Chapter 10 - I Found You

In a restaurant-café one street away from Taiji Academy, that private school for the wealthy, Li Xia slumped over a table.

The café was primarily a dessert café during the day and a restaurant at night. Because of the excellent location in the city - though not in the city centre and a little apart rom the main business district - the café offered breakfast, lunch and dinner aside from specializing in desserts. At this moment they weren't busy but soon the place would be full with the lunch rush.

She took this moment of peace before the rush to sigh and cry pitifully, "Why did I do that?"

"Why did you do what?" Su YiWei, her fellow colleague stopped beside the table she was slumped over. "Why do you look like someone killed your pet? When you insisted on moving here with me, I told you it would not be easy. Why did you follow me to this country."

Li Xia turned her head away.

While Li Xia and Su YiWei attended the same university abroad, they got to know each other. After their studies finished, Su YiWei had to return to her home country. At the time, Li Xia, who was questioning her own mental health, decided it was a good idea to follow her. Li Xia wasn't totally a stranger to the country as she had lived here from childhood until twelve years old. Now that she was twenty-three, why not return?

"It was a good idea at the time," she excused herself.

Su YiWei snorted. "Sure. Running to another country without telling your parents was a really good idea."

"I don't want to join my father's company. I'm old enough to choose my own job."

"A comic artist?" Su YiWei turned up her nose. "How can you make any money as a comic artist. Your parents are right to be worried."

When Li Xia ignored her thoughts on comics, Su YiWei returned the topic to her slumped state. "Two weeks at this job and you regret coming here? Wish you had stayed in that country with your parents?"

No, not at all. "Remember the little baby I told you about this morning?" She sighed, "Why did I scare him? I should have left him alone."

Su YiWei sat on a seat across from her. "Are you still worried? The child likely doesn't remember you anymore."

Li Xia didn't believe that. "I scared him so much that he was crying for his mom. I think the guard at the academy wanted to arrest me." Hours later, her heart still hurt from hearing the baby's cry. "He's the cutest baby I've ever seen."

Su YiWei shook her head. "This is the tenth time you're saying that. He can't be a baby if he goes to Taiji," she reminded, "he must be at least three years old."

"His uniform was so cute. He's this little pudgy dumpling and he looks like he'll get too fat for his uniform soon." She turned dreamily to Su YiWei, hugging herself tight and imagining the little dumpling in her arms. "His mother is lucky to have a cute little dumpling like that to hug."

Su YiWei sat watching.

Then, "Is that child so inspiring that you want to run out and get a baby?"

Su YiWei was joking. Unfortunately, Li Xia's answer was, "Yes!"

"No! No! No!" Su YiWei grabbed a promotional dessert poster from the tabletop and used it to smack Li Xia. "No! What is wrong with you? First you run away from home, then you make my business hire you even though you never worked a day in your life in the service industry, now you want to run off and have a baby? No!"

She understood that Su YiWei only took responsibility for her safety in a strange country so she didn't take offence. She grabbed the paper from her friend.

"You're crazy. Li Xia, you –"

"Alright! Alright! I won't go out and get a baby." Li Xia laughed. "Where can I find one as cute as the little dumpling anyway?"

"You!" Su YiWei stood and tossed the table menu at her. "Don't scare people!"

The lunch chef of the restaurant came out to the front. "Su YiWei, Li Xia, get back to work. The lunch crowd will be here in minutes."

The two of them hurried to the counter of the cafe, and not a moment later, the door opened. Several women came in and the place became busy. Not long after, when Li Xia was delivering a slice of cake to a boyfriend-girlfriend pair close to the window overlooking the street, she felt a small weight on her leg.

She stopped walking and looked down.

Big grey-green eyes stared up at her, shining. The eyes were large in a cute and flawless face that was too beautiful to be on a little three-year old boy. Even his eyelashes were long like a girl's.

His tiny little arms slowly wrapped around her leg and he put his chin against her skin.

Li Xia was in shock.

The little guy's arms tightened when she didn't react to him. His eyes became like they were full of stars and his little smile emerged, the beauty of it making Li Xia's heart grow so warm.

"Mom!" He called. "Mom! I found you!"

Li Xia almost had a heart attack. Little Dumpling, How am I your Mom? I didn't have time to go out and find a baby yet!

Her shock was so great that her hand became unsteady and the cake was in danger of falling. She reached out and placed it on the closest customer's table. It wasn't the customer who ordered the cake but could she care about that? She only had eyes for the little boy hugging her leg.

"Little Dumpling," she called. The boy grinned, his face becoming even more beautiful to her. "Little Dumpling, did you run away from school?" And would his parents or teacher mind if she stole the chance to hug him now?