Word had spread that Amelia White was going to cook for herself. Benjamin Williams found himself in a noticeably better mood.
Ever since Amelia had returned, she had only prepared meals for her elder brother a handful of times. She hadn't done it once for him. He had convinced himself that in Amelia's heart, he held no real place.
But now, it seemed that wasn't entirely true.
It appeared he still had a chance.
"Alright, no matter how swamped I am, I'll make it back for dinner."
"Good."
Amelia saw Benjamin off from Sunrise Manor with a radiant smile, already planning the dishes her big brother loved most. Benjamin, however, didn't want to reveal his thoughts too clearly, so he simply accepted her gesture without further comment.
But Benjamin remained unaware of her true intentions.
"Elijah, thank you for picking me up so early. I hope I'm not holding you up from work?"
In the car, Emma Johnson spoke to Elijah Clark.
"Don't worry, it's fine if I'm a little late. The hospital has assigned me to be primarily responsible for Mayor Reed's case, so most of my other patients have been handed over to other doctors. That means I have more free time than the others."
Emma felt a wave of relief. But then, anxiety crept back in.
She couldn't go home with a large suitcase for her parents to see.
That meant she needed to find a rental, and fast.
Finding a satisfactory apartment in a single day was easier said than done.
"Vivi, what's on your mind? You look troubled."
"Well, I can't go home right now."
Emma let out a deep sigh.
"Why not? Where will you go if not home?"
"I'm going to rent a place on my own. So, please just drop me off at a real estate agency and leave me there."
Emma said to Elijah.
"Rent a place? That's not safe for a girl like you."
Elijah objected, his voice laced with concern.
"I can't let my parents find out I had a falling out with Liam. Besides, this is China. It's not like there are robbers and thieves on every corner. Plenty of single girls live alone. You don't need to worry."
Emma didn't see the problem.
"I wish I could stop worrying. But Vivi, think about it. Since I came back from Italy, I've known you've been in danger three times. That's a fact you can't deny."
Elijah unceremoniously poured cold water on her optimism, leaving Emma momentarily speechless.
She wanted to say that before she met Liam, her life had been stable and peaceful. Who would have thought that after getting involved with him, she'd be as unlucky as if she'd drawn the short straw?
But she couldn't say that to Elijah. Otherwise, she was afraid his opinion of Liam would only worsen.
Emma didn't understand why, even after moving out, she still felt the need to defend Liam in front of others. It left her feeling deeply conflicted.
Elijah knew Vivi's personality well. Once she truly made up her mind, it was hard to change it. Although he wanted to persuade her to stay at his place, he was afraid that as soon as he brought it up, she would put a chill between them the very next moment.
How sad. Sometimes, he wished he didn't know Vivi so well. He couldn't even pretend to be oblivious.
Nevertheless, he didn't leave Emma alone at the agency. Instead, he accompanied her inside.
Emma left her phone number with the agent, explained her requirements for the apartment she wanted to rent, and then left with Elijah. She decided to wait at his hospital for the time being.
If she couldn't find a suitable place by the afternoon, she could always crash with her friend Olivia Davis or Mia Lewis for a few days. As for sleeping on the street, she had only told Liam that to get a reaction.
After all, with Emma's personality, she would never actually end up on the streets.
"Go see Emilia. She's been worried about you these past few days. I heard she fainted when she found out you were in danger."
Elijah placed Emma's silver suitcase in his office and then spoke to her.
"Ah, she fainted because of me?"
Emma was surprised. Although she considered Emilia a friend, the fact that Emilia had fainted from worrying about her touched her deeply.
"I see. I'll go see her. I hope she hasn't gotten worse because of me. I'd feel terrible."
"Don't worry, she's out of danger now."
Elijah comforted Emma. Just then, Mayor Reed's secretary came to see Elijah, scheduling an appointment to discuss the mayor's condition. Emma left Elijah's office and headed to Emilia Clark's ward.
"Sister Emma, you're finally here! I've been so worried about you for days. It's so great to see you now."
When Emilia saw Emma, she was stunned for a moment. Then, a happy smile immediately spread across her face.
"Don't worry, I'm perfectly fine. It's you I'm concerned about. Don't let your condition worsen because of me. You still have half a month before your bone marrow transplant. You need to get your body into the best possible shape."
Emma pulled up a chair and sat down beside Emilia's bed.
"I've been so nervous. I don't know if the surgery will go well..."
"God always favors good people. Your heart is so kind. The surgery will be a success."
"Thank you, Sister Emma. Besides my family, you're the only one who's been this good to me."
"Aren't you good to me, too? We're even."
Emma said playfully, and they both laughed. After chatting for a while, Emilia mentioned she suddenly craved fruit. Emma got up and went to the fruit shop outside the hospital to buy some for her.
Soon, she returned to the ward with a large bag of fruit. Emilia handed Emma a glass of water.
"Sister Emma, why did you buy so much fruit? I can't possibly eat all of this by myself."
Seeing the variety of fruits Emma had bought, Emilia looked a bit overwhelmed. After finishing her water, Emma set the cup aside and smiled.
"If you can't finish it yourself, you can share it with others. It's a good way to build relationships, and someone might look out for you in return. Isn't that killing two birds with one stone?"
"As expected, Sister Emma knows best. I've never really worked in the real world, and I don't have many connections. I always feel like a naive little girl. After my surgery, I'm not going to just live off my family anymore. I need to find a job."