《Love - A Second Chance》 Chapter 1: The invisible crack It was New Year¡¯s Eve. On the bustling streets of S City, Yang Chen held his girlfriend¡¯s hand as he leaned against the riverside railing. Nighttime in S City was like a fairytale. The skyscrapers, the beautiful lights and the girl in front of him, always managed to take his breath away. Yang Chen watched her. Under the night sky, her eyes glimmered with infinite hope towards their future. Towards the new year. Towards new beginnings. Every year, they would stay awake till the countdown to wish each other before dozing off. But this year, there was something special. Their relationship had just crossed the tenth year mark. When he had first proposed to her, he never imagined they would come this far. He hoped. He always hoped. After all, his girl was far too covetous. To have her all to himself was something he was proud of. He could see the predatory gazes at her to which she always remained clueless. Ready to assert his dominance, he pulled her towards him and sunk his face into the crook of her neck, inhaling her scent. Lavender. It calmed him. Her hair smelt really good too, but it was different from how it usually smells. Did she change her shampoo? Yang Chen¡¯s train of thoughts was cut off as his girlfriend yelled, ¡°Chen, look.¡± With a sigh, he disentangled from her and looked up. The countdown had ended and there were fireworks in the sky. ¡°Jingjing, happy new year,¡± he smiled brightly. Amidst the sea of people, he only had Chen Jing in his eyes. Chen Jing took Yang Chen¡¯s arm and slung it over her shoulders and said, ¡°Happy new year to you too.¡± She tilted her head to smile at him, two dimples forming on her cheeks. Her eyes shone as their eyes locked. Once he had told Chen Jing that her eyes were like a galaxy. He could lose himself in them. But, sometimes, he got the feeling that he was staring at a black hole instead. It scared him. His proposal ran along the lines that they would marry after being in a relationship for eight years. It was the ripe time for him to marry her. He had calculated everything well, save her. She was the only variable in his life full of constants. But something had gotten into her. She would go silent every time the topic of marriage was brought up. ¡°Chenchen, what are you thinking again?¡± Chen Jing poked his abs and asked. The little amount of strength that she exerted felt like a butterfly touch to him. A stream of warm current flowed from her fingertips through his entire body, making him stiffen on spot. ¡°Jingjing, what are you doing tomorrow?¡± Yang Chen slid his arm off her shoulder and took her warm hands in his. She looked up and said, ¡°I haven¡¯t planned anything yet. Besides, shouldn¡¯t it be today? It is already ten past twelve. Anyway, why do you ask?¡± The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. He cleared his throat and said, ¡°Maybe we could do something meaningful.¡± She raised an eyebrow at him, but did not comment further. Seeing her go silent again, he took a deep breath and said, ¡°Look, I know we both have been busy. We haven¡¯t spent quality time with each other for a while. So, I just want to spend this day with you.¡± Yang Chen was going to explain further when he heard her say, ¡°Okay.¡± Thinking that he had heard her wrong, he looked at her and confirmed, ¡°You agreed?¡± ¡°Mm hmm.¡± Yang Chen kissed her on the cheek and they strolled along the riverbank. All of a sudden, Chen Jing raised her fingers and pointed at a poster. It was of the recent famous celebrity, Li Xueyi. ¡°Chenchen look, isn¡¯t he handsome?¡± Yang Chen rolled his eyes and said, ¡°Is he more handsome than me?¡± ¡°Of course. Look at you and look at him. Heaven and Earth difference, okay?¡± ¡°Is that so?¡±He found her tickle spot and tickled her hard. ¡°Miss Chen, are you trying to make me jealous, hmm?¡± ¡°Stop, stop. I admit defeat. My boyfriend is the handsomest man ever. Handsomest!¡± She laughed as she twisted and turned. ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s more like it.¡± Yang Chen smirked. Gentle breeze messed their hair as they walked hand in hand with each other, dancing and joking around with each other. ¡°Are you hungry?¡± ¡°Jingjing, don¡¯t always ask me whether I¡¯m hungry when in reality, you are,¡± Yang Chen rebuked her. Chen Jing turned her head to face him and gave him a brilliant smile. Her eyes twinkled as she looked into his eyes. ¡°Jinjing¡­¡± Yang Chen started to speak when a call interrupted his words. ¡°Hey,¡± a loud voice came from the other end of the phone. ¡°Mm. What happened?¡± Yang Chen asked. He grew solemn all of a sudden and said, ¡°I¡¯m on my way.¡± ¡°Jingjing, I¡¯m so sorry, I have to go. Lemme book a cab for you.¡± ¡°No need, Chenchen. I want to stay here for a while. What happened though? Everything okay?¡± she asked worriedly. ¡°Nothing to worry about, Jingjing. Let''s meet tomorrow and talk, okay?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± she replied as she noticed his impatient demeanor. Chen Jing had grown accustomed to it. She leaned on the railings as she stared at the back view of the man, which grew smaller and smaller until he vanished from her line of sight. Chen Jing turned around to face the buildings on the other side of the river. Those buildings housed some of the best companies in the city. She used to work for one. She left to pursue her dreams, but sometimes she wondered whether everything was worth it. She loved to ponder on what would have happened had she not listened to her father that year and chosen to major in the subject she liked rather than the one her dad recommended. In the end, she always managed to convince herself that whatever she did back then was not wrong. At least, it fed her for five years. But she had given a lot up¡ªher dreams, her passion, her time and most importantly, her confidence. Chen Jing shook her head and muttered, ¡°Think of something good. This year, my life will finally change for the good.¡± The surrounding noise drowned the rest of her thoughts. She smiled and watched the crowd dancing and waving the little glowsticks to welcome the new year wholeheartedly. She stood at the corner and leaned on the lamppost, watching. As she stood there unmoving, her cell dinged with a message. She saw a voice note left by her best friend. As soon as she clicked on it, a loud yell sounded. Before she could plug in her earphones, a series of insults came one after the other followed by the new year wish. Chen Jing smiled helplessly. That was very much like her best friend. Before she could put her cell back in her pocket, it rang. ¡°Hey,¡± she answered. ¡°Tomorrow is New Year¡¯s Day. Come back tomorrow,¡± came a voice from the other end of the phone. ¡°I can¡¯t. I am busy.¡± ¡°What are you busy with?¡± ¡°That¡¯s none of your business. Also, don¡¯t bother. I won¡¯t be going.¡± ¡°Chen Jing, don¡¯t be late. Otherwise, you know the consequences.¡± Chapter 2: Date Night, First Encounter Chen Jing entered the elevator, barely holding back the tears threatening to fall as she waited, painfully aware of every passing second for the elevator to bring her up to the topmost floor. This was supposed to be a surprise¡­ The elevator stopped as she stumbled out, nearly falling. She turned her head to stare at her sorry looking figure in the mirror. In front of her was a banner in red: Riverside Restaurant-where food meets love. Chen Jing smiled at the irony. After all, she had chosen this place. Riverside Restaurant was indeed where food met love. She came here countless times before, her arms locked into Yang Chen¡¯s. Their favorite spot was Table No. 10. Today was no different, except¡­ this time, she was alone and she wasn''t able to reserve their favorite spot either. Some rich brat had used his connections to hog it. ¡°Ma¡¯am, are you alone?¡± asked the host. ¡°Mm.¡± ¡°Please follow me. The space we booked for you is no different from that space. Plus it has additional benefits. No one will disturb your date,¡± he rambled on, trying hard not to lose his almost regular customer. "Then why didn''t you explain the benefits of that spot to the person who hogged my favorite spot, eh?" Chen Jing side eyed the host. With a rather embarrassed smile, the host murmured, "He''s a VIP customer. We cannot offend him." Chen Jing did not make things difficult for him as she took a deep breath and followed him. She glanced at their favorite spot. A man sat there, his arm resting on the back of the chair. Chen Jing could only see his back view as he tilted his head back and drank the red wine. Even though she was angry, she couldn''t help but admire his back profile as she walked to the garden and sat down at her reserved spot, deep in thought. The server brought her a glass of red wine. A bouquet of red roses lay on the table. Chen Jing sighed. All of these were meaningless. ¡°Lu Man, come meet me at the Riverside Restaurant,¡± Chen Jing called her best friend. Chen Jing poured the drink in her throat, without glancing at it. The wine burnt her throat but still failed to suppress the bitter feeling that choked her all the way to this place. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. She dialed another number. It rang. No one picked up. She hung up right before it went to voicemail. "Ma''am, do you want me to bring the cake or do you want to wait?" asked the waiter. "No need," Chen Jing replied. Chen Jing rubbed her forehead to ease the pain. Too many things happened today. She just wanted some peace right now. ¡°Jingjing!¡± Chen Jing heard her best friend exclaim. She turned around to see Lu Man waving at her. Chen Jing forced a smile as Lu Man sauntered towards her, sending a glass of Table 10 tumbling towards the floor. She hurriedly offered an apology and rushed towards her best friend. ¡°So romantic! Why are you alone though?¡± Lu Man laid her purse beside herself as she took the seat opposite Chen Jing. Chen Jing said nothing. ¡°Jingjing, what¡¯s wrong my dear?¡± Lu Man finally caught up with her best friend¡¯s state of mind. ¡°Did that bastard make you unhappy again?¡± Unbeknownst to them, the man sitting at Table No. 10 was actually listening to them intently out of sheer boredom. He too, had a bad day and came here to relax. Usually he would relax with his friends, but they were busy today. So he had come here alone. The cell phone on his table was constantly ringing, probably bearing more bad news. He put it on silent mode and turned the screen away to save himself from staring at it. His attention went back to the girls once more. They were discussing men. He was especially interested when he heard a name he had long forgotten¡ªYang Chen. On the other table, Chen Jing tried her best to hold back her tears. "He denied being in a relationship with me in front of his father. He told me that there would be no problems. It has been ten years, Manman. I just¡­" "That bastard! Didn''t he say his father already knows about you?" "Exactly. He even said his father will not meddle in our relationship. When I went to his company today, I saw him denying it in front of another girl whom his father introduced and asked him to take to lunch, show around the city and have dinner with. After that, he sent me this." Chen Jing handed Lu Man her phone. On it was Yang Chen''s message¡ª"Jingjing, sorry but I have an emergency meeting at work. I''ll meet you at night, alright?" Lu Man understood that there was more to it. She waited for Chen Jing to continue. "Still I waited for him. But guess what he did? He went to meet his friends. I waited the entire day. The entire day. Dude even had the audacity to call me to the Nanping Restaurant, knowing full well it was him who wanted me to take a leave from work to be with him. And this is what he rewards me with." Not only Lu Man but also the man eavesdropping on their conversation was shocked. "What?! Calling you to such a place at night? Is he even your boyfriend?" Lu Man screamed, startling the waiter. She hurriedly muttered an apology, and turned her eyes to focus on Chen Jing. "Manman, I suddenly feel like I don''t know him at all. Do you know what the irony is?" Lu Man said nothing. In a mocking tone, Chen Jing continued, "He told me that I should be thinking about marriage." Chen Jing drank the orange juice in one go, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and continued to say, "Worst of all, my father is also trying to matchmake me with someone. Even though he''s doing it behind my back, I know him well enough to see through his intentions. Plus, something is odd with Mom as well." "What will you do now?" Lu Man asked seriously. "Honestly, my brain is in a mush right now. I just want to run away from home and not deal with these problems anymore. Aaaaaa." "What about your job? Did you find a new one? Does Yang Chen know about the problems you''re facing there?" "What''s the use of telling him? Either he''ll keep yelling at me or bother me for choosing such a job. Back then, I used to share a lot with him. Now I feel it''s best to keep my mouth shut regarding these things." The man sitting at Table No. 10 couldn''t bear to hear more. It was making him dizzy. He wasn''t better than Yang Chen either. Maybe he had his reasons as well. He got up to go to the washroom. Their conversation reminded him of something, rather someone. As he got up, he almost stumbled, causing Chen Jing to suddenly giggle. Composing herself, she stared at the table as she continued listening to Lu Man. As soon as the man left, a lady made way to the table unaware that her movements were already being noticed by Chen Jing. Subtly, she poured something into the man''s drink and as she picked up her purse from the ground which she had pretended to drop earlier. Chapter 3: Hero saves the Beauty The man came soon after that woman left. He looked flushed. ''The wine must be taking effect,'' Chen Jing thought. He sat down and swirled the wine as he brought it to his lips. At that moment, Chen Jing shouted, "Stop!" The man cocked his head and stared at the woman glaring at him, with hands on her hips. One finger was shaking as it pointed at him in accusation. He was shocked. "Excuse me, Miss. I think you''ve got the wrong person," he said. As Chen Jing actually got a view of the face of the man whose back view she was admiring all this while, she was shocked herself. It was none other than Li Xueyi, her favorite star. Masking all the shock, she passed him a paper towel on which was written, "Cooperate with me." Li Xueyi was confused but he said nothing further. Chen Jing mouthed, "I''m Chen Jing." These interactions happened within a matter of a few seconds. "Ah Jingjing, what are you doing here?" Chen Jing hollered, "How dare you ask me that? I asked you to meet me and you said you were busy. And this is what you''re busy with!" Li Xueyi placed the glass on the table and Chen Jing wasted no time in picking it up and splashing it on him. Li Xueyi dodged on time but his sleeves couldn''t be saved. She pulled him up by his collar and brought him out of the restaurant. She quickly messaged a dumbfounded Lu Man to bring her purse back after finishing her dinner. Inside the elevator, Chen Jing did a deep, ninety degree bow and said, "I''m sorry if I''ve offended you, Mr. Li." "No no. But what was that all about, Miss? Are you in trouble?" "Not me. You." "Huh?" "Someone was trying to drug you. Don''t you know that you should never drink a drink you''ve left unsupervised?" "I-" Li Xueyi was dumbfounded. In a low voice he replied, "I never drink alone. So this never happened to me before." He paused and locked his eyes into hers before saying, "Thank you, Miss Chen." Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. As his eyes locked into hers, she couldn''t help but admire his beautiful eyes. They contained an immense power to pull one into a separate universe. The dark and mysterious orbs pulled her by an invisible rope to drown deeper into them. Chen Jing rarely made eye contact with people. It was out of habit. Not that she didn''t do that before but she always felt that she should only focus on Yang Chen and somehow she stopped making eye contact with people. When met with such powerful eyes, Chen Jing stared for far too long. Li Xueyi pasted a satisfied smirk on his face as he teased, "Am I handsome?" "They''re beautiful," Chen Jing muttered almost instantly, her eyebrows scrunching in the process, annoyed at the interruption. "Hahahaha, thanks." Li Xueyi roared with laughter. "I¡­ I''m sorry. I mean, yes. No. I mean, you''re definitely very handsome. I didn''t mean to stare. I just¡­" "Lost control? Happens. You''re quite beautiful yourself, Miss Chen," Li Xueyi said with a smirk. Chen Jing looked everywhere except his eyes. A blush crept onto her cheeks as smiled in embarrassment. Having had enough fun, Li Xueyi swiftly changed the topic and said, "Since you saved me, I owe you a meal. So¡­" Before Li Xueyi could complete, Chen Jing cut him off, saying, "No need, Mr. Li. It''s nothing. I think I should rush back home. Be safe on your way back. The paparazzi must be waiting for you to make a wrong move." "Miss Chen, first of all, I still need your help. Since you started it, you must end it. Secondly, I definitely owe you one. Thirdly, I still haven''t eaten and I don''t like eating all alone. So, how about you accompany me? Oh and before you refuse me using this excuse, let me tell you that no paps will follow us." "That would be too troublesome," Chen Jing said. "No trouble at all," Li Xueyi said with a twinkle in his eyes. Chen Jing smiled and then followed Li Xueyi as she pulled a mask out to cover her face. Li Xueyi raised his eyebrow at her cautious behavior. But a streak of admiration crossed his mind. He was Li Xueyi. He had millions of fans who would give their everything just to have a meal with him and this girl in front of him looked so reluctant. Was it because of Yang Chen? He looked at her side profile. She looked beautiful under the dim lights. A different kind of beautiful. Not the glamorous kind. Nor the naive kind. But when she smiled, it was from her heart, lighting up her entire being. As Li Xueyi drove, Chen Jing said, "Mr. Li, do you mind if I ask you a question?" "Nope. Go ahead." "Do you have lots of enemies?" "Not really," came his short response. Chen Jing stared at him, hoping he would explain the weird situation earlier but he did not. Silence stretched. Chen Jing kept her eyes on the road. "The Outer Ring Road?" she wondered aloud. "Mm hmm," came the response. The Outer Ring Road was famous for the best restaurants in the city. In fact, it housed the best restaurant in the country¡ªTaste of Himalayas. "Let''s go," he said and handed the keys to the valet. "But, I heard that one should reserve their seats in advance. How did you¡­" Chen Jing did not realize that they had reached the entrance. Li Xueyi gave a name and they were escorted to a private room on the topmost floor. "Wow. Do you come here often?" "Sometimes," he replied. "Mm. That explains the reservation." Chen Jing pulled his chair and signaled him to get seated. Seeing her act out of the ordinary, Li Xueyi laughed. "What happened? Why are you laughing?" "Never before have I seen a woman pull the chair for a man," he honestly answered. Chen Jing rolled her eyes and sat down opposite him. Picking up the menu, she skimmed it and handed it over to Li Xueyi and said, "You know this place better. So, you order." "Sure." Li Xueyi was amused seeing her actions. Never in life had he met such an interesting person who did everything contrary to normal expectations. Li Xueyi ordered a few delicacies and a few simple dishes since he did not know what she liked. Meanwhile, Chen Jing admired the decor of the room. The lighting was neither too bright nor too dim. The warm glow lit Li Xueyi''s face and added a layer of mystery to his profile. The table in front of them was made of solid oak, but it was lined with gold. It looked antique. Even the horse and reindeer statues looked antique. The more Chen Jing looked, the more she was amazed. "Mr. Li, by any chance, have you brought me to a museum?" Li Xueyi raised his left brow and gave her a questioning glance. "Everything in this room looks antique. Even the sandalwood incense stand looks ancient," Chen Jing explained. "There''s a reason this restaurant is the best in the country. What else do you expect? Anyways Miss Chen, may I ask you a question?" "Sure, Mr. Li." Chen Jing stared at the dishes on the table. "Do you have a boyfriend?" Chapter 4: Known for a long time "Do you have a boyfriend, Miss Chen?" "Cough cough¡­" Chen Jing started coughing profusely. "Is that question very hard to answer?" "Not at all. And to answer your first question, yes, I have a boyfriend." Chen Jing lowered her head and sighed. "What''s wrong, Miss Chen?" Li Xueyi looked at her downcast eyes, guilty about having asked a question that ruined her mood. He knew she was sad but he only wanted her to share her burden with him instead of being sad like this but maybe it wasn''t the right time. "I''m sorry," he said. "No. It''s alright. It''s just that I was supposed to have dinner with him tonight. It got cancelled. Back then, we would stop everything to rush to each other. Just to meet once. Even if it was for just a glance at each other. But time changes, so does people," she said, barely stopping the tears in her eyes from spilling. Chen Jing did not know why she said all these to the person sitting in front of her. After all, she never liked to share her troubles with people. The only exception was Lu Man. Li Xueyi listened to her sad words but had nothing to say. As he pondered over how to console her, Chen Jing suddenly said, "This wonton is really good. I''ve never had such a wonton before. Reminds me of my mother''s wontons." "Glad you like it, Miss Chen. This wonton¡­" Li Xueyi''s words were cut off by a sharp male voice. "Jingjing!" Chen Jing turned around to see the person she least expected to see here of all places¡ªYang Chen. Holding his arms was a young lady whom Chen Jing recognized as Zhao Mei Shi. "Jingjing, what a coincidence. Chen said you were busy. Didn''t know you were busy with¡­" Zhao Mei Shi did not finish her sentence but her meaning was clear. Chen Jing paid her no attention. Her eyes was on Yang Chen who looked stupified at first but color was fast returning to his face. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. He turned around to stare at Zhao Mei Shi. He continued her words, "another man." Li Xueyi stared at the annoying duo in front of him. From the looks of Chen Jing''s face and the annoying lady''s words, he could deduce the identity of the man in front of him, but decided to play dumb. "Miss Chen, care to introduce us?" Yang Chen finally turned his head around to glance at the man. Li Xueyi? He internally screamed. Wasn''t this the man Chen Jing said was more handsome than him? How dare she have a meal with a man he considered his romantic rival? Especially at such a place. He could only come here because of his father but what about Li Xueyi? Yang Chen knew that the Li family was influential. But weren''t they low profile? Yang Chen gritted his teeth and said, "Yang Chen. Jingjing''s boyfriend. And you are?" "Li Xueyi. Jingjing''s friend." "Friend? You make me laugh, Mr. Li. How long have you known my Jingjing?" "Not long. But it feels like I''ve known her for years." Li Xueyi smiled. He caught the underlying meaning in Yang Chen''s words but he was not the naive Li Xueyi from back then who would react to some stranger''s words and push people away. He had learnt how to deal with such people. As the two males tried to assert their silent dominance over Chen Jing, the two females were completely ignored. More like, Yang Chen tried to assert his dominance over Chen Jing and Zhao Mei Shi was completely ignored. But it did not suit her for long. She batted her eyelids, trying to act cute, and extended her right hand towards Li Xueyi, saying, "I''m Zhao Mei Shi. Yang Chen''s friend." "Oh," said Li Xueyi, but he did not extend the same courtesy towards her. After a minute or so of keeping her hand extended, Zhao Mei Shi lowered it with a red face as she glared at Chen Jing, as if it was all Chen Jing''s fault. Chen Jing finally collected her wits and said, "Yang Chen, why are you here?" "To have dinner with me, of course," answered Zhao Mei Shi. "You¡­ Nevermind. You must be busy. We''ll talk later, Chen." "But Jingjing¡­" Chen Jing ignored Yang Chen as she sat down and said, "Sorry about that, Mr. Li. Let''s continue." "Right, Miss Chen," Li Xueyi said. Then he turned towards the two people, indirectly asking them to leave. Yang Chen pulled Zhao Mei Shi out of the room and left fuming. His girlfriend was having dinner with another man and asked him to leave. How dare she? Inside the room, Li Xueyi peeked at Chen Jing as he sat down and said, "Do you wanna talk, Miss Chen? Sometimes, it''s good to vent your emotions, lest they get a hold on you and mess you up." Chen Jing took a deep breath and said, "Yang Chen and I studied in the same school. That was the start of our relationship. It has been 10 years since then. But things have started to change and I''m no longer sure about whether I want this or not. Yes, I love him. I do. In fact, I love him a lot. But somehow he has been taking me for granted. Moreover, his behavior has changed too. I don''t know what he wants anymore." The tears that she was holding back for a long time now started to fall. Li Xueyi felt bad seeing her cry but he did not know how to console her. Neither did he want to say anything. He could see the pain in her eyes. She did not need consoling words right now. She just needed someone who would listen to her without judging anyone. Li Xueyi would return her favour by doing so today. Finally, Chen Jing said, "Thanks Mr. Li. I feel better now. Also, you were saying something about the wontons before we were interrupted. Please continue." "It''s nothing. Someday, I''ll introduce you to the person who made them. And, I''ll let them know that my friend liked the dish." Chen Jing nodded. Her cellphone started ringing. It was none other than Yang Chen. She felt a headache coming her way. Yang Chen would surely make a mountain out of a molehill this time. She did not want to think about anything. She was really tired. Chapter 5: Boss is calling "I need to take this call, Mr. Li," Chen Jing said. "Sure," he replied. "Hey," she said after taking the call. "When are you coming back? Should I come to pick you up, baby?" "No need. We''ll talk tomorrow. I''m hanging up now." "B-but, Jingjing¡­" Chen Jing hung up and said, "Let''s finish our dinner, Mr. Li." Even though the ambience was good, the arrival of Yang Chen left a sour taste in their mouths. "I''ll make a move then, Mr. Li. Good night." "Shall I drop you? You didn¡¯t bring a car, right? And, it''s not safe to travel in public transport this late," Li Xueyi said. He stood up and grabbed his coat. His eyes twinkled under the lamps but it gave Chen Jing a sense of security, as if he would never harm him. Chen Jing shook her head at the sudden unwarranted thoughts. She stared at him blankly as Li Xueyi continued listing out more reasons to drive her back home. Li Xueyi waved his palm in front of her face several times to break her reverie. "Ah? Sorry. Were you saying something?" "No. All I was saying is, let''s go home. Ok?" "Mm." They walked towards the parking lot together. As soon as they did, Chen Jing started walking towards the road on her own in a daze. "Miss Chen, hey, wait. What are you doing?" "Going home." Li Xueyi raised his brow. The gentle breeze messed his hair as he stared at the lady in front of him. He flicked her forehead and said, "Why are you so lost? I told you I''ll drop you. Besides, it isn''t safe¡­. Nevermind¡­ come here." He pulled her by her hand and had her seated inside his car. "Miss Chen, what''s wrong?" Li Xueyi kept his eyes on the road and asked. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Chen Jing did not reply. When he turned around, he saw her fast asleep. He shook his head but adjusted the temperature of the air conditioner and drove towards her home. Luckily he had asked for her address in advance. The drive was neither long nor short but to Li Xueyi, it was one of the shortest drives in a lifetime. How he wished he could stare at the sleeping beauty for some more time. ''Get a hold on yourself, Xueyi. You''re having thoughts about someone else''s girlfriend,'' he rebuked himself. "Miss Chen, wake up!" Li Xueyi shook her but she did not respond. He was halfway through debating with himself whether to carry her back when he spotted someone coming out of the house. It was a lady. She looked nothing like Chen Jing but there were a few similarities. The lady held her head high, just like Chen Jing did. Even though she limped a little, her back remained straight. "Jingjing, you''re back?" She asked and then stopped when she noticed the unfamiliar vehicle. "Who are you and why are you with my Jingjing? Ah, what did you do to my Jingjing?" "Ah, you must be her mother, right? Auntie, I didn''t do anything to her. We had dinner together a while back because she helped me with a problem. Um, since it is pretty late, I brought her back. But she seems to have fallen asleep and isn''t waking up no matter how much I call her." Chen Jing''s mother kept her eyes trained on Li Xueyi as she proceeded to wake her daughter up. "Jingjing, baby. It''s 11 o'' clock. Don''t you have work today? If you don''t wake up now, you''re gonna be late. And, I''m not gonna call you again. If you''re late, don''t blame me." "But Auntie¡­" "Shh¡­" She pointed at her daughter who rubbed her eyes and murmured, "Five minutes more, Mom." Both Li Xueyi and Chen Jing''s mother burst out laughing. "Auntie, I''m Li Xueyi. Your daughter is very brave. She saved my life today." "Li Xueyi, the actor?" "Yeah, Auntie." "I''m Cheng Yi, Chen Jing''s mother. You can call me Auntie Cheng." "Jingjing, wake up. Your boss is calling." "Where where?" Chen Jing woke up with a start only to see Li Xueyi trying hard to suppress a smile and her mom giggling non-stop. Chen Jing rolled her eyes and said, "Thanks for escorting me home and sorry for all the trouble." "No trouble at all. Bye Miss Chen. Bye bye, Auntie." "Bye bye." They waved back. The next day: "Mm hmph!" Chen Jing exclaimed in annoyance. Her cell phone was ringing constantly, making her angry. She only had four hours of sleep after her mother''s interrogation. Less sleep equals irritated Chen Jing. And now this cell. Angrily, she answered the call, "Hello?" "Jingjing¡­" Hearing his voice, Chen Jing cut him off saying, "Chen, I''m sleeping. Please let me sleep. I''ll call you back after a while, ok?" Yang Chen did not say anything and hung up. Later, he texted her to meet him at the Riverside Park. It was a five minute walk from her home. When she arrived, she noticed Yang Chen already seated near a banyan tree. "What''s the matter, Chen?" Chen Jing passed him a tub of his favorite ice-cream and sat down beside him. "It''s winter, Jingjing," complained Yang Chen but readily accepted the ice-cream. He scooped out some and licked it. A satisfactory grunt escaped his throat as he enjoyed the pure bliss. "Jingjing," Yang Chen put his ice-cream aside and said, "keep your distance from Li Xueyi. You know he''s an actor and actors are never good. Their profession has a lot of dirty things going on. Who knows when you''ll get involved?" "Okay," Chen Jing said. She did not want to hurt her boyfriend because of a person she only met yesterday. Although she did not agree with what he said about Li Xueyi''s profession, she chose to stay silent. "But I have a condition. Stay away from that girl-whats-her-name? Whatever. Just stay away from her. Ok? Most importantly, no bodily contact. Why was she hanging off your arms yesterday?" "Sure babe. No problem." No sooner had he said it, a call came through. Yang Chen answered, "Yes Boss, I''ll be there in an hour. Yess. Ok." Chen Jing thought nothing about it. They chatted for a while more before Yang Chen had to leave for office. As Chen Jing got up to leave, Lu Man called. She was happy that everything got sorted without any arguments. So, she happily answered, "Manman?" "Where are you, Jingjing?" "Riverside Park, why?" "Come to the Central Plaza. Your stuff is with me, remember?" "Right. I''ll be there in 10 minutes. Wait for me." Chen Jing happily strolled towards the Central Plaza and had two cotton candies with her as she dialed Lu Man''s number. "Hey, where are you?" "Jingjing, I think it''s best for you to return home. In fact, let me come with you, aye?" Lu Man tried to act normal. Her voice was void of fluctuations but Chen Jing knew something was wrong. She said, "No need. Since I''m here, let''s do some shopping. I haven''t bought stuff in a long time. Let''s go. Then, I''ll treat you to a meal." Before Lu Man could reply, Chen Jing spotted her and ran towards her. "Why were you being so sus?" "Me? Sus? Absolutely not. You must be hallucinating." ''Such a big reaction? Something''s definitely up.'' Chen Jing thought. Before Lu Man could stop her, Chen Jing followed Lu Man''s line of sight only to see Yang Chen happily carrying a few shopping bags. Holding his arm was none other than Zhao Mei Shi. Chapter 6: It has been twenty years Chen Jing remembered his words this afternoon. So it was this easy to break a promise, huh? Chen Jing inhaled a deep breath to calm down. She said, "Let''s go." "Huh?" Lu Man stared at her best friend wide-eyed. She clearly saw them. Then why did she not react? Suppressing the thousand why''s in her heart, Lu Man followed Chen Jing. Chen Jing pulled Lu Man into the nearest clothing store and browsed through their entire new collection for some comfy and cute pajamas. Seeing her searching so seriously, Lu Man knew what was on her mind. She said, "Jingjing, let me take you elsewhere." Chen Jing was dragged by her to another store named ''Bunny''. ''What a cute name!'' Chen Jing thought. Once they stepped in, a cute girl wearing a hoodie and pajamas smiled brightly at them. "Welcome sis," she said. The whole store was filled with very cute clothes. Usually, Chen Jing wore clothes of dark palette but she decided to change her style recently. And, this store perfectly fitted her mood and aesthetics. Their buy-buy-buy mode was switched on and they spent the entire three hours selecting clothes for each other. After they bought the clothes, Chen Jing said, "Gurl, aren''t you hungry? Let''s go get some food." Lu Man happily nodded as they strolled towards the nearest KFC. "KFC? Are you serious?" "Yep," Chen Jing answered as she pulled her best friend in. They ordered two large chicken popcorns and sat down. Chen Jing browsed her Weibo while Lu Man tried to fix her makeup. "Jingjing, what''s up with Chen?" "I don''t know," she replied with a sigh. She dropped her head on the table and continued, "We met earlier. He said he got a call from his boss and left." "Do you think he''s cheating on you?" "Nahh. I don''t think he''ll do that. I just think that the lockdown impacted our relationship in a way that I never thought was possible." The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. "What do you mean?" "During those days, he was exceptionally clingy and I was very busy with work and studies. So, he would call or message me 20 times a day and I would only be able to reply to him half of the time. I think that kind of created an emotional disconnect between us. It led to fights often. But, I saw there was no use explaining it to him time and again, so I stopped giving him explanations of any sort. After a while, although the fights reduced, the gap between us increased." "What about Ms. Zhao?" "Although I don''t like that girl, I don''t think they''re in a relationship or something." Chen Jing took a sip of the cola and continued, "Because Chen will never cheat on me. Plus, I think it''s more like, Ms. Zhao is Chen''s venting partner. They vent to each other about their respective partners. And, that''s totally okay. I just kind of feel uncomfortable when I see him lying about her to me. I never stopped him from meeting with her or talking to her before today. But even then, he used to lie to me and he''s still lying to me." "Are you gonna confront him about today?" Lu Man popped the popcorn inside her mouth and chewed it while she concentrated on Chen Jing''s explanation. "Honestly Manman, I don''t want to. I''m tired of the regular fights. I just want some peace, you know?" "Understandable. Nevermind then, let''s eat," Lu Man suggested. At the Li Villa: Li Xueyi leaned against the headboard of his bed and was reading a script with great interest. "Xiao Yi, look at these," a voice came from the door. Li Xueyi lifted his head and ran his fingers through his damp hair as he looked at the woman who approached him with a stack of papers in her hands. He raised his eyebrows at her. The woman came forward and pulled his script with one hand and handed the bunch of papers with another. Li Xueyi attempted to grab the script back, but she was faster. She jumped back and kept it out of reach. She pointed at the papers in Xueyi''s hands and said, "Take a look at those. I''ve shortlisted them." "For what?" "Of course for you to marry the person you choose amongst them." "Mom please." The woman standing in front of him was none other than Li Xueyi''s mother, Lin Mei. Lin Mei was from an affluent family but when she met Li Xueyi''s father, Li Shan, she fell in love with him at first sight. She ran away from her home after that to marry him. Although Lin Mei''s parents accepted her children, they never forgave her and her husband. Lin Mei encouraged her son to find the love of his life, but he remained unmoved. He only said one thing. "Mom, I just want to focus on my career right now. There''s no place for marriage in my plans right now." Lin Mei shook her head. She sat down beside her son and tousled his hair, saying, "Now is the best time to think about it. You need a partner too." "I know, Mom. But I''m not in the mood to. Plus, right now, I have too much work. I''ll think about it after I finish this work, ok?" "Okay. Also, Ruling is returning from Australia. Remember to pick her up tomorrow." "Mom, why don''t you and Pa go and pick her up instead? First of all, I''ll be busy and secondly, I think she''ll be happier to see you two first upon touching the ground." "No can do. Cancel you shoot tomorrow. Your Pa and I have an important meeting tomorrow." "What''s more important than your darling daughter?" Li Xueyi asked casually. He got up from the bed to grab a t-shirt. "Don''t talk nonsense," Lin Mei chided. She leaned back against the headboard, taking her son''s place and closed her eyes. She continued, "Your Pa and I are going to meet your Grandpa." "Ah, that makes much more sense. Why don''t you take him along? Even better, you can pick Ruling up and bring her to Grandpa''s place." "Although it''s a good idea, Ruling is coming at 11 am tomorrow and your Grandpa called us at 10 am. Actually, I have a better idea¡­" "No Mom. Absolutely not. Don''t even think about it." "Your Grandpa will be happy." "Mom, can I ask you a question?" "Sure," Lin Mei replied casually. She did not bother to open her eyes. But the room fell silent. She could not sense any movement from her son. She opened her eyes in a hurry to see him staring at her. "Mom, Grandpa still hasn''t forgiven you after all these years. Why do you still try?" "Because he''s trying too. Can''t you see he''s making efforts to forgive me too? Maybe he has already forgiven me but his ego doesn''t let him admit it. But that doesn''t mean we should stop trying. Sometimes, adults find it hard to go back or apologize for their unreasonable behavior. So, sometimes we children have to take it on us to make sure that they don''t feel alone. Neither should we give up on them. As long as there''s hope. Yi, are you thinking about that matter?" "Mom, do you think Pa¡­. Forget it. I don''t wanna know." "Give him some time, Son." "It has been twenty years, Mom. How much more time do you think is needed?" A sardonic smile graced Li Xueyi''s lips. Chapter 7: No less than a cliche novel "I know, but you should also know that he never expected whatever happened to happen," Lin Mei consoled. Li Xueyi shook his head. Pulling a jacket off his wardrobe, he stated, "I''m leaving." "Where are you going?" He acted as if he had not heard the question. After thirty minutes, Li Xueyi stood in front of an inconspicuous building that housed the infamous Turtle Bar. He entered and sat down at the farthest corner, ordering two bottles of whisky. Very soon, his friends arrived. Gu Wei sat beside him. Tang Lang sat opposite. Meng Kaizhong held his twin sister Meng Lang and said something in a low voice. After Meng Lang left, Kaizhong folded his trenchcoat neatly and sat down before placing it on his lap. Wei Xiong sat beside Meng Kaizhong and shook his legs. Su Yu stared at the dance floor with a pensive look. He was probably thinking of another script. "Little Yi, Auntie was asking me about you. I told her you were with me," Gu Wei said, raising his eyebrows. "Thanks," Li Xueyi replied, but offered no answer to the underlying question. His heart was clearly unsettled. He downed another glass and looked at the dance floor. The dance floor was on fire. Young people grooved to the beats without a care for the world. Li Xueyi had half a mind to join them on the dance floor. Beside him, his friends were discussing something along the lines of the stock market. Su Yu was suddenly interested in it. Wei Xiong was explaining with vigor while the others listened with patience. Only Tang Lang sat there in his usual languid posture with his eyes closed. No one knew whether he was listening or not. Li Xueyi never had interest in that stuff. So, he ignored them and got up. Walking up to the bartender, he ordered another glass and sat down on the stool. He would go back later. Suddenly, a powdery smell wafted to his nose. It was like a drop of fresh water in this bar. He turned his head to the side. Beside him sat a lady. He did not recognize her. Under the lights, she blinked her eyes and said coquettishly, "Mister, may I have the honor of drinking with you?" "No," came Xueyi''s flat reply. He turned his attention to the glass, wrinkled his nose, drank the wine in one go and got up to go back to his seat. The lady was not dispirited. She inched closer to Li Xueyi and tugged at his shirt. Li Xueyi turned his head and stared at her coldly. She looked vaguely familiar, but he could not recall where he had seen her. Li Xueyi was pretty drunk, but not to the point of having no consciousness. Instead of going back to his seat, he walked towards the washroom. He reached the washroom and heard a female voice. It was laced with equal parts of nervousness and irritation. Li Xueyi turned back and went to check the sign outside. He came to the correct place, then why¡­ He did not finish his thoughts. Instead of waiting outside, he went inside. What he saw in front was not uncommon but it certainly shocked him. The lady who had saved him the day before was pulling her boyfriend off the sink, who was throwing tantrums instead. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Chen Jing helplessly said, "Chen, why did you drink so much?" Yang Chen''s following words were slurry, "Why can''t I drink? Just because you don''t like to drink, you can''t stop me." "Forget it. Let''s go home," she coaxed. "No. I will not leave this bar till I lose my senses. Only then will you forgive me, right?" "Chen, please listen to me." "No means no. Didn¡¯t you say so yourself? Why are you turning back on your own words?" Chen Jing stopped pulling Yang Chen and looked at him coldly. Finally, she compromised, "Fine. Let''s go." "No no. As soon as I go out, you''ll take me home. I don''t want to go home." Both Chen Jing and Li Xueyi were speechless. Was he actually drunk or was pretending to be drunk? Chen Jing rolled her eyes and said, "Suit yourself then. I''m leaving." Li Xueyi chuckled. He sobered up a little from watching the drama unfold in front of him. At first, he never intended to eavesdrop but as soon as he heard Chen Jing''s voice, he became interested. She had her own temper too. But looking at the helpless Chen Jing, he could only chuckle. She stood there with her arms crossed in front of her chest and let out an angry laugh before strutting off. Li Xueyi waited for her to leave before entering when he suddenly felt a small palm on his shoulder. He turned around to see Chen Jing standing behind him with her eyes raised. "Ahem, M-Miss Chen¡­ I mean, J-Jingjing," Li Xueyi stuttered. "Mr. Li, what a coincidence! But what are you doing here instead of going in?" "I-" Li Xueyi did not know how to explain himself. After all, it was not good to eavesdrop. Chen Jing rubbed her temples and said, "Seems like you heard everything that was going on inside." Li Xueyi sheepishly nodded. For a while none of them said anything. They were lost in their own thoughts when Yang Chen let out a loud roar and zoomed out of the washroom intending to punch someone. Chen Jing saw this and widened her eyes. She hurriedly pulled Li Xueyi and hid behind the door. Seeing his target suddenly vanish, Yang Chen stood there dumbfounded. Then, he made way towards the counter again. After all, along with his target, Chen Jing had vanished too. No one would be able to stop him from drinking now. Chen Jing breathed a sigh of relief before scrunching up her brows. When she had pulled him in, she did not realize that her watch would hook itself onto Chen Jing''s clothes. His clothes looked expensive and Chen Jing dared not rush. She gently pulled her watch as she lowered her head to look at it. When she raised her head again, she bumped into his chin. That''s when she noticed that they were too close. She asked Li Xueyi, "Are you alright, Mr. Li?" Li Xueyi nodded. Although he said that, Li Xueyi''s heartbeats were erratic. He did not know whether it was because of the alcohol or the girl in front of him. But he did not have the heart to pay any mind. He saw his friends standing at the doorway staring at him wide-eyed which then morphed into an understanding smile. They had clearly seen him staring at Chen Jing. He knew they were thinking nonsense, but he could not clarify. He watched as Chen Jing calmly walked out from behind the door and walked towards the corridor after giving him a slight nod. She did not act out of the ordinary. Li Xueyi also thought it was useless to explain to his friends, so he went inside and did his business before coming out and washing his hands. When he walked out, he heard several whistles and catcalls. He turned around and glared at them. By now, he had sobered up a lot. "Finally Auntie can be worry-free, eh?" Gu Wei winked at him and held his shoulders. They made their way to the counter. Li Xueyi did not answer his best friend''s question. His eyes fell on the lone figure drinking away, not caring about his own girlfriend. A surge of anger coursed through Li Xueyi. Which kind of scum doesn''t care about their girlfriend and instead have fun here? He walked up to Yang Chen and pulled him from the counter, intending to punch him. Yang Chen did not recognize the person pulling him. He thought it was Chen Jing. So, he said, "Jingjing, I''m sorry." The pleading undertone to his apology deflated Li Xueyi. He lowered his hand and left. After all, he was no one to them. He shouldn''t interfere. Li Xueyi looked around but did not see the annoying lady. So, he gladly sat down by the counter and ordered more whisky. His friends were scattered on the dance floor. Only Gu Wei accompanied him. On the other side of the building, Chen Jing stood by the railing to get some fresh air. Even though the air wasn''t fresh, this side of the building blocked the blaring music. Never before in life had she set foot inside such a place, but when she got a call that Yang Chen was in trouble after drinking so much, she had to come. The outcome¡­ not what she imagined. No matter what, Yang Chen refused to leave. The least Chen Jing could do now was get some rest. She leaned against the railing and rubbed her temples. But people did not like that either. A lady with a shrill voice was yelling at a waiter. Chen Jing''s attention was caught by words like¡ª"Li Xueyi", "put the drug in", "Presidential Suite". Her mind spun. Connecting the words with the incident from yesterday, Chen Jing thought Li Xueyi''s life was nothing less than a cliche novel. Chapter 8: Nightly Adventures "Don''t tell me he finally managed to get himself drugged. I never thought I''d cross paths with a celebrity who is constantly on the edge of getting drugged." Chen Jing sighed and then the corner of her lips lifted into a sardonic smile. ''To go or not to go is the question,'' Chen Jing thought. Then she made up her mind. "I''ll just take a peek. If he''s really there, I''ll grab him and run. If not, then I''ll just come back here." Chen Jing was no Mary Sue. But, she always remembered to be nice to people who were nice to her. Li Xueyi was one of them. Besides, he was her celebrity crush. He just couldn''t leave her idol in such danger, could she? Even though she would very much love to not meddle, the angel on her shoulder managed to brainwash her into helping him. Before she could fully convince her brain, it was as if her legs had a mind of its own and started moving towards the direction of the voices. Above the bar was a hotel. Although Chen Jing never came here, she had heard of it. She quietly followed the waiter and the woman. The woman whispered something in the writer''s ear before taking the key from the waiter. Chen Jing did not watch further. She hoped that Li Xueyi wasn''t inside the room. She made way to the bar despite her headache. Li Xueyi was sitting there watching his friends groove to the beats. Her eyes shifted to Yang Chen. He was doing the same. He also kept asking the bartender for more shots. Chen Jing made her way towards Li Xueyi and asked him, "Is the seat taken?" Li Xueyi was stunned. "N-no," he stammered. Chen Jing took her seat opposite him. "Mr. Li," she said, "I have a wild suggestion tonight." Li Xueyi raised his brow. ''She''s not suggesting what I''m thinking, right?'' He only raised his brows in response. The smile on his face deepened. Chen Jing smiled. She took a deep breath and said, "I suggest you go home today. Don''t ask me why. You''ll be thankful to me tomorrow." Li Xueyi stiffened. Why did it not follow what he had in mind? Then he remembered that she had a boyfriend. Chen Jing smirked seeing Li Xueyi''s surprised face. Then she strutted off in her sneakers. Li Xueyi almost fell down seeing the choice of her shoes. Li Xueyi closed his eyes and replayed her words in his mind. He had half a mind to heed her advice and half a mind to take a chance and see what happens. But the loud music indeed did not suit his taste tonight. "Forget it. It''s better to go home tonight. After all, I have to go to the airport tomorrow." Lu Xueyi muttered to himself. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Chen Jing found Yang Chen dozing off in his seat. She went ahead and poked him. "Hey, wake up. Did you have enough fun? Time to go home now. Otherwise, I''ll be bound to call your dad to pick you up. Yang Chen, I''ll count to three. Stop feigning sleep. 1¡­2¡­3¡­" Yang Chen opened his sleepy eyes to stare at the woman. She was his love. Of course, she knew his weaknesses. Yang Chen slowly got up. Chen Jing slid her hand behind his back to support him. He pulled his free hand over her shoulder and dragged him out. It was not wise to hail a cab with a drunk man. So, she had wisely called up Yang Chen''s driver. As she waited for him, she saw Yang Chen trying to vomit. Was it too late to take him to the washroom? Chen Jing pondered for three seconds. She pulled out the bottle of water from her purse and passed it to Yang Chen. He stopped trying to vomit. Chen Jing heaved a sigh of relief. She vowed to never set foot in this place from this day onwards. Suddenly, she heard two male voices. They seemed to be arguing. The footsteps and the voices became louder but the footsteps suddenly stopped. Yang Chen dozed off on the stairs of the fire exit of the bar. Chen Jing peeked outside. "Would you please stop behaving like this?" She heard the man in the green suit say. She seemed to have seen these people earlier. Weren''t they with Li Xueyi? If they saw her, she did not know what to say. As if the embarrassment from earlier was not enough, God was testing her. Chen Jing wanted to scream, but had no guts to do so. Instead, what fell on her eyes made her mind spiral. In fact, she felt very touched. At the center of the walkway, the shorter man clutched onto the taller man''s windbreaker, refusing to let go. "Why? Are you ashamed of me?" The man who was half a head shorter than the former emquired. He scowled and angrily pushed the green-clothed man away. "Weiwei, you''re drunk," the man cladded in green said. He pinched the bridge of his nose impatiently but held the other man tightly in his embrace. Even though he tried his best to push him away, the taller man did not let go, afraid that the other would fall. When his tantrums grew, he said in a slightly cold voice, "Behave." The shorter man, on being rebuked, grew silent. He even pouted a little. Chen Jing saw all these and did not know whether to laugh or cry. Although she did not like this place, the people here were interesting, especially after drinking. ''What a cute couple,'' she thought. Seeing them reminded her of Li Xueyi. She did not know whether Li Xueyi heeded her warning. She hoped he did. Chen Jing mused, "If this followed the normal novel plot, he should''ve slept with that girl and be forced to marry her or worse, have scandals in his spotless career." She wondered whether this incident had anything to do with that incident on New Year¡¯s Day. Yang Chen''s driver finally arrived. Chen Jing dragged him off the stairs and crossed the couple. She pretended not to see them, hoping they wouldn''t notice her either. But the drunk man named Weiwei called her, "Pretty Lady, what''s your relationship with Little Yi?" "Shut up. I''m sorry, Miss. Excuse us." The taller man gave Chen Jing a deep look and apologized even though his gaze told her he was equally interested. Chen Jing nodded but offered them no explanation. She acted as if she had not heard the question. She pushed Yang Chen inside the car before getting in and instructing the driver to take them home. The people who were ignored looked at each other and burst into laughter. They were none other than Li Xueyi''s friends, Gu Wei and Tang Lang. "Little Yi definitely likes this girl, but she seems to have a boyfriend." Gu Wei slurred. His drunk body slumped into Tang Lang''s arms as he refused to move. "Take me to a hotel nearby. I don''t wanna go home. Ma will scold you." "She won''t. Let''s go." Tang Lang pulled Gu Wei to a lowkey black car. He pushed Gu Wei inside before buckling his seat belt. Then he got into the driver seat himself. Gu Wei started singing¡­ As the nights pass, I long to hold your hands¡­ But you, my dear, fear the world¡­ His voice was mellow, filling Tang Lang''s ear. It has been a long time since Gu Wei sang. The tiredness between Tang Lang''s brows melted and a gentle smile graced his usually cold face. He remembered the time he had seen this young man on stage singing, making the crowd grow awestruck. Thinking about the day made his heart go crazy till this day. It was one of the darkest nights in Gu Wei''s life, but it was one of the brightest nights in his life. They avoided mentioning that night as if it never happened. But Tang Lang could never forget. Nor would he ever forget it. Gu Wei continued singing: I want to be yours as you''re mine, But¡­ Then he stopped. He did not know why he chose this song. Maybe deep in his heart he knew. He wanted answers. He pouted, all of a sudden. Tears formed in his misty eyes, as if the whole world had wronged him. The outside world zoomed fast. The road was desolate. Only the whooshing of the wind and inconsistent sobs could be heard. Tang Lang was stunned. He came to a realization. So this was bugging Gu Wei. But Tang Lang did not console him. He let Gu Wei cry. ''Serves him right for thinking nonsense all the time,'' Tang Lang thought. Chapter 9: Missing Li Xueyi called his manager to pick him up. He wanted to investigate, but that could wait till the next day. He would just ask Wei Xiong to find out which idiot wanted to drug him so much. Was it related to some new actress trying to climb into his bed or was it something entirely different? Li Xueyi did not know. Nor did he want to disturb his friend''s rest right now. But that reminded him of a woman. She was the one who saved him twice. She had her own fair share of problems, but she never hesitated to help him. She never asked him for anything in return either. Were there such people in this world? Li Xueyi knew that the world was selfish, but Chen Jing seemed to be a breath of fresh air in this already pungent world. "Little Yi, 11 am tomorrow, Hotel Noble, inauguration of Chen Group''s new line of watches. Then, you have to go to the premiere of the Dreamlands. Also¡­" Zhuo Renxi, Li Xueyi''s manager, was reporting his itinerary for the next day when something clicked in Xueyi''s mind. "Which group did you say?" "Chen Group of Companies." "Chen Group. Chen Jing. Who is the CEO?" LI Xueyi asked. "You have met her. Chen Zi Tong. She''s rumored to be Asia''s Number One Beauty," Zhuo Renxi said. He did not think it was out of ordinary to ask about it since Li Xueyi liked to go everywhere prepared. But his next question stumped him. "Is she related to Chen Jing in some way?" "I-I''m not sure," Zhuo Renxi replied. He looked out of the window. Suddenly he turned around and asked, "Do you want me to check?" Li Xueyi did not answer for a long time. Zhuo Renxi did not pressurize him for an answer either. After a long time had passed, he said, "No need." Li Xueyi closed his eyes once more. The whole car ride turned silent after that. At this time, Zhuo Renxi wished that the chatterbox Hu Yiran was here. Hu Yiran was Li Xueyi''s assistant. She was a bubbly young girl who did her job quite well. Li Xueyi had fired countless female assistants before. Only Hu Yiran managed to stick to her position well. In fact, Li Xueyi cared for her like a little sister. Hu Yiran was hardworking. She also didn''t compromise her dreams. Zhuo Renxi couldn''t help but praise her. During her break time she studied, which was why the responsibility of driving Xueyi back and forth at night fell on Renxi''s shoulders. On the other side, Tang Lang''s car was filled with the slurred voice of Gu Wei singing all the sad songs he could remember. The trees and buildings whizzed by but Tang Lang''s eyes never left Gu Wei''s figure. On Chen Jing''s side, she dropped Yang Chen off at his home before walking towards her own absentmindedly. Instead of going inside her home, she hailed a cab and went straight to her best friend Lu Man''s home. Chen Jing did not wish to bother her mother this late but Lu Man was different. This time of night was actually Lu Man''s evening. "Jingjing," a warm hand encircled Chen Jing''s waist as she was pulled inside, "I was just thinking about you." Chen Jing hugged her best friend Lu Man and fell asleep. Lu Man shook her head but let her sleep as she wished. She smelt of wine. Lu Man knew Chen Jing did not like to drink. ''It must be that bastard who dragged her to such a place,'' she thought. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
The next day: Li Xueyi woke up. A splitting headache reminded him of yesterday''s events. "Right," he said and dialed a number. The call did not go through. "Huh?" This was the first time that person''s phone was switched off. Li Xueyi freshened up before dialing another number. A deep voice answered. Li Xueyi was stunned before saying, "Where''s he?" "Sleeping. What''s the matter?" The deep voice softened. Li Xueyi could feel the sweetness from the other end of the phone. He rolled his eyes and said, "Xiong''s phone is out of reach." "What?" The deep voice turned serious. "I called him over ten times. I didn''t call his home and I can''t go over either," Li Xueyi said. Li Xueyi eyed his watch. It read: 9:25. He sighed before pulling a t-shirt over his bare body. Water dripped off his hair as he dabbed his towel on his head. "Do me a favor, Lang" Li Xueyi said. Tang Lang looked at the profile of the sleeping man on the bed. His eyes carried dark circles around them and a deep sense of helplessness. He said softly, "What if he''s not there?" "We''ll think of a plan," Li Xueyi finally answered solemnly and then hung up. He picked his car keys, put on a mask and got into his car. For safety, he picked up a lowkey car which he had never driven before. After twenty minutes of driving and navigating through the jam-packed roads, Li Xueyi finally reached the airport. He did not hurry to get down and wait for her. He sent a message to her and waited inside the parking area. Then he started to read the morning news when he received Hu Yiran''s call. "Boss, what happened while I wasn''t around?" "I went out drinking. What else could''ve happened? Little girl, why aren''t you studying? Didn''t you take a day off to study for your exams?" Li Xueyi chuckled. She could never shut up, even though her exams were approaching. She even risked Zhuo Renxi''s scolding to call him to get some gossip. "Boss, it''s not that¡­" Li Xueyi did not listen to the rest. His phone vibrated a little indicating another call coming through. He said, "Little Yiran, I''ll share all the gossip with you later. Right now, I have something important to do. Study well and don''t worry about me, hm?" He did not wait for her to answer before hanging up. "Hey lil bro, I''m near the parking area. Where are you?" "Look at your right." "Hah! You brought this trash to pick me up?" Li Xueyi did not reply. He watched as the woman flipped her hair and made way towards his car. She wore a Chanel dress. She paired it with high heels. She looked like she was on the runway right now. It took her five minutes to sashay into his car. Li Xueyi tapped his foot as he waited. A call came through. It was Tang Lang. As he picked up, he felt a vibration and saw his manager calling him. ''Probably to urge me for the inauguration,'' he thought. "Hey!" Li Xueyi noticed the lady getting into his car. He paid her no attention and waited for Tang Lang to speak. Tang Lang panted. He stopped to catch his breath before saying, "He''s not at home. I''m going to wake Wei up. You go to Kaizhong''s place. We''ll be there in half an hour." "Okay. I might be a bit late. But I''ll contact Kaizhong first." Li Xueyi did not waste any time before getting straight to the point. "Mm," Tang Lang replied. Li Xueyi pinched the space between his brows trying to sort his emotions. He had to attend the event. He could not just cancel the event at the last moment. He had to find Wei Xiong as soon as possible. He also had to drop Ruling at his Grandpa''s place. Li Xueyi had been in countless tricky situations but this one was one of a kind. His hands started sweating. He took a deep breath to calm down. He started his car. He paid no mind to the chatter around him. He only focused on one thing ¡ª driving. Without breaking the traffic rules, he sped as fast as he could, taking every shortcut he found. "Get out," he said. "What''s wrong?" Ruling asked. "Nothing that concerns you. Say hi to grandpa. Tell him I''ll come to visit him soon. Tell mom I''m sorry." Li Xueyi impatiently told her. He was currently racing against time. He drove to Kaizhong''s place immediately. But it was easier said than done. The Outer Ring Road was on the other side of the city. He had half a mind to speed away but he did not want more problems to deal with right now. Taste of Himalayas was not yet open to the public for the day when Tang Lang rushed in with a grumbling Gu Wei in tow. "Little Yi ain''t here?" Kaizhong asked. "He said he''ll be a little late," Tang Lang replied. It was surprising that he would talk so much. Gu Wei glared at Tang Lang, whose lips held a subtle smirk. "What exactly happened and why have we gathered here?" "By the way, Little Yi is all over the news again," Kaizhong mentioned casually. No one was surprised. Gu Wei yawned for the 92nd time and said, "If Little Yi ain''t coming, I''m going home." "That won''t be necessary. Oh, I also called Turtle Bar. They confirmed that he ain''t there either. I also called the hotel above. They said they''re checking." "Could Meng Lang have an idea?" Everyone turned silent. It was not news to them that Meng Lang liked Wei Xiong for years and has been protecting him. Everyone except Wei Xiong knew about it. "Let me ask," Kaizhong finally broke the silence. They were not someone who could get news immediately. They could only search the places he frequented. Meng Kaizhong called his twin sister and enquired, "Where''s Xiong?" "Huh?" The sleepy voice on the other end was startled. After a minute, she responded, "What do you mean? Didn''t Xiong go to the hotel above Turtle Bar? What''s the name of it? Whatever! He told me to leave and went there by himself. I drank a bit but didn''t see him coming down, so I went to my apartment to sleep and you''re telling me now that he''s not there?" "Oh. False alarm maybe. Could you check if he''s still there?" Kaizhong said meekly. Meanwhile Xueyi got a call that left him dumbfounded.