"Why are you telling me this now?"
"Because I'm tired Jianyu. Two years may not sound much but only I know my pain, my tears. When I saw you again at the party yesterday, I just couldn't stop myself anymore. It was too much. Was it that wrong for me to love you Jianyu?"
He was torn. On one side was his mom. Who he knows wants only what is best for him. But he couldn't defend her now. And on the other side is Suyin. Who had to make such a difficult decision at that time. All alone.
"I'm not saying for us to go back to bebe a couple again. But I hope we can still be good friends."
Silence.
After a long time, he said, "I need some time."
He really needed that time to sort out his feelings now. There were too many things to process.
"Okay. I understand. I'm happy you at least gave me this chance. And.."
She hesitated.
"What?"
"I hope you don't talk to Aunt about this. I don't want any clashes between mother and son. She really loves you. Please don't blame her."
He kept quiet for a second. "Okay."
They had their coffee and sandwiches and got up to leave.
"I will leave now.", said Jianyu.
Suyin could detect a little softness in his voice as compared to how he had talked coldly earlier.
"Yes."
They had an awkward goodbye.
After he left, her face took a complete 180-degree change in expression. The innocent and distraught Suyin was gone.
She smirked.
The first step is a success.
---
Nana was outside cleaning and dusting Natsukashi when she suddenly felt a strong gaze at her.
She looked behind but there was no one.
She thought she might be hallucinating. She got back to her work but she felt it again.
And this time she saw someone wearing a cap and walking away.
He looked like Sun Dong, she thought.
---
The same evening after dinner, Liu Jinhai was in his study, video conferencing.
After a while, he got back to his room and saw Huian distracted.
He frowned.
He went and stood beside her. But she didn't notice.
"Huian?"
She got startled.
"Huh?"
Jinhai got a little concerned. "What happened? Why did you get so startled?"
"Jinhai. It's you. Oh, n-nothing. I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes yes. Totally.", she smiled.
"Okay."
"Why did you come so late?"
He sighed. "There was one last-minute video conference meeting. It just ended."
She nodded.
"Oh yes. What was in that gift Jie gave?"
She froze. She somehow said a lie.
"N-nothing. It was a prank. She played a joke that's all."
"It must be one of those horror pranks again.", he sighed.
Her friend Jiu loves horror movies and scary stuff. And Huian was a scaredy-cat when it came to ghosts. So she used to prank Huian quite often during their college days.
"I should talk to her. Playing a horror prank with you on our anniversary day was too much. She should give you a proper gift or else nothing.", he was a little annoyed.
Huian panicked.
No! That gift was not given by Jiu. If he clarified it with her, Jinhai will become suspicious. He would try to find out about the person who sent it. Even if I want to know it as well, I cannot find him through Jinhai.
She quickly stopped him from taking out his phone.
"Hubby, it's alright. Really. We know how Jiu is. She just wanted to have some fun. And anyways I am going to talk to her tomorrow and give her a nice earful. So, it's okay."
"Fine. If you say so." He kept his phone back.
He said, "Alright. You go to sleep. I still have some work left. It will take the whole night."
She pouted. "So much work?"
He sighed again. "Yes. Our collaboration project is very important and I had to push many things forward for our celebration. So now, it will take some overtime and all-nighters to get everything done."
Huian said, "I'm sorry I forced you. It has put more burden on you right?"
He smiled and patted her head, "Silly. It was our special day. How can I not make some adjustments? Work is there all the time. But this day comes only once a year, right? So stop worrying over it."
"Mm. You are the best."
"I know."
She jokingly punched him in the chest.
---
Jianyu was in his home drinking. After his meeting with Suyin, he couldn't concentrate on his work for the whole day.
His mind kept endlessly wandering on their conversation.
Truth to be told, he wanted to grab this chance to make everything right with her. How much had he thought of this day? To know her reason. To know that all was just his misunderstanding. To know that she loved him too.
His heart was wavering. In the past two years, it may have looked like he had forgotten her, but in actuality, he had just locked her somewhere in a corner of his heart.
He never knew her reason for leaving him. So he couldn't truly forget her.
After knowing her explanation I cannot possibly hate her anymore. But momwhy? Why don't you like her? Why did you make her choose?
He sighed. He laid on the bed but had a sleepless night.