Chapter 6 Queenie Jackson, Welcome to the New Century
"Wash yourself first!" Timothy said, "We made a deal that I would take you to buy a phone today."
"Oh, right!" Queenie washed up neatly and opened her suitcase. She wanted to bring some money with her, but she didn't know how much she should bring, so she called Timothy to come in and asked, "Timothy Carter, how much is a cell phone?"
Timothy looked at the pile of hundred-dollar bills in her hand and laughed, "Your bills of this version have been banned."
"What?!" Queenie looked at the cash in her hand in shock, "These were from my dad! These are real money. Why can't these be used?"
"We are using the new version. This version of your bills has been phased out long ago." Timothy took out a card, which was the secondary card of his highest limit credit card, from his wallet and handed it to her, and said, "Use my card first. The password is my birthday. You still remember it, right?"
"November 26th." Queenie blurted out.
Timothy slightly smiled. Queenie thought for a moment and still figured that she couldn't accept this card.
"Never mind. I can't take your card." Queenie put the card back into his hand like pushing away a hot potato. He had his new family, his wife, and his son. Why should she take his card? She didn't want to be pulled by her hair in public when shopping one day and be questioned by someone about why she used someone else's husband's card.
Timothy naturally knew what she was thinking, so he said with a serious look, "You don't need to have such a heavy psychological burden. We still had some marital property left undivided at the time. During your absence, I earned some money. When you settle down, I'll have my lawyer make a list of the property and transfer you the share that belongs to you."
"No, no. We were very poor when we were together. How can there be any marital property?" Queenie smiled awkwardly.
Timothy looked at her without saying anything.
Queenie shifted her eyes, and then looked up to pretend to be casual, "But I paid for this house, so you can share half of it with me."
"The house is under your name. It's originally yours." Timothy held her hand and put the card in her hand, "Take this card too."
"I..." Queenie still wanted to refuse.
Timothy looked up at her with eyes full of domineering that denied her rejection.
Queenie compromised and took the card numbly. His tough attitude made it impossible for her to refuse, but it also made her feel quite strange. In her ten-year-long relationship with Timothy from classmates and friends to lovers and couples, it was always her who took the initiative and he always complied with her and obeyed her in everything. He was rarely tough like this.
"But I'll just take it. When I find my parents, I'll pay him back the money I use." She thought. When Queenie packed her bag for the day, Timothy took her downstairs to have breakfast first.
It was just the beginning of winter and the sky was slightly light at seven in the morning. It was very cold, but the streets were already bustling. Children who were dressed thickly were held by their parents and rushed to school quickly. Old ladies carrying fresh vegetables chatted shoulder to shoulder about family matters. Queenie walked in the middle of the street and looked at the crowded street and worldly scene. She seemed to have the illusion that things hadn't changed much. But when she looked up at the skyscrapers rising from the ground, she clearly realized that twenty-three years passed.
Timothy led her through two streets and walked into a breakfast bar. He sat down and said to her, "This is the noshery you used to attend. Now the stalls are prohibited and the old couple has retired. Their son and daughter-in-law have rented a storefront and are still running it. The food here tastes pretty good. Try it."
"Okay." Queenie looked up at the order board and couldn't help but stare in amazement, "A hotdog costs $1.50?"
"A burger costs twenty-eight dollars?"
"A pasta dish costs thirty dollars?"
Queenie, who was still living in a world where four sandwiches cost a dollar twenty-three years ago, covered her chest and growled in a trembling voice, "So expensive! Isn't there any cheaper restaurant?"
"It's normal that prices rise." Timothy kept reassuring her.
Queenie took several deep breaths. She tremblingly ordered the cheapest pasta with two sandwiches, then looked up and asked Timothy, "Has your salary increased?"
Timothy looked at her and smiled, "Yes, don't worry!"
"That's good, that's good." Although Queenie was eager to ask him how much his salary had risen to now, it didn't seem appropriate for her to ask about the topic given their current relationship. When she thought that he used to hand in his salary every month and that when he got a bonus or any windfall, he would joyfully bring it to her for praise, she became uncomfortable again.
She shook her head hard. As she was a little upset, she added another burger and then ate it all viciously.
After finishing breakfast, Queenie saw that Timothy held his phone and scanned a board, then turned it to the boss and said, "Hey, I paid."
"Okay, thanks!" The restaurant owner was busy, so he looked up and quickly glanced at it to show that he knew.
"How did you pay for it? I didn't even see you take out any money." Queenie asked in a whisper.
"I paid for it with my phone." Timothy said, "You can use it when I buy you a phone later."
"Okay." Queenie quickly nodded. She couldn't wait to buy it.
There was a large shopping mall not far from home. Timothy planned to walk over there with her while helping her get familiar with the surroundings. He watched all the way as Queenie looked around vivaciously. "Timothy, why is the park behind here gone?" She added after a while, "Timothy, wasn't there originally a patch of bungalows over here?"
After a while, she pointed to the advertisement sheet posted outside the estate agency and said, "Timothy, does a square metre of the house really cost $140,000? Isn't it for a suite? $140,000 for a square metre?"
"Oh my God, oh my God. Timothy, Timothy, so how much is our house worth?"
"Ten million dollars? Wow!" Queenie covered her heart and was so excited that she jumped, "Oh my god! It feels like I suddenly become rich!"
"Timothy, why didn't we buy two more suites that year?!"
"Can I sell the house? Ten million dollars. I've never seen that much money before."
Queenie couldn't help but smile. Her eyes lit up with golden light. The joy that came from her heart made her so bright that it could melt all the ice and dispel all the gloom.
Timothy gently smiled as well. He just fixed his eyes on her, watching her smile, watching her jump up and down with excitement, watching her turn and trot happily a few steps away and back again, watching her jump like the teenage girl he remembered, watching her act like she wanted to tell the world that she was extremely happy.
She always managed to affect his emotions like this, like a little sun in his world. The little sun he had been missing for twenty-three years finally returned. Unfortunately, he could no longer be with her...
When Timothy looked at the moneygrubber who was crossing her fingers and calculating exactly how much ten million dollars was, he slightly smiled in bitterness and lowered his head.
"Timothy Carter!"
When Queenie suddenly yelled at him, he was abruptly startled and quickly stepped forward in concern, "What's wrong?" Queenie stood at the entrance of the mall and was dumbfounded, "Is this the mall you talked about?"
"Wow! It's such a big mall. I won't get lost, will I?" She thought.
"Well, Yes! The mall nowadays is just a bit bigger than the previous department store." Timothy laughed.
"It's not just a bit bigger. It's much bigger!" Queenie sighed.
"Are all malls so advanced nowadays? There's a cafe, a gym and a children's playground in here. There's everything here. There's even a hotpot restaurant here!" She thought.
Queenie was like a kid in a candy shop. Everything she looked at was new to her.
"Timothy, can we eat hotpot after we buy the phone later?" Queenie pointed to a large poster hanging on the wall, and the steaming copper hotpot on it was really tempting.
As she looked at Timothy with eagerness for food, her foodie nature was exposed. All of a sudden, she felt that she was particularly shiftless.
"Yes!" Timothy nodded and looked like this small request could certainly be fulfilled.
"Yeah!" Queenie jumped for joy and took another look at the poster of the hotpot restaurant. "The guy on the poster is so handsome. His smile is as cute as a little sheep. Is he a star?" She thought.
"Are all male stars so good looking nowadays? In the era when I disappeared, Michael Jackson was still an A-list star."
Queenie wondered.
He already bought a cup of milk tea and brought it to her, "Where do you want to start shopping? The clothing section, or the mobile phone?"
"I'm fine with both. Lead the way! Oh! Yummy!" Queenie took a sip and was instantly enveloped in the sweet creamy and syrupy flavour. She was extremely happy!
"What's this? It's so delicious!" Queenie asked.
"Milk tea." Timothy replied. He knew that she liked this creamy and sweet drink the most.
"Yummy! It's so good!" Queenie drank the milk tea and happily walked forward.
"I'll take you to buy a phone first!" It was Timothy's usual style to settle important matters first.
"Then let's go now!" Queenie wanted to make it quick because she was still thinking about the copper hotpot on the poster advertisement just now. She excitedly tugged at his sleeve and unconsciously urged him to go now.
Timothy glanced at her hand and unnoticeably drew his sleeve back. After he walked to the mall floor plan next to the lift and looked at it, he brought her towards the electronics and digital products section on the third floor.
She was distracted by the variety of things in the mall and couldn't stop wanting to buy. She said this morning that she didn't want Timothy's card, but now she ate her words and was enjoying swiping his card.
She just wanted to buy just a phone. But then she found the new laptop pretty, just like the one Timothy was using. "I wanted it! Is there a computer the same size as a book? It looked like it worked so well! I want it!" Queenie looked like she wanted them all. Timothy silently brought her a full set of Mac, iPad and iphone.
Holding her new electronics, Queenie looked at Timothy with wide eyes curiously. She saw that Timothy held his phone and tapped an icon called a QR code on the screen. He swiped his phone against one of the machines at the cashier's counter and checked out.
It was so advanced. She wanted to try it right away!
After Timothy led her to buy electronics, he took her to the floor where women's clothing was sold to buy clothes, as well as bags, shoes, some skin care products, and stuff like that.
As she shopped, she secretly sighed, "Things are so pretty twenty-three years later! I really want to buy everything I see!"
"Well, what am I afraid of? Buy it! When I sell the house, I'll get 5 million dollars! I have so much money. It's just a fraction of that!"
Queenie felt that she became materialistic. She could finally buy what she liked without making a choice. Unlike before, when she always made the excuse to try on clothes before buying them. In fact, she sneaked into the dressing room to see the price tag and shop around. She walked back and forth, which made her feet hurt.
Now that she was rich, she was going to have a shopping spree!
Finally, Queenie was tired of shopping, and she was thirsty and hungry. She smiled contentedly, "Timothy, I'm hungry. Let's eat hotpot! It's been a long day for you. My treat. You pay the bill first. When I sell the house, I'll pay you back with it."
Timothy suddenly had a hint of helplessness. That house meant something different to him, and he had never wanted to sell it. But he didn't expect that she was only back for a day and she was already thinking about selling the house.
He really wanted to knock her on the head.
Although Timothy thought so, he didn't argue with her at all.
The two entered the hot pot restaurant and what they bought was piled high on the two benches of the eight-person booth. Queenie looked up and asked the waiter for a menu to order.
The waiter tapped the QR code on the table, "Scan the code to order."
When Queenie was confused, Timothy already scanned the code and handed her the phone, "Order here."
"Oh my god, why do we have to use our phones for everything now?!" Queenie marveled as she held the phone.
"It's the era of the internet." Timothy smiled, "You'll get used to it in a few days."
When the two ordered their food, they didn't notice that a young woman in the corner secretly took several photos of them shopping and posted them in the small workgroup.
Cecilia Morris, "Oh my god, Professor Carter is shopping in the mall with a young girl and paying for her all the way along!"
Money and Medicine, "Cece, did you see it wrong? Would Professor Carter, the single daddy forever, flirt with a young girl?"
Cecilia Morris, "Why would I lie to you? Look at the pictures!"
The woman posted several pictures of Timothy and Queenie together, highlighting the floor of shopping bags.
"Oh my god, Professor Carter is indeed generous when he was flirting with a girl. He bought so many things!" A Fish For Three, "How old is the young lass?"
Cecilia Morris, "She looks so young, like a college student."
Money and Medicine, "Huh, man."
A Fish For Three, "Huh, man."
Wilder, "Huh, man."
Mick Orange, "Now Miss Harold would cry. She's been chasing him openly and secretly for so many years, but she still can't compare to a young face of a little girl."
Wilder, "Of course. Is there any man in this world who doesn't like young ladies? Although Miss Harold is quite nice, she is not young anymore."
A Fish For Three, "Poor Miss Harold."
Money and Medicine, "Pity yourself. Do you make as much money in a year as she earns in a month?"
A Fish For Three, "Stop. I'm holding myself tight."
The small group was chatting in full swing as a young woman looked at the WhatsApp group chat on her phone and didn't say a word. She secretly downloaded the photos from the group and sent a screenshot of some of the chats to another WhatsApp account.
In a bright office, a woman with delicate make-up in front of the floor-to-ceiling window who wore in a blue and white professional suit heard the sound of WhatsApp ringing. As she put down the papers in her hands and picked up her phone to tap it, she looked at the picture and frowned slightly.
Timothy Carter liked young girls?
Ursula snorted and threw away the phone. Her expression hadn't changed at all in anger. She didn't believe it at all, because no one knew better than her how deep this man's feelings were for his late ex-wife. This man might have lost his ability to love people long ago, as all his love and waiting were given to the person he loved before. Although this was hard for her to accept, it did not stop her from being attracted to him. Over the years, she only hoped that he would accept that she was there for him for the sake of his son's life and growth.
"As for the girl in the picture, she was probably one of his relatives!" She thought.
Ursula didn't take it seriously. She took out the documents and continued her work for the day. After working for a while, she picked up her phone again and opened the photo of Timothy to zoom in and look at it. She gradually frowned. "It is weird. Timothy seems to be smiling in the photo." She thought.
She had never seen that gentle, light smile, that relaxed, indulgent demeanor...
"Did he really change his mind and fall in love with a pretty young girl? " she wondered.
Ursula swallowed a little nervously and closed her eyes. After thinking for a while, she found Timothy's number from the address book and dialed it ......