Anthony wanted to argue. "But…" he started to say. Then he stopped. More than anything, he wanted to help Autumn. She was still frail and would find it difficult to care for a child alone. He was uncertain if Leila was telling the truth or not. It was partly guilt that kept pushing him to persuade Autumn to go back.
"Stop convincing me to return to them," Autumn said impatiently. She knew that if Anthony kept bringing up the subject, she would get extremely anxious and irritated.
Autumn laid down her chopsticks and announced,"I'm full now. Thank you for preparing dinner. I want to rest now."
It was wrong to be rude to Anthony. Autumn knew he did not deserve such treatment. But she couldn't control her temper.
The doorbell ringing broke the uneasy silence. They jumped at the sound. Anthony peeked to see who was ringing the bell and saw Andy. He hid his agitation but dragged Autumn to the room while telling her,"It's Andy. You have to hide. Hurry!"
Autumn was dumbfounded. They shouldn't find her there. She never expected Andy to come to Anthony's house so soon. Autumn quickly collected her things and hid them in the room.
Fortunately, Shirley was still sound asleep. If she cried, Autumn knew it would be all over.
Anthony answered the door as Autumn went inside the room. He looked at Andy in confusion and asked,"Mr. Xu, what brings you here?"
"Oh, I wanted to ask you something," Andy replied pleasantly. All the while, he kept peering inside Anthony's apartment to check if anyone else was there.
"What is it that you need from me?" Anthony asked again. He stood at the door but did not open it fully and kept holding the edge to keep Andy out.
"Aren't you going to ask me in?" Andy said. He sensed that the doctor was displaying rather unusual behavior.
Andy's people had orders to monitor Anthony once he left the hospital. His routine was to buy food at the supermarket. Andy began to suspect Anthony was hiding Autumn because the amount of food he bought wasn't just for one person. That's when he finally decided to visit the doctor at home.
"Of course. Please come in," Anthony said politely. He still held the door and hesitated before opening it wide to let Andy in.
Andy looked around the house. He noted it was clean and everything was in order. "Mr. Xiao, your house is so tidy and clean. I'm impressed."
"I am very particular about cleanliness," Anthony explained. "So, I clean my house whenever I have free time." His temper was simmering, but he held it back. After several moments of silence, he asked again,"Mr. Xu, what is it that you want from me? Why not be frank with me?"
Andy ignored him and proceeded to the dining area. He inquired,"You haven't finished eating yet?" He saw two meal settings on the table. Andy chuckled to himself and felt his suspicions were close to being proven.
Anthony heard him and realized he had not cleared the table. He groaned inwardly but forced himself to calm down.
"I was eating when you arrived and had no time to clear up. I'm sorry for the mess," the doctor said as he tried to figure out what Andy wanted.
"But the table is set for two," Andy pointed out. He was beginning to feel smug that Anthony appeared to be lying.
But the doctor quickly covered this up. "Yes, a friend was here earlier but had to leave suddenly because of an emergency. He didn't finish eating. And like I said, I hadn't cleared up and washed the dishes," he explained, a bit embarrassed. Anthony paused before asking,"Mr. Xu, are you here to inquire about my life?" He was getting a little impatient.
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