Tears rolled down Donny's sad red eyes, giving him the look of a puppy whose bone had been
snatched away.
Seeing him look this pitiful, Emily turned her eyes away. In a firm tone, she said, "Donny, I want to go
with him."
Donny gasped as he heard this. Pursing his lips tight, he wiped his face dry in a hurry and suddenly
turned around to run away.
This unhappy scene was playing out in front of Mrs. Yang. She tried giving Emily a fierce look, but soon
changed her expression as she met Jacob's cold eyes. Turning on her heel, she decided to go look for
her son.
All this while, Mr. Yang who was still lying on the ground and completely ignored.
Carrying the deer on his shoulder, Jacob was too embarrassed to hold Emily's hand again. He stole a
look at her instead and asked, "Are you coming with me?"
Emily smiled brightly and answered, "Yes, I am."
This was exactly what made him glow with happiness, her beautiful dazzling smile. He felt as if he were
standing in a garden of blooming buds and a whiff of fresh spring smell had just hit him.
No, he didn't really remember her. And yet, looking at her now, he thought, he liked her.
His heart had skipped a beat the moment he first laid his eyes on her.
Seeing her delicate beauty made him ache to be near her, and feel her.
As the two of them walked next to each other, the warm melting sun was dipping into the horizon. They
too stepped softly on the green grass.
Emily looked at him gently, reluctant to move her eyes away, and ventured to ask, "You had said earlier
that you had lost all memory. But what do your call yourself? What's your name now?"
"Bear." Jacob's ears were pricked hearing her angelic voice. He thought, "How sweet her voice
sounds." Then he asked, "What's your name?"
"My name is Emily Bai. I hope you will never forget it."
"I don't think that will happen. I will keep it safe locked in my mind." The name "Emily Bai" echoed in his
mind, and suddenly a feeling of familiarity welled up. It somehow felt that he himself had uttered the
name countless times before. Recovering from this unexpected realization, he said, "It is a really sweet
name."
To him, his own name sounded as vulgar as hers was elegant. They were far apart like heaven and
earth. He was no match for her at all.
"You had a very sweet name, too." Staring into his dark chocolate eyes, she smiled and said, "Does
Jacob Gu ring a bell? You were once called that. Can you remember?"
"Ja-cob Gu." Jacob repeated after her, and felt his head throbbing with a dull ache. He felt his nerves
swell up with pain so much that he thought it would explode. He scratched his forehead and uttered
breathlessly, "It hurts... So much."
His abrupt expression of agony startled Emily. Panicked, she asked, "What's wrong? Are you feeling
unwell?"
Jacob was holding his head in both hands. He looked at her, panting and said, "It seems… it seems
that some memory came back to me but I just couldn't catch it."
"Then let it go. Stop trying so hard! Think about nothing. Clear your mind and relax. You need to
breathe. You will always be you, no matter what or where you are."
Emily helped Jacob get up from the spot he had been crouching at and guided him to sit on a boulder
on the side of the road. Seeing him this pitiful moistened her eyes, but she gulped the knot of emotions
so as to not upset Jacob. She then rubbed his temples with both her fingertips, pressing key points to
ease his pain.
The throbbing was fading slowly as Emily did that. He felt waves of relief bringing him back to the shore
of tranquility. After what seemed like 15 minutes, Jacob felt himself again. Now he could feel the warm
touch of her soft hands pressing his forehead. He took a deep breath in of her mild perfume and felt his
heart beating in excitement.
For a moment, he wished this could last forever.
"Are you feeling better?" Emily asked with an anxious look.
Jacob cleared his throat to come back to reality, and replied, "Yes, it doesn't hurt any more. Thank
you."
Emily said in relief. "It's all right as long as you are fine."
"Are you really sure... " Jacob asked hesitantly, "that I'm the one you're looking for?"
Emily nodded her head affirmatively. "I'm sure. I've made a mistake, and I will never make that mistake
again."
Seeing the earnestness in her eyes, he pursed his lips and said, "Then I believe you."
After saying this, he rose up from the rock and extended his hand to hoist Emily up with one hand, as if
she were a little child. This jolted Emily.
Out of simple instinct, she put her arms around his neck but shook her head when she saw how he had
just gotten sick. Besides, there was the deer in his other hand. She struggled, trying to make him put
her down, and said, "Put me down, or you will get exhausted."
However, Jacob tightened his embrace around her and said, "Your feet were wounded."
Surprised, Emily hadn't expected Jacob to notice and care this deeply. Trailing his gaze, she looked
down at her injured knees and her scraped ankles. She felt a tinge of grief and sadness at the sight
and then, squeezed Jacob's hand. She said, "Really, I'm fine. Don't worry and get yourself exhausted."
"I'm not tired at all." Jacob shook his head and said.
What he didn't tell her was that he was actually enjoying the feeling of carrying her in his arms.
Emily stopped squirming and just let him hold her. Despite carrying her and the big, heavy deer
together, Jacob seemed to be striding forward with ease. She marvelled at his superhuman strength.
She could have never guessed.
A thought slipped in. 'Is this strength recent? Did he just get this strong in the past couple of months?
Heaven knows how much hardship he must have gone through to become what he is now.'
Emily obediently rested her head against his shoulder, her heart warm and bitter at the same time.
Jacob carried her back to the yard where he was now living. The humble house belonged to the
village's miracle-working doctor Mr. Barefoot. He bent down to place the deer on the ground.
Emily's eyes roved around taking in the weather-beaten house. It surely had seen its fair share of life.
The tiles on the roof looked they could crumble down any minute.
There wasn't a trace of disgust or loathing on her face. Looking at Jacob feeling at home here, she
nodded to herself.
This was no surprise to Emily. Although Jacob was born and raised in an affluent family, he could easily
adapt to any hardship.
In this respect, Jack could never compete with him.
"Old man, I brought back a girl. She was wounded." Though the way he addressed the old man was
casual, he showed enough respect to the man in the room. After all, it was the old man who cured him
of his injury, saved his life and took him in.
"What girl?" The man in the room sniffed and asked. "How come I heard people say that you snatched
the bride of another man?"
"It's kind of true," Jacob said after a moment's thought.
"Gah! If you are so proud of what you just did, why did you bring her here? You can cure her anywhere
you like but what made you think that you two would be welcome after what you just did?"
"Old man. I apologize. Please try to understand. It isn't at all the way you think."
"Bring her in"
The curt replies of Mr. Barefoot made Emily subconsciously look at Jacob. He was certainly a grumpy
odd man.
Jacob could feel her hesitation to approach the miracle doctor. He calmly took her hand and said to
soothe her, "Don't be afraid. He is not a bad man. Let him treat your wound."
"OK." She nodded and followed him inside.
-
As she entered the house, a shaft of light seemed to be falling on the doctor's face. Just like his
surroundings, he too was unkempt. Both his hair and beard looked matted as if they had been
neglected for a long time. His wrinkled face was dirty and clothes so torn and tattered that the
patchwork hardly seemed to hold up anything together but still covered his bony frame.
In a nutshell, he was just a skinny ungroomed old man.
His appearance was exactly the opposite of what Emily had imagined.
Though he was untidy and untrimmed, he had a pair of bright piercing eyes, with which he was now
looking at Emily. His stare had an element of scrutiny in it.
But soon he nodded seriously.
"Bear, you have made a fortune this time."
As a result, he forgave Jacob for telling all wounded villagers to come to him.
Hearing what he said, Jacob felt his ears burning, for somehow his heart jumped with joy when Mr.
Barefoot thought he and Emily looked good as a couple.
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