Before Brucille could start speaking, he heard a girl screaming, “What the hell do you want? You’ve been calling me so many times that my phone is running out of battery. I have no money, no money! Do you understand?”
Then, she hung up the phone.
Brucille’s eardrums were almost ruptured. He was full of excitement, wanting to know where Rainie was. Never did he expect that she thought he was a debt collector.
He proceeded to send her a text message, explaining his intention to talk to her about Loraine.
Not long after, Brucille received a reply from Rainie. She told him the location of a hotel where she was working.
Brucille turned on his phone’s navigation application and drove to the hotel.
The hotel was enormous. After parking his car, he went straight in. With Rainie’s current age, he guessed that she was either an attendant or a supervisor.
“Good evening and welcome, Sir. Do you have a reservation?”
“Oh, I’m not here to eat. I’m looking for someone. Is Rainie Yip working here?”
The receptionist looked confused. She thought the name was unfamiliar.
Shaking her head, she said, “I’m sorry, Sir. There doesn’t seem to be a staff named Rainie Yip in our hotel. Are you sure she’s working here?”
Brucille took out his mobile phone and checked the name of the hotel. He asked, “Does this hotel have other branches?”
“No, Sir. This is the only branch in Ocean Province.”
“But she told me she is working here. Can you please help me ask around? I have to see her because of something urgent.”
The receptionist then stepped away. After a few minutes, she came back to Brucille.
She replied softly with a smile, “Sir, the person you’re looking for is the dishwasher of the kitchen. You may look for her in the kitchen.”
After getting confirmation, Brucille was very excited. He strode toward the back of the kitchen.
In the back of the kitchen, there were many kitchen staff walking around. Brucille poked his head into the kitchen and spotted a girl with long hair next to the sink. She was the youngest of them all.
Just as he was about to speak, a plate flew over and smashed onto the wall opposite the girl, shattering into pieces.
Even though Brucille was a few meters away, his heart skipped a beat. One could only imagine how frightened the girl was, given her close proximity to the wall.
The next moment, the rough voice of a man bombarded the kitchen like a machine gun.
“Rainie Yip, are you f*cking blind? You couldn’t even clean a plate properly! Do you know that a customer complained to the general manager just because of this dirty plate? His meal cost 1800 yuan, and it will be deducted from your salary.”
Rainie Yip?
Upon hearing the name, Brucille was certain that this long-haired girl was the girl he was looking for.
When Rainie turned around, Brucille saw tears on her face. Also, the shards of glass had cut her forehead, leaving a bleeding wound.
“Chef, I didn’t do it on purpose. I don’t even earn 1800 yuan a month. How am I supposed to survive?”
“D*mn it! You still have the nerve to talk about surviving? Since you have the looks, maybe you should consider being a hooker.”
Everyone in the kitchen was hustling. The sound of the gas stoves was like engine roaring. The voice of the head chef, Patrick, was way louder than an ordinary loudspeaker.
Rainie kept her head low and begged for mercy. Her voice was so soft that Brucille couldn’t hear it at all. Then, he walked over.
“Get back to work now! Are you waiting for me to f*ck you? I’ll come back and deal with you later.”
As Patrick spoke, he extended his arm and pushed Rainie hard in her chest. As the ground was wet and slippery, Rainie fell on her back. All sorts of giblets and fish scales laid on the ground next to her. It was an embarrassing scene.
Brucille clenched his fist and took a deep breath. After Patrick turned and walked away, he went to help Rainie up.
Rainie didn’t look up. She pushed him away, saying, “I don’t need your help. Get out of my way!”
Brucille inhaled deeply. He felt as if his lungs were stuffed with half a ton of explosives. He turned to the receptionist and asked, “Is there any more private room? I want the biggest one.”
“Yes, Sir. Table for?”
“Is that important?” Brucille questioned.
Wearing an awkward expression, the receptionist immediately explained, “Not at all, Sir. I was just asking. This way, please…”
She led him to the largest private room. He could tell that the room could fit at least thirty people. Soon, a waiter with a slender figure entered the room.
“Good evening, Sir. Do you have any more guests with you? Also, what food would you like to try? I can give you some recommendations.”
“No, I’m alone. I’m a picky eater, though. Serve me thirty most expensive dishes here.”
The waitress was astounded. “Sir, you mean cheese-baked Australian lobster, caramel-baked Australian abalone, pan-seared foie gras… Are you sure you want every one of them?”
“Yes, I want the thirty most expensive dishes here. Be quick. Also, I would like to see one of your kitchen staff, Rainie Yip. Please bring her here.”
The waitress was utterly shocked by Brucille’s wealth. He alone had ordered dishes worth tens of thousands of yuan. She was going to earn a lot of commission that night.
A few minutes later, Raine arrived at the room.
Standing in the private room with a fishy smell, she looked extremely out of place.
She also realized Brucille was the man who tried to help her up in the kitchen.
“Have a seat. And have a meal with me,” Brucille said.
“I don’t even know you,” she replied guardedly.
“You are Rainie Yip, right? Loraine Keh is my mother. I just want to hear from you how my mother lived for all these years.”
Rainie sized Brucille up. She could not believe a mentally ill woman like Loraine would have such a clear-headed son. Most importantly, why had he never appeared during the many years that Loraine was unwell?
Tugging at the hem of her clothes, she asked with tears welling up in her eyes, “You are Madam Keh’s son? Are you really Madam Keh’s son?”
“Yes, that’s right. My name is Brucille Yip.”
Suddenly, Rainie charged toward Brucille. She lifted her hands and punched his chest repeatedly with all her might.
“Madam Keh had been living in the old folks home for over four years. All the time, she kept repeating the name ‘Brucille’. The dean mentioned that even when she was on the verge of death, she was still uttering this name. You don’t deserve to be her son at all!”
Brucille was caught off guard by the sudden blow. He couldn’t seem to refute Rainie’s accusations.
Seeing that Rainie had finally calmed down, he explained, “Things were not what you thought they were. I had been looking for my mother for decades. It was only yesterday that I received news about her. Only after I came here did I know that she had passed away half a year ago.”