Riyadh.
Su Man and Eleven gave Eleven an extremely detailed checkup. As the report would take a few days to be generated, Su Man was not confident of restoring her. Bai Ye had a solemn look too.
Jason asked Eleven what happened these few days, but she remained mum and did not want to say a word. Jason was quick-tempered and wanted to protect her, so he inevitably flared up whilst Eleven remained indifferent. Third Young Master Ye, out of concern for Ye Wei’s safety, asked Eleven and she honestly replied. Third Young Master Ye did not say much, and Cheng Anya knew he was worried and would rather he directly ask.
Eleven was not too concerned about the checkup as she wanted to see Jason and Bai Ye in Riyadh to ease their minds before leaving again. Wherever Ye Wei and her had been, they had never caused them to worry before. This was an accident, and she didn’t plan to remain in Riyadh for long as she had many things to do.
Bai Ye and Jason would not allow it, and Jason’s heart ached as he saw her pencil-thin body. He, for once, played the Big Boss to intimidate her from not having her way until she was better.
Bai Ye decided to compromise and would rather she speak after the report was out.
The good cop and bad cop both had the same aims, and Eleven compromised by willing to wait for a few more days.
As Cheng Anya had to remain in Riyadh until she delivered, Third Young Master Ye could not accompany her for long as he had many things to see to. As she got bored from watching the television in Su Man’s home, Third Young Master Ye brought her out to play to familiarize her with her surroundings.
Third Young Master Ye had something to see to today, and it so happened that Fourth Young Master Tang was also in Riyadh. As Fourth Young Master Tang was not familiar with Su Man, Third Young Master Ye hence met Fourth Young Master Tang outside and had to leave in the morning. Cheng Anya was more recently a heavier sleeper and only woke up in the afternoon.
Su Man and Bai Ye were in the laboratory, and Jason was out. Cheng Anya saw that Eleven had nothing to do, and asked Eleven whether she wanted to go out to catch some fresh air.
“Where’s Third Young Master Ye?”
“He went out early in the morning,” Cheng Anya smiled.
Eleven looked at her stomach and got up. “I’ll go with you.”
Cheng Anya was thoughtful and somewhat warm. She knew that Eleven knew that Ye Chen was not present and decided to go out with Cheng Anya as there was nobody protecting her. If that wasn’t the case, she would rather zone out at home.
She did not say that she was actually extremely bored hanging out by herself at home. Going out and talking to people would definitely lift her spirits.
Third Young Master Ye had initially made plans to visit an exhibition with Cheng Anya, and they had already bought tickets .While Cheng Anya initially thought that visiting the museum was not Eleven’s cup of tea, there was a last minute change of plans and Eleven shook her head saying all was fine.
The two ladies viewed the exhibition at the museum.
There were not many people, and those present included locals and foreigners who were brightly dressed. The exhibits on display were artwork unique to Saudi Arabia.
“Do you like it?” Eleven, in a rare moment, asked Cheng Anya.
Cheng Anya shook her head. “I don’t particularly like it, but there is nowhere else in Riyadh that is thoroughly fun to be at. I’ve covered most of Riyadh when I was previously here, and could use something new. There’s also another reason tho – I feel that I’m carrying a girl, and it’s perhaps time to kick start that prenatal education to see if she has some artistic vibes in her.”
She was musing, and Eleven knew that artistic vibes did not run in the Ye family as everybody, regardless of gender, was a badass figure. This child was special, and chances are she was struggling to show concern for said child.
“Did Su Man mention to you that your child’s constitution would be similar to mine? Chances are that it’s innate.”
“He did mention it,” Cheng Anya did not mind. “As long as the child can be safely brought to term healthily, I am okay with anything. Su Man has also mentioned that the child, apart from her slightly special side, will be fine.”
Eleven nodded. This was the difference between an innate cyborg and a created cyborg – the special powers on top of a normal, functioning body. This was where Eleven differed from her.
The two of them toured the museum for over two hours, and Cheng Anya discovered that Eleven had an extremely good understanding of Saudi Arabian culture. “It was affected,” Eleven said.
She did not specifically say what it was affected by.
There was a small door at the museum with two guards that led to a small path containing special exhibits that were priceless. The special exhibits were only open to select people who required a pass to enter it.
Eleven asked Cheng Anya if she wanted, but Cheng Anya shook her head. “Forget it, I’ve seen most of the exhibition. Let’s not get too brazen as we are not on home turf.”
The two of them left the museum and sat in an open-air cafeteria by the river.
Cheng Anya ordered a glass of fruit juice while Eleven wanted a cup of tea. Since they would have nothing to do if they returned home too early, they decided to spend some time at the cafe. “Eleven, do you like anybody?” Cheng Anya curiously asked Eleven.
Eleven did not understand what Cheng Anya was asking. Cheng Anya coughed and asked Eleven even more directly, “Is there anybody whom you like?”
“Jason, Chu Li, Bai Ye…”
“No no, I do not mean that kind of ‘like’. ‘Like’ as in how Third Young Master Ye likes me,” Cheng Anya was at a loss as to whether to cry or laugh.
Eleven turned her head around slightly and gently said, “No.”
“I can see that Jason really likes you,” Cheng Anya replied teasingly.
Eleven’s terrible look somewhat eased as she held the cup but did not drink from it but allow the warm cup to warm her hands. “We’re family,” She gently said.
“But you two are not siblings,” Cheng Anya laughed and said.
“What are you trying to say?”
Cheng Anya laughed. “I feel that Jason is quite a catch and is pretty compatible with you. Haven’t you ever considered the possibility that he’s waiting for you?”
Eleven was slightly taken aback and lost for words. She did not consider the possibility of Jason liking her. Amongst them all, Ye Wei was the life of the party – liked by all, able to hold a conversation, hype up the atmosphere, gorgeous-looking… Even she, as a woman, took a liking to Ye Wei too. Her, in contrast, was cold, uninteresting, of few words, and not really the most well-liked. Having spent enough time with all of them to consider them family, anybody who had to face her for the rest of their lives would be driven mad by the boredom.
“I don’t know,” Eleven gently replied. “I think you might have misunderstood something.”
“how could it be>” Cheng Anya broke into laughter as she grabbed a chair and sat next to her. “The way he looks at you is SO telling of how he likes you. I can feel it.”
“Really?” Eleven was lost and counter-asked in hesitation.
She felt that such an Eleven was adorable. Cheng Anya nodded her head. “Nobody told you that before?”
Eleven pondered for a moment. Ye Wei, a long time ago, joked to her. “Eleven, Jason seems to have fallen in love with you. What happens when ice and fire collide? I can’t wait to find out.”
She thought she was joking and hence ignored her.
Recalling those past years in detail, Jason was undoubtedly nice towards her but could be extremely cold at times and often avoided her. He sometimes deliberately kept his distance from her, and she wondered how she might have offed him.
“Wei Wei must have told you about it before,” Cheng Anya answered her own question. Ye Wei, who was this smart, could not have missed it whilst it was afraid the others knew but did not say a word.
Eleven nodded and looked into the tea in the cup that reflected her somewhat lost eyes.
“Besides, it’s not as though you’re not liked by anybody. Give Jason some thought!” Since others did not get to reap the best of The Top Terrorist Organization, the latter hence had the best for itself.
“It’s impossible!” Eleven mused.
Cheng Anya did not say another word.
The two of them only returned to Su Man’s home in the afternoon. A moment after they reached home, they saw Third Young Master Ye and Jason waiting at the outer atrium. Third Young Master Ye came over with a solemn look. “Where were you? You did not pick up the tens of calls I made.”
Cheng Anya opened her purse and looked at her cell phone. Both of them were lost for words on her dead cell phone.
“Have you had lunch?” Jason asked Eleven.
Eleven shook her head, and his face immediately lit up as he dragged her to the canteen. Jason had her sit down and quickly disappeared into the canteen. He was back a moment later with Dana and the few maidservants serving up sumptuous food that covered the entire table.
Two of the dishes were the eight-treasure rice pudding and roasted chicken with chestnuts that stood out from the other dishes as they did not look good and had a somewhat weird color. They stood out from the other traditional dishes in Riyadh.
Eleven was slightly taken back. This… was her favorite dish.
Cheng Anya curiously looked at the eight-treasure rice pudding and roasted chicken with chestnuts before Eleven. Could they even be edible? Who made them? She saw Jason’s uncomfortable look and understood everything.
To think that the brash Jason could be this meticulous… it seems as though he was extremely concerned about her.
“You made it?” Eleven gently asked.
Jason coughed uncomfortably. “I saw that you had quite a poor appetite these few days, so I prepared two of your favorite dishes. While they do not look particularly appetizing, do try them. They are quite… edible.”
Eleven, feeling the concern from many, felt a warmth in her heart.
It was because Ye Wei and her were so badass to the point Chu Li, Jason and all showed very little concern for them. They, in their impression, were strong enough to the point they could go against the world, not be injured and not allow people to worry about them.
Even if they were wounded, they would quickly recover. It was especially so for her (given her special constitution) as she would recover from an injury in days whilst others would take a month to recover.
The few men rarely saw them as women, let alone do these small things for them.
They seemed to have forgotten that they needed people to show them concern and protect them.
“You went to learn to prepare these two dishes in the morning?” Eleven sounded a little warmer.
She remembered that Jason could not cook whilst Ye Wei, herself, Bai Ye and Chu Li could. Whenever he hit the kitchen, he would leave the kitchen in utter ruins and The Old Witch gave up all hope on him learning to cook and hence barred him from the kitchen.
Chu Li, Ross, Blackjack envied Jason. Chu Li even joked about how Jason deliberately engaged in sabotage to avoid The Old Witch poisoning their meals. Eleven knew that he really disliked the kitchen.
Jason blushed and did not respond as he quickly tucked in before sitting next to Eleven.
Third Young Master Ye and Cheng Anya sat next to them whilst Bai Ye and Su Man remained in the laboratory.
Cheng Anya somehow felt that Jason was really quite a decent person and was compatible with Eleven. For a man to go this far was not easy, and even the toughest of women would undoubtedly soften.
He described it quite well, and the dishes did look off despite smelling and tasting pretty good. While they were not as good as Ye Wei’s dishes, she felt that it was the most heartwarming meal she ever had.
The same could be said for the roasted chicken with chestnuts. Jason remembered that she used to have a thing for spicy food and would add copious amounts of chilli to the roasted chicken with chestnuts. This time round, the roasted chicken with chestnuts did not have chilli, let alone additional spices. It was much plainer, but she really liked it.
How could one get chestnuts in Riyadh? Eleven was extremely baffled but did not ask and instead quietly ate. She – instead of having a poor appetite – was not hungry and did not quite want to eat.
Apart from the two dishes Jason prepared, Dana prepared several herbal recipes according to Su Man’s instruction for Eleven to recuperate. Jason had Eleven try a bit of everything. As Eleven’s body had not recuperated after a long time, they could not think of another way out apart from food therapy.
But she just wouldn’t eat, and Jason felt bad when he saw it. He thought of ways, and he would be happy as long as she would eat.
Anya and Ye Chen looked at each other and smiled.
Eleven was really obedient this time and ate quite a lot of food. She loved the eight-treasure rice pudding and ate almost twice of what she ate daily. Jason felt comforted.
“Was it tasty?”
“It’s really tasty,” Eleven nodded.
“I’ll prepare the same dishes for you tomorrow. Do eat more.” He wished she would be able to wolf down all the food on the table and regain her previous health.
“Ok!” Eleven acknowledged as she quietly ate the chestnuts.
The few of them had an extremely happy lunch. Eleven started to speak up and answered whatever Jason asked although she looked down. Jason ladled a bowl of body-rejuvenating herbal soup for Eleven and she drank it all without saying a word.
“Jason, stop feeding her. She’s eaten too much.” Cheng Anya hesitated and said.
“Is it too much? Still looks fine to me.”
“She did not eat too much in the past few days, and her stomach would be quite uncomfortable from all that sudden eating.” Men could be persons of broad strokes at times.
“Eleven, are you feeling ok? Why don’t you tell me anything?” Jason asked in a panic.
“It’s okay,” Eleven gently replied as she quietly drank her soup. Jason, this time round, did not get her anymore food or soup.
After lunch, Ye Chen and Jason had matters to discuss with Chu Li and went to the study room together. Eleven had indeed eaten a little too much and felt a little bloated. Cheng Anya accompanied her for a walk in the garden.
“I told you that you can’t eat so much all at once.”
“Save Ye Wei, this is the first time somebody has specially cooked for me.” Eleven plainly replied.
Cheng Anya was taken aback and felt a slight heartache.