Yuyu woke up as she heard the sound of the door. She lazily looked at the time and prepared herself to see Diane.
She did not even spare a glance at the man who came in. She only excused herself when she passed by him.
---
YaoFeng looked at the door that had just closed. He sighed and walked to her desk. He can't help but look at the papers on the wall. It was a two months worth of schedule.
There are milk bottle icons with check marks on the dates that passed, meaning, they have been delivered. Then there's a financial strategy; a plan to earn and invest; and some formulas he doesn't understand.
He also noticed a date marked as selling and delivery. Is she making money?
His eyes were captured by the graph below showing her expenses and it was color coded, he can only guess that it indicates the cost, her savings, and how much she needed to earn.
Was his wife planning to shoulder everything, even the expenses of the children? Where will he use his money then? YaoFeng felt again sadness for being left out. Has she been doing this since the time she left? He felt so useless.
---
Diane was holding a box of mochi and three sweet drinks. She was welcomed by Yuyu who was waiting for her at the lobby.
"You waited for me?" Diane smiled.
Yuyu gave her a slight smile and saw the box of her favorite food before.
She pursed her lips and blurted, "Every month, I bought all the people in our building a piece of that." She cannot suppress it.
"Really? This is my son's favorite and I am going to drop by to see him. Would you like to come with me first?" She asked, trying to engage her patient.
Since Yuyu did not smile and walked beside her, she took it as a yes.
---
Diane stopped at the door with a Chinese name.
Wang Bao.
"Your son is Chinese?" Yuyu asked pointing at the characters on the door.
Diane smiled and nodded. "We are Chinese. Diane is my English name, Wang Ning is my Chinese name."
Yuyu smiled at her. She requested to change her name when she asked for therapy and she's using White as her surname. She almost mentioned that she's married to a Chinese man but she stopped herself and allowed Diane to knock.
A voice said come in and Diane turned the knob to open the door.
They were greeted with a very relaxing minimalist office. The soft welcoming blue sofa with fluffy cushion makes Yuyu want to take a seat. The floor is white and half of the wall is overlooking the city protected by glass.
There was a small bookshelf at the side of a brown desk and chair where a young man with a good masculine aura is seated.
He was smiling at them and reached out to greet Diane.
"Mom!" Diane hugged her son.
Yuyu watched and can't help but imagine how Soleil and her would look like, years from now.
"I brought a friend," ( Diane eyed Wang Bao meaningfully, telling that it's a patient and not a friend) "this is Yuyu."
"Hello Yuyu! My name is Wang Bao, you can call me BaoBao if you are my mom's friend." He did not offer his hand but waved at her with a very friendly smile.
This made Yuyu comfortable.
"Take a seat first mom, I have a lot of time today because my patient cancelled his appointment." Wang Bao stood up and gestured to the sofa where Yuyu pleasurably sat herself.
Diane glared at his son as if telling, 'My client is more responsive to your approach!'
"I brought your favorite." Diane placed the box on the table as they sat between Yuyu.
"That's also my favorite!" Yuyu mentioned.
Diane smiled and realized that the visit to her son is a big help to uncover more of her patient's situation.
Wang Bao realized this also and helped his mother. "Let's cheer for these mochies then!"
He handed each of them a piece.
"So what do you do if there's no patient?" Diane asked, trying to make a conversation.
Wang Bao pulled a remote from somewhere and pressed something. A projector setup was turned on and soon he was on the page of a streaming service. "I watch movies and cartoons. It's good for the heart."
He selected a program. One of his favorites is the loud house where there are eleven siblings with different personalities. This helps him in his profession as a psychiatrist like his mom.
The three of them watched and laughed together as they ate mochi, when Yuyu suddenly blurted "I miss Lune and Soleil."
Wang Bao did not ask but commented, "Lune means moon, Soleil is sun star," he looked at Yuyu. "Who's your sun and star?" he asked casually.
"They are my children. Currently, they are with my brother since I cannot bring them here." She said without planning to hide it. She felt like she needed friends to tell them how she felt as it's already so heavy missing them.
Diane ushered Wang Bao to continue. Wang Bao nodded.
"Do they accept video calls? I can connect this to call someone." He waved the remote at her.
"I don't want them to know that I'm in the hospital. I told everyone that I'm working at the office everyday and I will be here longer." She bitterly explained.
Wang Bao stood up and took off his coat.
"Hurry, wear this. We will tell them that you are in a very cold conference meeting room. A kind old man, that's me, lent you a coat. They cannot see the logo of your hospital shirt." He handed the coat to her.
Yuyu's eyes turned bright with the idea. She immediately placed herself inside his coat and fixed herself in the mirror. She slumped back to the sofa.
"Forget it, my face looks marked by a kindergarten. I cannot look injured like this." She was about to turn to her frowning depressed self when Diane immediately changed her attention.
"Yuyu, Let's put some makeup on your face so we can call them. Maybe it's a blessing that my son doesn't have a patient today. Maybe, I can meet your children too as you have met my son." Diane was very optimistic.
Yuyu looked at her bag checking if she had makeup, and Diane pulled out a big makeup pouch.
Yuyu's earlier excitement came back and she inched her face to Diane ready for a touch up.
After a few minutes, Diane passed her a mirror.
Yuyu looked at her face from left to right and couldn't help but smile. "You have a big bag of makeup? I now appreciate the power of cosmetics! Next time, I will treat the two of you to a meal!"
Wang Bao passed her a controller, "Use your login and call your children."
Yuyu immediately connected her account and dialed Tania. A video call immediately connected and Tania came to view.
"Missy! We missed you so much! Please wait, I will put the two together." Tania left her phone to a steady place so the missy can see the whole place.
The Wangs and Yuyu waited. The view was in a green grassy backyard and they could see Tania pushing a bike towards the camera. Soon, two good looking children are staring at them while Tania's voice reported.
"Missy, we are always playing outside in the afternoon. The children enjoy biking and they can say new words like, out, bike, play."
Yuyu was so happy she couldn't stop her tears as she watched her children. It's been only a few days but she felt like they are growing too fast without her. Since she cannot show too much emotion to Tania, or she will worry and report to her siblings.
"Are you still at work Missy? Are you working in your husband's office?" she asked.
Yuyu composed herself. "Yes. These are my friends from here and we need to go back so, I'll call you again next time! I love you Soleil! I love you Lune! Bye!"
The two children waived when they heard the word bye and mimicked "bye,bye,bye"
She turned off the connection and logged out.
"Why did you cut the call too soon. I thought you missed them?" Diane asked.
Yuyu wiped her tears and smiled. "I forgot to prepare myself emotionally and mentally. And I am worried the makeup will go away and they will see my face."
Diane laughed. "Alright. Let's call them next time when you're ready. The makeup is high quality and waterproof. You will need a makeup remover later."
"Thank you, Diane, Wang Bao. I'm really glad I met you today." She said sincerely.
"Just don't forget to treat us to a meal next time." Wang Bao said seriously.
Yuyu and Diane laughed.
"My son is very strict when someone promises him a meal." Diane explained.
"Don't worry! Next time, I will order food! And I will bring my own makeup!" Yuyu spent more time with the mother and son.
---
Yuyu came back around six. YaoFeng has just finished his bath and is now wearing his home clothes.