After that night, Emily and Jacob seemed to sink into a strange state. Neither of them mentioned what
had happened, and acted as if nothing had occurred between them.
Though they were no longer engaged in a cold war of separation, and they lived together as usual,
their hearts seemed to have been split. A vast ocean spanned between them, and like ships at sea,
they drifted apart.
Even Mr. Barefoot, who usually devoted himself to his studies of herbal-medicine and paid little
attention to anything else, realized that something was wrong with them and couldn't help but have a
chat with Jacob.
"You are a man, but sometimes you should give in when you have a row with your woman, or you will
regret your insistence later. Emily's a good girl. You won't find another woman like her ever, if you lose
her," he said concernedly.
A bitter smile formed on Jacob's lips as he replied helplessly, "You don't understand what happened
between us."
Mr. Barefoot puffed on his pipe and shook his head, "Okay, I don't have a wife and children. Of course I
don't understand the minds of young people like you," he said.
In truth, both Mr. Barefoot and Jacob didn't understand why Emily became so angered. 'If only I could
still remembered the past. I would have found an easy way out of this problem. Maybe the man Emily
loves is the past Jacob, who can easily read her mind and coax her into happiness, but now I'm Bear.
I'm a rural man, and know nothing about her, ' Jacob thought to himself.
He suddenly asked, "Old man, can you give me a hand?"
"What?" Mr. Barefoot was confused.
"I want to regain my memory. Do you have any suggestions?" he asked eagerly.
"No." Mr. Barefoot replied frankly, as he didn't want to sell Jacob false hope, "It's up to you. No one can
help you but yourself. Take your time and try to get your memories back. Even if you don't remember
anything, it doesn't have to affect your life."
"I can't wait anymore. I need to remember who I was, now!" He insisted firmly. His eyes burned with a
strength of conviction, and his desires to regain all his memories about Emily. There was a hole in his
heart, and he needed to fill it to the brim.
Only in this way, could he once again become a whole person, the real Jacob.
"It depends on your own efforts, but remember, don't do anything silly." Mr. Barefoot gave him some
last advice.
Jacob didn't take this advice to heart though. He began to consider why he had lost his memory, and
guessed that it was due to a bad accident or a blow to the head. Perhaps in hitting his head on
something hard, some blood clots formed in his brain, which were preventing him from regaining his
memories? Briefly he considered that if he bumped his head again, it might release his memories.
He knew that this method was ridiculous and foolish.
But in his mind he kept reliving the moment with Magee, and saw again and again his disdainful eyes,
and heard his contemptuous words. He couldn't forget Emily's disappointed look. It was the final straw
which broke down his self-esteem.
So, despite his misgivings, he decided to quietly have a try at this radical method. But he also chose to
do so outside, where no one could witness his foolishness.
Gritting his teeth, he banged his head on a stone over and over, but gained nothing except a few
bruises and scrapes on the head. He knew pain, but remembered nothing from his past.
Afraid that Emily would see his wounds and become upset, he tried to hide from her, but she found him
and upon seeing his bruises dragged him to her bedroom.
"Did you fight with someone again? Why did you hide it from me?" Emily scolded him while expressing
her anger and heartache. She looked at his wounded forehead with worried eyes.
Embarrassed by his stupidity, Jacob could not meet her eyes, and lowered his head in remorse.
Feeling flustered, Emily could not help but notice his guilty act, and gave him a fierce upbraiding look,
"What on earth are you hiding from me? If you keep doing this, I will leave you at once!" she warned in
rage.
Despite the vehement words, she was not true to her real emotions and wishes. She had gone through
untold hardships to find her lover again. Now that she had found Jacob again, how could she leave
him?
But Jacob took her words seriously and became panic-stricken. Instantly, he decided to tell Emily
everything. "I... I just want to regain my memory as soon as possible. You prefer the past Jacob, don't
you?" he muttered.
Emily immediately guessed what he had done and asked in surprise, "You hurt your own head, on
purpose?"
Jacob nodded silently.
"You big fool! There's honestly only enough space on this world for one fool like you!" She shouted out
in exasperation and could no longer control her emotions. She weakly beat Jacob's broad chest with
her fist. She was filled with indignation and heartache at his idiocy, "Hurting yourself wouldn't help you
restore your memories. What if you hurt your brain again? Do you want to drive me crazy? Who the hell
told you to try this method?"
Her first thought was that Magee had put Jacob up to this lunacy. Magee was an evil man who had
played several tricks on Jacob since arriving at the village. Perhaps this was his latest trick to bully the
amnesiac Jacob.
Embarrassed, Jacob shook his head, feeling ashamed, "No one told me to try it. I made up this idea
and tried it..."
"You are such a fool!" Enraged, she couldn't resist hitting Jacob as hard as she could and glared at him
irately, "Jacob, I love you! Don't you understand? I have always loved you, then and now. In my eyes,
you're my lover and husband. That will never change, and you don't need to care about other people's
gossip."
Concerned that she might continue being angered, and fall ill, Jacob soothed her softly, "Please, don't
be angry..."
His tender concern, touched the very fiber of her rage and she exploded, "It's all because of you! You
make me angry every day!"
Seeing that her rage finally seemed spent, Jacob tentatively reached out to hug her. She didn't show
any sign of rejecting him, so he drew her into his arms and pulled her closer to him.
Her nearness filled the hole in his heart with delight. "I'm not sure. I'm really not sure..." he whispered.
He was not sure whether Emily really loved him for who he was now, or if she stayed with him just
because he was what remained of "Jacob". He was not even sure if he deserved Emily's love or not.
He had never felt so insecure before, and he couldn't help making blind and disorderly conjectures.
Emily was such a goddess that any man who knew her, instantly wanted her.
"Jacob, listen to me very carefully." She looked up into his dark uncertain eyes and spoke strongly, "No
matter whether you remember our past or not, no matter if you are rich or poor, I love you, only you. I
want to be with you for the rest of my life.
Do you know how much I have suffered to find you? A lot! But I don't care about what I suffered. I
would willingly suffer again, for you. But like a big fool, you don't believe me."
"No, it's not that I don't believe you..." Jacob refuted in a low voice.
His insecurity made him desperate to get her approval by restoring his memory.
The remaining anger in Emily's heart disappeared. Life was too short to be angry and unhappy at
something so pointless. She had gone through thick and thin to find Jacob again. Now they were given
a second chance together, and she would cherish every minute and every second with him.
"If you really want to regain your memory, I will help you. Take your time. Even if you can't regain them
today, we still have lots of time to achieve our goal... Just take it easy. I won't leave you. I will stay with
you for the rest of our lives."
"Emily..." Jacob whispered breathlessly as her remarks warmed his heart, soothing the scars there.
The ice between them was finally broken, and slowly melted in the heat of their love. The restlessness
of his mind began to fade, and he felt a hint of contentment in the sunshine of her devotion.
Emily pointed her finger and poked him in the chest, snorting proudly, "You're my man. So from now on,
you must comply with my requests. And I forbid you to ever hurt yourself with such foolish ideas again.
Do you understand?"
"Yes, I got it," he answered, touched by her concern.
At this moment, he had a strong impulse that he wanted to kiss this beautiful woman in his arms.
Happily, that was what he did in a second.
His lips joined hers in a full kiss. She put her arms around his neck and responded enthusiastically to
his affection. "Even if you lose your memory forever, I won't stop loving you until I die," she murmured
throatily.
Surprised by the depth of her love, his heart beat a rapid staccato and his body flamed in ecstasy. He
felt her commitment as she held him and returned his kisses. His worries at losing her suddenly
became ridiculous and was finally discarded. All that mattered now, was the joy which he felt in her
closeness. Greatly cheered he smiled, "I love you, Emily. I love you so much..." He expressed his love
by kissing her again and again, as if he would never be tired of it. "Emily, you're mine," he declared
firmly.
He could only thank God for bringing her to him.
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