Back in the small barbeque restaurant, Zaria leaned back from the table with a satisfied groan. "Oh, that was so delicious." The two had barely spoken while they ate, both concentrating on eating and savoring every dish brought to them. Neither held back out of politeness and there was no ribs, chicken, or beef left of the meat dishes, and only a few small side dishes were not picked clean. Chiu Leong sighed and placed his hands flat on the table.

"I come here any time I need to relieve some stress. The food is so amazing but not many people outside of this neighborhood know about it so I can usually come and eat without any worries"

The older couple came over together to clear away their plates, smiling as the two youngsters expressed their appreciation. When the table was clear, Chiu Leong went to the counter to pay, calmly rejecting Zaria's offers. "I said I was treating you, I won't let you pay. If we get dessert later, you can pay for that, alright?"

Zaria waited until they were back on the sidewalk before objecting. "I can't keep you out all day, you have given me too much of your time already."

"I think I can be the one to decide if I have given too much of my time, don't you think?" he answered with a gentle smile. "Unless you don't want to be around me anymore." He put on a cartoonishly exaggerated dejection face, even puffing out his bottom lip a little.

Seeing such a handsome, accomplished man looking at her like a pouty baby, she could not help but laugh. "Oh, stop that. Fine, what else would you like to do, then? It is not like I have anywhere else to be."

"Let's get in the car first." He smiled again, walking to the passenger side door and opening it for her. They repeated the same scene with the seat belt, Zaria leaning as far back as she could to give him space. Once he was inside he placed both hands on the wheel and tapped his fingers. "What should we do? Is there anything else you need to buy?"

"Mmm, yes, but it needs to wait for now. Is there somewhere nice that we could go and walk just a little? I know you want me to rest, and I get it, but I feel like I am one step away from being able to be rolled down the sidewalk. A walk might help."

Chiu Leong laughed. "I think a walk to aid digestion would be alright. There is a nice walking park not too far from here, and at one end there is a cinema and some other things that we could entertain ourselves with if you like. There are even some nice shops if you see anything else that you need..." He trailed off. There was a Fruit store there, which made him think of the phone that Gu Cheng gave her, which in turn reminded him to turn his own phone back on. He pulled it from his pocket before putting on his seat belt, pressing the power button before starting his car. When the phone woke up, he could clearly see that he had missed 8 calls and twice as many text messages. He read through the messages, chuckling as they grew increasingly abrupt as they went along. He could easily imagine his friend's frustration as he typed.

He put the phone down without responding, putting the car in gear and pulling away from the curb. "I don't want you to feel pressured at all, but that phone really is a nice phone. It even has the newest battery technology, with photo cells to slowly charge the battery as you use it. You don't have to keep it, but it might be useful."

"I just..." she sighed and settled her good hand on her lap while she tried to think of the right words. Now that she was full and had taken her pain medication, her annoyance was gone, and she didn't want to seem too ungrateful. "I have a phone already, and it doesn't work, but it has the most important things I own on it, and I am not ready to get rid of it."

"Why doesn't it work anymore?" He asked as he changed lanes, directing them toward the entertainment plaza and park.

"It was dropped in salt water, and it was too long before I could do anything about it, so it doesn't work anymore." She responded simply,no longer angry about how it was broken. Explaining that her whole body had been dropped in the salt water and she ended up living in the volcanic wasteland for a month was not an option, although she doubted he would believe her if she told him.

"Hmmm, yes, salt water could really do a number on a phone if you can't get it fixed right away. I have a friend who might be able to save some of the data on it, though. She is a real genius at those sorts of things. Perhaps I could call her later?" Chiu Leong asked as he pulled onto a side road that ran along a large green area. One side of the road was completely marked off for on street parking, so he did a precise u-turn and pulled them into a spot.

"Could she really help? I mean, even if she can't, it is alright. I have already resigned myself to losing it all, but if she wanted to try..." Her fingers itched to pull out her phone, ever present in a pocket of her jeans.

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"I'm sure she would enjoy the challenge, I-" he cut off when he heard his phone begin to ring. Seeing who it was, he placed a finger over his lips and accepted the call, switching it to speaker phone.

Gu Cheng started speaking immediately, without greetings. "You can't chase after her. She will eat you alive. You have no idea how mean she can be."

Zaria looked inquisitively at Chiu Leong, who smiled and pointed at her before putting his finger to his lips again. "Yes, she does seem like she has the capacity for great evil, at least to anyone with the surname Gu. Was that all you wanted to say? We are quite busy right now." He pantomimed rubbing his stomach and made a bloated cheek face like a chipmunk. Zaria put her hand over her mouth to keep from giggling at his antics. He was like what she always imagined having a big brother would be like.

"Can you try to get her to accept the phone? I'm...worried about her being stuck in City C without any way to ask someone for help. Did she tell you that she was planning on camping out tonight because she lost the place she was spending the night? What kind of girl camps out in the city, or camps out at all with a broken limb? She is completely without reason." His voice was gruff with annoyance, and Zaria could not help but roll her eyes. "She may annoy me, but try to get her to accept the phone. Take my number out if it makes her feel better. And I own plenty of residences. She can stay at one of those if she wants. I know you just have the one home so she can't stay there. Just don't tell her it's mine or she will spit fire at you."

"I kind of think she would be cute spitting fire," Chiu Leong said with a smile and a wink.

"You have lost your mind just from being around her, haven't you? Just because she has an attractive face..."

Chiu Leong wiped the smile off his face and spoke in a very serious, obviously fake tone, "I think I forgot to tell you that you are on speaker phone right now."

A wide variety of expletives filled the air before the line went dead. Zaria rolled her eyes again and reached across her body to release her restraint, but Chiu Leong beat her to the button once again. "I would be happy to see if the information can be saved from your phone, but it will likely not ever work again as more than a paperweight. If you keep the phone Gu Cheng sent you, any data that is saved could be sent to it, though."

Zaria went silent, opening the door and stepping out into the sunlight. What he said made sense, and even if she would hopefully not be in this world for long enough to really need the phone, it would be wonderful to have access to her pictures and videos again. A photocell that recharged the battery meant that she could use it no matter what world she went to, as long as she wasn't trying to access wifi or a cell tower to make calls. She stretched her arms over her head and groaned as her full belly protested the movement. "Too full," she muttered, rubbing her belly with her good hand.

"Let's take a stroll, then, beautiful lady," Chiu Leong grinned as he came up beside her. Zaria snorted and gestured for him to lead the way. They walked toward a path leading through the perfectly landscaped park. Small birds hopped along in the grass while honeybees and butterflies hovered over the many flowers along the path. It was a beautiful, warm and sunny day, but there were only a few others walking along due to the time of day. If they had come a few hours later, they would have been squeezing between others instead of leisurely strolling along. After their third time around, Zaria was thinking that her stomach felt much better, and she was enjoying the small talk with the young doctor. Although she did not know the names of the shows or movies he mentioned, and she only barely recognized some of the musicians, she liked hearing him talk about them and give his opinions. Occasionally he would step to the side to take a phone call or respond to a message, and by his serious expression she could tell it was work related so she would wander off to try and see the birds up close, or smell the flowers. Then he would come back, and they would walk some more.

"I feel much better now, thank you," she said as they approached the car once more. "I am a little embarrassed that I ate so much. I can't remember the last time that I was that full."

"It was odd for me as well. Maybe the company just made me more comfortable."

Zaria chuckled and stopped on the sidewalk next to the car. "So then we should definitely not eat together again, or we will both need to buy new clothes because of all the weight we gain."

"That would be okay for you, but I would have to spend even more time in the gym." Chiu Leong poked at his flat abdomen with a sad expression. "I was going to ask you if you wanted to get dinner together tonight, but now I am worried. I hate working out."

"Dinner? I don't think I will be ready for a regular meal again for at least a day," she replied with a laugh. They stood together comfortably for a minute, each in their own thoughts. Zaria sighed and asked if she could get something from the car before they decided what they would do next. When the door was unlocked, she pulled her bag up onto the front seat and rummaged through until she came up with the Fruit box. The lid was discarded in her bag, and the phone pulled out and into the sun. She closed the door behind her and stepped back onto the sidewalk. "I have many reasons to say no to this phone, but if you really think that there is a chance that data can be moved to it, then I shouldn't say no anymore."

Chiu Leong pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed a certain number while stepping away for privacy. As soon as the call connected, a deep voice growled through it, "What do you want now?"

"She has agreed to accept the phone if she is able to have data transferred from her old damaged phone. I need to borrow my favorite systems tech to see if it can be done."

"I will meet you at Gu Corp in 30 minutes." The phone went silent. Chiu Leong rolled his eyes at it and smiled at the young woman. "Alright, we have an appointment in thirty minutes. At Gu Corp."