Meanwhile, Ye Jie was being indulged by two ladies; Dr. Alice and Zhu Qinyang, He Jian’s mother. In the garden, they not only served hi Roman Chamomile tea but also served a whole range of dim-sums in the small baskets.

  Ye Jie was like those people who had no heart to refuse an elder person so, he reluctantly kept eating. "Ye Jie, why are you so skinny?" He Jian’s mother asked.

  ’I am not that skinny.’ He wanted to say. After all, he took care of his body very well. But how could he speak that in front those gentle filled eyes?

  "Yes, young man, you should a lot more." Even Dr. Alice agreed with her sister-in-law. After a while she added, "I didn’t expect to see you here."

  Ye Jie tried to smile and nodded while taking a sip of his tea. "I didn’t as well, Dr. Alice."

  "Oh, you can just call me Auntie Su if you like. Nobody calls me Alice here. Also, you’re calling my sis-in-law as Auntie." Dr. Alice said.

  Ye Jie pursed his lips and looked at her tender eager eyes making him feel relaxed. "I’ll call you Auntie Su then." He said making her smile with happiness.

  "Did your wife opened up to you?" She asked all of sudden. Ye Jie remembered asking her for advice about Xu Mey during the plane ride. But he didn’t expect her to bring it up at this time.

  Her statement caught Zhu Qinyang’s attention. "You want Xiao Mey to open up?" She asked turning to Ye Jie. He didn’t know how to answer at all.

  "I just wanted to help her and for that, I needed her to share her past with me." He answered looking at the flower petals floating in the ceramic cup in his hand.

  He Jian’s mother sighed. "Once I wanted to help her as well. But then I realized that she didn’t need it anymore. To hold on to her sanity, she embraced her own madness." Ye Jie lifted his eyes to look at her sad smile. She was looking into a distance. "William Shakespeare once said, ’Hell is empty. All the devils are here.’ She’s been a strong believer of that quote. She told me that if she has to live in the world filled with devils then it’s better to turn into a devil herself."

  "We can’t change the world but we can change ourselves. After all, change starts with one’s own self." Dr. Alice added her opinion as she listened to Zhu Qinyang talking about Xu Mey.

  "You don’t understand Susu. I said that to her as well. She replied, ’A demon was also born an angel but eventually he turned into a demon. So, If we shouldn’t forget that a demon was once an angel. We also shouldn’t forget that an angel will eventually be a demon as well. Because light might be able to crack through the shadows of light but darkness also has a habit of devouring the light.’ Her mind doesn’t think like you and me, you won’t be able to win in an argument with that girl. She has too much to make you believe that her beliefs are right and yours are wrong."

  Ye Jie listened very intently and agreed that what Zhu Qinyang said was right. Xu Mey had too many ways to win an argument. But that demon and angel part she said reminded Ye Jie of a certain someone; Ru. Ye Jie shook his head thinking that they must only have the same thoughts. Otherwise, how was it possible for Xu Mey to know someone like Ru who never liked making friends.

  Alice was about to argue when Ye Jie spoke up, "Auntie Qin is right. Xu Mey does have her ways. She once even said to me that, ’People change for two reasons; they have learned a lot or they have been hurt too many times.[1]’ In her case, she said the number of times she was hurt made her learn a lesson each time. And that’s what changed her into who she is today."

  Alice had nothing to refute anymore. Suddenly, she felt like that the girl she just saw inside- smiling - actually was just an illusion. She tried to lighten up the mood. "So, Ye Jie, how many siblings do you have?"

  "I have a younger brother." Ye Jie had an indulging smile talking about Ye Jun.

  "You must love him a lot?" She asked.

  "Yeah…… He’s the youngest so, I like to indulge him a little too much." Ye Jie replied sweetly.

  "Ye Jie, when is your birthday?" Zhu Qinyang asked the question. Why she asked was out of her own understanding.

  "It’s October 10." He replied. Both Alice and Zhu Qinyang looked at each other and turned to him with wide eyes.

  "What about the year?" Alice asked with anticipation. What that anticipation was? Even she didn’t know.

  "Oh, it’s 19-" His words were cut short when he heard Xu Mey’s voice.

  "Ouch!" He instantly ran towards her.

  "What happened, baby?" He asked anxiously.

  "I ate too much." She scrunched up her face in pain. Ye Jie rubbed his forehead and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

  "Seriously?" She smiled sheepishly at him or tried to before clutching her stomach again.

  "Xiao Mey, do you have indigestion? Let me get the needle." When Xu Mey heard Zhu Qinyang talk about the needle, she instantly straightened up.

  "I’m absolutely fine." She said through clenched teeth trying to bear with her pain.

  "Aiyo! Look at this girl. She’s not scared of getting hurt but when it comes to a needle prick, she gets freaked out for some reason." Ye Jie smiled pleasantly when he got to know this piece of information.

  "Ah Jie! Are you laughing at me?" Xu Mey’s lips turned downwards.

  He stroked her hair lovingly and said, "Of course not baby. How can I dare to do that? Come, I’ll accompany you. The needle won’t hurt a bit."

  "And if it did?" She asked.

  "Then…… Erm…… You can prick me with the needle as well. Okay?" Xu Mey thought for a second and nodded enthusiastically.

  Ye Jie brought her to the seat and Zhu Qinyang brought the needle set. "Auntie Qin-Qin make sure that you don’t hurt me and don’t make me have blood loss." Zhu Qinyang rolled her eyes at this girl who was being dramatic.

  When she held Xu Mey’s arm, Xu Mey shut her eyes tightly. "Baby, are you scared?" Ye Jie asked amusedly.

  "Of course not. I’m not scared of anything." She replied with her eyes closed.

  "Right…… My baby is not scared of anything except for being alone and needle pricks." Ye Jie chuckled and Xu Mey opened her eyes to glare at him. "Look it’s done." Ye Jie said looking into her glaring eyes.

  "Huh?" Xu Mey looked down and saw that it was actually done. "Ah! It didn’t hurt."

  "I told you it won’t hurt." Ye Jie said beside her ear and she turned to hug his neck taking him by surprise. He pleasantly welcomed her in his embrace and caressed her hair.

  [1] It’s a dialogue from the Tokyo Ghoul (Anime).