Chapter 12 - What Yibo found out about Zhan...

After the relaxing Sunday, Monday came and that meant for Yibo and Zhan to go back to work. They ate the breakfast Zhan prepared in the morning and then left together in Yibo's car to go to work. This time, Yibo dropped Zhan off at his restaurant and then drove to his mini market.

For Yibo, the morning began quite stressful. Because the ordered goods arrived and at the same time customers were already waiting to buy fresh coffee and buns for the way to work. And that morning, of all mornings, Yibo was alone, as one of his two employees called in sick.

Desperate, he thought about what to do. Unable to think of anything else, he called Zhan and lamented, "I'm about to go crazy here. I don't know what to do first. My ordered goods are being brought to me right now and my customers are waiting too. Amy called in sick. She's in the hospital."

"I'll be right with you." Replied Zhan and ended the call. Not even two minutes later, Zhan and two of his employees came running into the mini market. Zhan sent his employees behind the counter and said, "Okay girls, you cover the buns and make the coffee quickly." Then he turned to Yibo, "Go and check your goods." And finally, he said to the customers, "Please get in line, it will start right away. You will all be served. And as an apology, you'll get your coffee for free today." With that, the situation was settled and quickly everyone calmed down.

Zhan helped Yibo to receive the goods and everything went faster. Fifteen minutes later, calm returned. The customers left the mini market satisfied, Yibo had his goods and could start unpacking them and Zhan could go back to his restaurant with his two employees. "Thank you very much for your help." Yibo thanked the two young women several times. They just smiled and waved off while saying they were happy to help.

Before Zhan left he said to Yibo, "Contact me anytime if you need help. I'll send Lili over again later with your lunch. If you need her help, keep her with you. I'll clear it with her."

"I don't know how to thank you Zhan. You just saved me, and if Lili could give me a hand at lunchtime, that would be very helpful. Many of my customers come here at lunchtime to buy a coffee and a snack."

"Don't worry, Lili will help you. She's very competent. As long as Amy isn't here, you might want to hire another temp."

"Amy said she'll call me as soon as she knows how long she has to stay in the hospital and roughly when she can come back to work."

"Okay, let me know when she calls. I have a list of good temps."

"All right. Thanks."

"No problem. I'll be going now. See you later."

"Yeah, see you later." Yibo called after Zhan, who was already walking out the door. After the stress, Yibo first had a coffee and then started unpacking the goods and putting them on the shelves. As soon as he finished, Amy called him to tell him that she had fallen Sunday night while walking with her boyfriend and broke her wrist trying to cushion her fall. Since it was an open fracture, she had to have surgery and will now be out for at least 6 weeks.

Yibo called Zhan after the phone call with Amy and informed him. Zhan told him he would give the list of temps to Lili when she brings his lunch. Yibo was relieved because he didn't have time to call agencies and interview temps or have to train them first.

In a quiet moment when there were no customers in the store, Yibo thought about how much he already owes Zhan and how well he's been doing since Zhan came to his side. And he thought to himself that he doesn't always want to just take, but also give. Therefore, he thought about what he could do for Zhan to thank him.

However, since Yibo is very inexperienced in such things and also doesn't know what Zhan likes, he couldn't think of anything at first. He was, however, able to think of someone who might know. At the housewarming party, Yu Bin and Xue Yang, Zhan's two best friends, gave him their cell phone numbers. He called Yu Bin and asked him, "Could you help me? I want to do something good for Zhan because he is so good to me and has helped me so many times. However, I don't know what Zhan likes."

"I'll be glad to help you. As it happens, I'm nearby right now and I'll stop by your mini market." Replied Yu Bin. 15 minutes later, the latter arrived at the mini market. He sat down with Yibo and grinned. "So you want to do something good for Zhan?"

"Yes, I want to. But I don't know what he likes."

"There are three things Zhan loves a lot. Good food, spending time with good friends, and animals. Especially cats. As long as I've known Zhan, as long he wishes he had a cat. But he also likes nice trips or cozy evenings at home with a good glass of wine and an exciting movie. He especially likes the Christmas season because he likes the colorful and twinkling lights when it's dark and snowing outside."

"I see. Now that you've told me that, it's already much easier for me to find something for Zhan."

"You know he likes to help, right? He doesn't ask for anything in return. But if you want to thank him, do it with something that comes from the heart. That means a thousand times more to him than anything you give him just because you feel obligated to."

"I don't feel obligated. I just want to give Zhan a treat as a thank you."

"He will be happy with anything if it comes from you. I'm sure he will."

"How long have you known Zhan, anyway?"

"Since kindergarten. He Xue Yang and I were in the same group in kindergarten. We all grew up together."

"What was Zhan like as a child in the past?"

"He was always very sweet to everyone, loved to cook even then, and helped where he could. I think he got that from his grandparents. They took care of him for many years when his parents were still working and had little time for him."

"Oh yeah? Because of the good relationship between him and his parents, I assumed they were always so close."

"They were. Don't get me wrong. His family and grandparents lived in the same house. As soon as Zhan's parents came home from work, they took loving care of him."

"I understand."

"They were a big happy family."

"Which they still are."

"True. But they also had a very hard time."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, didn't you wonder why Zhan's mom quit her job and started writing thriller novels?"

"Yes, I did. But I didn't ask any further."

"I can tell you if you want."

"That would be very nice of you."

"It happened when Zhan was 12 years old. First his grandma died, after a severe case of pneumonia from which she never recovered. And just a week later, his grandpa died. At that time, it was said that his grandma did not want to be alone in the afterlife and called her husband to her. His heart had just stopped. And then that happened to his mom."

"What happened?"

"She was a psychologist and worked in a forensic psychiatric facility in the corrections department for mentally ill people who were criminal offenders. A month after the deaths, there was a revolt by the patients in the mental hospital. One patient somehow managed to manufacture a weapon. And a careless nurse who, contrary to what is prescribed, went alone to this patient's room was taken hostage by him. He forced her to release other patients and a revolt ensued in which the patients went after the nurses and doctors. Attempts by the guards and the police to resolve the situation failed and assaults occurred. Patients beat several of the male nurses to death. A couple of female nurses were raped several times and eventually killed. In an attempt by Zhan's mom to save one of the female nurses, she herself became a victim. One of the patients grabbed her, dragged her into a room with him and tried to rape her. But she was able to fight him off. In return, he beat her so badly that she almost died. Fortunately, the special task force managed to get the situation back under control and save Zhan's mom. But she was so badly injured that she was in a coma for weeks. After that, she was never the same. She gave up her job and withdrew completely. She only let Zhan get close to her. Through his love and care, she slowly recovered. He cooked for her every day. He bathed her. He made sure she was moving by taking her for walks. And little by little, she got better. She went to therapy and was advised to write about her experiences. She did that and noticed her talent for writing. She wrote her first book and finally started living again."

"Oh heavens. I don't even like to imagine what that must have been like for her, Zhan and his dad."

"She's doing well again. No one who sees her would ever think she went through something like that. But it also had a big impact on Zhan. He saw the world with different eyes from then on."

"I believe that right away."

"But you know what I noticed?"

"No what?"

"That since you've been with him, Zhan is back to the way he was before all this happened. He's always laughing, cracking jokes and fooling around with everyone. He seems carefree and happy. And I'm convinced that's because of you."

"Because of me?"

"Yes, it's because of you. Somehow you managed to awaken the old Zhan in him."

"But I didn't do anything."

"And yet you have changed Zhan. It struck Xue Yang and me on Saturday when we were with you. Xue Yang said that it was a pity that you only met now. Because if you had met earlier, Zhan would have become the old one again much sooner. And we believe that if he had, he would never have married Eva."

"I can't say anything about that. I don't know Zhan other than the way he is now. And I like him the way he is. He's just great."

"He is."

"I'm not going to tell Zhan what you told me about his mom. I think when he's ready, I'm sure he'll tell me."

"I'm sure he will. And do you know what you're planning to gift him yet?"

"Yes I know. So Zhan loves cats. And it just happens that a friend of mine's cat got a couple of babies which are ready to be adopted out. They're 12 weeks old now. They're the cats with the short legs. Totally cute."

"He'll be happy about that, I guarantee."

"I'm going to get two cats. One for Zhan and one for me. And if there are two, they won't be so lonely when we're not home."

"True. I think it's better to keep two cats anyway."

"Can be. Yu Bin, thank you. You've really helped me. And thank you for telling me what happened to Zhan's mom. The more I learn about Zhan and his life, the better I get to know him. And the more I like him. He's so incredibly great."

"Do you want me to tell you what he likes most about you?"

"Yes!!!"

"What he likes most about you is your smile, your laugh and your happiness. That is the greatest thanks for him. But he would still be happy about little kittens. I'm sure he would."

"Thanks to Zhan, all that comes easily to me."

"That's how you can tell you were made for each other."

"What does that mean?"

"Never mind. Just forget what I said. I have to go now anyway. I want to run some errands before I work at Zhan's restaurant in the evening."

"Are you working regularly as a cook for him now?"

"He's hired Xue Yang and me permanently now. We work in shifts. That way Zhan doesn't have to work from early morning to late evening, and he also has free time. Besides, we wanted to work for Zhan anyway. And who knows, maybe the small restaurant will turn into a big one someday. So and now I really have to go. It's been nice to meet you. See you soon and have a nice day." Said Yu Bin and hurried away.

Yibo looked after him with a smile and went back to his work. After all, the shelves don't clean themselves!