Chapter 546: Longing Turned into Sickness
When Eric received a phone call from a certain person, he actually found it very funny. Because this matter had nothing to do with him in the first place, you couldn’t just tell him to do it. After all, this involved a lot of things. Especially in America, he was just an old man who had made a comeback. He didn’t want to cause any trouble at this time. In short, he didn’t want to get into too much trouble.
“You’ve forgotten my friendship with you. You surely haven’t forgotten how you got your money now, right? Now that I’m in trouble, you’re not going to help me?”
“One thing at a time, big brother. If you need money, I will surely help you. But this request of yours is a bit too much. You actually want me to get rid of a person. You know how many years I haven’t done this kind of thing. I don’t want to get into trouble again.”
Eric was alone in his office. The curtains and the door were all tightly closed, and the soundproofing was also very good. There was no need to worry about anyone hearing here.
He and the boss of Chenghe had had a friendship in their early years. It was not an exaggeration to say that the funds for his new company now had been borrowed from this person. A few years ago, when he had gotten into trouble and was about to be driven away at the border of the country, it was also that person who had helped him, which had allowed his goods to enter the country smoothly.
But a favor is a favor. To get rid of a person was still a bit too much for him.
“We are in a cooperative relationship now. You know that. If something happens to me, then you can’t escape either. We are bound together in terms of interests.”
“Don’t threaten me. You know, I hate it when people threaten me.”
“Eric, haven’t you earned enough black money all these years? What’s the difference between you and me? You have my secret, and I also know your privacy. What do you say?”
Eric fell silent.
As for the things he had done all these years, there were actually quite a lot. Ever since he had gone bankrupt more than ten years ago, he had done a lot of things, all sorts of things. It had not been easy for him to save up enough. He had returned to the mainstream business society, and had originally thought of just leaving that circle and going back to his original self, but things were far from being as simple as he had imagined.
Eric still did not agree, but he knew that the other party would surely find him again. Now in America, the person that Chenghe most wanted to get rid of but could not personally get rid of was only Eric who had the ability. In any case, Eric had also been doing it for more than ten years. If he wanted to, he still had a way. It was just that the limelight these past few days was really not good. To rashly do this kind of thing was still too risky.
…
San Francisco, USA.
This morning, Catherine was walking her dog as usual. She was also thinking of clearing her head, and at the same time, thinking about her future plans. When she was passing by a park, she had found a girl in sportswear sitting there. It was Yu Linna. She would occasionally appear in the park and then go for a walk with Catherine. Her luck was quite good today. Catherine had met her again.
“Good morning, madam.”
Yu Linna walked over, still holding a small box, and handed it to Catherine.
“What is this?”
“It’s a cookie. I made it myself. I’ve also been taken care of a lot by Sister Yue before. Isn’t she back home? I originally wanted to hand it to her personally, but I wanted to let you have a taste too, madam.”
“This, is it for me?”
“Mmm, it’s for both of you.”
Yu Linna thought for a moment and it was no problem. Originally, this thing was for Yu Xiayue and also Catherine. She had always felt that she had been taken care of by Yu Xiayue, and that the madam was also a very good person, and had also been accompanying her for a walk these few days. It was also not bad to give something back to her.
Catherine held this small wooden box in her hand, holding it very tightly. Finally, she had still made up her mind.
“Do you want to come to my house for a sit-down? Aren’t you on vacation today? Coincidentally, I also want to entertain you.”
“Is that okay? I haven’t been to your house yet, madam. Although you’ve always said it’s nearby.”
“Of course it is. Let’s go together.”
“Alright, can I go back to the hotel and change my clothes first?”
“I’ll wait for you.”
Yu Linna returned to the hotel, changed into a relatively cute set of clothes, and returned to the park humming a little tune, and went back with Catherine. Today, Yu Xiayue was not at home because she had to talk about a contract. She would be back a little later. But Yu Linna had a vacation. Coincidentally, she took this opportunity to go and see the home of the legendary Hollywood queen.
She had probably borrowed a pirated disc in middle school and had watched Catherine’s movie. At first glance, she had liked this person, Catherine, very much. She didn’t even know why. Later, she had also heard that she had been out of the circle for a long time, and had felt sorry for her for a long time.
Now she actually had a chance to have close contact with the Hollywood queen. It was simply unimaginable a few years ago. Too many things had happened in these few years. She had never thought that the child who was so poor that she couldn’t even eat would actually have such a status today.
“Child, you said you were twenty this year, right?”
“Eh, mmm, probably. I’m not sure either.”
“I’ve seen your information online. Were you born in China?”
“Mmm, yes, because I’ve been living there all along. As for my birthday, according to the date on my ID card, it’s January 1st. Because I’ve never known my own date, but this is not a big deal.”
“It must have been very hard all these years.”
“Not at all, not at all. I’ve been doing quite well. I’ve gotten used to it. And I feel that I’m also much better than before. I don’t remember much about the past.”
Catherine’s heart was held very tightly.
What if? What if it’s true?
Putting aside those things like age for now, wasn’t she an orphan? Why did she have to say that she was born in China? Was she really sure?
“Madam, you are very happy now, right?”
“Eh, mmm. Very happy.”
“I see… when I saw Sister Yue’s expression, I was thinking that she must have been born in a very happy family, just as I had thought.”
Yu Linna said with a smile.
In an instant, Catherine’s heart was as if it had been crushed. Her head was also as if it had exploded. She held the wall, panting heavily.
“Madam? How are you? Are you alright?”
“It’s an old problem. It’s fine… it’ll be fine in a bit.”
Being supported, Catherine had also returned to her own doorstep. Yu Linna supported her into the house. She stepped onto this land, her expression a little strange. She looked around, her gaze always on the courtyard.
“Child?”
“It’s fine…”
So strange. Just now, for a moment, it was as if it were a little familiar. Was she overthinking it? Yu Linna felt that she was a little strange. Ever since she had stepped into this place, she had felt that she was not normal. This was her first time here. This could be confirmed. But how did she feel that something was not right?
Arriving at the living room, Catherine had her sit down for a while, and then she rummaged through a box herself and found the medicine she usually took. Yu Linna gave her a glass of plain water, and she drank it down. Catherine sat on the sofa, and her body also slowly got better.
“Madam, are you feeling alright?”
“It’s fine. It’s all an old problem. It often happens like this. Sometimes my head hurts badly, and also my heart is as if it’s being shredded. I’m used to it. The doctor said that it’s a heart disease, and medicine can’t cure it.”
Catherine smiled and said it was fine. She had been like this all these years. Ever since that incident, her heart disease had always been there. Although she had been taking medicine, in the end, it couldn’t cure the root of the problem. For this, she had hired a psychologist, but this was also of no use. The doctor had said that in her lifetime, she would probably find it hard to walk out of her own psychological shadow. These could only be regulated by time.
But looking at Yu Linna’s face, seeing her worried expression, she felt as if it was not so painful, and even felt a warmth.
“How about I go back first? You need to rest.”
“No, no, no. I’m fine. You can sit for a while. I’ll get you some snacks.”
Catherine insisted on her staying. Yu Linna could not refuse. After that, Catherine had gone to the kitchen, had thought for a moment, and had made something with the flour in the kitchen. A moment later, Catherine had come over with a plate of small cakes and had handed it to Yu Linna. Yu Linna looked at this plate of cakes, a little puzzled.
“Is this for me to eat?”
“Yes, you also made me cookies. This is a return gift. Eat. It’s very delicious. I’m very confident in my own cooking skills.”
“Thank you, madam.”
Yu Linna picked up a small spoon, took a bite, and put it in her mouth, her eyes squinting. Mmm, so delicious.
Catherine was watching on the side, and she smiled. The way she ate was exactly the same as Yu Xiayue.
As she was smiling, Catherine’s smile faded. Looking at Yu Linna’s satisfied expression, and the way she ate, no matter how you looked at it, it was another version of Yu Xiayue. Gradually, everything in front of her blurred, and a layer of water mist also covered her eyes.
Yu Linna was eating this cake. This taste was really good, much better than any of the cakes she had eaten before. And for some reason, she had a very familiar taste, as if she had eaten this taste at some point in the past. It was really very familiar, but she couldn’t say.
When she had come into this world, there were very few things she could remember. Especially when she was little, her head had also suffered a severe blow. Her earliest memory was only the memory of living in the hands of human traffickers. As for how she had come, she was not clear. When she had memories, she seemed to be already alone.
Yu Linna, who was still continuing to eat, suddenly saw Catherine looking at her from the side. She looked up in confusion, with some uneaten cake still in her mouth. Catherine shed two lines of clear tears, and the kind that couldn’t be stopped no matter what. She just looked at Yu Linna, quietly looking at Yu Linna, her shoulders trembling all along.
“Madam?”
She looked up and called the other party.
“Are you Nana?”
Catherine couldn’t hold it in.
That name she had longed for day and night, had been concerned about for more than ten years, now, the person who matched that name had appeared in front of her. Catherine couldn’t hold it in.
“Madam, what’s wrong with you?”
“Nana… Nana, my Nana…”
“Ma-madam? Are you alright?”
Yu Linna put down her cake, sat over, and took out a tissue to wipe away her tears, but found that she couldn’t wipe them away no matter what. Catherine was crying, and the kind of crying that couldn’t be stopped. She looked at Yu Linna in front of her. She opened her arms and hugged her.
“Nana, my Nana… are you back? Are you my Nana? If you are still in this world, then just tell me, okay… a thousand mistakes, ten thousand mistakes, it’s all my fault. It’s my fault…”
Yu Linna was held tightly by someone. At this moment, she could not break free, nor did she want to break free.
Listening to her voice, feeling her sadness, she herself actually wanted to cry too. What was this feeling? For some reason, she also felt very sad. This person in front of her was clearly a stranger to her, but why was that? She didn’t want to push her away at all. On the contrary, she felt that she wanted to be a little closer to her, to hug her again, as if to make up for the maternal love she had been lacking all these years.
The feeling of being held was as if she were being held by her mother when she had just been born. Although that memory was already blurred, it should have been carved deep in her mind. Otherwise, there was no way to explain the familiar warmth she was feeling at this moment.
But Yu Linna had no mother. She knew this.
Catherine had cried for a long time. Yu Linna had left her, had taken out a tissue to wipe her tears. Catherine had not let her continue to wipe, but had grabbed her wrist.
“Are you Nana? Are you my child… you’re back, right?”
“Madam… you’ve mistaken me. I’m not Xiayue. I’m Linna.”
“Yes, it’s Linna, Linna, my Little Nana, right? You’re still alive, right?”
“…You’re tired. Go and rest.”
Yu Linna gently took her hand away. So embarrassing. She had actually been moved just now. She didn’t know why Catherine would say those meaningless words. The words she had said were really hard to calm down, but Yu Linna still maintained her rationality.
“You only have one daughter, and I am not your child either. You are tired.”
“No, no, don’t go!”
Catherine rushed forward and hugged her again, unwilling to let go no matter what.
There was no helping it. Yu Linna was too similar, too much like her own child who had passed away many years ago. Her appearance was also extremely similar. Catherine could even remember the little hand she had held many years ago. When she had held Yu Linna’s hand, for a moment, it was as if she had returned to many years ago, that little hand she had once held.
She was saying “don’t go” on the one hand, and was holding her tightly on the other. She didn’t want to let go.
Suddenly, Catherine let go. She held her own head and fell onto the sofa, letting out a painful sound. Yu Linna was flustered at the sight and hurriedly helped her up.
“Madam, madam! What’s wrong with you!”
“…My head hurts. It hurts so much. The medicine, my medicine…”
Yu Linna was flustered. She started to look for the medicine that Catherine had just taken, but the medicine bottle that Catherine had just taken was already empty. Yu Linna ran outside and called the butler and the maids. They immediately went to find the medicine that Catherine usually took, and also supported her back to her room to rest. Yu Linna, on the other hand, accompanied her the whole time. After taking the medicine, Catherine was obviously much better, but her face was full of fatigue.
