Release and Catch

Over the next few days, Lulu was quiet and pensive. She was also quite jumpy, becoming easily startled anytime she was lost in thought, or someone approached her when she didn't hear them coming. Despite not feeling well, she still helped out in the kitchen as that seemed to be the only time, she could forget the confusing thoughts that made her brain feel like it was jumbling inside her head. Learning the art of cooking from the Chef took a lot of concentration and effort. It tired her out so much that she seemed to have dreamless sleeps, for which she was very grateful. At least she could escape her mind while she slept.

Despite feeling out of sorts, she was still kind to everyone in the manor. This kindness, especially to all the staff in the kitchen, earned her their appreciation and respect.

The Tangs noticed the change in Lulu's mood but decided not to pry after Xiao Chu's gentle probes didn't lead to any real answers. All Lulu would answer was that she was "just feeling tired." When Xiao Chu suggested she stop working in the kitchen as a result, Lulu was adamant that she was enjoying herself too much to quit.

Toward the end of the week, Tang Jing wondered if she was perhaps missing her friends, the Suns. At dinner, he suggested that she go visit with them and that seemed to brighten her spirits a bit.

He had been wanting to talk to her privately, but work had kept him too busy. He'd only seen her on a couple of occasions over the course of the week, but she didn't seem open to conversation.

The next morning, Xiao Chu saw Lulu and her maidservant off, along with a couple guards for protection. She couldn't go with Lulu due to her duties in the manor, but the main reason was that she wanted to give Lulu some privacy with the Suns so they could talk freely.

The carriage ride to the Suns' bakery did not take too long in reality but it felt like an eternity for Lulu. She had been looking forward to seeing them again as they felt like the only safe place for her where she didn't feel pressure and didn't doubt the motives of those around her. The last week had been especially hard on her given all that had transpired at the dinner. Even though her head may have felt like Swiss cheese most of the time, Lulu was not a stupid woman. Still, it didn't take a genius to figure out that there was a lot more to her suddenly appearing in this time and place than everyone was telling her.

When they arrived at the Suns, Mrs. Sun was out with her son, tending to the stall out front. She nearly jumped for joy at seeing Lulu stepping down from the carriage. Mr. Sun came out of the bakery at hearing the commotion and was delighted to see his foster daughter as well. After greetings were exchanged, Lulu and Mrs. Sun went inside the store and up to the second story where the family lived. Chen Jing followed her inside the house, as Lulu knew she would, along with the guards. Fortunately, she was able to convince all of them to remain downstairs so she could have a private chat with Mrs. Sun. Cheng Jing was reluctant and a compromise was reached where she remained outside the door.

Once alone with Mrs. Sun, Lulu's tears began to fall. The older woman was surprised but quickly hugged her and patted her head. She cooed, "there, there," while Lulu sobbed in her arms

"Oh my! What is the matter, my dear Lulu? Are the Tangs mistreating you? Everything seemed fine the last time you visited," Mrs. Sun grasped for answers.

Lulu shook her head and then tried to calm herself down. "No, everyone is still being nice to me," she replied. "It's just that a lot has happened, and I just feel so lost. I wish I could stay with you here." She didn't know how much to tell Mrs. Sun—not because she didn't trust the woman, but because she didn't want to worry her.

"Do you want to talk about it?," the older woman asked gently.

Taking a deep breath, Lulu let it out slowly. Then she shook her head again, "I'm fine now. I think I just needed to let it out to someone. Everything has just been so messed up in my head and my heart has just been feeling heavy. I just can't figure it out though." What Lulu couldn't articulate was that the near assault by Tang Yi Huai was just the last straw in terms of the series of traumas she had experienced over the last couple of months. Her mind and body just could not take any more and not feeling safe just added to the emotional stress she was feeling.

"Uh-hmm," Mrs. Sun hummed, leading Lulu by the hand further inside so they could sit down.

Lulu let out another deep sigh, "Enough about me. How is everything here?"

Mrs. Sun looked down, "Oh you know. Business hasn't been the greatest since the other bakery opened up. Our breads are fresher and our sweets sweeter, but we can't compete with them on price."

Lulu's eyebrows knotted in concern, "I'm sorry it hasn't gotten better. I wish I could be here to help…." She felt bad that people she considered family were suffering in this way. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her, "Maybe I can ask the Tangs if I can come by more often and help out?"

Mrs. Sun's eyes seemed to grow 10 times bigger, and she shook her head furiously as she exclaimed, "No, you can't do that! What if they think you're being ungrateful for their hospitality or that we are pressuring you? No, it's best to leave things as is. We'll figure something out."

Nodding slowly, Lulu realized she was probably right. She had to convince the Tangs to let her help in the kitchen. How would they feel if she wanted to work at the bakery?

"Aya! Where are my manners," Mrs. Sun said. "Let me get us something to eat."

The ladies continued their conversation over the refreshments that Mrs. Sun brought. At some point, the Suns' son, Xiao Gan came up and Lulu enjoyed teasing him until he was collapsed in giggles.

After the visit, Lulu wanted to walk around the market. As Lulu and Chen Jing strolled around, the guards stayed close enough to jump into action in case anything happened but far enough away to give the ladies some privacy.

Both ladies had been told to keep their hats with veils on outside, so they made sure to do so. Despite this, it didn't take long for Lulu to notice that a man was following them. At first, she thought it was just her imagination, especially given no one would know who was under the veil, but soon she knew for sure that she was not being paranoid. It's not that her skills at such detection were particularly honed, but rather that she recognized the man immediately and so she noticed him as he pretended to be doing shopping near them.

She had to think quickly so she casually scoped out all of the stores nearby, trying not to make her intention obvious. Finding a suitable one, she told Chen Jing that she wanted to go inside a particular shop that sold clothes and similar wares. It was a small store, so the guards waited outside while Chen Jing accompanied her up the stairs and across the threshold. After examining a few items, Lulu noticed that a woman was helping some others with their purchases. In addition to the three women, there were two others in the store who were perusing various cloth swatches. After a few moments, Lulu noticed that the woman from earlier, who looked to be in charge, was heading their way. She turned to her maidservant and whispered in her ear. She told Chen Jing about the type of cloths she was looking for and asked her to talk to the woman for her. She said she would go look at some things in the back in the meantime. Chen Jing nodded and approached the store-owner.

Lulu had made sure to come up with some crazy design styles to keep the two women occupied. Once their backs were turned, Lulu quickly (but quietly) made her way to entrance. Once there, she stepped out and noted that the two guards were stationed several feet in front of the store. Their backs happened to be turned at that moment and Lulu exhaled in relief. She practically tiptoed the rest of the way down the stairs. Then, she snaked her way through several stalls, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible.

No one was paying attention to Lulu as it turned out. No one, except for the one man who had been paying extra attention to her. He didn't move as she made her way to him, grabbed his hand and pulled him into the alley way. Moving her veil aside so she could make eye contact, she whispered, "Why are you following me?"