Chapter 11: Old Love
During the long journey, the two of them didn’t talk much, only occasionally, Emily turned to ask Kevin if he felt okay.
At noon, both of them stopped at a small roadside restaurant. The weather was cold, so Emily chose a seafood hotpot to warm her body.
Although they said they were going together, the young businessmen did not wait for each other because they all knew the way. They only arranged to meet at the slope leading into the village with more than two hundred ethnic minority households.
They did not know that Kevin replaced Daniel and he did not contact the delegation leader even though his younger brother gave him his phone number.
He had looked up the route on the map so he could find his way there. As for Brian, he contacted and sat in the same car with the group leader.
Emily is no longer Kevin’s lover, so she doesn’t dare ask him to peel shrimp for her. He only eats fish and squid, not shrimp. After eating some shrimp and being allergic to it, he never touched it again.
While eating, the hair on her head fell and flew out in front of her face, making her extremely uncomfortable. She had to use her arm to brush it away, but after a few seconds, it flew again.
Seeing Emily’s struggling appearance, Kevin immediately wiped his hands with a towel, stood up, walked behind her, and helped her tie her hair.
His long, soft, cloth-like fingers gently touched her scalp, giving her a warm and fluttering feeling. In the past, he had helped her comb her hair many times.
At that time, his hands were not soft at all, full of calluses. Sometimes he accidentally touched her face, causing her a bit of pain.
“Thank you.” She spoke softly, happiness visible on her rosy face.
He didn’t say anything, quietly returned to his seat, and called the owner to bring two more plates of shrimp, a plate of squid, and a plate of fish.
Although it was a meal for two people, if he didn’t order more food, it would be difficult to fill his stomach.
The hot pot only had a few pieces of fish, a few pieces of squid, and a few swimming shrimps, the rest was all broth.
“Ah…”
Emily’s small scream startled Kevin. When he looked at her, he saw that her finger was bleeding.
He doesn’t know if it’s okay for her to live abroad for several years. Even when she peeled the shrimp, she was stabbed and bleeding.
“Why are you so clumsy?” He complained while wiping her hands clean.
The wound was so small that it didn’t need to be bandaged, but Emily no longer needed to peel the shrimp herself because the man opposite had already peeled it for her, so she just had to eat it.
She realized that no matter how cold he tried to act, when she was injured or hit by the wind, he immediately took care of her. She wondered if he still kept his past love in his heart.
After eating, both of them continued on their way and when the last sunlight of the day had just gone down, they stopped in front of a long slope, which would lead them into a village separate from the town that was not bustling.
Kevin turned the car into the large yard of the church, where many cars were parked. The church here is made in the style of a prefabricated house, quite sketchy.
“Oh my goodness, who is this? This is the general director of Unicons Group, right? Daniel said he couldn’t ask you to come with him.” Brian quickly walked to Kevin’s side as soon as he saw him get out of the car.Copyright by Nôv/elDrama.Org.
“Yes. Daniel was suddenly busy so I went instead of him. I also want a change of atmosphere, the city is so stuffy.”
Brian was laughing and talking happily when he suddenly stopped because he saw the girl getting out of Kevin’s car.
He thought he was dizzy. He wondered if the two of them had rekindled their old love. So easy and quick like that?
“Emily, are you doing charity work too?” He squinted at her and asked.
“Yes.”
Before Brian was about to open his mouth to continue asking, the volunteer group leader spoke up and urged everyone to quickly carry their belongings into the village.
This road is bumpy and gravelly, making it difficult for cars to get there, they can only walk, and then have to cross a rather large stream.
This year is Brian’s first year participating, just like Kevin. He is busy with projects and has no time for himself, let alone for others.
Because this year he cooperated in the sale and purchase of fashion stores with Daniel and was invited by Daniel, so he agreed to go with him. However, now he meets Kevin and the girl he secretly loves and misses.
Although Kevin has a noble status today and only sits at a desk, in the past, there was no hard work that he had not done.
That’s why when he carries large packages, he still walks quickly, unlike the rich boys from the egg, who walk and breathe through their ears.
When the group reached the stream, they slowly moved over the undulating rocks to the other side.
Today’s spring water flows gently, touching the feet, bringing a cool and refreshing feeling, making everyone enjoy it and no longer feel tired.
“Give me your hand.” Brian reached out as soon as he saw the girl walking next to him almost slip.
Emily was a bit shaken after the recent incident so she didn’t refuse and grabbed his hand so he could help her step through the slightly deeper water.
She did not know that the man walking behind her also intended to come forward to help her walk, but he was one step slower than Brian because he was busy helping a member of the group adjust the luggage on his shoulder for balance.
When everyone entered the village, they quickly set up tents and prepared dinner. They only need to light firewood to cook rice and vegetable soup and use canned food for other foods, which is quite convenient.
Emily quickly got acquainted with young female entrepreneurs. When they learned that she graduated from a prestigious fashion school abroad, they all admired her and told her to open her fashion store so they could come and support her.
While happily picking vegetables, Emily discovered that her bracelet was gone. She quickly searched through the messy vegetables but couldn’t find it anywhere.
Finally, she returned to her tent and looked around, then continued to look for nearby areas but could not find anything.
“What’s up? Did you lose something?” A girl asked.
“It must have fallen along the way. I’ll go back there and try to find it. Ladies, please help me pick up vegetables.”
After saying that, Emily quickly ran away. There was only one road leading to the village, no random turns, so she easily found the stream bank.
She didn’t hope it fell into the stream, the water would carry it away. That bracelet meant a lot to her.
Over the past few years, she kept it very carefully. Last night, while missing her old love, she took it out and put it on, fell asleep until morning, and then set off without having time to take it off.
While Emily was groping to go down to the stream bed, in the village, Kevin was looking around at groups of people to find her.
He saw her sitting there picking vegetables just now. He had just followed the group leader to greet the village elders and visit the barns of families in the village.
When he returned, she had disappeared. She doesn’t know the roads very well, so where is she running to?
“Oh, hello, where is the girl who was sitting here a moment ago? The girl is wearing a long-sleeved blue t-shirt and black jeans.” He bowed and asked.
“Ah, she said she lost something so she went to look for it. It seems like she went back to the way we just passed.”
At this time, suddenly there was a sound of thunder. Soon, dark clouds gathered, and the wind gusted very strongly.
Just now, the village elder said that these past few days it has been raining heavily in the afternoon, causing stream water to flow here from upstream, flooding the stream banks.
He told everyone that after giving gifts tomorrow morning, they should leave early to prevent the stream from rising and making it impossible for them to cross to the other side.
“Thank you.”
After thanking the girl, Kevin also quickly ran away. Suddenly, he had a bad premonition. That girl is quite clumsy, what if something happens?
Just like him, the girls in the group were also worried when they saw the sky getting darker and darker. But they believe he will soon bring Emily back here.
“Look at that person’s boss, he’s so worried about his assistant that his face turns pale.” A girl spoke up to restore the atmosphere to normal.
“Are you jealous? You must know that to be next to the general director of Unicons Group, she must be very good and have real ability. Previously, my younger sister also wanted that position but in the end, a guy named Venn took it away.” A slightly older girl spoke up.
“I heard she said she was only his temporary assistant. When Venn is healthy, she will return his seat.”
The conversation ended here because everyone had to move to the thatched kitchen to cook dinner.
This kitchen was initiated by Daniel and created with everyone after one time the whole group was cooking outside when the rain suddenly poured down, causing them to get wet and have to carry the pots and run into people’s houses to cook, creating a mess.
In the first year, the Young Business Association only volunteered in nearby provinces. In the past two years, they have gone to more distant provinces. And this is the third time they have visited this place.
Not simply giving gifts such as necessities and money to people, but also having a larger purpose, which is to find ways to help them improve their lives and create opportunities for children to go to school.
The dusk became darker and darker as dark clouds covered the sky. At the bottom of the stream, Emily was groping to get to the other side after observing for a long time but seeing nothing.
“Oh my god, it’s here.”
When she saw the bracelet lying in the crack of the rock, she was so happy that she almost cried. She quickly crawled over and picked it up.
This bracelet was given to her by Kevin on the occasion of their first anniversary of falling in love.
Even though she didn’t ask or want to show off, he said he would try to let her experience the emotions of love within his ability.
This golden bracelet is quite thin but it is soaked with so much of his sweat and effort.
“Emily.”
The man’s voice was so loud that she was startled. She quickly looked up and recognized his angry eyes.
At the same time, she suddenly discovered that the water level under her feet was rising rapidly, soon reaching her knees. She panicked and waded as fast as she could to get to shore.
Upstream, the rain is very heavy and water is pouring here at an incredible speed. Kevin also noticed this unusual thing, so he quickly took off his shoes and slid into the stream to support her.