Her words apparently angered Leonardo. The candlelight was not bright enough, but at a close distance, Summer could still see his changed expression.
They both looked at each other for a while in that atmosphere.
Leonardo was the first to step back.”Because of Rosie.”
She could not help but laugh.”Rosie’s still young. You can find her a gentle, kind, and beautiful stepmother. Since you don’t like me, just leave me here, so I that I won’t fight with you for Rosie’s custody.”
Leonardo did not immediately respond, and the room slipped into silence.
She was worried now because she was a little too quick in her response earlier.
Leonardo suddenly blew out the candle. In the dark, she could not make out his face, but she could still sense his anger.
The next second, his voice rang out in the dark.”I’ll give you another chance to rephrase, Summer!”
She clenched her fists and pursed her lips.”I’m… hungry.”
She did not answer his question directly but said”uncle”in disguise.
Without another word, Leonardo turned and walked out of the room.
She quickly followed.
As if Leonardo had night vision, he was wing-footed despite the lack of illumination. Meanwhile, she could only grope around to find her way behind him.
She lost her footing at one point and nearly fell down the stairs.
However, as a scream unwittingly escaped her mouth, she felt an arm wrap around her waist.
Summer quickly grabbed Leonardo’s hand and refused to let go no matter what.
He did not shake her off as he brought her downstairs either.
There was an old table with a lit candle and a few dishes downstairs. The cat was squatting under the table while the elderly man was feeding it a chunk of meat. He looked on with a gentle smile on his face as the cat enjoyed the food.
Seeing that Leonardo had brought Summer down, his smile grew even gentler.”Come over and eat something.”
As they sat down, the elderly man looked at her with concern.”Is your fever gone?”
Summer returned a smile.”I feel better now. Thank you for your hospitality.”
“Well, then…”Still smiling, the elderly man served Summer a chunk of meat.”… try this.”
There were three dishes, one of which was a vegetable dish. The other was potato stir-fried with meat slices, and the last one looked like pickles.
It was a simple home-cooked meal.
Summer took a mouthful of the food with her head low, discovering that the meat was smoked.
“Are you used to this, girl? In a village like this, we have nothing else but veggies and smoked meat. Hope you don’t mind,”the elderly man said with a kindly voice.
“They’re really good.”Summer nodded.
The elderly man had shown the utmost kindness by sheltering them. He even invited them for dinner. They could not have thanked him more, much less get picky.
Summer had no problem adapting. She turned to look at Leonardo, who was eating quietly, just like when they had dinner at home on normal days.
It surprised her that the young master, being a picky person, could adapt so quickly.
The elderly man enjoyed talking over dinner.
Summer chatted with him, and from the conversation, she learned something about him.
His spouse had died over ten years ago, while his children had moved to the city, leaving him alone on the mountain.
After dinner, Summer offered to do the dishes, but the elderly man refused to let her do it no matter what.
She had no choice but to give Leonardo a push.”You go do the dishes.”
She thought Leonardo would ignore her because of their quarrel earlier, but she was wrong. He entered the kitchen and did as he was told.
When the elderly man saw this, he did not stop him.
After Leonardo disappeared into the kitchen, the elderly man looked at Summer with a smile.”You two are a loving couple, just like my spouse and I were back then.”
Summer was startled for a moment.”Really?”
She had no idea how the elderly man knew about their relationship.
The elderly man just smiled at her and said nothing more. He then turned to entertain his cat again.
Summer got up and went into the kitchen, which was crude and simple considering that it was in the countryside. Due to the use of firewood for cooking, the floor, the overhead beams, and practically every surface was covered in soot.
Summer could not help but feel surprised. She never thought Leonardo could stand there and do the dishes, as though the dirty surroundings did not bother him at all. She even started to suspect Leonardo had changed into a whole new person.
After all, he grew up in a wealthy family. She remembered that one time she invited him to dine in a”not-so-expensive”restaurant, his expression made it seem like she was a child abuser.
She went up next to him and said,”Let me do it.”
“You better stay away.”His hands never stopped while he spoke.
He patiently dried every bowl with a towel without a hint of reluctance or disdain in his eyes. He looked no different washing the dishes from doing his work in the office.
Summer stood beside him and watched as he washed the dishes, dried them, and put them back in their original position.
After he cleaned the last bowl, he stood in front of Summer and held his hand against her forehead, then against his again.
He frowned;it seemed that she still had a fever.
Placing your hand on someone’s forehead to tell the temperature was, in fact, an intimate gesture.
That moment gave Summer the illusion that the previous Leonardo was back.
He brought half a pot of cold water and placed it on one side.”Carry it upstairs later. You need to apply a cold towel on your forehead again tonight.”
He made it sound like he was not concerned about her, but Summer could not have asked for more.
“Mhm.”She nodded.
…
After a quick clean up, Summer carried the pot of water upstairs. She dipped the same towel in the water before she lay down on the bed and placed the towel on her forehead.
She closed her eyes and let her mind drift.
There was an extra room in the elderly man’s house. Leonardo could only share a room with either her or the elderly man.
Her gut feeling told her that Leonardo would more than likely come to her room.
As her mind drifted off, so did her consciousness.
Summer did not know how long she had been sleeping. She was in a trance-like state when she vaguely felt someone take the towel from her forehead. She opened her eyes and saw Leonardo there, sitting on the edge of the bed. He turned to wet the towel again. He then squeezed off the excess water and reapplied it on her forehead.
That was when she noticed how bright the light in the room was. She followed the light and saw that Leonardo was using the flashlight on his phone.
There was no cell signal to make a phone call, but he could use the flashlight for illumination.
She tilted her head and messed up the damp towel, so Leonardo quietly chided her,”Stop moving your head.”
She quickly lay still in order for him to place the towel nicely.
He reached for his mobile phone once he was done with the towel.
“What time is it now? Where did you go?”Summer asked.