Xu Jia Li couldn't suppress the tears from falling on her cheeks. Driving on her own, she suddenly regretted not asking Shen Linqin to accompany her. Even Thomas, the new driver was not around. The tears on her eyes made it hard for her to drive that she wished she was with someone to drive for her.
A few times, she almost bumped into the car in front of her. She was already on her way to her apartment but she constantly stopped on her way, giving way for her eyes to clear.
She slammed her fist on the steering wheel before she leaned her head on it. "How can you be so stupid, Xu Jia Li? You pushed him away! And now, he's getting married."
The words she heard from Zhou Bingbing still rang on her ears.
"He's my fiancé and we're getting married. I hope you know where to stand. I don't appreciate you tailing with my fiancé or even using his name to get popular. I hope I get myself clear."
The mocking in Zhou Bingbing's tone was evident. Xu Jia Li was so lost that she immediately changed clothes and rode her car. Everything seemed so blurry. The pain she felt was too much.
When she reached her apartment, she directly went inside her room and locked herself in. She buried her face on her pillow as the warm liquid continuously fell.
"You said you love me and you'll wait b-but now, you're getting married." She whispered between sob. She felt betrayed, a sudden feeling of anger washed all over her but a part of her said, 'Why will you be mad at him? Isn't this what you want? Didn't you purposely avoid him? Wasn't it you who keep away from him?'
She felt guilty. She knew that it was her fault and Si Weimin was not to blame. She had no one to blame but herself.
With a deep sigh, she wiped her tears and drifted toward the window. In the fading light, as sun was setting west, she stared at the reddish orange hue sky.
'I have too much on my shoulder. I need to find who killed my mother. I love you, Weimin but how can I ever be worthy when I couldn't even fight for you.' Tears started to fall again like a broken dam.
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Si Mansion
Elder Si summoned Butler Mo and ordered him to call Si Weimin. It's been 7 pm but no sign of Si Weimin could be seen.
The old man was starting to feel irritated and the looks of it, he knew that Si Weimin won't come. He was furious as he knew how stubborn his grandson could be.
"Elder Master, the young master said that he won't come."
"That brute! Tell him to just go to my funeral!"
Butler Mo just bowed his head as he answered, "Yes, Elder Master."
Elder Si was fuming as he ordered Butler Mo to get the car. He walked fast as he waited for the driver to bring the car.
On his way to the Zhou residence, he was thinking of a way to convince Si Weimin to agree with this marriage. He really liked Zhou Bingbing and he knew far better than anyone that Zhou Jiayin was a good man.
He could still remember how the young Zhou Jiayin helped him saved the company from bankruptcy. He trusted his business partner, Li Baozhang so much that he let him decide things in the company. They had been best friends and partners, the reason why he did not see the betrayal coming.
Si International suffered a huge blow with all the investments and money gone. It was the dark days of Si International. Thanks to the young Zhou Jiayin who was just a junior accounting manager at that time. If not for him, the glory that Si International was experiencing right now would only be a distant memory.
Zhou Jiayin was only 20 at that time. He was a smart young man who didn't want to start working on his father's empire. He wanted to prove himself as he started to apply at Si International and worked his way up from the bottom before he decided to take charge as the chairman of Zhou Group at the age of 25.
He noticed the irregularities in the reports and spent each night when he was already alone studying them. It was then that he found out that Li Baozhang was transferring big amount of money on his Swiss account.
He immediately let Elder Si know what Li Baozhang did. They acted quietly as they began to make their move and retrieved all the money in his account. Elder Si also ordered a news blackout about the incident and made sure that no one knew about it, he couldn't let anyone knew how weak he was for being irresponsible of his own empire.
After that, Elder Si cut all his ties with Li Baozhang and stripped him off of all his assets.
From then, he vowed that he would make their family as one. Too bad he didn't have a daughter or he would have married her off to Zhou Jiayin.
Now that Zhou Jiayin had a daughter, the dream of making their family unite was only a grasp away. Si Weimin had to marry Zhou Bingbing whether he liked it or not.
Elder Si arrived at the Zhou residence and saw the father and daughter waiting at the door. He suddenly felt guilty and embarrassed that Si Weimin was not with him.
"What a pleasant evening it is, Jiayin! My dearest Xiao Bingbing, aren't you a darling?" Elder Si pronounced as he patted Zhou Jiayin's back. He saw Zhou Bingbing looked pass him as if looking for Si Weimin.
He coughed as he said, "Xiao Bingbing, your betrothed couldn't make it tonight. A problem in the company requires him to attend to it immediately," He laughed as he continued, "You know how hardworking that boy is. When you're already married, make sure to understand him."
"Of course, Grandpa Si." The sadness and disappointment clearly seen on Zhou Bingbing's beautiful face made Elder Si even guiltier.
"That boy is like your dad, Xiao Bingbing. They're both workaholic."
"I'd better give my advice to Weimin, then." Zhou Jiayin laughed as they all went inside the house.
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Spring Valley
Meanwhile, Si Weimin was worried about what the old man had said. After Butler Mo called, he knew that the rift between Grandpa Si and him was inevitable. It would be the first time that conflict between them would arise. Still, he would never waver. He really couldn't take it to marry Zhou Bingbing.
He made up his mind not to go so as not to give false hope to the Zhous. Although he didn't like Zhou Bingbing, he still couldn't take it to hurt her directly. However, he still couldn't just let his grandpa be mad at him. He knew that he had to talk to him and tell him that he loved someone else.
He walked to his room and changed to a pair of jogging pants and hoodie. He needed to clear his mind and sort everything. It had been a week since he last jogged and his body could do some exercise.
Spring Valley was an exclusive subdivision which consisted only of ten mansions. His villa was the biggest so it was located at the middle of the subdivision. The place was huge and boosted of many trees which made it perfect for jogging.
He put his earpods on and played Xu Jia Li's songs. He immersed himself with her beautiful angelic voice while he increased his speed.
Si Weimin ran for 30 minutes before he decided to go back to his home. Hands on his pants pocket, he gazed at the little lights, remembering the night he was with Xu Jia Li. How he wished things turned out differently. He brushed his right hand on his hair as the cold breeze of autumn air hit his face.
Autumn, it was the color of Xu Jia Li's eyes. He sighed, 'I missed you.'
He was walking back to his mansion when he noticed someone following him. He furrowed his brows as he turned his head. There was a shadow. He couldn't be mistaken. He knew what he saw. He slowly approached it, behind an old thick tree, he saw someone move.
He quickly moved his feet. But before he could look behind, he heard a car honked at him. With the shadow still in his mind, he glared at the car before he scanned the place where he saw someone moved.
But to his surprise, no one was there. Deep in thought, he stayed glued in his position, thinking about what he saw.
A loud honk snapped him back from his trance, annoyed, his eyes were cold and furious, he approached the car that kept on honking and saw that the driver was his youngest brother, Si Weiyun.
"Hey, hey, hey! What's with the look? Aren't you happy to see me?"
Si Weimin only grunted.
"Gege, is that how you greet your brother?"