Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Nyoi-Bo Studio

  With her arm still in the grasp on the old lady, Yu Lili nodded her head. At that moment, her tear-stained eyes looked desolate.

  She was about to lift her hand to press the tears back into her eyes when Old Mrs. Shen pulled it back down and said, “Don’t rub your eyes if they feel uncomfortable. The more you rub, the worse the discomfort will be. Wear a pair of shades instead if the wind is too strong.”


  As she said that, she slowly reached her hand out toward Shen Zhilie and commanded, “Zhilie, glasses.”


  Shen Zhilie immediately retrieved a pair of shades from his backpack. With his body bowed forward, he respectfully said, “Your Imperial Majesty, here are the shades.”


  It was an extremely comical sight. Old Mrs. Shen burst out in laughter and took the shades from him. When she turned to Yu Lili, her expression wasn’t the same.

  “Here. This is for you.” Old Mrs. Shen put the glasses on Yu Lili’s face. “Wear them. It’ll protect your eyes from the wind.”


  Yu Lili’s heart warmed at the gesture. She knew without looking at a mirror that her eyes were red and swollen with tears. She accepted the shades without any consideration and said a word of thanks. She then led Old Mrs. Shen and Shen Zhilie to the shopping mall ahead.

  When they reached the Thai restaurant, a waitress in traditional Thai garb came out to greet them with the fingers and palms of both hands pressed against each other. “Sawadee ka!”


  Old Mrs. Shen mimicked her actions and returned the greeting with a bow. “Sawadee ka!”


  Even the waitress couldn’t help laughing. She led the trio into one of the private dining rooms inside the restaurant.

  After ordering, Old Mrs. Shen seemed quite excited. “Lili, this is my first time in a Thai restaurant in Kingstown. I heard that Kingstown is very near to Thailand. Why don’t we go to Thailand together?”


  When Shen Zhilie heard that, he had no choice but to be a wet blanket. He cleared his throat gently and said, “Grandma, we didn’t bring our passports.”


  “Get your older brother to send them over,” his grandmother said.

  “The postal express is not in service,” he said.

  When the old lady heard that, she became upset. She turned her head and glared at Shen Zhilie. “Go back and get them. I’ll wait for you here in Kingstown.”


  “That’s not a good idea,” Shen Zhilie said. “I’ll fall apart from running around so much!”


  “I don’t care. In any case, I’m going to Thailand with Lili. Go get my passport quickly,” Old Mrs. Shen said with her arms akimbo, like an unreasonable kid throwing a tantrum. “It’s just too bad that you’re my grandchild!”


  That last statement rendered Shen Zhilie speechless. Was he getting scolded? Huh? On second thought, that statement wasn’t exactly wrong either.

  Shen Zhilie frowned. When he turned his head, he saw that the smile on Yu Lili’s face had widened by a lot. Feeling a lot better inside, he continued with his frown and said, “You can’t torture me this way, even if I’m your grandchild. Am I even your biological offspring?”


  “Well, I didn’t give birth to you,” Old Mrs. Shen said without any qualms. She turned to Yu Lili and asked, “Lili, will you go? If you agree to it, I’ll have Zhilie return to the Capital. It’s only a three-hour journey there. That makes it six hours to go there and back. Even if he were to take three hours to travel to the airport, that would only make it nine hours altogether. It’s 4 p.m. now. He should be able to be back before midnight.”


  Shen Zhilie was exasperated and yelled, “Grandma, my dear Grandma! Are you trying to kill your grandchild?”


  “Why? You don’t want to go?” Old Mrs. Shen asked.

  “I……” Shen Zhilie wasn’t sure what to say.

  Of course he didn’t want to go. Such an arduous task was not easily accomplished by just anyone. But, looking at the old lady’s menacing expression, he became terrified again.

  With a light cough, he said, “I have to stay to take care of you. You’re getting on in age……”