73 Picking Up Trouble Part 2 (2/2)
Jude thought for a while and then answered Tang En, ”Maybe I am 5'3” or 5'4”. I'm not exactly sure.”
Five-feet-three inches was equivalent to 160 centimeters, while 5'4” was approximately 163 centimeters.
These numbers shocked Tang En again. He really wanted to ask Jude what she ate, and in what way her adoptive parents abused her to make her reach a height that some women might not even reach.
Just casually standing there, her posture was naturally straight, and Tang En thought, She is model material.
The rest was easy to handle. Tang En asked more about her basic information and drafted a simple agreement, which both of them signed. Jude was a Brazilian girl who came across the Atlantic to escape her foster parents who had always mistreated her. Tang En was amazed at her precocious mind.
That night, Tang En brought Jude to the Forest Bar for dinner, and their arrival caused a small stir.
Quite a few people came over to greet Jude with their beer glasses, but immediately noticed Tang En's unfriendly eyes. Jude smiled sweetly and said hello back to the English men, just like how she had greeted Tang En on the street. But Tang En knew how the men would behave once they were drunk.
Several people around Tang En started to tease and make fun of him, even Burns.
”Hey, Tony. Since when did you have a daughter?”
”Haha!” the people around them laughed.
Tang En defended himself, ”Oh, Dear Kenny. You know that no one can ever replace you.”
Everyone laughed even more, including Burns.
Jude curiously watched the two of them arguing. Everything there was foreign yet interesting to her. She was not afraid of these men with their red faces and their energy. She felt safe instead, although she did not know why.
After they had finished dinner, Tang En did not stay at the bar to continue chatting and drinking with everyone like normal. He had Jude to take care of.
”Bye, guys. I have to go home now.” Tang En held Jude's hand and tried to say goodbye at the door.
There was a loud sigh from the bar.
”Tony! Just go home. No one would ask you to stay longer, but Jude can stay!” Burns winked at Tang En.
His words received everyone's support with their laughter. ”Kenny's got a good suggestion, Tony!”
”No way!” Tang En showed his fist. ”Go home and spend quality time with your wives!”
Tang En and Jude left the Forest Bar filled with laughter.
On the way home, Jude was quite interested in Tang En's relationship with the people in the bar.
”Are you close to them?”
It was just a casual question asked by a curious girl, but suddenly Tang En's heart was touched. He thought about all the people that he had met and the things that he had encountered in the past five months. The first time he met Michael; the exciting halftime and the second half of the match with West Ham United; George Wood who loved his mother and his mother who loved him as well; the happiness of seeing Yang Yan again; the ”humble” lesson Mr. Clough taught him; Mark Hodge, who only had honor on his mind; the innocent little Gavin; and the playoffs that were on the verge of success… It was such an unbelievable half year in his life.
”Do you want to hear a story, Jude?”
Jude nodded happily.
”The story is very long, and the ending may not be satisfying. Do you still want to hear it?”
”Yes, yes please!”
”It's from a long time ago…eh, well, it was actually just five months ago…”
As Tang En was telling his story in his deep voice, the two of them walked slowly under the sunset with their shadows trailing behind.
Now that Tang En was no longer living alone, and there was a temporary tenant, he woke up early the next day to prepare breakfast for Jude. When Tang En was alone, his breakfast was always simple with just one bottle of milk and one slice of bread. Now that the girl was there, Tang En had to try to make something better, something more nutritious.
Luckily, there was still some food in the fridge.
One cup of hot milk, an egg, one slice of bread, cheese, and smoked ham. Looking at all the food on the table, Tang En thought a while and then went and got an apple from the fridge, washed it, and put it beside the plate. Since he had transmigrated there half a year ago, he had not once prepared such a delicious breakfast. Even before then, he did not know how many years it had been since he had made a real breakfast. He was definitely out practice, because he had gotten shell in the egg.
After he clumsily finished making breakfast, Tang En noticed that Jude had not yet come down. He thought that she must be tired from all her travelling and wanted to let her rest more. So, Tang En started to read the newspaper at the dining room table.
The name that appeared the most was David Beckham, followed by Chelsea and Bates. The old man had finally given up on fighting off the more than £90,000,000 debt of Chelsea and planned to sell off his club. After months of speculation, lies, and claims, the most likely buyer had finally surfaced, which was the ultra-wealthy Russian Roman Abramovich.
Now the media was buzzing about this person and his mysterious property, and some viewed him as some kind of savior of the Premier League.
What pleased Tang En was the fact that there was not much difference between what was happening now and his memory of it from his other life. He had already planned to benefit from the ripple effect all this transfer of clubs would cause once the Russian took over Chelsea.
After thinking about it for a while, Tang En became frustrated. His team did not have any outstanding players to interest the Russian and swindle him with. Michael Dawson was not mature enough, and even if the Russian wanted him, he would not sell him. For those he would like to sell off, there was no reason to think the Russian wanted them in the first place. Furthermore, due to the interference from the Russian, all the clubs would double the price of their players in the near future. As Forest was in such a bad financial situation, it would be almost impossible for them to get any player at a cheap rate.
On second thought, the entering of the Russian was way more harmful than beneficial to Tang En. He cursed out loud and put his newspaper to the side.
He realized that Jude was still not up. The food would be no good cold. So he decided to go up and wake the kid up.
Tang En knocked on the door softly at first, but there was no answer after a few knocks. After that, he shouted, and there was still no reply. Worried, even though there was a girl inside, he took out his key to open the door.
The black and white bag was half open on the floor. Her clothes and belongings had been scattered on the floor. On the bed, the blanket was messy and hanging half off the bed. Under the blanket, there was a small body that was shaking like a poor, frightened cat.
Tang En rushed to the bed.
Jude seemed to be having a seizure. Her face was frowning, her teeth were gnashing, and she was saying something that Tang En could not understand. She obviously had a fever.
Tang En took out his phone, called Landy, and put the phone between his ear and shoulder. While waiting for Landy to answer, he removed the blanket and picked up Jude in just her pajamas and rushed downstairs.
”Landy, where are you? I have an emergency, and I need a car immediately! Please come quickly. It's life or death!”
Landy glanced at his GPS and said, ”Three minutes, three minutes at the most.”
Then he told the passenger behind him, ”I'm so sorry, Sir. Please fasten your seatbelt, because I have to rush over to get someone else.” Following these words, there was a loud roar from the motor, and the little taxi suddenly turned to a race car. It drifted into a turn, adjusted back, and immediately rushed in the direction of Branford Gardens Street.
Tang En stood at the side of the road waiting anxiously for Landy's cab. From time to time he looked down at the curled up Jude. Though she was not short, she was still light to carry, and Tang En attributed that to her cruel parents. There was sweat on her forehead, and her hair was wet and stuck to her face as if she had just come up from under the water. Tang En's clothes were also wet from Jude's sweat. The girl's body was sticking to his, which was slimy and uncomfortable.
He looked at the girl whose life was in danger and sighed to himself, I really picked up big trouble this time!