"I'm sorry. I fell asleep." Han Meixiu sincerely apologized.
"It's fine, Meixiu dear." Madam Liu answered as she walked towards the newly arrived 'couple'. As she looked at the two, she recalled the earlier conversation that transpired before they came.
Approximately 30 minutes earlier..
"Little Zi isn't here?' Liu Zilong asked his mother. He was in the office and waited for his brother to ask something but he didn't return. He then went to his room but he wasn't there. He expected that Liu Zijian was already with his parents but he was wrong.
"I asked him to pick Meixiu up. We just have to wait here." Madam Liu answered. The Liu older couple were staying in one of the presidential suites of the hotel and they decided to have dinner in this same room. Currently Mr. Liu was on the phone while she was sitting down on the sofa looking at some bridal magazines.
Liu Zilong nodded and sat beside his mom. "Sister in law doesn't have a wedding dress yet?" He asked when he saw the magazine his mother was flipping.
"We already picked one earlier. I was just thinking that we could have got her a better one if we have enough time."
The first young master understood. Given the situation it's better to expedite the marriage. "It's a good thing Little Zi agreed."
"Meixiu is the first woman he allowed to be close to him so I hope there's a good future for both of them."
"Wasn't he unconscious when they first met? Even if he didn't like it, he wouldn't know she's there."
"Oh, you missed something!" Madam Liu exclaimed and started to tell her older son what his brother did to Meixiu during the inauguration and how she found out about it. Liu Zilong left that same night to catch his flight so he wasn't aware what happened and if she didn't see the marks she would be kept in the dark as well.
"Really?"
Madam Liu nodded "That's why I thought there's a good chance for both of them. I hope they fall in love as soon as possible."
"That's hard to say, mom. There's a possibility that he's attracted to sister in law. Knowing him, he wouldn't let himself involve in his 'revenge' if he's not. Also, even if he already loves her, he probably wouldn't know it. What about Meixiu?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe she's also attracted but like Little Zi even if she feels that feeling, she wouldn't know."
"What a pair. That's a problem we have to help to solve." Liu Zilong looked at his mom and raised his left eyebrow several times indicating he has a 'good' plan.
Madam Liu, of course, got his message. She looked around and checked if her husband was still on the phone. When she saw he was still busy she moved closer to her son.
"They're both inexperienced, I think. He wouldn't act if he's not provoked nor supplied with 'ideas'.
Sister-in-law should 'provoke' him. And mom, you'll teach her that. As for supplying ideas, leave it to me."
Madam Liu was all smiles when she heard her husband.
"Don't overdo it, the two of you."
"Of course not, Dad." Liu Zilong answered smiling but deep down he was thinking, that the word 'overdo' was subjective. Then the two scheming people smiled meaningfully at each other.
When Mr. Liu sat down to join the two in the living room which was part of the presidential suite, he began to talk about the work that would be transferred to his older son. For the mean time Liu Zilong would be the one to continue inspecting the other Imperial hotels since Liu Zijian would be getting married in few days. His wife on the other hand began to formulate a plan for Han Meixiu thus when the two arrived, even though they were late, it was fine.
"Did he wake you up? It's okay if you made him wait a little longer outside." Madam Liu said as she imagined him annoyingly waiting outside the door.
"I didn't wait outside." Why would he allow himself to wait outside when he could technically come in.
"You let him in?" The older lady asked Han Meixiu. "You shouldn't have.."
"I didn't.." Han Meixiu was about to answer when Liu Zijian interrupted.
"She didn't. I went inside. She was asleep when I came in." The second young master simply replied casually as if it's not a big deal.
"You..barge in..?" Madam Liu didn't know if she wanted scold or congratulate her son for shamelessly going in without a warning.
Liu Zijian nodded. He was actually thinking what's the big deal? He was going to pick her up and he has a key. If he rang the bell then he wouldn't be able to see what he saw. He was actually feeling pleased with what he did.
Han Meixiu was getting agitated as they talk. She's worried that this second young master might tell his family what he saw so she purposely interjected. "It's fine Mommy Yi. It was faster that way." Then she smiled as sweetly as possible and hoped they would let it be.
The older lady nodded sensing that Han Meixiu didn't want to make a big deal out of it. Though she was a little curious why the latter seemed to be hiding something, she let it slide.
The entire dinner was overall enjoyable thanks to the bubbly character of the first young master Liu who most of the time initiated random topics.
Han Meixiu had to admit that being part of this kind of family was indeed a blessing. She felt warm inside.
As the dinner came to an end Liu Zijian spoke. "I'll send you back to your room."
All of them were caught off guard and no one reacted for quite a while. Liu Zilong was the first to recover. He coughed a little before saying, "Our Little Zi is so caring." He teasingly said.
"She's tired. When I came earlier she didn't wake up not until I was in front of her looking. She didn't even…"
"Ahahaha! Yes, I will trouble you, second young master!" She abruptly and tightly held his arm as she almost exclaimed. She sounded so unnatural.
She was right. He really would tell them the state she was in earlier. Or so she thought..
Liu Zijian however wanted to say 'she didn't even use the chain lock' but was interrupted. He looked at the small hand grappling his left arm then moved his gaze to Han Meixiu. He asked himself, 'What's wrong with what I said?'
'Something happened!' Both Madam Liu and Zilong concluded but pretended as if they're not interested when they're eyes met.