Chapter 77 - You Can Depend On Me
When Jia Li finished speaking with her friend, she kept the phone beside her and continued staring into the distance.
Some minutes later, her servant came to call her for lunch. And knowing that she would quote her latest verse, the servant stopped her.
"Miss, Old Mr. Fu said you can't skip lunch, you have to eat something today."
Jia Li didn't want to prove stubborn and disrespectful to the old man because he has done a lot for her, so she followed the servant to the dining area.
There, she saw everyone seated and waiting for her.
Grandfather Fu noticed that Jia Li was becoming weaker as a result of not eating anything since the news of her parent's death.
He had already spoken to the doctor, who was present at the dining table. The best thing Jia Li. could do for herself at the moment, was to eat.
Grandfather Fu saw that Jia Li had arrived, so he gestured her to sit before he started talking to her, gently.
"Jia Li, you are like a grandchild to me, and since the first time I set my eyes on you, I had already placed you in my heart, and that makes it harder for me to watch you suffer."
Grandfather Fu sighed and continued, "I know you're going through a lot, possibly the worst phase of your life, but you have to eat something, so you will have the strength to participate in your parent's funeral arrangement. You have to send your parents off in the best state."
Jia Li listened with her head down.
That's right, she almost forgot that she had to hold a funeral service for her parents and let them rest in peace.
When Grandfather Fu felt that his words were not in vain, he gestured to her to eat as he put some vegetables on her plate.
Slowly, Jia Li picked up her chopsticks and began to eat.
Grandfather Fu smiled and started to eat as well. The rest relaxed and were relieved that Jia Li was eating. And this would be her first food since the tragic news they received.
While eating, Jia Li could not taste the food in her mouth, but she continued to eat because she had a goal in mind. She was doing this for her parents.
Few minutes into their lunch, Fu Hua was sitting close to Jia Li, noticed that had eyes had turned teary.
And slowly, he saw the tears, slowly roll down her cheeks as she continued to eat.
Fu Hua felt pain seeing her in that state, but he couldn't do anything.
When Grandfather Fu noticed that Jia Li was crying, he panicked a little, but then relaxed a bit.
He had been hoping for her to let out her emotions, but why did it have to happen now that she was having her first meal after a long time?
The Butler who was standing at the side and the doctor was sitting ad the dining table, both noticed that Jia Li was crying. They pitied her but could not console her.
Jia Li noticed she was crying and quickly put down her chopsticks and started wiping her tears away, but the more she wiped them away, the more tears that streamed down her eyes.
"Why is it not stopping?" Jia Li said in a low tone, but she was still heard.
None of them said a word to her. They became distracted from eating, but they knew they couldn't console her or make their actions of staring at her noticeable otherwise, Jia Li may try harder to lock her emotions up.
From sniffing to muffled crying, and then to wails. Jia Li cried her heart out.
Her tears signified her pains, grief, suffering, anguish, anger, frustration, and all the negative feelings and emotions she buckled up.
Seeing her tears, none of them could eat their food anymore.
Fu Hua didn't know why he felt uncomfortable and pained from watching Jia Li cry her heart out.
He didn't know why he couldn't bear watching her be in pain, and that uncomfortable feeling in his chest was still there.
Being led by his heart, Fu Hua stood up from his seat and walked to Jia Li's side.
He lifted her head and placed it on his side and said to her while patting her back.
"Jia Li, it's okay to cry, you can depend on me and grandfather, we are here for you."
Jia Li didn't know if it was the comfort of his embrace or the sincerity in his words that caused her to surrender totally to her emotions.
Jia Li cried like never before. She had her palms over her face, while her forehead leaned on Fu Hua's side.
She cried until she had no strength to cry. She cried until she fainted.
They noticed she had stopped crying, and so Fu Hua decided to check on her. He only made a small movement when the hands that were covering her face, fell to the side.
"Is she okay?" Butler Lu asked.
"Jia Li!" Grandfather Fu cried out.
Fu Hua supported her weak body, while the doctor came to their side to check up on her.
"She fainted. Her body is weak and couldn't take any stress. Allow her to rest for a while, and give her food to eat when she wakes up." The doctor instructed.
Fu Hua lifted Jia Li in his arms and carried her to her bedroom. He placed her on the bed and covered her legs with the duvet.
As he walked out, the servant walked in with a towel to clean Jia Li's face and hands.
Fu Hua went back to the dining area to meet the old man.
"Grandfather, don't you think it's a little inappropriate for us to take care of Jia Li, as men?" Fu Hua asked with furrowed brows.
He felt it would be more convenient for a woman to be taking care of Jia Li, someone who was not just a servant, and of course, Grandfather Fu understood what he said.
"There's no way I didn't think about it. Of all the women in our family, no one is good. They can only show fake love which is disgusting! I'd rather take care of Jia Li myself than invite any of them. I would have asked Juan to come over, but it will be better to leave her there."
Fu Hua understood his grandfather and didn't bring up the matter anymore.
When Jia Li woke up, her eyes were swollen. When she was given food to eat, she managed to eat a little.
At least now, she was better and was no longer looking lifeless.
Grandfather Fu allowed her to rest for a while and also to take works, before calling her to his study to talk about the funeral arrangements.
As for Jia Li's uncle, he was later brought out of prison to give his statement. At first, he wanted to deny his crimes when he learned his brother-in-law and his wife had died because of his lies, but when he was told that the loan sharks had already confessed to their crimes and gave the evidence that he deliberately wrote the wrong address, he confessed to his crimes.
Actually, whether he confessed to his crime or not, his fate had already been sealed.
After confessing to his crimes, he knew the gravity of the situation he was in and requested to see his wife.
The police officer he made a request to, stopped in his tracks and threw a glance at him.
"You really have the nerve to still make requests after everything you have done? You should be thanking God that you were not sentenced to death right away."
Then the policeman went ahead to break the news to him that he wasn't allowed to receive visitors, be it his family or friends.
"Did Jia Li give that order? I know I made some mistakes, but please allow me to see her and apologize." The man pleaded with the policeman.
"If you know the gravity of your crimes, you won't make any requests. Because of you, two innocent souls were lost. You made a young girl an orphan, and now you want to apologize to her? Let me give you a reply on her behalf, she doesn't need it."
After speaking to him, he turned to the two policemen that were holding unto the man's hands.
"Throw him into the same cell as his loan shark friends, so he can have an early taste of what a life lesson feels like!"
The man kept pleading for mercy when he learned he was going to be thrown in the same cell as the loan sharks, he began to panic and plead with them.
He already knew what was going to happen to him there, after all, he was the one that got them into that mess.
No matter how he pleaded, he was still thrown inside the same cell as the loan sharks and he became food for them.
When the loan sharks saw who was being thrown inside the same cell as them, rage clouded their mind and 5 senses.
The man saw some familiar faces and noticed the rage in their eyes, and he shuddered and swallowed hard.
Immediately the policemen locked the cell and left, the loan sharks surrounded him. They cursed him as they beat him up.
Only the cries of a grown-up man could be heard in the whole area.