CHAPTER 76: CHAPTER 76: EUGENE VAUGHN SINGS VICTORIA TO SLEEP

Eugene closed his eyes, his voice steady and calm, "I know, it’s been cured for more than two years, but it recently relapsed."

"I met Auntie Wu at the hospital. She said it was because you were too heartless to Vivian, which triggered it."

Eugene fell silent.

He’s not someone who’s easy-going. When he’s being ruthless, he can even sever a twenty-year-old childhood friendship without hesitation, tearing apart any connection.

Victoria, feeling sympathetic, continued, "I guess Auntie Wu means that if you take Vivian off the blacklist, restore her original position, and keep in touch with her, her illness will get better."

"When you’re sick, you should take medicine and get treated properly, not use illness as a moral bargaining chip against others. If you give in, it will only lead to more demands," Eugene spoke unhurriedly, his voice calm and collected. "Moreover, she knows my bottom line, and yet she knowingly crosses it, so she should bear the consequences."

Victoria, curious, asked, "What’s your bottom line?"

Eugene didn’t answer.

Victoria looked up from his embrace and softly asked, "Can’t you tell me? So I can avoid it and not cross your bottom line in the future."

Eugene’s tone was heavy, "For you, I’ve got no bottom line left."

"Really, none at all?"

Eugene lowered his head and kissed her gently on the forehead, "It’s been trampled by you long ago."

Then, he changed the subject with a more serious tone, "But that doesn’t mean you can keep doing it. It’s like being afraid of dirt; I can endure you throwing mud on me, but not every day, I would go crazy."

Victoria sighed, unsure if Eugene was deliberately coaxing her, "Too abstract."

Eugene exhaled a long breath, lazily touched her back, "Let’s sleep."

"Eugene, I can’t fall asleep." In his warm and strong embrace, Victoria’s heart remained restless, her body tense.

"I can’t sleep either."

"Can you sing?"

Eugene chuckled softly, kissed her hair dotingly, "I know a couple of songs. What do you want to hear?"

"Anything will do."

"Have you heard Eason Chan’s ’Love Transfer’?"

"I haven’t."

Eugene cleared his throat and began to sing softly and deeply, the melody enchanting, the lyrics poignant, interpreted with his magnetic voice to be quite sorrowful.

Victoria hadn’t heard the song before, but she seemed to sense some melancholy in Eugene’s gentle voice, as if trying to express something through the song.

"Memories are like moonlight that can’t be grasped; held tight, they turn dark... To brave the world until the end, it takes courage."

In the bittersweet melody, Victoria slowly drifted to sleep.

After the song ended, Eugene paused his breath for a moment before taking a deep breath, holding Victoria tightly.

He tried to soothe the pain the song had brought.

The woman in his arms breathed steadily, deeply asleep.

After a long while, Eugene touched Victoria’s hand, brought it to the front, and carefully examined her delicate white fingers under the dim light.

He gently felt the approximate size of her ring finger.

Judging by sight, it seemed one size smaller than his pinky; he held Victoria’s hand, gently bringing it to his lips, closed his eyes, and kissed it.

——

The next day, morning.

The alarm clock rang, waking Victoria from her slumber. Her hand reached out towards the sound, grabbing the phone to turn off the alarm.

She rubbed her eyes, looked around the room, and the bedding, the memories of last night becoming clear.

For the first time, she felt that marriage could also be happy.

Victoria carefully sat up, slowly moving off the bed, lifting the covers to inspect the clean mattress.

Fortunately, there were no leaks.

Victoria sighed in relief, tidying Eugene’s bedding.

She used her fingers to comb her long hair, put on slippers, and went into the bathroom. She found that the dirty clothes in the basket had been taken out by Eugene for washing.

Moments later, Victoria emerged from Eugene’s room, finding him absent in the living room, but there was activity in the kitchen.

She returned to her room to replace a clean sanitary pad.

When she came out, Eugene was already seated at the dining table, where two different breakfasts were laid out.

"Good morning," Eugene’s eyes looked gentle.

Even though they hadn’t done anything last night, Victoria still felt a bit shy, feeling that sleeping together was no different from spending the wedding night.

"Good morning," Victoria’s cheeks flushed as she sat opposite him, staring blankly at the sumptuous bowl of sweet soup in front of her.

Eugene had boiled eggs and steamed buns in front of him.

"Did you cook this for me?" Victoria felt a mix of surprise and being moved.

Eugene nodded, eagerly watching her reaction.

Victoria picked up the spoon, gently scooping up the contents in the bowl.

Red dates, lotus seeds, two shelled eggs, ginger slices, and the dark red sugar soup.

Victoria couldn’t help the smile on her face, glanced at Eugene, and then lowered her head to take a bite.

The red dates were sweet and pitted, the lotus seeds soft and without center. The red sugar water was sweet but not cloying, even sweeter than her heart.

After a few bites, Victoria couldn’t help but exclaim, "It’s really delicious, I’ve never had such a rich red sugar soup before."

With a warm smile, Eugene cracked a boiled egg, tapping the shell, "Hasn’t anyone cooked it for you before?"

"My brother made it once, but it only had red sugar, nothing else in it," Victoria replied, taking a bite of an egg.

Even the egg was sweet, with a sugary yolk.

The smile on Eugene’s face gradually faded, the action of peeling the egg paused as he frowned at her, "Not even during college?"

"No," Victoria replied, eating the egg. She mumbled, "Who taught you..."

Before Victoria finished speaking, she suddenly froze, remembering what Jenny and Tiffany had mentioned before.

Eugene had specially learned this from Auntie Rose, making it daily for his first love during her monthly periods, sending it to the university.

It’s truly like planting trees for others to enjoy the shade later.

Although feeling a bit bitter inside, Victoria was still grateful to his first love, as it allowed her to taste the red date lotus seed soup Eugene personally made.

Eugene chuckled faintly, murmuring to himself, "Then your roommates must have had it."

"What?" Victoria didn’t catch it, looking at him confused.

Eugene peeled the egg and took an elegant bite, "It’s nothing, just eat."

Victoria scooped up some red dates and lotus seeds, stuffing her mouth with them.

Having a sweet and soft breakfast in the morning made her feel happy.

"Are you going back to the research institute?" Eugene asked.

"Not going back, Professor Li and the others are taking care of things in the lab. I have to go to the hospital to take care of my nephew. My brother is too busy and can’t manage."

"I’ll go with you."

"No need, my little nephew is fine now, should be discharged in a couple of days."

Eugene’s face turned slightly somber, and he didn’t speak for a while, lowering his head to continue eating his breakfast.

Victoria was eating earnestly, not noticing his strange demeanor.

Eugene said, "After breakfast, I’ll drive you there."

Victoria glanced at the clock on the wall; it was already eight in the morning.

It would take at least half an hour to get to the hospital from home, and then over an hour from the hospital to Eugene’s company. Going back and forth, Eugene would spend at least two hours on the road.

Not wanting to delay his work, Victoria thoughtfully said, "No need, there’s a direct bus to the hospital entrance from the bus stop outside the neighborhood. It’s quite convenient."

"It’s not as comfortable or fast as a private car."

"Really, there’s no need," Victoria insisted.

She couldn’t just consider her own comfort and waste so much of Eugene’s time. If they hit traffic, he might be stuck on the road for three hours.

Respecting Victoria’s decision, Eugene didn’t insist further.

After finishing breakfast, Eugene began cleaning up while Victoria left first.

A bus stop was conveniently located just a hundred meters from the neighborhood.

In the morning, many commuters opted for the subway, so the bus stop wasn’t crowded.

Victoria stood at the edge, waiting with her bag.

"Victoria."

A gentle voice floated from the side, and Victoria turned her head towards the sound.

A handsome man approached her, wearing a pair of exquisite metal-framed glasses, tall and dressed in a loose casual sweatshirt paired with gray jeans and white casual canvas shoes.

He gave off an air of well-mannered warmth and gentleness.

It was Nathan, Angela’s brother.

Victoria greeted politely, "Long time no see, Nathan."