Chapter 138
Melanie walked out numbly among the crowd of people exiting the hospital. After that, she stood next to the road for a long time.
It was when Dylan called her to ask where she was that Melanie snapped out of it and hailed a taxi.
The taxi driver was a chatty local. When he saw Melanie walking out looking so pale from the hospital, he could not help advising her, “Miss, there’s nothing that can’t be solved. Isn’t this life?
“The rainbow will always emerge after the storm. You’ll need to go through some hardships before you find happiness. Once you get through whatever you’re facing, things will get better.”
Melanie listened but said nothing. The driver stopped talking after saying a few more words.
Dylan’s house was not far from the hospital. It was in a dilapidated, old area. The environment was quite bad. There was a ficus tree right outside the door with lots of old and damaged items piled up underneath.
There were not many buildings in this community, and Melanie immediately spotted Dylan standing outside one of the buildings with Peachie.
Dylan called out to Melanie the moment she saw her, “Mel, over here!”
She was loud, and there were many neighbors around. They immediately looked toward Melanie with
curiosity.
“Is someone visiting you, Dylan?”
Dylan waved off the neighbor. “It’s none of your business, you bunch of gossip mongers.‘
She pulled Melanie into a room in the long corridor. “It’s been a while since I finished preparing the food. I went downstairs to wait for you when you hadn’t shown up.”
Melanie stopped in front of a metal gate that was badly scratched. There were still remnants of chalk
on it that had not been wiped off.
Dylan saw where Melanie was looking, and a strange look appeared on Dylan’s face. She took out her keys to open the door and pushed Melanie inside.
There was nothing much inside the house. The furniture was old and broken, and there were two ancient–looking long benches placed inside.
Dylan explained in embarrassment, “Most of our money was used for Peachie’s treatment. We’re just getting by.”
“Sit. I’ll heat up the food.” Dylan hurried Melanie to a plastic table. Even the stools were made of plastic. The corner of the table was stacked with folded newspapers.
Melanie looked at Peachie, who was quietly following behind them. She waved Peachie over after some thought. “Are you feeling tired?”
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Peachie had nice features. Even though Dylan was now quite coarse–looking, Melanie still
remembered how beautiful and gentle she was when Melanie was younger. Dylan looked like a pretty flower back then.
The little girl had inherited Dylan’s good looks.
However, Peachie was constantly sick, and her face was very pale. She did not have the lively look of a child.
Peachie looked at Melanie for a while before slowly coming close to her. She shook her head timidly. “ I’m not tired. I’m upstairs all the time.”
“Do you go to school?”
Peachie replied in a baby–ish tone, “Mom thinks I’m not healthy enough to go to school.”
Melanie frowned. Peachie was already six this year. She was old enough for elementary school the next year.
Yet, Dylan refused to let her go to school?
“Melanie,” Peachie suddenly called out to Melanie in a small voice while Melanie was contemplating this issue.
She lowered her head to look at Peachie as Peachie came two steps closer to her. Peachie asked with trepidation, “Mom told me you’re the one who pays for my medical bills. Is that true?”
Melanie looked at her. “Why would you ask that?”
“I’ll return the money to you one day,” Peachie said as her eyes suddenly turned red. She began sobbing. “Please don’t hit me in the future and don’t smash the table, alright?”
Melanie immediately reached for the tissue when she saw how Peachie’s eyes reddened. Before she could process what Peachie meant, Dylan walked out of the kitchen.
“I spent the entire day cooking this chicken noodle soup for you. Remember to have more, Mel… What’s wrong, Peachie?” Before Dylan could put the soup down, she noticed Peachie’s red eyes. She immediately put the bowl on the table and went to check on Peachie.
She slammed the bowl down a little too hard, and some of the soup splashed onto Melanie’s clothes.
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