Beloved Old Lover

Hearing the alarm bell ringing softly from her phone, Emily immediately groped around to find it to turn it off, but after searching for a while, she couldn’t find it. She only felt her hand touching something that looked like a human.

The moment she opened her eyes and saw Kevin’s handsome face, she remembered that last night he had come over and slept here.

Glancing at the phone screen, seeing that it was only four in the morning, she immediately shook him awake.

“What’s up? It’s still dark, please sleep a little longer.” He pressed her down, speaking in a sleepy voice.

“Go back to your tent quickly, it won’t be good for people to see you coming out of my tent.” She tried to escape from his pincer-like arm and urged him.

Emily’s words woke Kevin from sleep. What did she just say? If everyone saw that, what would happen? He was also planning to announce to everyone that she had become his girlfriend and would be his future wife.

“Are you afraid that everyone will know we’re in love?” His voice clearly showed dissatisfaction and discomfort.

“Boss, we’re going with a volunteer group, please be less ostentatious. We should be subtle, not make people lose their naturalness.”

Looking at her face as if she was about to cry made him no longer in the mood to linger. She went abroad for five years, not being bold but still shy and cautious.

Why didn’t he see her shy like this when she followed him? She even wanted to bang the gong and beat the drum to let everyone know.

Seeing him look upset, Emily leaned forward and kissed him to soothe his fragile heart. Kevin five years ago would never have been this angry with his girlfriend. She wondered if he was becoming more mature or becoming younger.

At five o’clock in the morning, everyone in the group woke up and prepared gifts. Then they went to the hall, an empty lot at the end of the village, to distribute gifts to people and disseminate more knowledge about raising cows and pigs.

Thanks to the support money from businessmen as well as the knowledge they imparted, people here have built barns and raised livestock to improve their income and life.

Now, their meals are no longer just wild vegetables and salt but also include fish and meat, and they also have money to buy new clothes for their children.

Emily smiled when she saw the little girls wearing new dresses made by her own hands.Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.

As soon as they received a gift, they immediately ran home and changed clothes, much like her when she was little, when her father bought her a new dress or pair of shoes, she had to wear them immediately so she could eat well and sleep well.

After going around the village and encouraging families to try to work to escape poverty, the volunteer group quickly left for fear that the sudden rains in this mountainous area would hold them back. They are all busy people with tight schedules.

The cars left the church gate one by one and headed towards the city. Emily lowered the windshield a bit to let the fresh mountain air enter the car.

On this trip, Kevin did not drive the expensive car he usually drives to work but chose a cheaper car, suitable for going up mountainous terrain.

Looking at the enjoying expression of the person next to him, Kevin’s lips curled up into a smile. His hand quickly worked on the phone screen and then put on the headset.

“I’m on my way home, it rained heavily yesterday, and there was no phone signal so I couldn’t call you to ask. All good?”

“Why do you still have to ask? Those old guys said that next time, just let me interact with them, leaving you out.” Daniel replied humorously.

“Then it’s even better for me. Thank you.”

Hearing him talking on the phone, Emily quickly pulled up the windshield because she was afraid that the sound of the wind would make him unable to hear clearly.

She looked over at him, smiling softly. She was imagining Daniel’s shocked face when he learned that she and his brother had become a couple after this meaningful trip.

“Emily? Yes, she’s fine, are you afraid I’ll bully her? Ah, okay.”

After hanging up the phone, Kevin took off his headphones and smiled. He said that because Daniel was afraid that she would be tired from the long journey, he told him to take a shortcut, which would save him nearly eighty kilometers, equivalent to two hours.

So the car quickly changed direction, not following the group anymore.

At noon, the car stopped at a small restaurant. They eat rice with wild meat, which suits their taste so they can eat a lot.

He grilled and ate while she just ate. Soon the two large plates of meat were gone.

“The children in the village have reached school age but still can’t go to school, they look so pitiful.” She put down the hot tea cup, her face showing a pensive look.

“Yes, the school is too far, and their parents are both busy working, so they don’t feel safe letting the children cross the stream by themselves. But don’t worry, the association is planning to build a bridge across that stream and build a road. Then they will be able to go to school, it’ll be a little late but it’s okay.”

“Ah, so it turns out. Too good.”

Right now, Emily feels extremely ashamed because she once thought that if the Wine company could not survive, she would work for a salary like any other normal worker.

If everyone thought like her, who would be able to help these destitute lives?

Having money is good. Having as much money as Kevin and everyone in the young business association is good.

“Let’s continue on our way. According to Daniel, we will arrive around four o’clock in the afternoon.”

“Yes.”

The car continued to run. After talking with him for a while, Emily fell asleep. When she woke up, she saw that it was late afternoon, with only a few rays of sunlight shining from the tall trees.

Strange, they should have been in the city, why did she find the scenery here more deserted than the outskirts of the city?

“Okay, thanks to you. Now I don’t know what fairyland I’m in anymore. I’m so angry that I’m about to die.”

After turning off the phone, Kevin turned to Emily who was looking at him with wide eyes.

According to what she just heard, she guessed they were both lost. The shortcut that Daniel showed took Kevin and her to a completely strange place.

“Are you awake? I’m lost, I’ve been driving around all day and I don’t know where this is. People here have no concept of our city.”

The car continued to drive through the red dirt road, with sparse houses on both sides, only trees.

Kevin said he used Google Maps to help, but this was the result: the more he drove, the more deserted he saw around.

He guessed that soon, it would lead him and her to a place deep in the mountains and the valley.

“Come on Kevin, try to find a way back to the city, I believe you can do it, you’re very smart.”

Emily tried to appear calm to encourage him even though she was very confused. She doesn’t want to spend the night in the forest with him at all, it’s not romantic.

If they sleep in the car, they will suffocate and die, but if they go out, the tiger will take them away. He is a genius, not a superhero.

“Sweetheart, intelligence has nothing to do with roads. Now I’m just as stupid as you, don’t expect anything from me.”

He is losing faith in himself.

The gas gauge was slowly dropping to zero and there were no gas stations on the route he had just passed.

Why did this incident happen when he had just rekindled his old love with her? It made him lose face. This kid Daniel is deliberately trying to prank his brother, right? He felt like he hated Daniel so much.

Under Emily’s constant encouragement, Kevin was finally able to find his way back to the city, but unfortunately, his car had no gas left, and turned off the engine as soon as he reached the not-so-crowded residential area.

“There’s a grocery store over there, let me go in and ask if they sell gasoline retail.”

After saying that, Emily opened the car door and ran like flying to the grocery store in front of her.

She called it a grocery store, but in reality, there were only a few bags of cakes, bags of candy, a small glass cabinet containing cigarettes, instant noodles, packets of porridge, a few cans of white wine, a basket of wilted mangoes, and a few tamarind fruits.

Kevin was filled with hope, raising his eyes to look at Emily’s small figure running towards him after talking with the grocery store owner for a while. However, her sad expression gave him the answer.

“She said she just sold all the gas for that car. Tomorrow, her husband will go into town to buy gas.”

“Then we have to stay here one night. Is there any motel nearby?”

He quickly got out of the car, grabbed her hand, pulled her towards the grocery store, and asked.

Luckily for them, the grocery store owner said she had a motel, where guests who missed their way often stayed there, ensuring it was clean and cozy.

Both of them were excited, holding hands and following her to the trail behind. And when they arrived, no one told anyone, they all turned to look at each other.

The motel she advertised was a few rooms made of wooden planks, open on one side, missing on the other. If someone tries to look inside, they can see everything inside, except that it is clean.

“Hey, my rent is very cheap. As for this place…”

As she spoke, she walked over, pulled out a few bags, and closed up the gaps in the walls. Soon the motel was healed, looking extremely ugly.

There was no choice so Kevin had to agree. He rented a room and then went in with Emily.

There is no empty land here to set up a tent, otherwise, it would be ideal for him to just rent land and set up a tent. He also didn’t feel secure about letting her sleep alone. The walls were not sturdy. What if someone sneaked in and harmed her?

“Do you want to eat cup noodles? I’ll go get some hot water.”

“Yes, be careful.”

He spread the blanket on the bed and looked in the direction she went. It wasn’t until she came back that he felt secure.

He felt that she was a thoughtful person, she even brought cup noodles and a thermos. Are all girls who lose their mothers too soon like her? They always know how to protect themselves and take care of themselves.

“This is for you.” She broke a large sausage in half and put half into his cup of noodles.

“Thank you. From now on, I will take care of you for the rest of my life.”

The commitment seemed to bring Emily a peaceful life forever, but neither Kevin nor she knew that in the future, he would also fulfill this promise but would make her life full of tears and pain.