Chapter 378
By mid–afternoon, Zina received a call from Edward. “Zina, are you at the hotel?”
“Edward, are you done with your surgery?” Zina glanced toward Lydia, who was making cupcakes in front of her.
All afternoon, Lydia kept Zina company, chatting about anything and everything, so Zina never got a chance to leave.
Edward’s voice was gentle and clear. “Just finished, Zina. Are you outside having fun? I can come pick you up.”
“No need, Edward. I’ll head back on my own later,” she said.
His voice was gentle, yet clearly exhausted. Zina didn’t want him to go through the hassle of coming all the way to pick her up again.
Edward agreed warmly, his voice mellow with laughter. “I’ll wait for you at the hotel, Zina. I heard about an amazing restaurant. Let me take you there to try it together.”
Zina nodded. “Okay.”
Lydia brought over the freshly made cake, a beautiful chocolate mousse adorned with blueberries and mint leaves in the center.
Around the edge, plump ruby–red strawberries were arranged. The color scheme was elegant and clean. It looked absolutely delicious.
Lydia set the cake down in front of Zinnia, her eyes shining with anticipation. “Zinnia, I baked you a chocolate mousse cake. I wonder if it’s still your favorite flavor.”
Zina said apologetically, “Thanks, Lydia, but I’ll have to pass on the cake. My friend is waiting for me.”
Right now, Edward mattered more to Zina than Lydia, whom she had only just met.
Lydia heard her but didn’t respond, simply offering a gentle smile. “Alright, I’ll pack this up for you to take home. Let me walk you out.”
Zina smiled and said, “Don’t worry. I drove here myself.”
Lydia lowered her gaze, a flicker of disappointment in her eyes.
“Lydia, I’ll be staying in Jinston for a while. Feel free to come visit me if you have time,” Zina quickly added.
‘Anyway, I’m alone in Jinston now, and Edward can’t be with me every day. He has a two–week academic conference starting in a couple of days,‘ Zina wondered.
Lydia’s eyes instantly lit up. “Okay.”
Zina sighed in relief. “I should get going now. Please let your parents know I’ve left. I’ll visit them again next time.”
Lydia walked her to the parking spot.
Zina placed the cake in the glove compartment and buckled up. She leaned out the car window and called out to Lydia, “I’m heading off now. See you
around.”
Lydia’s eyes crinkled into a gentle smile. “Sure.”
Now that Zinnia had lost her memory, and after four years apart, the easy familiarity between them was gone. Lydia knew she had to take it slow.
Lydia thought to herself, ‘At least I’m the first one to see her again. Compared to everyone else, I’m already pretty lucky.‘
Lydia knew the others were bound to run into Zina eventually. There was no hiding it. Compared to everyone else, I’m already pretty lucky
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Chapter 378
Lydia stood motionless, watching until Zinnia’s car vanished from sight. Only after a long while did she finally lower her gaze, and only then did a faint glimmer of unshed tears appear in her eyes.
‘Four years, she’s finally back,‘ she thought.
Zina drove back to the hotel, where Edward was waiting outside for her.
“Hi, Zina.” Edward opened the car door and got in.
Zina asked casually, “Edward, how did your surgery go today?”
“Everything went smoothly,” Edward replied with a warm smile.
Edward noticed Zina’s relaxed expression and asked warmly, “Where did you go today, Zina? Did you run into anything interesting? You seem to be in good spirits.”
“Edward, I think I might’ve run into someone I used to know today.” Zina didn’t hide it from him. After all, Edward had come back with her precisely to help her recover her memories.
“Really? Did anything come back to you?” he asked.
During all these days since their return, Edward hadn’t actively taken Zina to seek out those from her past, yet he hadn’t concealed their whereabouts
either.
Zina left with her life hanging by a thread. If it hadn’t been for Edward, she wouldn’t have survived.
So, whether it was the Evans family or Edward, they were actually quite reluctant to let Zina reconnect with people from her past in Jinston.
They neither stopped Zina from searching nor concealed their whereabouts. If she didn’t cross paths with them, then it simply wasn’t meant to be. Edward hadn’t thought she’d actually run into someone today.
Zina shook her head. “Still nothing.”
Lydia had spent the afternoon recounting their past together, but Zina still couldn’t recall a single thing. Not even a single memory came back.
Edward offered her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. If you can’t remember right now, we’ll take it slow with your memory. There’s no rush.”
“Edward, what time is our meal with the Perkins Group tomorrow?” she asked.
For some reason, just thinking about Yannis that Lydia mentioned this afternoon made Zina feel a faint, inexplicable tightness in her chest.
That afternoon, Zina searched online for information about Yannis.
He was the head of the Perkins Group, only 28 years old. But she couldn’t find any photos of him online. There was no trace of what he looked like.
Edward checked his phone. “We’re meeting them at noon at Peaci House.”
At noon, Edward had already received the time and location from the Perkins Group’s secretariat.
“Tomorrow at noon?” Zina murmured to herself, I will meet him.”
After dinner, Zina returned to the hotel. Preoccupied with her thoughts tonight, she decided to stay in rather than go out for food.
Zina pulled out her laptop and searched online again for any information about Yannis.
08:20 Tue, 8 Jul
Chapter 378
Just thinking about that name, Zina felt a strange, inexplicable heaviness settle in her chest.
‘That’s a first,‘ Zina thought to herself. ‘Will seeing him trigger any memories?”
However, no matter how many times Zina searched online, all she could find about Yannis were the bare basics–just his name and age. Not a single photo, nothing else.
After coming up empty on Yannis, Zina tried searching for another name, Nathan,
Just seeing the name, Zina felt a strange ache in her chest. ‘Just who is this person?‘ she wondered.
Just seeing Nathan’s name made her chest tighten with unease. It was the first time Zina had felt this way since returning to Jinston.
She typed in the name and hit search. Again, there was nothing substantial.
Nathan was once the heir of the Moore Group, but perished in a devastating fire; his whereabouts remained unknown to this day.
Shockingly, Nathan’s information was even more bare–bones than Yannis‘.
All she knew was he was a man. Zina had no idea about his age, appearance, or even what he does for a living, not a clue.
Zina frowned and wondered, ‘I must have known plenty of people in Jinston, but Lydia specifically brought up just these two names, fannis and Nathan, and asked if I remembered them. Clearly, these two mean far more to me than anyone else.’
Moreover, this afternoon, Lydia also mentioned many other names, such as Maisie, Ethan, and Brian. Lydia claimed they were all Zina’s friends once.
But when she heard those names, Zina only felt lost and confused. Only when she heard Yannis and Nathan did she feel a sharp, fleeting ache in my chest.
Zina had never met them in person–just hearing their names.
‘Who on earth are they to me?‘ she wondered. Staring at the blank search results, Zina pressed her lips together in frustration.
She made a call, which was answered promptly. “Adrian,” Zina said, “could you help me look into someone?”
‘Tomorrow, I’ll finally meet Yannis,‘ Zina thought. But finding absolutely nothing about Nathan left her uneasy.
AD
