Chapter 26: Chapter 26

That night Arya gave a call to Jack.

When the other end of the phone sounded with Jack's voice, she found that her heart rate quickened.

From her experience when speaking to Jack, she knew it was useless to speak courteously to him.  Therefore, after greeting him, she directly asked him to help her friend set an appointment with Director Jon.

On Jack's side, he obviously did not expect her to call him regarding such a matter.  He kept silent on his end.  Arya was wondering whether this was too troublesome for him and whether it was inconvenient for him.  She was already thinking of what else to say to him if he refused to help as she wanted to chat with him a bit longer.

Then Jack opened his mouth to speak with a hint of disappointment.  "Arya, do you only call me when you need my help?"

"Ah?"  If she calls him without any purpose, she will definitely get an earful from him, isn't that right?

"When you were enjoying yourself, eating, drinking and having fun with Mark and the others, why didn’t you remember to give me a call?  When you need help then only you think of me."

"Ah?"  How did he know she was at the gathering with his friends?

"Why did you say 'Ah'?"

"Oh."

Jack did not speak again.

Suddenly she felt anxious.  "Dr. Jack, Dr. Jack……don’t hang up the phone."

"I didn’t say I'm going to hang up."

"You always never say anything before you hang up."

"That was you."

"Yeah……."  Correct…..she had hung up on him before……in the middle of the night.

"Are you going to talk to me today in an alien language of using 'Ahs' and 'Ohs' only?  Is your brain having impaired language function and intermittent disorders?"

"No, no......."  She bit her lip.  Obviously, he was the one talking in the language of the violent planet of Mr. Poisonous tongue.

"Then, do you know know Director Jon?  Is it convenient for you to help me?"

In fact, whether he can or cannot help, she is not bothered.  Well, she is never a kind-hearted person.

"Who is this friend?  What is this friend's condition?"  He actually asked.

"That is……that is Mr. Dunphy who was my blind-date the last time, the one whom my friend introduced to me."  She told him about the illness of the uncle that Jay had told her and also mentioned that the family had failed to make an appointment with Director Jon even though they had tried for several months.  Then she waited for Jack to answer.

"This case deserves a consultation from Director Jon but is that person considered your friend?  Didn't you shout for help the last time?  Why is it that you're asking for help on his behalf now?"

She felt a little guilty and was secretly glad that they were talking on the phone as he could not see her embarrassment.  "Last time is the last time……one of his family is very ill and it is not good to refuse to help.  It is…….."  She thought about this and felt it was really embarrassing.  In a daze, she had asked for his help and she did not even find out whether it was convenient for him to do so.  "I don’t know whether this will be troublesome or not but if it is too difficult then forget it."

"This is not troublesome.  Director Jon only visits his clinic once a week and only sees patients who had made appointments.  Therefore, the number of appointment slots are very limited and difficult to make.  I will ask him to issue a note and get his clinic to add an extra slot on that day.  It's alright."

"Oh, oh…..it's good that it's not too troublesome for you."  So it is true that with help, things can be accomplished.  She tried to think hard for something else to say, then heard Jack say.  "It's not troublesome for me but I'm afraid it will be more troublesome for you."

Arya was surprised.  "Why?"

"Because you owe me a big favor now.  This kind of thing, if you say it is difficult, it is actually not difficult…….to say it is very difficult, it is really very difficult.  As you know me, even if you have the money, you can't buy it."

"That……Mr. Dunphy had said that he is willing to give a reward.  It is not a problem for him."

"Arya……."

"Ah?"  His voice tone……is he unhappy again?

"What kind of person do you think I am?"

He sounds really unhappy this time.

Arya thought about this and it seems that giving him money was insulting him.

"Giving bribes and accepting bribes are criminal offenses."

"I'm sorry."

"What should I say about you?"

"I've already said, I'm sorry."

"I remembered the last time you said that if I rescued you, you will accept whatever I say but after that, it seems you did not give me any chance to say anything about you."

"Then what do you want to say?"  Really this person!  Originally she wanted to find a topic to talk to him but it seems now she does not need to.

"Arya, don’t you think that this conversation between us is getting meaningless?"

If he thinks this is meaningless, why is he still talking endlessly?  Anyway, this is not a one-sided conversation and if this is meaningless, who is to be blamed?  But then again, every time she chatted with him, she felt very happy and excited.  After seriously thinking about this matter, actually, the two of them had never talked about any meaningful topics.

"Then what matter do you consider as meaningful?"  She asked him.

Jack did not say anything on the other side and suddenly she also did not know what else to say.  So between the both of them, there is actually a lack of common topics for discussion.

Arya felt sad as she held on to her phone and suddenly she heard Jack said.  "Arya, when will you be coming to look for me?"

"Ah?"

"Saying 'Ah' again?  Are you deliberately trying to annoy me today?"

"You are the one who does not have the patience today."  Arya frowned.  "I was just thinking about why I should go and look for you."

"If you don’t come to me, how are you going to get the note from Director Jon?  Do you expect me to deliver the note to you?"

"Ah, yes, yes, I didn’t think of that.  I'm sorry.  I'll go and look for you.  When is it convenient for you?"

"Wait until I get the note then I'll call you again.  Tell your friend, that this is a difficult thing to accomplish and I'll help him only once.  Tell him not to look for you next time."

"Oh."  Just now he had said it was not a problem but why did he say it is difficult to accomplish, now?  However, it is always not nice to ask for help from other people, so Arya did not dare to ask further and quickly promised.

"I'm serious.  You don’t have to feel embarrassed about this and you must tell him clearly.  Both of you are only acquaintances and don’t know each other well.  He has such thick-skin to come and ask for your help and you are also willing to help him.  Now everything is settled.  Later his family will think this matter is easily done and will always come to you regardless of whether the matter is minor or major, then it will become troublesome.  Not all illnesses need to be treated by specialists but many patients do not understand.  Are you clear?"

"I know."

"Then wait for my call."

"Okay."

The call should be ended here and there was a brief silence on both sides.  She wanted to say something more but at this moment, she could not think of anything to say.

At this moment, Jack called out.  "Arya."

"Um……what is the matter?"

"………Forget it.  It's nothing."

What does he mean by nothing?

Arya bit her lip and really felt like asking him again.

But it seems Jack really had nothing to say.  "Well, I'm hanging up."

"Wait a minute."  She called out to him.

"What's the matter?"

"That…..it's not nice to always ask for your help."

"Correct.  It's also not fair to always help you."

All of a sudden, Arya did not know whether it was an illusion, she felt there was a lift in Jack's voice.  "Then, how are you going to repay me?"

Repay him?

"Then, I'll invite you to dinner."

"The last time you invited me to dinner, it ended with you biting me.  This account is still not yet settled.  Now you want to invite me for dinner again?"

"….."

If she had known, she would not have said those words.  Isn't this digging a hole and burying herself in it?  Is she out of her mind to say that?  Why did she pretend to be polite?  Jck did not even mention this himself.  Why did she ask for trouble?

"Then what does Dr. Jack think is suitable?"

"Think about this yourself.  It is more sincere if you think of something yourself." The tone of his voice confirmed her decision.  At this moment, his mood was extremely good.

Think about this herself.  How to think about this?  This kind of thing is the hardest to think about.

In the end, after the call ended, Arya wandered all over the house.  Now she has a problem.

But today, Mr. Poisonous Tongue is also a little strange.  His mood had swift to a more emotional trait.  In the beginning, he had started off by being a bit fierce and midway he became better with some seriousness and finally he was light and cheerful.  This inexplicable change in mood was difficult to predict.  When Arya was trying hard to solve the problem that was plaguing her, Sophia came back.  The moment she came in, she asked.  "Why are you hugging the fridge door?"

Yi, why is she hugging the fridge door?  Oh, what did she intend to do?  Oh yes, she wanted to take a bottled drink from the fridge.

After she took a drink from the fridge, she walked another round in the house but she still could not come up with a good idea.  She wanted to ask Sophia the best way to apologize and thank someone.  The most important thing was to let the other party forget his hatred and not feel angry with her.

However, before she could open her mouth, Sophia spoke first.  "Today, I went to the hospital and successfully invited Dr. Jack to a meal."

Arya's ears immediately perked up.  Holding a bottle of drink, she sat down on the sofa next to Sophia.  "Why did you go and look for Dr. Jack?"

"There is a charitable foundation activity and some of the information needed requires the opinion of medical professionals, so I went to Dr. Jack for advice."

This reason is really perfect to get close to him.  Arya really admired Sophia.  She was always able to find such good opportunities.

"Then did Dr. Jack say anything?"

"We talked about the project and he is really good.  He also gave me a lot of his opinions and he also mentioned something that I didn’t even think about.  Later I thanked him for his help and invited him for a meal.  He agreed."

"Did you have your dinner until so late?"  Then when she called just now, was he having dinner with Soph?

"No, we finished very early.  I had to return to the company to sort out the data.  I was afraid I would forget all about it."

Arya nodded and suddenly she had lost her spirit.  Just now on the phone, he did not mention this and when Sophia invited him for a meal, he went but when she invited him to a meal, he refused.  Such a big difference!  Humph!

"He also asked about you."  Sophia said.

"What did he ask about me?"

"He asked what you are doing lately and asked whether you are still going on blind dates."

"What did you reply?"

"Told him the truth……that you are not busy and that you stay at home every day to watch TV and only went out last night to the gathering with Cindy and her friends."  As she spoke, she raised her hands to look at her nails.  It seems it was time to do her nails again.

"Then what did he say?"

"He didn’t say anything."

Did not say anything?  This stinky whiskey doctor is really biased!

Arya looked at Sophia's hands and suddenly she had an idea.

She had an idea on how to repay Jack!