Page 4 of Billionaire’s Ruin

“You can’t get this anywhere else,” he said. “Some restaurants tried to mimic it in Hong Kong, but it’s just never quite the same.”

He drew a circle of soy sauce over the eggs, then dusted them with white pepper before dipping the sweet toast into the bowl like a sauce.

“You have to try this.”

“No.” I shook my head, horrified at the thought of dipping bread into raw egg. Before I could finish, Dannie flicked the spoon—and the toxic-looking bite landed straight into my mouth.

“Fuck.” I stared at him, eyes wide, jaw slack. “This is fucking amazing!”

He laughed as I shamelessly stole his breakfast, pulling the plate and bowl toward my side of the table.

“Should I order another one for myself?” he teased.

I didn’t answer—too busy devouring his. He grinned, already shouting the second order across the room. The old man barked something in reply, acknowledging it.

“I guess it’s safe enough if all these people eat it every day,” I said weakly, trying to reason with myself. But my mouth—and my heart—clearly wanted more.

“How have you been?” Dannie asked, his voice sharp and firm, his eyes cutting straight into mine.

When I left Kai’s penthouse last month, I flagged down the first taxi I saw and went straight to the airport. I didn’t have a destination in mind—only that I needed to get out of there. At the airport, I bought the first flight leaving Shanghai.

Everyone called. But I let them all go to voicemail.

Except Dannie.

“I’m good.” I smiled. “Never been better.”

He nodded lightly, his gaze searching mine, as if checking whether I meant it. “Then I’m happy for you.”

“I want to thank you for letting me stay at yours. It was a lovely place.”

Dannie had offered me his home the moment he found out where I was. He texted me his address and the building’s access codes—no questions asked.

A few days later, during a call, I learned that he was part of a program called Malaysia My Second Home. One of the requirements was to own property worth at least one million Malaysian ringgit—around two hundred and fifty thousand US dollars.

The property he’d bought was in a community popular among expats.

“How did you know I was here, by the way?” My heart skipped a beat as I realized that I’d never told Dannie where I was staying.

“Linda told me.” Dannie caught my unease and added quickly, “She said you’ve been coming here every morning for coffee.”

“Ah, I see.” My shoulders relaxed as I stopped scanning the café for people hiding behind bushes. “Of course she did. She’s the one who recommended this place.”

Linda and her family lived next door to Dannie. They’d moved to Penang so their daughter, May, could attend an international school here. After failing to get into their preferred school in China, Linda and her husband decided to sell everything they owned and move to Malaysia.

I was genuinely shocked when Linda told me their story. I couldn’t believe the trouble they went through just for their child’s education. Her best friend’s son had been accepted into Harvard Law, Linda told me proudly—as if her daughter was already on an Ivy League waitlist just by attending the same school.

It reminded me of some of my patients who flew across the globe to see me for IVF treatments—desperate for a chance to have children.

“She loves it in Penang so much that she started a sort of Chinese parents’ association,” Dannie said, sipping his iced coffee through a straw and letting out a satisfied sigh.

“Oh? Is that why her house is always full of visitors?”

“Yes, you noticed that too? She’s known for her Hunan cooking. I’m surprised she hasn’t invited you over.”

I smiled, thinking of the friendly woman. “Oh, she has, but I kept declining her invitations.” The truth was, I just wasn’t comfortable attending a dinner where I didn’t speak the language or know anyone. “Maybe next time.”

Now that Dannie was here, I wouldn’t mind going with him.