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Chapter 62 - Jack POV(4)

At that time, Jack did not think about what role Arya would play in his life.
She was only one of his many friends, just one of them………
Jack is bad-tempered and actually, he is also a busybody.  This so-called busybody is one who, when a friend needs help, will be very happy to help and when friends have happy events, he will send gifts and blessings.  But if a friend does something that he cannot tolerate, he will criticize and despise him. 
Of course, all these were only done to his friends.
After Arya ran away, in fact, Jack had complained about her for a while in his heart.  After all, between men and women, there are distinctions and friendship is only limited.  Although in his heart, he would occasionally remember her, it was not that often.  Actually, he had called her twice with the intention to ask how she was faring, but she did not pick up his calls.  This made Jack feel a bit awkward and lowly. 
So he did not contact her again.  But once when he met Cindy and he could not help but inquire about Arya’s situation.  But Cindy did not know much about Arya’s matters.
After that, Jack did not seriously think about it and anyway, who knows what women think about in their hearts especially a weird woman like Arya.  Anyway, she had asked her friend to settle her medical bill and she had not done anything bad.  Since she was hiding from him, why then should he show warm feelings to her when he would be snubbed?  
So he passed his days regarding Arya as one of his many friends and he thought that they would carry on like this.  
But one night, he received a call from Mark and he said that Arya had disappeared.  Her phone line was canceled, her family and friends could not contact her and everyone was very anxious.  Mark asked him to help check for Arya’s home address in the hospital system records. 
He was shocked and felt the fire in his heart burned with anger. 
What is Arya, this woman thinking of?  Does she know there are responsibilities in life?  How old is she?  He clearly remembered she is 25, not 16 but she still insisted on doing this.  Sneaking away from the hospital can be overlooked but now she had also disappeared making her family and friends worry about her……what is the matter with her?
If he finds her, he must give her a proper lecture!
Sometimes, people’s feelings are very strange.  Just like some people who feel they have a natural affinity when they first set eyes on each other and they could hold amicable conversations.  Some people feel annoyed when they looked at each other and have absolutely no intention to pay any attention to each other.  And some people, after getting along for a long time, they would only have a light feeling for each other which was neither good nor bad. 
Jack could not describe his feelings for Arya.
It was not annoyance, not liking, just with a little appreciation and a bit of anger.
Anyway, it felt very strange.  She was not the same as other people.  She was stupid and funny and he could not help but bicker with her.
And this time, this lady had shown her resolute determination which made him really want to scold her.
She was actually hospitalized again with acute gastroenteritis and she had purposely chosen another hospital which clearly showed she was avoiding him.  This made him very unhappy.   
Does she need to go as far as this?
He did not harass her nor did he abuse her and he was clearly very friendly to her.  He even remembered their last conversation which was friendly, rational and they had even reached an agreement to develop their friendship.  Then suddenly she began to hide from him. 
What a strange woman…...
She must have had a disagreement with her family or encountered some other problems.  In short, she had hidden like an ostrich and disregarded the uproar that erupted outside. 
Jack, Cindy, and Mark, together they found Arya.  He was responsible for sending her home and all the way, he lectured her and also made her apply for a new cell phone card.
She answered back, she showed her bad temper but she obviously was tolerating his endless reproach. 
Suddenly, Jack understood why she hid from him. 
She still likes him!
Her expressions, her eyes, all told him that she still likes him.  Of course, he could feel it and he could also feel that she was trying to control her feelings for him.  In this situation, there is no possibility of friendship between a man and a woman.
No wonder she ran!
Normally in such situations, if he is smart, he should keep his distance from her.  After all, he did not want anything to happen between him and her.
But he had the feeling of contentment that she likes him.  In fact, there was nothing to be proud of, since he had always never lacked women’s attention.......although he had never found anyone that he likes.  For Arya to have a liking for him was not a big deal and it should not make him feel particularly happy.
He had to thought about what he should do.
But no matter what, she must apply for her cell phone card.  He really could not tolerate anyone losing contact with their family and disappearing.  When he was young, he had done such a thing during his rebellious period and he regretted it.  So, he really could not let her carry on acting so willfully. 
Okay, it was not totally for this reason only.
In short, at that time, he had really thought he would send her home after completing the application of her cell phone card.  Then he would keep a distance from her as he is a responsible man.  He has no intentions for her, so he knew he must not get too close to her since she still has feelings for him. 
If she wants to run, then let her run.
Although her actions made him feel very ill at ease.
However, the cell phone card application did not go well.  First, she was reluctant to do it and another thing, she was really poor.  She could not even afford to pay for the card application.  If she had acted a little normal such as scolding him fiercely or telling him he is a busybody or telling him seriously about her difficulties and her problems, then he thinks all his previous plans would have successfully been carried out.
But she was different from normal people.  Obviously, she was not acceptable to him scolding her, but she just looked down and displayed a grievous expression.  Obviously, she wanted to answer back but she just did not dare to raise her voice which made him have that inexplicable feeling of pleasure during his school days when he bullied others.
When they arrived at the reception hall, normal people would have said that they did not have the money and they could not do it then state they were leaving.  But Arya did not act like that.  She did not lose her temper nor did she speak but silently pulled out her wallet and showed the salesperson all the money she possessed.  The smile on the face of the enthusiastic salesperson froze and that expression was so wonderful that Jack almost could not control himself from bursting into laughter.
Of course, he did not laugh.  He held back and maintained his imposing manner.
He did not only want to maintain his imposing manner in front of her but also wanted to pay attention to his image.  In fact, his image is very good but men always wanted to have a kind of vanity in front of women, the kind of vanity that allows them to prevail above everything else.
He should not be acting like this.  The male peacock strutting in front of the female peacock to show off his beauty in the dance of courtship should not be happening between him and Arya.
But he did not feel it was that way.  He was taking care of her purely because he could not stand to see the way she was behaving.
Is that truly the reason?
Suddenly a thought flashed through his mind.  He had the impression that when this ‘wherever she goes, embarrassment follows’ lady meets up with him every time, he feels very happy.  No, no……it could not be said ‘happy’…….after all, there were several times she had made him very angry.  Uh, how then should he sum this up?
Ah……it should be said that every time, she made him feel rejuvenated!
This time, she had also made him feel rejuvenated.
So his intention to help her apply for a cell phone card, then send her home and after that, both of them keeping a distance from each other had suddenly disappeared in his mind.  He began to act foolishly as if a donkey had kicked his head, and he actually provoked her.
He should not have, but he still did it.
He deliberately said that he had helped her to settle the money for her card application and he was her creditor.  So she must treat him to a meal.
It was common knowledge that any normal person who received this kind of debt that was forced on her would kick him aside and distanced herself from him.
But Arya did not.  She was surprised, she was in a panic and she felt guilty.
Jack knew the reason…….it was because she likes him.  So that was why she reacted in such a way and the more she reacted like this, the more he could not help but wanted to bully her.
She bargained with him and told him she would do it another day.  Of course, he disagreed.
He felt bad.  Using devilish means, he succeeded in making her go out with him for dinner the next day but he had some regrets. 
What was he actually doing?
He had already passed the age of teasing girls for fun. 
With Mark, they had lifted up girls’ skirts, stepped on girls’ shoes and deflated the bicycles’ tires that belonged to girls which made the girls screaming mad, hitting them and chasing after them.  Then they were scorned by others for having depraved minds and having such silly behavior.  Those youthful days had gone forever.
He is now a mature experienced man with a career.  At his age, many men already have children and did he not give up this time-wasting game a long time ago?
What is he actually doing?
He needs to look for a suitable partner, have a love relationship, get married and have children.  But Arya is not a suitable partner.  He could not even imagine what they could talk about at the table.  Would she find him uninteresting?  He also felt she would be boring.
Jack struggled with his thoughts.  In his mind, he told himself that this would be the last time.  After they had eaten this meal, he would keep a distance between them. 
However, plans are always safe and beautiful and changes are always uncontrollable.  In the end, everything happened unexpectedly.
The next day, approaching the time of the dinner, Jack was in the operating room unable to get away.  An accident had occurred at a construction site.  The situation was very bad and many people were injured.  Many doctors were called in to help with the rescue work and Jack was one of them. 
He had no choice but to call one of the nurses to summon Nurse Rita from his ward.  She was on duty that day and she knew Arya.  It was most convenient to ask for her help.  He asked her to help him check whether there was any call from Arya.  If so, to tell her that he was busy and they could not have dinner together.
He was very busy and worked until the middle of the night. He dragged his tired body back to his office, closed his eyes and relaxed his mind and then looked for his food.  The lunch box on the table was already cold and even though he did not feel hungry, he knew that he needed to eat something. 
This kind of thing is like having reached a certain age, one has to get married.
When he thought of this, he remembered Arya.  He wondered how she reacted when he missed their appointment.  She should be relieved just like he felt relieved.
He should not have such an urge to provoke her.  She is a good girl and he is not a playboy.  So, maybe this was a warning that life gave him, reminding him that this kind of thing was not appropriate. 
Jack heated up his meal in the microwave oven.  While he ate, he was thinking that they should keep their distance as they had originally done. 
After his meal, he informed his colleagues he was leaving and went home.
Tomorrow was his off day and he could take a good rest.  He was thinking about what he should do tomorrow.  Perhaps, he should go home to have dinner with his parents.  Although he knew his parents would definitely seize the opportunity to talk to him about blind-dates and potential girls they wanted to introduce to him, it was alright, he would let them talk.  Maybe it was time for him to go on blind dates and meet some girls.
His recent behavior was obviously the result of emptiness and loneliness.  Men’s window of emptiness must not be too long otherwise men would become lowly in character.
Just like how he is now.
Soon Jack reached home.  He was wondering whether it was good for him to go on a blind-date and meet a girl, or it would be better for him to go for friend’s gatherings to meet girls.  While he was thinking, he was emptying his pockets as he wanted to take off his clothes to go to sleep.  In the process, he pulled out his phone. 
Suddenly he wanted to find out what time Arya gave him a call.  Did he take up too much of her time?
He turned on his phone and was dumbfounded.
~ My dear, carry on with your work and pay attention to your health.  The beautiful gentle Nurse Rita delivered your message very clearly to me.  Why did you trouble her?  You must thank her properly for saving myself from disgrace.  I'll go for dinner at the garden restaurant by myself.  Don’t go hungry.  Don’t think of me too much.
Instantly goosebumps sprang up on his skin with those sappy words.  Is this woman acting crazy again?
What happened this time?  What had upset her to stimulate her mental sickness?
He scrolled down and there was one more text message which was sent earlier than that one. 
~ Dr. Jack, I've arrived.  I have decided to take you to a place, where birds chirp and the fragrance of flower lingers, to have a sweet dinner with you in a romantic garden-style restaurant.  Quickly come down, I'm waiting in the atrium.  If we don’t meet, I will not leave!!!
Garden-style restaurant with birds chirping, fragrant flowers, beautiful scenery, and romantic atmosphere………
He stood there blankly and stared at the text message.
He looked and looked and finally reacted.  First, he felt excited and then felt angry.
Very good, extremely good!
When he had reflected on his bad behavior, when he had praised her for being a good girl, and told himself not to provoke her……she had actually turned the tables on him and gained the upper hand!
What is this?
This is a deliberate provocation!
She also told him not to think of her too much!
How could he not do so?  He was hopping mad and she had filled up his mind!
Perhaps, he was not someone good to get close to, perhaps, his words were unpleasant, and perhaps, he seems to be kind and practical but was a bit unapproachable.   In short, he had pursued women and he had been pursued by women but he had never, really had never been teased by a woman before!
She…….really dared to tease him!

Book Comment (70)

  • avatar
    Christina May Gonzales

    thanks for writing this

    06/09/2023

      0
  • avatar
    RasayAlthea Joy

    very nice

    29d

      0
  • avatar
    MañacapClarence

    very nice

    02/05

      0
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