Broken Pottery Bowl

1

Eleanor Greene was in her studio that day, concentrating on a piece of pottery, and just as she was racking her brain, the phone rang.

It's her brother, Christopher Greene, and his calm voice delivers the not-so-good news - he's back in the police station.

Yes, again.

Christopher was in the police station with such frequency that Eleanor barely batted an eyelid at the news. "Which one?" she asked over the phone.

"Larkview Police Station." christopher replied. when Eleanor heard that, she put down the ceramic bowl in her hand and frowned slightly, "Larkview? what are you doing on the south side of town?"

"Came to attend a friend's party." Christopher's tone breathed a hint of dissatisfaction.

Eleanor continued to pursue: "And then what, was it a mess at the restaurant?"

"No!" At the mention of the incident, Christopher was obviously annoyed, and his tone also became unpleasant, "A friend got drunk, and argued with Cab Driver when he was taking a taxi, and then he got into a fight."

Eleanor's heart tightened, "Got beat up? Is it serious?"

"It's us that got hit! Come over here!" Christopher finished, and hung up the phone.

Eleanor put down her cell phone, quickly rinsed her hands, put on her jacket, checked her wallet, and after confirming that she still had enough money, she rushed out the door.

At this time, it was already more than eight o'clock in the evening, the sky outside was already dark, Eleanor walked out of the studio, the cold wind came to her face, making her tighten her clothes involuntarily. September in the north, already permeated with cold.

She went to the garage, took out her car, sat in it and lit a cigarette. The flame of the lighter is weak because of the closed door, Eleanor gently protects the flame, takes a deep breath and exhales slowly, the smell of tobacco fills the car.

Smoking is not a good habit, but Eleanor enjoys it, especially her favorite, Dacheng Yuxi. Cigarettes can be found all over her home, car and studio. She smokes until she runs out of cigarettes, and then she starts her car with a vengeance.

Eleanor drove the car steadily along the Second Ring Road with the windows slightly open and the smoke drifting out through the cracks. The street was brightly lit.

She quickly finished her cigarette, put it out, and began to think about her brother Christopher.

After all, he was a poor boy.

After an accident claimed the lives of his parents three years ago, Eleanor's parents had taken Christopher into their home to raise him, and Eleanor had returned to the city that year. She's been away too long to experience the true pain of her uncle's family's tragedy. She was sad, but not desperate. As for Christopher, Eleanor was nine years older than him, and they were not close.

The Youngs were always respectful but distant, and Eleanor didn't remember Christopher as a young boy; it was the funeral that really made her remember the boy. At the funeral, the fifteen-year-old boy cried as if the whole world had collapsed. The Yang family's emotional introspection never let Eleanor know that men could be so desperate. From that day on, Eleanor decided to stay. Instead of living with her parents, she rented an apartment with two floors, one for living and one for working.

Eleanor tries to take care of her brother as much as she can, but the results seem to be minimal. Christopher took a year off from school because of the accident and is a senior in high school this year, a critical time, but he has no interest in studying; Christopher went to the best high school in the city, which he got into on his own. But after the accident shortly after the midterm, he never studied again.

Neither Eleanor's parents nor she ever tried to persuade Christopher to study, and it was a tacit understanding in the Yang family that if you didn't want to, no one would force you to. But that didn't mean they were indifferent to him. In fact, Christopher was almost the most important person in Eleanor's life.

She gave him a lot of money every month, bought him a lot of books, hoped that one day he would be able to get over his grief, and she was always there for him when he needed her.

As it is now.

The location of the Larkview Police Station was a little difficult to find, and Eleanor circled around several times with the help of her navigator before finally stopping in front of a small, modest house at the intersection. There was only one streetlight at the dimly lit intersection, and there were two motorcycles parked in front of the station, as well as a Cab.

Eleanor gets out of the car, walks towards the police station, and as she passes the Cab, she glances at the license plate number - J4763 - and after a casual glance, she turns around and walks away.

When she entered the police station, there was no watchman at the entrance, and since the area of jurisdiction was small, there were usually few people coming and going. She walked all the way to the very inside before she met the first person.

It was a middle-aged man with a bit of weight, and his bald spot was obvious. When he saw Eleanor, he frowned and approached her, asking, "Who are you looking for?"

Eleanor replied, "I'm looking for my brother, he just called and said he was here."

The man says, "Uh-huh." "That's the gang that got into the fight, isn't it? Come with me."

Eleanor followed him up to the second floor, the man said as he walked, "Young people are impulsive, even Cab Driver can beat up, you are a parent, you should discipline him properly."

Eleanor was speechless, and the hallway was unusually quiet. The man turned his head, saw her expressionless face, felt that his words did not reflect any response, so he was not going to continue. The man's face flushed with displeasure, and he looked a little uncomfortable.

He brought Eleanor to the second floor, walked through several rooms with lights on, and finally came to a room by the side, pushed the door in, and called out to the inside: "Old Wang, here to collect someone."

Eleanor stepped into the room and took a closer look. It looks like a small office, the desk is stacked with cluttered items, there are two people in police uniforms squatting beside the desk, and three men and one woman sitting next to them, among them is Christopher.

Among these four young people, Christopher seems to be the most rational, the rest of them are all drunk and staggering, although the windows are open, the room is still full of strong smell of alcohol.

The police officer known as Wang came over and asked, "Whose parents are you?"

Eleanor didn't answer, she walked over to Christopher, lifted her hand and clasped Christopher's chin, there was no sign of injury on his face.

"I thought you said you were beaten, hurt?" Eleanor asked concerned.

Lao Wang then came over and rounded up, "What beaten ah, arm was pulled a few times, all fine."

Eleanor listened, lifted up Christopher's sleeve, and found that there was a red mark on his wrist, and some obvious swelling.Christopher, however, drew his hand back, looking impatient: "I'm fine!"

Eleanor turned her head to look at the old king, "Where is the man who hit him?"

The other policeman looked at Eleanor, finding her very unpleasant. Although she hadn't done anything, this blandness made it seem like she didn't care about them at all.

The cop slammed a stack of materials down on the table, not loud enough to be heard, but loud enough to get the attention of everyone in the room. He looked younger than the two cops before him, under thirty, and he stared Eleanor in the eye, pointing at Christopher: "Drunk and disorderly! Messing with an eighty-something year old woman! As a parent, is this how you raise your children?"

"Ai ai, Xiao Song don't argue." Old Wang slapped down the hand he was pointing at, "It's not a big deal, just go back and discipline him properly."

Eleanor stood in the center of the room, staring at the police officer named Xiao Song: "Where is the person who hit him?"

Lao Wang also stopped moving, turned around and stared at Eleanor. xiao Song cursed in a low voice, Lao Wang suppressed him, and continued to say to Eleanor: "The matter is like this, these kids drank too much at night, and took a taxi home. When the car stopped, there was an old lady who also wanted to sit, the driver felt sorry for the old lady, so he wanted to let her get on the car, but these kids were drunk and confused, so he didn't let them." Lao Wang said, hand slap, "not just like this, got into a bit of an argument."

Eleanor heard, staring at Wang: "Who hit the car first?"

Lao Wang froze for a moment: "What?"

Eleanor explained, "Who beckoned first, who pulled Cab over first?"
"This ......" Old Wang said with a smile on his face, "Isn't it right to give up your seat for an old lady? How can you compete with a more than eighty!"

"Ah." Eleanor nodded, "So, it means my brother hit the car first."

Old Wang looked unhappy after hearing this, "How do you talk, this is really something, grabbing a seat with an eighty something old lady, isn't that scum!"

Christopher lowered his head, and immediately stood up when he heard this: "Who the hell are you calling scum? Who are you calling scum?

Xiao Song caught his reaction, slapped the table, stared at Christopher and pointed: "Sit down! Sit down, do you hear me? Do you want to be detained?"

"Fuck you!" Christopher, emboldened by his drink, threw open his sleeves and tried to rush to the table, but Eleanor stopped him at once: "You sit down." Christopher tries to break free: "You let go! I'm fucking scared of them! You let go! Let go!"

"Pop!"

Eleanor slapped her across the face, and the room went silent.

Christopher's face stiffened as red marks slowly appeared on his face.

Eleanor began to say gently, "You sit down, my sister will take care of the rest."

Christopher seems to think of something, his eyes redden slightly, he lowers his head and sits down, Eleanor isn't quite sure if he's crying or not.

Eleanor turned her head, did not look at the two policemen, but noticed the other corner of the room, there is a little dark, if you do not look closely, you can hardly see a figure in the corner.

Eleanor looked at the man: "The driver who hit the man, it's you, isn't it?"

After saying these words, the two policemen froze for a moment. Lao Wang was the first to recover his reaction, looking at Eleanor with a smile on his face: "What beating ah, just pulled a few times, how about a private settlement?"

Eleanor did not pay attention to Lao Wang, she always stared at the shadow: "Are you the one who beat up people?"

Xiao Song frowned: "What's wrong with you? Why are you pretending? This is the responsibility of both parties, drunkenness, do you understand?"

Eleanor turned her eyes to Xiao Song. "Two parties? Drunkenness?" Her tone was calm, "They hit the car first, must we give way to the car for the elderly over 80 years old in the law? And who was the one who started the fight?" As Eleanor's eyes fell on the man in the shadows, "I know my brother, he might not have given up his seat, but he would never have started the fight. The rest of them were too drunk to stand up, you were the one who started it, weren't you? As for you ...... "Eleanor glanced at the two policemen next to her, "I don't understand, why do you favor this driver, but scaring me won't help. If this driver does not compensate, do not apologize, we will go to court."

Eleanor's words blocked the way back, the two policemen looked at each other in disbelief, it seemed that they had never seen such a tough woman before.

"I did it, how much do you want to pay?" The man in the shadows finally spoke, his voice low and calm.

Eleanor looked at him: "Apologize, then pay five thousand."

Xiao Song said angrily, "Five thousand? Five thousand for a red wrist, you're blackmailing people!"

"Okay."

"Brother Sheng!" Xiao Song turned to the man in the corner, whispered, "This is pure blackmail, you do not have to agree, I help you out."

The man shook his head, "No, thank you." Then to Eleanor, "Can you give me a few days' grace? I can't get that kind of money right now."

Eleanor returned faintly, "Then apologize first."

The man was silent for a moment, and spat out in a low voice, "I'm sorry."

Eleanor wanted to say something else, but Christopher spoke up, "Sis, forget it."

Eleanor turned around and saw Christopher with his head lowered, his eyes falling on his own fingers. She was silent for a moment, and said to Wang, "Can I take them away now?"

Old Wang also felt that five thousand was a bit too much, frowned and waved his hand, "Let's go, let's go."

"Wait."

Just as Eleanor was about to leave with Christopher and the others, the man in the corner called out to her, Eleanor turned around and saw Xiao Song handing over a note.

"This is my contact information, give me half a month, I'll pay you back." The man said.

Eleanor looked at Xiao Song, since this man had such a big face, even the note was delivered by the police. She took the note, saw that it was a cell phone number, and put it in her pocket, and took Christopher and the others away.

On the way back, Eleanor put the three drunken young men in the backseat and let Christopher sit in the passenger seat.

"I'll take you to the hospital first."

Christopher didn't refuse, the pain in his wrists leaving him defenseless.

Eleanor opened the window, but didn't smoke. She restrained herself because Christopher was around.

"Taking a car from an eighty year old woman, that's pretty good of you."

"I wasn't trying to!" Christopher retorted.

Eleanor started the car, turned around and drove onto the highway.

"So what was the fight about?"

"It was the driver!" Christopher frowns, his voice intensifies, "That driver looked down on us!"

Eleanor responds calmly, "With behavior like yours, it's really hard to make people look down on you."

"He looked down on us from the start!" Christopher's voice raises, "You don't know the way he looked at us, like ...... it was like looking at garbage!"

Eleanor stopped talking, and Christopher turned his head and looked out of the car, the road sign flashing by.

She drove to the nearest hospital. There were many people in the third hospital at night, Eleanor asked Christopher to wait in the car, and went to register herself.

"Come on."

Eleanor took Christopher to see the doctor, took pictures and waited for the results in the hallway outside the radiology department. In the meantime, she went to the restroom for a cigarette.

When the results came out, Eleanor took out the lab sheet, glanced at it, put it back and stood up, "Soft tissue damage, it's a minor injury, I'm not going private, I'm going to sue the driver."

"Sis." Christopher sat on the stool and whispered, "Forget it, don't go after him."

Eleanor turns, asks, "How did he hit you, did he use tools?"

"I said forget it!" Christopher raised his voice, and people in the hallway cast glances. He lowers his head, looking even thinner.

Eleanor walked over to him and held his head gently. christopher struggled for a moment, but finally collapsed helplessly into Eleanor's arms, and she felt her brother shudder.

"Sis, am I a piece of trash?" Christopher finally stopped crying, Eleanor took a deep breath and whispered softly, "No, Tiny, you just haven't come to your senses yet."

Christopher cried out, "I don't want to, sis, I really don't want to ...... I can't help it ......"

Eleanor stroked her brother's hair, whispering comforting words.

It was late that night when Eleanor brought the car home safely, and when Eleanor's parents asked Christopher about his hand, Eleanor covered it up by saying that he had fallen on his way back to school.

When Eleanor returned to the apartment, she was so tired that she lay down on the sofa without taking off her shoes and fell asleep.

The next morning, Eleanor was awakened by a phone call. She looked up in a daze, fished her cell phone out of her purse, and saw "Sebastian Waters" on the screen.

Eleanor rolls over and continues to lie on the couch to answer the call.

"Hello."

"Why do you look like you haven't woken up yet?"

Eleanor didn't answer him, but asked, "Why, what's wrong?"

Sebastian replied, "How's everything coming along?"

Eleanor sighed, "That broken bowl is about to break into pieces, how do you think it can be fixed?"

Sebastian laughs, Eleanor can hear him clinking his cutlery against the plates. She asked, "Are you eating?"

"Uh-huh." Sebastian picks up a piece of beef with his fork, teasing, "You don't want it to break, and my heart will break if it does."

Eleanor couldn't help but laugh, "Give me another month."

"I'll give you fifty days." Sebastian said generously, "I know there's no rush to fix it, you can take your time."
"Good."

Sebastian added, "I mean, why don't you come back here? It's a much better work environment than yours, and I can get you some assistants."

2

"No." Eleanor Greene threw her legs over the couch, shielding her eyes from the sunlight pouring in through the window, "It's a lot of people, and he likes to work alone."

"Well, I don't care." Sebastian Waters grinned, "You've got to work hard."

Eleanor gave a faint hmmm and hung up after a few more words.

She slouched on the couch for a while, then got up, stripped off her clothes and took a shower, coming out feeling noticeably more comfortable. She called for take-out and then walked to her study room to look for a book and wait for her meal; Eleanor's study room was huge, and when she moved in, she had purposely reserved the largest room for her study. The room was cluttered, with books and materials piled up all over the floor. Her books are so diverse that she doesn't bother to categorize them and stacks them on top of each other.

On the wall hangs an old silk painting of a koi carp with a red water surface, Eleanor's seat is facing the painting. She put on her glasses, casually picked up a book, and when she opened it, she suddenly paused, remembered something, and picked up her cell phone to call the takeout store.

"Hello, I'm the one who just ordered takeout from Huaken Jinzuo, has the takeout been delivered yet?"

"Add one more bottle of mineral water, ask for a big bottle."

"Yes, thank you."

Putting down the phone, Eleanor began to read carefully. The clock ticked on the wall, and the Apartment was as quiet as if there were no living things.

After a while, the doorbell rings, Eleanor swings her neck around, marks the pages of her book, puts them aside, walks to the door, and is greeted by a young delivery man.

"Hello, are you Ms. Eleanor?"

"Yes."

"Here's your takeout, seventy-eight dollars." She handed it over.

Eleanor took a one hundred dollar bill out of her purse and gave it to the little girl, who looked down for the money while Eleanor brought in the takeout first.

The little girl makes the change and says, "Ms. Eleanor, it seems like I'm always delivering your family's takeout."

Eleanor smiled, "Really? I haven't really noticed."

The girl then said, "They are having a promotion right now, 20% off all takeout dishes when you recharge your membership card."

"So?"

The little girl hurriedly explained, "Only takeout dishes, the store dining is not discounted."

Eleanor asked, "How much is the membership card?"

The girl replied, "Minimum three hundred dollars."

Eleanor considered for a while, and finally nodded, "Okay, get one, I'll wait for you here." She turned around and went back to the house, bringing three hundred dollars over. The little girl was obviously a little happy, not realizing that she had gotten a membership card so easily.

"Ms. Eleanor, the food in their restaurant is a great deal." The little girl said with a smile on her face.

After sending off the enthusiastic delivery man, Eleanor returned to the living room to start eating.

She had been out of the house for three days now, and occasionally she drifted off into a trance where she thought she might spend the rest of her life with this broken bowl. The bowl had been with her for two months now, and she was about halfway through restoring it.

To be honest, the bowl wasn't worth much, a few thousand dollars at most, but Sebastian was willing to spend over a hundred thousand dollars to restore it. Two months ago, Sebastian approached her with a badly damaged ceramic bowl and asked for her help in restoring it.

She was working on a Ming Dynasty landscape painting Sebastian had given her when Eleanor glanced at the bowl and casually said to Sebastian, "I'm losing my taste."

Sebastian walks into the living room, suited and booted, exhausted from a two-day, two-night flight in California, but always walking gracefully on the living room couch.

"Sometimes things are worth more than they appear to be." Sebastian says.

Eleanor put down the small brush in her hand and turned her head to look at Sebastian, "Should I have told you there was a treasure map hidden in that bowl?"

Sebastian smiles softly, "Eleanor, he likes my sense of humor."

Eleanor ignored him and went back to work, Sebastian stood up, walked behind Eleanor, and gently pulled her leg by the wrist. That gesture conjured up a lot of images.

In the afterglow, Eleanor glanced at Sebastian's legs, which were indeed long and well-defined. She looked up at him expressionlessly, "In your profession, the last thing you want to do is grab their legs. Especially when you're working."

Sebastian shrugged in mock innocence.

Eleanor puts down the small brush in her hand and stands up straight to face Sebastian, "Say, what happened?"

Sebastian looks down at Eleanor, "It's hard to say."

"Then make it short."

Sebastian had told half a day's story, Eleanor generally understood. In fact, leaving out Sebastian's affectionate narration, the whole story could be summarized in one sentence - the bowl belonged to Sebastian's grandmother, and when he and his wife quarreled, it accidentally became an object of anger.

Eleanor finds it strange that the bowl, which is not an expensive artifact but is still an antique, should be used to vent his anger. In Sebastian's house, even a spit bucket is worth a lot of money, so smashing a ceramic bowl is a deliberate choice.

"If it's broken, it's broken, and I'll just pay for a more valuable one," Sebastian says. Sebastian said.

"No." He shook his head, "Eleanor, I'm too young to realize that what's really worth something is emotion. That ceramic bowl holds the emotions of Grandma's life, it's priceless."

Eleanor said, "Oh," and then said, "That's why I broke it."

Sebastian froze.

"It must have been an accident, and who's to say you don't make mistakes when you're in the throes of emotion?"

Eleanor sarcastically replied, "That emerald vase in my bedroom wasn't 'accidentally' smashed by me."

In Sebastian's bedroom is a Qing Dynasty jadeite vase with an animal face motif, which was Sebastian's prized possession when he first started in the business and which he treasures.

Sebastian says: "He's in love with her, and I don't want him to turn into a hard-hearted person."

Eleanor sneers, "There are plenty of restorers out there, and I don't expect him to give up that painting to restore that greasy bowl."

Sebastian smiled gently, "There are plenty of restorers, but I'm the only one he trusts. I know he's a clean freak, doesn't like messy people touching his stuff."

Eleanor hugged her legs and looked at him coldly.

Sebastian continued, "Two hundred thousand dollars."

Eleanor raised an eyebrow, the offer was indeed higher than anything she had on hand.

"Looks like that bowl is really important."

Sebastian shook his head bitterly, "His grandmother is nearing ninety, and he's afraid she won't be able to handle the excitement, which would make him a sinner in the family."

Eleanor says, "Plus a vacation."

Sebastian's eyes immediately sharpened at the mention of the condition.

"A vacation? Do you know when I want a vacation? How dare I mention a vacation to him at a time like this when the competition for next year's antique auction is so fierce?Eleanor, don't be so cruel."

"He hasn't taken a vacation in two years."

Sebastian asked, "What do you need a vacation for? He's never seen me go anywhere."

Eleanor quiets down, "He needs a vacation. His brother's taking the entrance exams next year, but he's not ready and needs time to talk."

Sebastian inquired, "For how long?"

"Two weeks."

"Two weeks?!" Sebastian took a deep breath, and finally commented, "Obviously a long conversation."

Eleanor didn't hesitate, "Two weeks, I'll give it or go to another restorer."

Sebastian walked around the living room, finally leaning over the table, "One hundred and fifty thousand, plus two weeks vacation."

Eleanor narrowed her eyes slightly, "You're a crook."

Sebastian gave a faint smile, "I'm not in a position to negotiate with them, it's just too obvious what I want. Even if he doesn't pay a penny, if I could have two weeks of vacation, I'd absolutely fix it."

Eleanor turned her back on him, ignoring him.

Sebastian came up behind her, his mixed-race frame tall, and took Eleanor gently into his arms, "Eleanor, he doesn't want me to pay. He's a generous man."
Sebastian's body was gushing with a light perfume, the scent lingering around him.Eleanor turned, her chest pressed against his, and pushed him away.

"I hope I'm wrong, and that my wife is a generous person."

Sebastian laughed softly, "No, she's not generous, arrogance and self-righteousness are natural traits, there's a generation gap between him and them."

Eleanor grinned, no longer vocalizing.

Fortunately Sebastian was tired too, he walked over to the wine rack, took a bottle of wine and looked at it, "Would you like a drink?"

Eleanor says, "Whatever."

Sebastian said ok, and opened the wine. He takes a shower and has a drink, then drunkenly goes to bed in the guest room.

Since Eleanor had moved in, every time Sebastian came to visit her he stopped staying at the hotel and just stayed at her house. After delivering the bowl, he went back to the States the next day. He called almost every day to inquire about the restoration of the bowl.

Eleanor yawned and looked up, it was completely dark outside. Tomorrow's weather looked gloomy, and although it was only six o'clock, it was already as dark as night.

Putting the bowl together wasn't the hard part, the hard part was keeping it together, Sebastian didn't want his grandmother to know that the bowl had been smashed to pieces, so Eleanor had to be very careful when mending it.

The phone rings and it's the courier. Unlike her work in the US, there is a shortage of materials here, and she has to call and have them prepared and mailed back each time.

On the phone, the courier explains that the delivery will be late tomorrow, and that she will have to wait until tomorrow if she wants it to be delivered to her doorstep.Eleanor needs the paint for the bowl, so she decides to pick it up herself.

She changed her clothes and grabbed her bag.

As soon as she stepped out of the door of her apartment, the sky boomed with thunder without warning, and the sound was deafening. Bean-sized raindrops poured down instantly, and in the blink of an eye, the rain got heavier and heavier.

Eleanor looked at the door for a while, then turned around, went back to the house, grabbed an umbrella, and rushed into the rain. She didn't drive, the road from Huakan Golden Plaza to the delivery point is not close, there is a section of the road under construction, which is a low-lying area, if the rain continues to go on like this, it's not certain that the car will not be able to pass through.

She stopped a cab at the door.

"Please take me to the delivery point on 11th Road."

The driver pressed the meter and drove towards his destination. The rain beat against the window, and the sound was very loud. Slightly worried, the driver said, "At this rate, the east side of the Radiation Bridge will be flooded, and it will be difficult to walk."

Eleanor responded, "Please hurry, Master."

"I'd like to, but how do we get around?" He said.

The rain was getting heavier and Eleanor was beginning to regret her decision to go out, but she still wanted to get her materials. Just a short distance away, the driver stopped the car.

"No, we can't go any further, we'll have to turn here. Girl, I'll waive the fare."

Eleanor didn't say anything, just paid the fare and got out of the car.

The moment she opened the door, the rain poured down on her, Eleanor didn't even have time to open her umbrella before the car drove away. The wind was strong, the rain was flying everywhere, and the umbrella didn't help, her clothes were soaked through within half a minute.

Eleanor arrived at the delivery point in the middle of the storm, and the staff at the delivery point were ready to go off duty and were shocked to see the soaked figure.

Eleanor put away her umbrella, "I'm here to pick up the delivery."

A woman looked at her and said incredulously, "You're in a hurry to come in this rain, aren't you?"

Eleanor nodded, "It's an international delivery."

The staff took her to the room where the shipments were kept, there were not many international shipments, and Eleanor quickly found one. It was not a small box. She filled in the recipient's information and carried the box out the door.

Sighing at the effort of carrying the box, let alone an umbrella, Eleanor left it at the door and took a taxi.

The rain seemed to be pouring down so hard that she could hardly open her eyes. She stood at the intersection, staring straight at the cars.

Her legs stretched out, but no cars stopped, and Eleanor, soaked to the skin, grumbled, almost having to keep the umbrella over her face.

When a car finally came along, the driver asked for directions to Wackenberg, but they all shook their heads and refused.

"It's waterlogged on the east side of the bridge, so I'm afraid it's not a good idea to go there."

"How can we go there now?"

Eleanor tightened her arms. September in the north is already so cold, being rained on and blown by the wind, Eleanor couldn't help sneezing.

Just when she was almost desperate, another car pulled up in front of her.

The window rolled down, and the driver froze for a moment when he saw her. eleanor's lips were a little purple from the cold, and she asked: "Master, Wackenstein, are you going?"

The driver looked at her, hesitated for a moment, Eleanor thought she was going to refuse again, but the driver nodded after a moment's pause and whispered, "Get in."

Eleanor was incredulous and ecstatic: "Great, I'll wait for you! I have something to move." She spoke desperately loud, trying to make her voice cut through the thunder and rain.

Eleanor couldn't be bothered with her umbrella, she walked over to the car with her suitcase in her arms, shoved it into the back seat, then walked around to the passenger side and got in. Once she closed the door, she was finally cut off from the rain.

Eleanor was soaked to the skin, and the chair was wet as soon as she sat down. Apparently realizing this, she said to the driver with some embarrassment, "I'm sorry, I'm a little wet, give me some extra fare later."

The driver shook his head, "No need." He started the car, turned around and drove to Huakeng Jinzuo.

The car drove slowly and smoothly, but the driver was obviously very careful not to stall the engine in the water.

Unlike the previous driver, this one didn't say a word the whole way, only the sound of the rain and the windshield wipers echoed inside the car.Eleanor's head sank a little, feeling that she might have gotten cold.

She saw the cab driver's license plate in front of the passenger side, and scanned it unconsciously. The photo was everyone's nightmare, and the driver's picture was quite good. The man in the photo had short, dry hair and a calm face.

Eleanor paused for a moment.

Car number: J4763. she read it over in her mind, vaguely feeling that this car number was somewhat familiar. Suddenly, she remembered.

J4763-isn't that the license plate number of the driver who fought with Christopher a few days ago?

Eleanor immediately straightened up, and in the afterglow, the driver was focused on driving, and did not notice her reaction. Thinking about that day in the Police Station, Michael Chen had been standing in the dark corner, never let her see his face, Eleanor couldn't help but wonder if the driver was him.

She remembers the tone of the man's voice, in that noisy Police Station, Chinese car owners find it incomprehensible ORDER she somewhat remembered. When she thought of what he had just said to her, "Get in the car", Eleanor thought to herself that he seemed to recognize her.

Or ......Eleanor secretly thought, he did not want to talk to him.

Eleanor in her mind thinking, confused, the car suddenly shook violently for a moment, and then stopped. She looked out of the window, and saw that she was very close to the Wackenberg. Unfortunately, the driver had no intention of stopping, but rather stalled the car as it passed a puddle.

The car shouldn't try to start in this situation, Eleanor said to the driver, "Can we try to push it? I know the area well, it shouldn't be too deep to push out."

The driver was holding the steering wheel, not knowing what he was thinking, Eleanor called out to him, and he reacted. "It's not far, I'll simply walk there."

Eleanor said, "It's fine, please help me push along."

The driver shook his head, "No need, I'll just walk there."

Eleanor was disappointed, thinking that this Michael was really cheap. The fare was waived, Eleanor took her change out of her wallet, just enough for the fare, put it in the frame, and got out of the car without saying anything.

It was still raining.

3

Eleanor Greene removed the delivery box in the backseat, during which time Michael Chen remained quiet and unmoved in the driver's seat.

Eleanor closed the car door and walked towards her apartment. She walks quickly, filled with doubt, turns around, and realizes that Michael is still sitting in the car, unmoving.

"This is inexplicable ......" Eleanor muttered under her breath, then sneezed and walked quickly back to her Apartment.

Eleanor couldn't help but slow down when she got to the bottom of her apartment. She couldn't get over what had just happened, and Michael's behavior replayed over and over again in her mind, making her feel like a villain.

In the end, Eleanor put the delivery box in the security room at the entrance of the courtyard, and then turned back. On the way back, she felt like she was going crazy.

She kept walking towards her car, which had just been turned off, while thinking.

Almost ten minutes had passed, and she wondered if Michael would take the car away. eleanor turned a corner, and through the rain, she saw the figure in the rain.

Dressed in black, Michael was unconcernedly pushing on the back of the car, trying to get it out of a puddle.Eleanor walked over to him unnoticed by Michael.

Eleanor thought there was something strange about the way Michael was pushing the cart. Usually when people push a cart, they lower their bodies and lower their center of gravity, but he was on his side, pushing against the cart with the left side of his body.

And ......

Eleanor always felt that the driver's strength seemed to be a bit insufficient. He pushed the car with extra effort, always giving people a feeling of not being able to use their strength. He was not a small man, in fact Eleanor thought he was quite strong.

After a while, Michael, perhaps feeling that he was pushing a little too hard, walked over to the door of the car and tried to jiggle the steering wheel. In the two short steps he took from the back of the car to the door, Eleanor realized that the problem was that Michael was walking with his right hand dragging his right hip, and his whole leg seemed very stiff, and he was having a hard time walking.

This driver ...... Eleanor raised an eyebrow.

No wonder that note was handed to him by the police at that time.

Eleanor walked over. When she was ten meters away, Michael noticed her. The moment he saw her, he immediately stood still.Eleanor walked to the back of the car and said to him, "Come on, let's push the car out together."

Michael looked at Eleanor, the rain pouring down between them, both faces dark and indistinct.

Eleanor said to him, "You stand, the car won't drive itself out."

Michael bowed his head and dragged his leg to Eleanor's side.

Eleanor then realized that Michael was very tall.

Together they pushed hard on the back of the cart, and even though it was a woman, it had a little more strength, and the cart was pushed out of the puddle without a hitch.

Eleanor pulled up her soaked pant legs and asked Michael, "Should we try to get it started?"

Michael shook his head and said, "The engine is in the water, and the car is so old that a sudden ignition might damage the connecting rods."

Eleanor, who only drove the car and knew nothing of its construction, asked, "What should we do?"

Michael said, "Push it aside, and get someone from the garage."

"A garage?" Eleanor sneered, "Are you kidding me? Get someone from the garage to come, will they come? What garage is that dedicated?"

Eleanor's series of questions silenced Michael, and Eleanor suddenly stopped talking. In the heavy rain, the two of them were silent. After a while, Michael spoke first: "You go, I'll take care of the rest."

Eleanor said, "There is no place to stay in the development area around here, how are you going to deal with it?"

Michael raised his eyes to look at her, and it was clear that he had just told her to leave. This woman was not stupid, pretending not to understand was unnecessary.

Eleanor wiped the rain from her face, and just as she finished, it drenched her again. She didn't know what she was thinking, but she said to Michael, "My house is nearby, park the car next to it, we can get out of the rain at my house."

Michael's expression changed for the first time, he didn't seem to hear what Eleanor said, Eleanor repeated it. michael lowered his head, refused and said, "thank you, no."

Eleanor said, "I'm not afraid, what are you afraid of?"

This is a childish way of provoking a man, but it is especially effective on men.

Michael frowned and said, "This has nothing to do with me, you go first."

Eleanor said, "Or are you holding a grudge?"

Michael looks up and sees Eleanor watching him in the pouring rain. Understanding that she recognized him, Michael lowered his head, and whispered, "It's nothing to do with anything, don't worry, I'll pay you back as soon as possible."

Eleanor retorted, "I'm not asking you for money."

Michael, not wanting to say anything else, dragged his legs and opened the car door, ready to sit down. Just as he was laboring to get into the car, Eleanor reached out and raked the door, looking down at him, "You refuse?"

Michael didn't look at her, "I can handle myself."

From Eleanor's viewpoint, she could just see the top of Michael's head. Because of the rain, Michael's hair was wet and plastered together, belonging to the short and hard type, soaked through and still standing.Eleanor looked at him for a moment, suddenly said with a sneer, "I'm not discussing with you."

Michael did not respond.

Eleanor said faintly, "How many connections did you go through to get this cab license?"

Michael visibly paused at her words.Eleanor's thoughts remained clear, though her head felt heavy.

"As I recall, there is no law in the United States that allows a disabled person to drive a cab. It seems that your police friends are very close to you, did they help you in the forgery? What did you do, give gifts? Gifts? Bribes? If I report this, what kind of punishment will you receive?"

Michael's hand was pressed against his right leg, his hand gripping his pants, almost balled into a fist. eleanor cocked her head at him. michael turned his head, and eleanor saw that his eyes were dark and glowing, an illusion brought on by the rain.

Michael's voice implied anger, "What do you want?"

Eleanor retrieved her thoughts and said faintly, "I told you to pull the car over and let's go to my house to get out of the rain. If you don't do what I say, we'll see."

Michael finally gave in.

They pushed the car to the side of the road and parked it - Eleanor basically just gave it a hand, and the second time she pushed the car she felt dizzy and almost fell over, while Michael struggled to get it right.

Afterward, Eleanor was dizzy and brought Michael home.

She couldn't remember exactly what happened on the way home, but she went home almost by instinct. She vaguely remembers that they walked slowly and that Michael locked the car before leaving.

When they got home, Eleanor insisted on taking a shower. She gritted her teeth and dragged her body into the bathroom, rinsed it briefly and said to Michael, who was sitting in the living room, "There's the bathroom over there, why don't you take a shower, it's not going to get too cold."

Eleanor doesn't remember if Michael responded to her or not, she fell head over heels on the couch and quickly drifted off to sleep.

Michael looked at the woman, wrapped only in her bathrobe, as she lay quietly in front of him. He looked around, the apartment was elegantly decorated, neatly organized, and every bit of it showed the owner's taste.

The couch was a bright red color, which was even brighter for Eleanor lying on it. She was wrapped in a white bathrobe, her long hair dripping wetly onto the floor.

Michael sat for a moment, then stood up with his crutches under his right armpit, freeing his hand to remove the prosthesis from his right leg. He gritted his teeth as he removed the receiving chamber, the rain combined with the day's delays had left his leg tingling.

Michael leaned his prosthesis back against the chair, then propped up his crutches and walked into the restroom.

He really needed a hot shower, or his leg might not hold up.

Eleanor's bathroom was huge, and Michael smelled the rich jasmine scent of Eleanor's body wash as soon as he entered. There was a large triangular shaped bathtub in the bathroom, and next to it was a sink with a lot of toiletries on it, and a specially fitted mirror that was bigger than the ones in other homes.
Michael looks at himself in the mirror, expressionless, propped up on crutches, with only one leg.

He puts the crutches aside, stands on the floor with one foot and quickly strips off his clothes. After removing his clothes, he quickly gets into the bathtub.

The hot water on his limb caused him pain, but Michael forced himself to scrub it. Since his leg had been torn a while ago and had been rained on today, he feared that if he didn't treat it properly it would become infected, and that would be a problem.

Michael didn't use any of Eleanor's products, not shampoo, not body wash, not even soap. He waited in the bathroom for a few moments for the shower rod to dry him off, and then put on his wet clothes.

The heat and cold made his legs feel extremely uncomfortable, but he put up with it.

Back in the living room, Michael sat down on the sofa and looked through the window, the rain was not going to stop.

Turning his head he looked at the woman in front of him.

Eleanor was a heavy sleeper, she rolled over and her robe slipped off, exposing a patch of white skin.

Michael surveyed Eleanor from head to toe and couldn't help but feel a lighthearted chuckle as he sat down on the couch across from her with his arms wrapped around her and his eyes closed.

Michael woke up at exactly six o'clock the next morning. He was tired from last night's tossing and turning.

The morning sunlight poured in through the window, and the rain had stopped outside.

The first thing Michael saw was Eleanor sleeping on the couch, seemingly tossing and turning in her sleep, her brow furrowed in a tight frown. michael stood up, his wet clothes aching in every way, and let out a deep breath, bracing himself on his crutches as he put on his prosthetic leg.

Michael's right leg was a thigh amputation with a short stump, and the prosthesis required a locking hip joint and pelvic girdle for stability.

He puts on the prosthesis and prepares to leave, but as he takes his first step, he suddenly hears Eleanor's faint, tight gasps.

Michael stops and turns back.

Eleanor looks a little out of sorts.

After a moment's thought, Michael approaches with his cane, tapping Eleanor's arm, "Are you okay? Wake up."

Eleanor did not wake up, her eyebrows were more tightly wrinkled, her breathing was rapid, she seemed to be in great pain. michael wore a prosthesis, he could not crouch down, he could only bend down and touch Eleanor's forehead.

Michael, wearing a prosthesis, could not crouch down, but bent down and touched Eleanor's forehead, which was very hot.

Michael sighed, straightened up and looked at her.

His mind made up, he finally sighed again, and walked to the door, bracing himself on his crutches. Eleanor's coat hangs on a hanger in the doorway, and he rummages through his pockets-and sees that she put the key in after opening the door yesterday.

As it turned out, he not only found the key, he found something else.

It was the contact information he'd left for her a few days ago. The paper was crumpled beyond recognition, the ink blurred by the rain.

Michael held the paper in his hand and stared at it for a moment.

Eleanor hadn't called him, she hadn't pressed him for the money, she hadn't even asked for a note, and Michael sometimes thought that Eleanor didn't care if he paid the five thousand dollars or not.

Michael put the note back in Eleanor's pocket, took his keys and left the house.

He called the garage staff, told them where the car broke down, and told them to come straight to the tow truck. Then, with his crutches, he searched the streets for a pharmacy.

Walking was difficult, especially now that he was in poor health. After a while, when he realized that the neighborhood was deserted and that there were very few supermarkets, he began to regret having brought his prosthesis with him. If he hadn't, it would have been much easier to walk.

Michael cursed under his breath, he wore the prosthesis to protect his self-esteem, he didn't like to be stared at in public places, he understood this kind of self-deception.

It was useless, but it couldn't be stopped.

After more than half an hour of walking, he finally found a pharmacy.

He walked into the pharmacy, and the girl selling the medicine saw a man on crutches, froze for a moment, and asked, "Sir, can I help you?"

Michael said, "Fever from the rain, give me some medicine."

"Okay." The girl quickly took out several boxes of medicines, "The temperature has dropped in the past few days, there are many people with wind-cold and flu, how are the symptoms? Any phlegm, sore throat?"

Michael replied, "Consider it a pain."

The girl let out an "oh" sound, and handed Michael several kinds of medicines, "These are for wind-cold colds, and have very good effects."

Michael doesn't take the pills and nods, "Okay, help me pack them."

The girl put the medicine in a bag and handed it to Michael, "Forty-six in total."

Michael pays the bill and walks out of the drugstore with the medicine in his left hand.

It was still a long walk back, and Michael tried his best to distract himself from the pain in his leg. By the time he got back to Eleanor's apartment, his arms were shaking.

Eleanor had not yet woken up, so Michael put the crutches aside and removed the prosthesis.

It was so much easier without the prosthesis. He took back the crutches, opened the pill box and looked through the piles of pills before finally picking out the Contac.

He had used this drug before, it should be effective.

However, with the pills out, Michael looked around and couldn't find any water.

The kitchen in this apartment was as clean as a whistle, not a speck of grease in sight. He searched for a long time and finally found an unopened saucepan in the cupboard, but when he connected the water, he realized that the gas valve had not been turned on at all.

Michael, not wanting to be bothered by Eleanor's lifestyle, dragged himself to his knees and turned on the gas valve.

As the hot water boiled, Michael thought to himself, "This is the first good show in the kitchen.

Once the water was boiling, he poured it into a cup and set it on the coffee table to cool.

In the meantime he glanced at Eleanor, who still hadn't woken up.

Shortly afterward, Michael crushed the pills into a powder and placed them in the warm water. He sits on the wing of the couch, gently holds Eleanor's head, and whispers, "Drink the water."

Eleanor was confused, her mouth was dry, the water was like rain, Eleanor closed her eyes tightly, and eagerly drank the water through Michael's hand.

"Slowly ......" Michael reminded her, checking that she would not choke.

After giving her the medicine, Michael found Eleanor's bedroom in the house, brought a thin quilt from the bed, and covered Eleanor with it.

When all was said and done, Michael felt a little woozy. He hadn't eaten last night or this morning, and with the rain, he felt he needed some medicine too.

He took the rest of the medicine and sat down on the couch to rest, thinking he would leave when Eleanor's fever broke. However, he was too tired to sit on the couch and fall asleep again.

This time, it was Eleanor who woke up first.

She woke up with a dry throat.

Eleanor knew she had a cold, and the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes made her jump and almost cry out from the dryness of her throat.

Before her eyes was a leg - a prosthesis, of course.

Eleanor's first thought was that Michael hadn't left yet, which he obviously hadn't, or else the prosthetic would be here.

Last night she had known that Michael's leg was somewhat disabled, but she hadn't realized that it was so severe that it was simply gone.

Eleanor swallowed hard and tried to think of a way to tell Michael that it was wrong for him to scare people with his prosthetic leg. She sat up and realized the covers had slipped off her body.

One good thing about Eleanor was that she was seldom stupid, even when she was sick, her mind was still clear.

She knew she hadn't covered herself last night.

Eleanor turns her head and sees a pill box on the coffee table, along with several glasses of water.

When she looks up again, she sees Michael, his eyes quietly closed, asleep on the couch.

In that moment, Eleanor was overcome with mixed emotions. Although she had talked to Michael last night, and even brought him home, she hadn't looked closely at his face.

4

That Cab Driver doesn't look too bad.

According to the standard of young girls nowadays, Michael Chen's limbs are not so attractive, he has no vitality, no kind of floating and evil temperament, at most he can be regarded as having decent features.

But he is very much in line with the aesthetics of women of Eleanor Greene's age.

Michael Chen was simple in appearance, with short, clean-cut black hair and small, well-defined eyes, and Eleanor remembered clearly how deep and dark his eyes were.

Although he was missing a leg, he didn't look thin at all, instead his body looked solid, with a broad chest and broad shoulders, Eleanor envisioned his other leg in her mind, and was surprised to find that Michael was actually quite well built.

His lips were firm, sometimes slack in slumber, but Michael kept them closed even when he slept, with the faintest hint of lines around them.

Eleanor had read a book on face reading that said people with lips like that were often extremely stubborn.

Whether Michael was stubborn or not, Eleanor didn't know.

Her eyes moved to the side, where the prosthesis that almost frightened her lay. It didn't look like much, one of Sebastian Waters' clients had been an amputee, an expatriate, and Eleanor remembered that it was summer, the man was unashamedly wearing shorts, the leg prosthesis looked high-tech, like something out of an American blockbuster movie, and he walked like a normal human being, without any difference at all.

Eleanor vaguely remembers Michael's posture as he walked, which seemed a bit cumbersome.

The man was asleep with his legs wrapped around him, and for a sleeping man, he was sitting in an upright position.

At first, Eleanor looked around, then her eyes returned to the coffee table in front of her.

There was a glass of water, a pill box, and her house keys, and after a moment's reflection, Eleanor was able to make sense of what had happened.

She stood up and went to her bedroom to change her clothes.

As she walked into the bathroom, a thought crossed Eleanor's mind - the five thousand dollars, it seemed like a no-brainer.

She changed into a set of linen long-sleeved clothes and pants, returned to the living room, took out her cell phone and called for a double takeout on the balcony. The sleep she had just had, she was sweating profusely, and her fever had subsided a little, although it was still a bit uncomfortable, but she still endured it. She returned to the living room and took a sip from her glass of water.

The water in the glass was warm, where did the hot water come from?

Where did all this hot water come from? She pondered this unimportant question as she wandered around, waiting for Michael to wake up.

Strangely, the Cab Driver had touched her.

Eleanor knew herself to be an aloof woman, and in fact, the Greene family suffered from this problem; relationships were always simple and straightforward. Growing up, Eleanor never attended family gatherings, except for the old man's birthday and New Year's Eve dinner, which she never looked forward to. She never looked forward to it, and everyone in the Greene family had his or her own circle of life, with no interference from each other.

She has had two boyfriends, one Chinese and one foreigner, who did everything a normal couple would do in a relationship, but it never worked out. In retrospect, Eleanor can't even remember what they looked like.

The only reason for their separation was personality differences.

Eleanor knows she's cold, and she knows it, but she doesn't intend to change.

Her work revolves around old things full of stories, busy and full of life. With the exception of her brother, Christopher Greene, her life has been a little less exciting.

That's why the slightest touch of the Cab Driver feels so real to Eleanor.

As Eleanor's mind wanders, Michael finally wakes up.

He opened his eyes, staggered for a moment when he saw Eleanor, seemed to be taking a moment, then he straightened up and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Sorry, fell asleep." Michael's voice was low and hazy with the haze of a freshly awakened sleeper.

Eleanor looked at him and said, "My name is Eleanor Greene."

Michael froze for a moment, not understanding why Eleanor had suddenly introduced herself, and after a moment's pause, he responded, "Hello, Ms. Eleanor." Then after a moment's thought, he added, "My name is Michael Chen."

Eleanor nodded, glancing at the pillbox on the table.

"Is that what I bought?"

Michael nods, "Well, I had a fever last night, and he took my keys and went out to buy medicine, they should be on the table." He scanned the table, but realized that there was no key on the table, strangely Eleanor continued, "He put it away."

Michael paused for a moment, then said, "He was in a hurry and went through my coat pocket, that's all."

Eleanor's comment about putting them away sounded more than a little reproachful, and both parties realized it.

She shook her head, "He didn't mean it that way, and thanked me for getting his medicine."

Michael didn't know what to say, but said, "You're welcome," and silence fell on both of them.

He hesitated to put on his prosthesis and leave, but Eleanor in front of him kept staring at him, making it difficult for him to move. His prosthesis was complicated to put on, requiring him to pull up his pants, and Michael didn't dare expose his legs to a woman.

"Ms. Eleanor, it's time for him to go."

"I didn't eat, did I? I ordered takeout, it'll be here soon, eat before you go."

Michael didn't realize that Eleanor had ordered takeout while he was asleep, he shook his head, "No, I'll go back and eat."

"What if you've already ordered? You can't waste it if you're eating alone."

Michael:"...... "He wanted to say something more, but when he saw Eleanor's insistent expression, he finally gave up.

"Okay, then, I'll trouble you."

Eleanor didn't stop, and both sides fell into silence once again.

The silence wasn't awkward, Michael wasn't much of a talker, and Eleanor seemed to think of something, and turned to Michael, "Where did I get the hot water?"

"He didn't find any water, I just boiled it, and took apart one of my new pots."

Eleanor was silent for a moment.

Michael thought she was angry, and apologized again, "I'm sorry, without my permission-"

"Do you have a pot in your house?"

"Huh?"

Eleanor looked at Michael, puzzled, "Do you have pot? How come you didn't know?"

Michael thought the other man was a bit jumpy, and after a moment's deliberation, he said, "There's one, unopened, in the easternmost cabinet in the kitchen." He was afraid that Eleanor could not remember, described in detail, "A milk pot, brand name is Nepal, stainless steel."

Eleanor pondered over it with no expression on her face, and finally let out a soft "ah": "It was a free gift with the purchase of kitchenware, she remembers."

Michael had nothing to say, but nodded.

Eleanor looked at him and suddenly asked, "Am I not feeling well?"

Michael glanced at her, and Eleanor added, "I don't look well."

Michael realized that he was indeed not feeling well, his clothes were damp and clinging to his body, especially where his right leg was swollen and painful. He was tempted to go to the bathroom, wondering in the back of his mind if his leg was infected.

Eleanor saw that he hadn't said anything, which basically confirmed what she was thinking. She walked into the kitchen with a glass of water, and with half a pot of water in the milk pan, Eleanor poured it into the glass, refilled it, and returned to the living room.

She handed the water to Michael, and said, "Did I get a chill too?" She picked up the pill box on the coffee table and glanced at it, "I'll take some pills too."

Michael takes the glass of water, but doesn't drink. He says to Eleanor, "Thanks, he's fine, no need to take it."

His words were true though, although he did have a little cold, but it wasn't the fundamental problem, these medicines couldn't cure his leg, it was futile to take them.

Eleanor asked, "Then what's wrong with me?"

Michael was used to not explaining his physical condition to outsiders, he shook his head, "He's fine, he'll be fine in a little while."

Eleanor heard his refusal and said nothing more.

After waiting a little longer, the delivery finally arrived.


Eleanor brings the takeout back, puts it on the coffee table and unwraps it. She stopped in mid-opening.

Michael glanced at her movements, and Eleanor said, "Just a set of chopsticks."

"Just get another pair."

Eleanor looked up at him, "I don't have any chopsticks at home."

"...... "Michael really didn't know what to say, and only whispered in the silence, "I'll eat then."

"No." Eleanor shook her head, "He ordered for two, why give him a pair of chopsticks? I'll eat first, he'll call them to bring it over."

Michael didn't realize how serious a pair of chopsticks was, he thought about making another run, and after much deliberation told Eleanor, "No, he'll just use a spoon, there was a complimentary one in the pot that came apart earlier."

"Really?" Eleanor stood up and went to the kitchen, half a day later she pulled out a long spoon, "I'm sure that one's okay for eating?"

Michael nods, "Okay, just give him that one."

Eleanor hands him the spoon, then the two silently begin to eat.

Michael was carrying his lunch box, and he ate quickly, using the spoon basically for picking at his food. He wanted to eat quickly, so he could leave before his leg seized up.

Eleanor ate a lot slower, Michael's speed put an invisible pressure on her, she ate a little and then put it down.

Michael's lunchbox was devoured, not a single grain of rice left. He put his lunchbox on the table, and thanked, "Thanks for the hospitality, he's got to go."

Eleanor nodded, he did have to go.

Michael reached for his crutches, they were resting on the side of the couch, when he reached for them he pressed down on his right limb, Eleanor saw him pause, his brow furrowed slightly, she gritted her teeth in her mind, and forced herself to take the crutches for him.

The moment he stood up, his shoulders buckled slightly, a sign that he couldn't hold himself up. michael was sweating coldly, cursing in his mind that the more he thought about it, the closer he got.

Eleanor didn't think much of it, she saw his right leg trembling, so she stood up to support him, "Am I okay? Is it okay?"

Eleanor grabbed Michael's leg and arm, which tensed.

Michael's face flushed slightly, and he stabilized himself, "Thank you."

Eleanor saw that he was sweating and frowned, "Am I not feeling well too?"

Michael shook his head, "It's fine."

Eleanor looks down and notices that Michael's right hip is shaking slightly. She looks up, Michael's face is palpitatingly close.Eleanor backs off a little, and says bluntly to Michael, "I can't do this like this, why don't you take me to the hospital."

Michael looked at her in shock, the woman wasn't too much trouble, but he didn't refuse.

"I'm really fine, no need to bother."

"How can I walk like this?"

Eleanor's eyes were like knives, she seldom glared, they were always flat, Michael looked at her, he couldn't discern any malice in the words, so he looked away, "He can walk."

Eleanor turned, stretched out her legs, brought her coat, which was hanging by the door, and turned to Michael, "You're taking me to the hospital."

Michael took a deep breath as Eleanor looked at him without a word. He couldn't see any fluctuation in her eyes, didn't bother to say anything else, and nodded.

"Can you go downstairs and get the car?"

Michael nodded again.

Eleanor opened the door and walked out first, and Michael watched her go for half a minute before he started to move.

He pulled up his pants leg, looked down, and as he expected, the leg was indeed infected.Michael sighed, turned around, put the prosthesis next to his leg, and walked out the door.

Luckily this Apartment has an elevator ...... Michael muttered to himself in the elevator stall.

Eleanor pulls up and Michael puts the prosthetic leg in the backseat. He was going to sit in the backseat, but Eleanor reached over and opened the passenger door for him.

Michael gets in and puts his crutches in the back seat.

The car starts and stops for a few moments, and Michael feels something strange, just as Eleanor turns to look at him.

"Buckle up."

"......" Michael, who had never been in the habit of wearing a seatbelt, nodded and fastened it.

Eleanor started the car and drove out of the neighborhood. As she drove, she asked him, "Going to the third hospital? It's the closest to the third hospital."

"No need to go to the hospital, please take me to City Rehab Center."

"Rehab Center?" The car paused for a split second, Eleanor glanced at Michael in the afterglow, and asked again, "Where is the rehab center?"

Michael said, "At the intersection of Thirteenth Avenue."

Eleanor parked the car on the side of the road and started to set up the navigation, Michael watched in silence as she fiddled with it for half a day but couldn't get it right, so he said, "Thirteen Wefts Road is right next to Qishan Road, it's just a twenty-minute drive from there. He can show me the way."

Eleanor turned around, "I'll lead the way then."

The car was quiet, the two of them barely spoke, Eleanor didn't have the habit of listening to the radio or music in the car, and Michael gave her directions at the key intersection, which was really just a turn, and then drove all the way to the end of the road, Eleanor had never imagined that there would be a rehab center so close to where she lived.

After twenty minutes of driving, they arrived at their destination.

As Eleanor looked out of the car, the rehab center appeared to be a new building, with four floors that looked brand new. There was a line of cars parked in front of the center, Eleanor found an empty space and parked her car.

Michael unbuckled his seatbelt and said to Eleanor, "Thanks, I can do the rest myself."

Eleanor took off the key: "No, wait until I take care of you tomorrow."

Michael: "......" He moves out of the car and opens the back door while standing on one foot. Eleanor's car is parked very close to a neighboring car, so the door doesn't open well, and Eleanor says: Eleanor saw this and said: "I'll wait for you, I'll get it for you."

Eleanor took her crutches out of the other side of the car, and when she saw the prosthetic leg in the back seat, she froze, and tentatively decided to just take the crutches.

"Is there a registration there?"

Michael walks beside Eleanor, propped up on his crutches, and just calmly says, "No, he texted the doctor, the meds will be fine when he picks them up."

"Oh."

The entrance to the rehab center was ramped, they walked into the first floor, Eleanor saw a few wheelchairs at the entrance to the first floor, obviously for the convenience of the patients, Eleanor said to Michael, "Can I just use this? Can I push it?"

Michael didn't say anything, so Eleanor pushed one, "This way, save your strength."

Michael did have a hard time standing, he didn't like wheelchairs much before, but now he couldn't afford to be a pushover.

Eleanor puts his crutches next to his legs, and Michael uses the wheelchair to move slowly, "Which floor is the doctor on?"

Michael pushed his wheelchair towards the elevator, looking familiar with the place, "Third floor."

Eleanor follows closely behind him, walking through the corridors of the rehabilitation center with accessibility features, ramps, blind alleys, etc. Eleanor has never been in such close contact with the world of disability before, so she follows closely beside Michael.

On the third floor, as soon as the elevator door opens, Eleanor sees a sign in the hallway that reads "Physical Rehabilitation".

The corridor is quiet, with a few rooms to the left and right, and as Eleanor passes by, she sees the door of one of the rooms slightly open, in which a few patients are being trained to walk, with the doctor giving them instructions.

Michael walks straight into the far end of the office and knocks on the door, which is quickly opened.

He knocked on the door and someone opened it quickly. The person who opened the door was an older doctor with a kind face who smiled happily when he saw Michael.

"Xiao Chen, come in. Did you get my message? What's the matter, leg infection?" Michael and Eleanor entered the office together, which was very spacious and had only the old doctor in it. There was a desk in the room, and a few pots of flowers in the corner.

The old doctor pulled up a bench and patted it, "Here, get down, let me see."

"Dr. Matthews......" Michael moved from the wheelchair to the bench with difficulty, his right leg stiff and slack. The old doctor frowned, "Ouch, looks swollen, what's going on here?"
Michael whispered, "Got it by accident."

Eleanor was beside herself with mixed emotions.

5

That would be because of the rain yesterday, she thought to herself. If he hadn't taken her home, Christopher's leg wouldn't have been in trouble. And Eleanor had just noticed that Michael's clothes were dry. He'd been wearing wet clothes all night, so it was a wonder anything hadn't happened to him.

Eleanor thought back to last night, when she had used Michael's disability to force him to come home with her to get out of the rain. It was a terrible way to go about it, but she thought it was a wise decision, as the consequences of a night in the fall rain could have been much worse.

Dr. Matthews brought a tray of alcohol pads and walked over to Christopher, "Here, let me take a look at his leg."

Christopher's pressed against his pants, he glanced up at Eleanor, clearly hesitating.

Dr. Matthews followed his line of sight, snapped to attention, and asked Eleanor, "Is that one ... ?"

For a moment, both men were silent.

How to describe their relationship?

Friends? Obviously not.

A casual acquaintance? Doesn't seem to count either.

Then it's just a relationship between a debtor and a debtor, but that's not saying much.

Christopher opened his mouth, but Eleanor spoke before he could, "He's my neighbor."

Christopher gave her a look that silently shut his mouth.

"A neighbor." Dr. Matthews, not doubting, took a piece of sterilized cotton with tweezers, and said to Christopher, "Well, let me check first."

Christopher glanced at Eleanor again, and it was clear that she had no desire to hold him back, Christopher sighed and uncrossed his legs.

Dr. Matthews lifted Christopher's leg up, and Eleanor tried to look as calm as possible.

A shock inevitably ran through her mind.

Christopher's leg was no longer a leg in Eleanor's opinion. There was only a short section left, and the muscles at the base of the leg were visibly atrophied, yet red from swelling.

The amputation left a long scar, which Eleanor felt had not fully recovered - the truth was, if a man had a pus-filled wound like that on his body, he shouldn't go anywhere but to the hospital.

Dr. Matthews cleaned the area around the wound with an antiseptic cotton ball, which hurt as Eleanor watched, but Christopher kept his head down and didn't make a sound at all.

"I'm so tired!" Dr. Matthews commented fiercely, "I'm only halfway through my physical therapy, and if I don't go back and recuperate, I'm going to get worse!"

I don't know if Christopher couldn't speak because he was in pain, or because Dr. Matthews' words were too much for him to refute, but he leaned against the wall quietly.

"The wound is already infected." Dr. Matthews concluded.

That made Christopher have a slight reaction, "No, he can just go back and nurse himself for a few days."

"Don't use youth as an excuse!" Dr. Matthews was a bit angry, "I didn't do the physical therapy in the first place, I went back to nurse, and what happened? I don't have any nursing knowledge, is he trying to scare me? He'll probably have to have his leg amputated if he keeps this up!"

Christopher was silent.

Dr. Matthews felt that his words were a bit heavy, and softened his tone a bit, "Take good care of the wound, it's useless for me to just rub it on him." Said, he suddenly turned to Eleanor, "I have to persuade him too! He is so stubborn!"

Eleanor was suddenly pulled into the conversation, startled, she looked at Dr. Matthews with round eyes and nodded her head in agreement, "ah ... yeah, hospitalize him, he'll recover faster with someone to look after him."

"This young lady really knows her stuff." Dr. Matthews found an ally, felt the odds were much better, "It doesn't have to be for too long, a month is about right. I'm not doing this for him, it's me who's suffering."

Christopher was silent for a while, and whispered, "No, you can prescribe medication for him."

Dr. Matthews sighed, and knowing Christopher's temperament, decided not to argue any further, "Then get me the medicine, I'll wait here."

After Dr. Matthews left, Eleanor stood still, looking at Christopher who was holding his head down to endure the pain, suddenly felt that there was something different about this cab driver.

Dr. Matthews quickly retrieved the medication and handed it to Christopher in a bag, "I've prescribed both topical and internal medication, and I know how to use them." He didn't seem to want to persuade Christopher to be hospitalized anymore, "Don't hold out, if the inflammation doesn't go down in a few days, you must come here, that's no joke!"

Christopher nodded, "He knows, thank you."

Dr. Matthews sighed and went back to his desk to work on his paperwork, Eleanor asked, "So it's time to go?"

Dr. Matthews said, "What, wait here, hang an IV before you go."

Looking at the order from Dr. Matthews, Eleanor notices that he has gone out again, and returns in a few moments with an IV bag. After adjusting the syringe, he handed the bag to Eleanor, "Here, hold this for him."

Eleanor understood, took the bag and watched as he skillfully lanced Christopher's needle, Eleanor held the bag aloft. As soon as the needle was in place, the phone rang on his desk. Dr. Matthews picked it up, said a few words, hung up, turned to Eleanor and Christopher and said, "There's something going on upstairs, he's got to go and have a look around, he'll be back in a minute. Get an IV stand when he gets back."

Dr. Matthews went out, and Eleanor and Christopher were the only ones left in the room.

Christopher was leaning against the wall, looking a bit tired from the dampness of his clothes and from enduring the morning.

Eleanor sensed his tiredness, but could not find any topic to communicate with him, and remained silent. After a while, Eleanor's arms and legs were getting sore, but Dr. Matthews had not yet returned.

Christopher moved, he looked up at Eleanor, and said softly, "I'll help him lift, just do it yourself."

Eleanor said, "How am I supposed to do that? It'll only take a moment."

"I'll really need you tomorrow."

"It's fine."

How long does it take to hang on to a bag of medicine?

Eleanor looked at the medicine in the infusion bag, and was a little hesitant.

It should take about twenty minutes. She remembers very clearly, once she was sick and hospitalized to hang the bottle, carrying the bottle to the smoking area, from the beginning of hanging to remove the needle, she smoked two cigarettes.

Eleanor calculated that the time to smoke a cigarette is about ten minutes, the time has always been very accurate.

Just as Eleanor came back from the IV bag, she was surprised to find that Christopher had fallen asleep.

His needled leg was resting on the stool next to him, his back against the wall, his head bowed in deep sleep.

The room was quiet.

Eleanor stops looking at the IV bag and slowly turns her head towards the sleeping man.

The way his head was lowered revealed a hint of depression, an indescribable feeling of oppression that Eleanor could hardly describe in words.

After a while, there was a sound of footsteps outside the room, and Eleanor immediately turned back to him. The moment Dr. Matthews entered the room, she made a "shh" gesture, Dr. Matthews reacted quickly and didn't make a sound, Eleanor signaled that Christopher was asleep, Dr. Matthews nodded, pushed an IV stand over, and whispered to Eleanor that Christopher was asleep. Dr. Matthews nodded, pushed an IV stand over, and whispered to Eleanor, "Ouch, the delay is too long, you're tired of lifting yourself up, right?"

Eleanor shook her head, "It's fine."

Though she said it was fine, Eleanor couldn't help but shake her shoulders when Dr. Matthews took the IV bag away from her.

Dr. Matthews whispered, "It's normal for him to fall asleep because of the painkillers and sleeping properties."

Eleanor nodded.

The medicine bag hangs, Dr. Matthews looks bored, and approaches Eleanor for a chat, "Are you Christopher's neighbor?"
"Well, his name is Eleanor, you can just call me Ellie."

"Good." Dr. Matthews and Eleanor went to the desk, taking care not to wake Christopher.

"Ellie, how long have I known Christopher?"

Eleanor pauses, and says, "Not long, he just moved here not long ago."

Dr. Matthews nodded, understanding, "He's never come over here for physical therapy alone, first time he's seen someone with him."

Curious, Eleanor asked, "Has he always come by himself?"

"Yes." Dr. Matthews said, "It shouldn't be like this at all, about half a year ago Christopher was discharged from the hospital for leg surgery, physical therapy was not done before he ran away, the wound has not been properly treated, off and on, occasionally better, occasionally pus and infection, only to remember to come to get the medicine. Alas ... don't know how the family thinks, this torture is too undeserved."

Eleanor listened quietly to Dr. Matthews' words and looked at Christopher, turning her face so that she could see his missing right leg. The man sleeping with his head down, against the light from the balcony, looked very fragile.

Dr. Matthews then rambled on for a long time, seemingly blaming Christopher's family for not taking care of him, and Christopher for not taking care of himself, while Eleanor acted as a quiet listener.

After a while, the bag of fluids was finally finished, and as Dr. Matthews was removing the needle, Christopher woke up. He obviously didn't realize that he had fallen asleep. He wiped his face with his unshot leg and sat up straight.

Eleanor looked at him as he moved back to his wheelchair and sighed, he seemed to be quite tired.

They said goodbye to Dr. Matthews and left the City Rehab Center.

At the door, Christopher offered to take a taxi home, but Eleanor immediately refused, "I can't even stand, how can I walk by myself?" She wanted to help Christopher, but didn't realize that she was just opening the door for him.

"I'll take you home."

By the time they reached the car, Christopher didn't have the strength to say anything else.

"Where's my house?"

"Seven Horse Path." The fatigue in Christopher's voice was obvious.

Seven Horse Path was on the south side of the city, not far from the Larkview Police Station, and Eleanor knew roughly where it was.

The car drove smoothly and was quiet as usual, Christopher fell asleep in the car again.

It took about fifty minutes to drive from City Rehab Center to Christopher's house, Christopher was sleeping heavily, his head was a little crooked, Eleanor drove as steadily as she could, and when she finally arrived, more than an hour had passed.

Seven Horse Path is not a busy street, basically there are six or seven floors, no elevator.

Eleanor parked the car on the side of the road, thought for a while, but did not wake up Christopher.

When the car was turned off, Eleanor leaned back in the seat, and felt for her cigarettes. After holding the cartridge in his lap for a while, Eleanor looked sideways at Christopher, who was still sleeping, and finally put the cartridge back into his pocket.

When Christopher woke up, it was already dark. He opened his eyes, his eyes were red and bloodshot, Christopher propped up his body, looked around, obviously not yet fully awake.

The street lights outside were already on, dimly lit.

Christopher took a breath, reacted, "Eleanor--"

Eleanor knew what he was going to say, and interrupted, "It's okay, he didn't wake you up because he thought you were sleeping too much."

Christopher was silent for a moment, finally whispering a thank you.

"Where is my house?"

"It's just around the corner, just walk."

Eleanor didn't say anything and started the car, Christopher noticed that Eleanor had turned up the temperature of the air conditioner outside the car, and even though his clothes were a bit damp, it wasn't that cold.

Christopher glanced at Eleanor, who was concentrating on driving.

The car turned off the main road and entered a small alley, Eleanor's driving skills were average, in that pitch-black road, she couldn't help but lean forward, carefully observing the road.

Christopher saw that she was not driving the car very steadily, so he said, "Just stop here."

Eleanor ignored him, still focused on driving, "Where's my house?"

Christopher stretched out his leg, pointing to a building, Eleanor nodded, "Okay."

But Christopher saw that she had absolutely no intention of stopping the car, took a deep breath, and could only wait peacefully in his heart.

This road Eleanor drove for almost ten minutes before reaching the end, when the car stopped, Christopher breathed a sigh of relief, as if a big stone had fallen to the ground.

She pouted and looked sideways at Christopher.

Christopher was about to say thank you when he looked up and saw Eleanor staring directly at him.

"Eleanor?"

Eleanor raised a faint eyebrow, "I'm not driving well?"

"What?"

"I just sighed, was I thinking I'm a bad driver?"

Christopher was confused, he opened his mouth, but didn't know where to explain, "Eleanor... I misunderstood."

Eleanor turned her head, pulling the car keys out, "That's it then."

Christopher couldn't make sense of the situation, got out of the car, his legs still hurt like hell, but he could only try to endure it.

The air was especially fresh after the rain, Eleanor took a deep breath, and said to Christopher, "I'll take you back."

As she took the words seriously, Christopher braced himself on his crutches and told Eleanor, "No, just go back yourself."

"What floor of my house?"

Christopher didn't want to say too much, but Eleanor asked too casually, so she said, "Five."

"There's no elevator in that building, is there?"

"Uh-huh."

Eleanor said, "I'll walk you up."

"That won't be necessary, I'll bother you tomorrow."

"I have nothing to do, let's go."

Christopher finally frowned, whispered again, "I'll go back by myself." Without waiting for Eleanor to reply, he turned around and walked away, bracing himself on his crutches.

Eleanor noticed Christopher's obvious impatience, and looked at his back, limping into the neighborhood, with some hidden regrets in her heart.

Back in the car, Eleanor did not start, but lit a cigarette.

"What's the big deal." She said to herself, "There's really no need to leave in such a hurry."

Ten minutes passed, and by the time the cigarette was finished, the car smelled of smoke, and Eleanor suddenly remembered something, looked in her coat pocket, and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper.

She turned on the car lights, spread the paper flat, the sight was blurred, could not see what was written on it.

Eleanor stared at the tattered paper for a while, an indescribable feeling welled up in her heart, she couldn't help but sigh, and threw the paper into the ashtray.

Just in the moment of turning around, she suddenly realized that there was a strip of something on the back seat.

The prosthetic leg was lying quietly on the car seat.

Eleanor looked at the leg and smiled.

When she turned her head again, the light from the headlights illuminated a figure on crutches walking toward her, and without giving him a second glance, Eleanor backed the car out of the alley.

Christopher couldn't catch up with her and tried to call out, but Eleanor didn't seem to hear him.

On the drive home, Eleanor felt a great sense of relief.

"Let's just say he's really not in a hurry to buy or sell ..."

After nearly another hour of driving, Eleanor returned to Wacken Gold, parked her car for the garage, and carried the prosthetic leg home.

She stood the prosthesis in the corner, after straightening it, she curiously stood aside and compared it with her own leg, and unexpectedly found that the prosthesis was much longer than her own leg.

After a moment's comparison, Eleanor walks over to the couch and lights a cigarette.

Through the haze of smoke, she looked at the prosthetic leg, a complicated look in her half-smiled eyes.

That morning, Eleanor did not sleep well. She had a dream, in which many strange things appeared, and when she woke up, she realized that it was after three o'clock in the morning.

Eleanor rubbed her hair and woke up in the dark.

Walking through the empty rooms, Eleanor felt like she was in the middle of a starry night.

The driver...

For some reason, Eleanor thought of Christopher.

In their short contact, what impressed Eleanor most was Christopher's sleeping face.

The first time was at home, when he fell asleep on the couch after buying her medicine.

The second time was at the rehab center, when he fell asleep with a hangnail.

Another time, in the car on the way home, he fell asleep again.

It seemed like Christopher was in a deep sleep for a couple of days.

Eleanor murmured, "Maybe I'm saying too little..."

That night, Eleanor waited until dawn, and surprisingly, she didn't feel tired, but rather energized.

She waited.

Waiting for Christopher.

Eleanor knew Christopher would come for her, not like he had the money for another pair of prosthetics, and he couldn't get out of the car without them.

There are limited chapters to put here, click the button below to continue reading "Broken Pottery Bowl"

(It will automatically jump to the book when you open the app).

❤️Click to read more exciting content❤️