STRAWBERRIES & CIGARETTES

CHAPTER 36

Xifei is having contractions, and the father of the child is not even in the country.

Fuck, Chenle can just curse on his mind and impatiently wait in the hospital's lounge.

The place is reeked with antiseptics, though not very strong on the nose. Chenle finds it alarming, however, and has never really liked to be in a hospital.

A string of dizziness hit him—not the first time, but it was endurable. He was working all day and night, not having a chance to have a satisfying rest, so he assumed it was because of it.

His phone buzzed at Renjun's reply, muttering a thank-you when the man said that he had just landed and was rushing to come.

Yes, it was Renjun, his cousin, the father of the child whom Xifei is carrying.

And if you'd ask him how the hell it came to that, Chenle would prefer to say how grateful he is to his cousin for cutting the strings of marriage and lifetime nightmares.

"Yier Chen?"

Chenle immediately raised his head upon hearing his name.

His eyes quickly found Mark's—the guy in a clean white doctor's robe and a clipboard on his hand.

"Oh, it's really you. Hi, you were here?", Mark approached him with such a welcoming tone that Chenle questioned if he's really this friendly or if this is just his customer service voice.

"Yeah. Driver duties", Chenle only replied with a shrug.

"Driver duties?", the doctor chuckled. "You're not feeling sick, are you?"

"No, not me."

"Hmm, okay. So you're good here?"

Chenle nodded. "Yep."

Actually, no

Mark flashed a smile and nodded. "Okay. If you have any concerns, you can just ask around. I have to see my patient now, you see. I hope you'll do great."

"Actually, I have one. A concern", Chenle stood up, and Mark halted.

He sighs and walks close to the doctor, their eyes leveling, and it creates serious tension.

Maybe it was really there between them all along—the heavy tension. They just didn't have a chance to share it personally before, as they never seriously conversed.

"Harae", a single sound of her name, had already concluded their conversation.

Mark's smile faded, although his face never showed any displeasure or anything bad. He took off his eyeglasses and tucked the clipboard in his arms as he willingly attended to the latter.

"I am more than willing to talk to you about her.. us.. although I can't sit long with you because I am on-call for the whole day, so.. just hear me out", Mark says. "We divorced."