With affection glinting in her eyes, Laura caressed Beryl’s hair and sighed, “I will never let that happen. Beryl will always be with us.”
Noticing that the atmosphere suddenly became a little heavy for no reason, I quickly diverted the subject and took out the gift for Beryl to open, “It’s a gift from Mommy.”
Beryl’s eyes brightened up as she peered inside the gift box and found a miniature wooden whistle. She touched the whistle lovingly. It seemed that she liked it very much.
It made me delighted to see my daughter beaming with joy.
Actually, when Beryl was younger, I had fashioned a miniature version of the whistle that Rufus had given me to use as a messenger between Beryl and Ian. However, I didn’t see her bring it with her. Perhaps the whistle was left in the pack, or it was lost on the way when Beryl came here. So I rushed to make a simpler version of it, which frankly was a little rough. Fortunately, Beryl liked it and said that she would hang it around her neck with red thread.
Although she had lost her memory, there were some things just hadn’t changed. In the past, Beryl would often hang the wooden whistle on a red thread around her neck.
Suddenly, Rufus asked Beryl to show him the wooden whistle.
Beryl always listened to Rufus’ words and basically would do whatever he asked her to do. So Beryl handed him the wooden whistle without a second thought.
Rufus took over the whistle and studied it intently.
Crystal’s POV
My heart sank. I made this wooden whistle by copying the one Rufus had made for me in the past. Rufus now scrutinized the whistle carefully. Did it shake loose some memory of his?
Laura and I glanced at each other at the same time and guessed each other’s thoughts. She was also afraid that Rufus would remember something.
After studying the whistle for a long time, Rufus turned to me and asked, “Did you make this yourself?”
“Of course,” I replied firmly.
I was a little flustered and didn’t know what was running through his mind.
My own mind was thoroughly muddled up. But whatever.
Even if Rufus felt that the wooden whistle looked familiar, he wouldn’t remember anything if I continued to insist that I made it myself.
Unless he had made another whistle for himself back then too. However, it was a slim possibility. Rufus’ original intention for carving this whistle was to make it convenient for me to communicate with Rin.
He didn’t really share a good relationship with her, so he had no use for a wooden whistle himself.
As this thought crossed my mind, relief coursed through my veins and I could face Rufus’ questions more confidently.
He shot me a pointed look and commented with a faint smile, “I didn’t expect you to have the same habit as me.”
I was puzzled. I didn’t understand the meaning behind his words. But judging from the expression on his face, it didn’t look like he had remembered anything from the past. From the corner of my eye, I spotted Laura winking at me anxiously. This left me even more perplexed.
Rufus handed the whistle to me. He pointed to a small cross on its inner side and said, “When I was a child, I attended a woodwork classfor a while. I liked to leave a subtle mark on all my creations. The position and shape of my chosen mark are exactly the same as the one you have made.”
I was stunned. Judging from Laura’s helpless expression, I knew Rufus had spoken the truth. “So is this just a coincidence?” Rufus gazed at me with sharp eyes.
Cold sweat instantly trickled down my spine, and my stomach plunged to the ground. I had just copied his work and had assumed this tiny mark was also a necessary part of the whistle, so I kept it. How would I know it was actually Rufus’ signature? How could I possibly explain this to him without telling him the truth?
“Why don’t you answer me?” Rufus didn’t let this matter go.
Faced with his pointed questions, my brain seemed to come to a grinding halt and I couldn’t cook up any sensible reason. I couldn’t claim that this was just a coincidence. No one would believe that. My copy was so accurate that even the position and shape of his signature were perfectly identical. There was no such coincidence in the world.
Fortunately, my mask obscured my face and Rufus couldn’t see my panicked expression.
As soon as I opened my mouth to reply, Laura interjected, “I showed her your creations from your childhood.”
Rufus didn’t comment. Instead, he raised his eyebrows and said, “This is the first time I’ve heard that you’ve saved the things I’d made as a child. I would love to see them one day.”
“I only have photos. I have even saved the pictures of you dressed in a girl’s clothes when you were two years old. Would you like to see them too?” Laura immediately shot back, directly dissipating Rufus’, aggressive tone.
“No need for that. I’m just curious that you have such a close relationship with Crystal that you’re even sharing my childhood photos with her already.” Rufus scoffed and sat on one side of the sofa, looking dignified and lofty.
I interrupted their conversation, “Okay, stop it.” I turned my attention to Rufus and said, “The thing is, Arron has recently become interested in woodwork.
When Laura heard this, she mentioned that you were quite skilled at it as a child and then showed me your creations. While looking through the photos, I noticed that the small mark you left was very unique, so I copied it. I didn’t know it was your signature.”
“I see,” Rufus replied softly. He didn’t pursue this matter anymore. I wasn’t sure if he believed my explanation or not. I had always found him to be unreadable, and felt that he had already seen thorough everything but just enjoyed toying me like a clueless mouse in a maze.
Otherwise, why did he bring me back only after I had reached the airport? And every time he asked me something, he always stopped at the right moment, waiting to see how I would explain myself. Although he appeared to believe what I said, no one knew what was really on his mind. I was scared that he would secretly hatch a plan, or he had already had something on me and was waiting for me to fall into his trap.
Crystal’s POV
If I thought that Rufus from five years ago was a profound book, then Rufus at this time was a whole abstract painting for me. I could at least try to understand a book as long as I read it thoroughly, but I might never understand the real meaning behind an abstract painting.
Hearing what he said, I was upset and wanted to make an excuse to leave, but Beryl suddenly had a stomachache at this time.
All the thoughts in my head vanished and all I could think about was Beryl’s well-being.
Beryl’s face was pale because of pain. She covered her stomach and cried out between gasps. Laura also went alert and immediately sent someone to call the doctor.
“Is it because she ate too much just now?” I couldn’t help being anxious. I held her in my arms and rubbed her belly gently, trying to do anything I could to relieve her pain.
Beryl lay weakly in my arms, and soon red rash appeared on her neck.
“She is having an allergic reaction!” Laura’s face turned pale with fright. She anxiously held back Beryl’s hands seeing that she was about to scratch her own neck out of instinct.
The doctor hadn’t come even after we had waited for a long time. Rufus’ patience was running thin as he got furious and sent more people to get the doctor.
“How about I take her to the hospital instead?” Looking at Beryl who now seemed to be having difficulty in breathing, I was so anxious and couldn’t wait any longer. I immediately thought of taking her to the hospital myself.
At this time, the young doctor rushed over and bowed to Rufus, apologizing in panic. “The car suddenly broke down and I ran all the way here.”
“There’s no time to talk about that. Check the child quickly.” Gritting his teeth, Rufus grabbed the doctor’s collar and threw him towards me.
The young doctor didn’t even dare to push his glasses back up as he stood up awkwardly to check on Beryl. At last, he made a statement that Beryl was experiencing a protein allergy. That was because she ate too much fish. She would be fine after taking some medicine for a few days.
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