"Phoenix Tears restaurant," Evelyn told him. Jinhai didn't say anything as he settled in next to her.
"You got it," Driver Chung said. He started the car and slowly left the hotel area.
Evelyn was acutely aware of the fact that Jinhai was sitting next to her. She sat with her back as straight as a ramrod. Evelyn had wanted to hear from him for years. But now that he was here she wasn't sure what to say. He seemed different, somehow rougher around the edges.
Next to her Jinhai sat with his right arm against the door. His pointer finger was resting on his upper lip. He vowed to stay away from her. He wasn't lying when he told her that he wanted her to be happy. He believed that her happiness wasn't with him. However, his happiness was with her.
He humbly bowed out so she could be with her first love. Just because he thought he was doing it to make her happy, it didn't make it easier for him to let her go. There were so many times when he saw her name on his phone over the years. There were so many times that he wanted to see her and talk to her. But he couldn't bear to see her and not be with her anymore.
Even now, he wasn't sure what he was trying to do. All he knew was that the guy he gave her up to, hurt her. He wasn't sure if he had a chance now, but he could at least be her friend without worrying about breaking up her marriage.
When they were younger he couldn't be with her because of their age difference. When she finally became an adult, he was working hard to build his career. It was never the right time for them to be together.
Zain had always known that his brother cared for her. It wasn't until Jinhai asked his family to keep her away from him that he realized his brother was in love. Zain helped him get his family on board. They didn't cut her out of their lives, just simply ran interference whenever Jinhai came up.
Jinhai tried to shake the thoughts from his mind. He could only promise to be there for her now. He wasn't quite young anymore, he wouldn't be rash. He glanced to the woman next to him.
Her head was turned toward the window. Seeing that, Jinhai turned his head toward her to observe her. He noticed that she had dark under eye circles that she tried to hide with make up.
'Did she not sleep well?' He observed. Her eyes were faintly red rimmed, obviously from crying. Like Zain, he wanted to hurt Shawn. However she needed him here now, so he patiently sat next to her. He would do whatever she needed.
Both of them spent the thirty minutes of the ride lost in their own thoughts. Driver Chung constantly looked at the rear view mirror to observe them. He was aware of Jinhai avoiding Evelyn, so he was surprised when he saw them together. He didn't say a word, leaving them to their own thoughts. However he was contemplating if he should tell her father, Deming Wei.
He knew something was wrong. After all he was there for her wedding five years ago. What was she doing going out with another man, today of all days?
When they finally got to the restaurant, he called out to them.
"We're here," Evelyn jerked out of her thoughts. She looked at Driver Chu and Jinhai. Both of them were looking at her.
"Oh, thank you." She said. Driver Chung got out of the car to open the door for her.
"I'll wait for you to finish." He bowed to her. Jinhai got out on the other side by himself.
"If there's something that you want to do you should go do it, we might be awhile. I'll call you when we're ready to leave." Evelyn said. He bowed to her again. Jinhai acknowledged him with a nod before turning to walk with Evelyn to the door. The doorman pulled the door open and held it for them.
"Thank you," they both murmured as they walked passed. Once they were inside they were immediately greeted by a hostess.
"Good evening, welcome to Phoenix Tears. Do you have a reservation?" She asked.
"I'm here to see Phoenix," Evelyn said.
"Oh, what's your name?" She asked with a smile.
"Please tell her Li Li is here." Evelyn said. The hostess nodded and reached for a phone before quickly dialing and relaying the information.
"Okay, I'll tell her," the hostess said and hung up the phone. She turned to Evelyn and Jinhai before relaying the information.
"She said she will be right down. You can have a seat at the bar in the meantime," she said. Evelyn nodded and thanked her before walking to take a seat at the bar.
The bartender immediately took notice and walked over with a big grin.
"Hey Beautiful, what can I get for you?" He asked. He ignored the glare that Jinhai was shooting at him.
"Whiskey on the rocks," Jinhai said before Evelyn could answer. She glanced at him but he was still glaring at the bartender.
"And what about you?" The bartender directed his attention to her again.
"Long Island Iced Tea," she said. She didn't smile.
"One Long Island Iced Tea for the beautiful lady," he shamelessly flirted with her. He gave her a wink before turning to get their drinks. Jinhai glared at him a second longer, wondering if the bartender would be so confident if he shoved a straw through his eye.
"Is that your choice of drink?" He asked her turning to her before he did just what his mind suggested. She looked at him with her lips pursed.
"You didn't really drink, five years ago." He added seeing her confusion.
"Long Island Iced Tea has been my choice of drink since about three years ago." Evelyn answered. She didn't offer him more information.
"What about you? I thought you preferred whiskey neat." She said. He smiled at her.
"You remember?" He asked. He asked in an almost nonchalant way, but his smile gave him away.
"I remember you took a challenge and ended up getting so drunk that you threw up on the streets." She laughed. He narrowed his eyes at her.
"You were drinking whiskey neat." She said sobering turning to look him in the eye.
"Not, what I meant." He said looking away.
"Here you go," the bartender said while placing the drinks on the counter with a coaster. Jinhai's whiskey had a perfectly cubed piece of ice in his drink. Evelyn's was garnished with a slice of lemon and a straw.
Jinhai took his drink and took a sip. Evelyn picked up her drink and sipped at it leisurely.
"Li Li!" A voice said cheerfully.