I hurt Ang in ways I can''t grasp?''


    What a shame. He had tried. Tried to leave with time to spare so he could indulge in herpany.


    Arvin didn''t dislike Ang. He knew he actually liked Ang. But, he was afraid to think about it in


    detail. All these thoughts came to him without any struggle on his part, so he knew with confidence that


    they were true.


    He understood that he was escaping from something.


    He was escaping from something such as his love for Ang...


    At the evening two days before, when he hugged Ang till he fell asleep, he was relying on her


    making the first move. He wanted to further their rtionship. But, he didn''t...


    Because, he was not as simple as her.