The small shop was still the sa at night, but today it seed a bit quieter than usual. After all, since the bars on the street had closed, so of the regulars wouldn't co by, so when Chen Yu walked into the shop today, he was the only custor present.
Seeing this scenario, Chen Yu actually felt it was more suitable because he had co to ask the owner about his daughter today. If there had been more people around, the owner might have been less likely to talk.
"Welco, how co it's only Doctor Chen Yu here today?" The owner, taken aback to see just Chen Yu, still greeted him with his usual enthusiasm.
"Yes, Hiromi was busy today." Chen Yu responded, and after taking a seat he ordered, "The usual, Stead clams with wine, and a Highball."
The owner nodded, acknowledged the order, and then turned to busy himself in the kitchen.
Since Chen Yu was the only custor, the dishes he ordered were quickly prepared and brought to his table.
Slling the faint aroma of the wine-infused clams and picking up one to sip the juice from its shell, Chen Yu couldn't help but exclaim, "Indeed, when I'm hungry, there's nothing like a warm serving of Stead clams with wine to warm my stomach!"
"Speaking of which, Doctor Chen Yu, you always order the Stead clams with wine whenever you co! Don't you want to try sothing else?" The owner asked with a smile, watching Chen Yu's appreciation.
Hearing the owner ask that, Chen Yu sucked on his fingertip and then looked seriously at the owner, implying deeper aning, "Old is gold, and there's a special warmth in familiar flavors. What do you think, boss?"
"Is that so? Maybe because I'm a cook, I might not have the sa deep feelings as you, Doctor Chen Yu. To , all dishes are more or less the sa," replied the owner, not quite understanding why Chen Yu said that but still managing a small smile while sharing his thoughts.
However, Chen Yu did not continue the conversation; instead, he looked aningfully at the owner and asked, "Boss, isn't there a flavor you just can't forget?"
"A flavor I can't forget?" Chen Yu's words seed to stun the owner. A mory that he should have forgotten resurfaced in his mind, coming along with tastes he had believed impossible to forget.
Seeing the owner's expression, Chen Yu raised his glass, "It seems like you've got stories to tell, boss! If you don't mind, I can be a listener today."
Caught by Chen Yu's words, and the intense gaze fixed on him, the owner suddenly realized, "Doctor Chen Yu, you ca today for this, didn't you? Why all of a sudden do you want to know my story?"
"Because of your daughter. I saw her at the hospital today." Seeing the unnatural shift on the owner's face at the ntion of his daughter, Chen Yu grew more certain of his thoughts and continued with a smile, "She's pregnant, two months in. The last ti she ca to the shop, she must have wanted to tell you about it, right?"
"Is that so? The reason she ca last ti was to tell that..." The owner's face darkened considerably, seeming a mix of angry, frustrated, yet filled with helplessness, regret, and a touch of nostalgia.
"If you don't mind, could you tell your story? I don't an to pry into your privacy, but sotis holding onto secrets for too long can turn into a sickness of the heart. Talking about it might make you feel better," Chen Yu suggested while sipping the drink in his glass.
But the owner shook his head, showing no desire to share, "It's all in the past, what's the point of bringing it up? Take your ti, Doctor Chen Yu; I'm going to have a smoke."
The boss said this and returned to the kitchen, where he sat on a stool and lit a cigarette. But he barely took a drag, so that by the ti the cigarette burned out, it scorched his fingers even though he hadn't taken more than two puffs.
"Do you know, boss, that there are people in this world who can see others' souls, and every person's soul, just like their face, is different?" Seeing the boss like this, Chen Yu had no doubt that he had stirred up so mories, so he simply asked candidly, "Could you tell why your daughter's soul looks twenty years older than her physical appearance?"
"I don't understand what you're talking about, Doctor Chen Yu," the boss said, a little flustered as he snuffed out the cigarette in his hand and turned to busy himself, but Chen Yu continued, "You should rember the last ti I t a custor here who said he wanted to et a deceased soul and I gave him so guidance, right? There are many stories in this world, so fake, others true, like when I just said so people can see souls, that's true."
"Doctor Chen Yu, you... you really can see people's souls?" The boss finally turned around, looking uncertainly at Chen Yu. With a secret he had kept for over a decade exposed, he felt at a loss for what to do.
"Yes, boss, you must have heard a little about the existence of people with supernatural powers?" As Chen Yu said this, his eyes turned purple.
Seeing Chen Yu's eyes change to purple, the boss was clearly startled, but he quickly composed himself. He sat down again in the kitchen chair and lit another cigarette.
"Maybe you're right, so things are better said out loud than kept in for too long," the boss spoke in a distant tone, filled with reminiscence, "Over a decade ago, my wife took our daughter to visit relatives. On the way back, they were in a car accident. The car went off the cliff, and in the end, my daughter survived, but my wife... she died. But..."
He paused here, unsure whether he should continue and if Chen Yu would believe his story.
"Your wife's soul entered your daughter's body, and your daughter's soul disappeared?" Chen Yu guessed the truth of the matter from where the boss left off.
Surprised that Chen Yu had guessed the truth, the boss continued his tale, "When my daughter woke up, it was my wife's soul inside her body. At first, I treated her like she was my wife, but... that was ultimately my daughter's body, and many things were... We had argunts about how to solve this problem, but so issues can't just be solved because we want them to be.
Later on, she suggested continuing to go to school, at least until my daughter's soul ca back, so she wouldn't be left with nothing. I agreed because if she stayed ho all the ti, I was afraid she might beco ill. But it was still my daughter's body, and she began to live more and more like a young person, making new friends..."
At that ti, we had a big argunt, I blad her for not being allowed to date other n, and she was angry, so was I... I thought that would be the end of it, but unexpectedly, when I woke up the next day, my daughter had suddenly co back..."
"Was it really your daughter who ca back?" When it ca to souls, perhaps no one in the world understood them better than Chen Yu, and he instinctively doubted the authenticity of this supposed return.
"At first, I also thought it was truly my daughter who had co back. She and my wife alternated waking up, each ti for longer and longer... She even applied to dical school, wanting to beco a doctor," the boss said with a self-deprecating laugh, "That is one thing she has in common with you, Doctor Chen Yu. But as ti went on, my wife's awakenings grew shorter, and one day she said goodbye to , never to appear again."
Chen Yu had nearly guessed the ending of the story; the mother, pretending to be the daughter, wanted nothing more than to free the boss from the past, but no matter how well she mimicked their daughter, there were bound to be faults evident to a husband who had lived for decades with his wife.
Chen Yu didn't push him; he just watched quietly as the boss was lost in his mories.
"In the end, on her wedding day, I was originally happy to marry off my daughter so she could start her own life, but she made a gesture at the end that only she and I knew..." The boss said, his eyes growing moist, "From the beginning, it was only her..."
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