Pei Qian stood alone under the tree with hopeful eyes. She looked around to see the serene air and the sway of the leaves. She felt Li Junfeng was really here.
It wasn't that she blindly believed what Li Shaoze said. She was just too desperate. When she opened her mouth, her voice cracked.
"Junfeng..."
"Junfeng, I miss you... if I told you to come back, would you?" tears streamed down her eyes uncontrollably.
Li Junfeng stood a few feet away from her. He really couldn't stand seeing her cry. His heart felt like it was stabbed by a blunt knife everytime her tears touched the ground.
"I'm here... I miss you too," he said despite knowing she couldn't hear.
"Are you here...? Please let me know you're here, please... I miss you so bad, Junfeng," Pei Qian looked as if she was insane as she looked around her and asked the quiet surroundings.
"Junfeng please...! Anything, show me anything," Pei Qian cried more tears.
Li Junfeng went up to her and embraced her. Though he couldn't touch her, he felt satisfied with it. Pei Qian was still frantically looking around to spot him but it was useless.
"I love you so much Qian Qian... I wish you happiness but I also don't want to see you happy with another man," Li Junfeng said as sorrow corroded his mind. He wanted her to move on but he also didn't want to be forgotten.
He was sad that he had to die. How was Pei Qian supposed to live now? He promised her a lot of things to do in life but now he was breaking them one by one.
He also couldn't trust another man to be as faithful to her. He didn't believe that others could love her as much as he did. What if they only wanted her family wealth? What if they didn't treasure her or spoil her? What if they became violent and abusive? What if they broke her heart once they attained it so effortlessly?
Li Junfeng suddenly saw Pei Zeyan nearby and he decided to run back to his brother because he couldn't continue watching Pei Qian cry.
Li Junfeng was torn.
He couldn't leave with peace of mind due to this. That was why he was held back and didn't go to the afterlife.
There were two biggest regrets that he held. One towards Pei Qian, his lover. And another towards his brother, Li Shaoze.
Those two people would face many hardships without him by their side. Pei Qian's situation was slightly better because her family was there for her. But what about Li Shaoze?
His brother had no one in his life. Their family had long forsaken him. Their relatives shunned him. He even had to run abroad to fend for himself without any support. Even though Li Shaoze appeared fine generally, Li Junfeng knew that was because he didn't like to show his weakness.
Li Junfeng once asked Zhu Zijin intel about Li Shaoze's routine abroad. He wanted to know what his brother was doing in his life when he wasn't looking.
He was shocked to see that Li Shaoze didn't even have a life. He was always working even on weekends. He didn't have friends. He was like a lone king. His company was doing very well and he was just busy.
And Li Shaoze would sleep with a help of sleeping pills because he had chronic insomnia.
Li Junfeng took one last glance towards Pei Qian and he saw Pei Zeyan already reaching her. He reluctantly took a step backward and followed his brother's track with a heavy heart.
***
Pei Zeyan saw his sister alone by the tree and he quickly went to her. He was worried when he didn't see her just now and it seemed that she wanted to be alone.
"Qian'er," he greeted her, gouging her reaction. When he saw that she had been crying again, he sighed.
"Let's go back. Mom's looking for you," he said.
Pei Qian was startled by the sudden arrival of her brother. When she looked around, she found that Li Shaoze was nowhere to be seen. She also didn't get any reaction from Li Junfeng. Maybe she really was crazy.
When Pei Zeyan didn't hear her response, he asked again. Only then did Pei Qian straighten herself and smile reluctantly.
Pei Qian glanced at the business card in her hand and a sudden thought came over her. She knew there was no reason for Li Shaoze to lie or joke around. Li Junfeng had always been proud of this brother of his so she also had to try listening to him a little.
Moreover... Li Shaoze didn't seem like a person who would lie.
Pei Qian didn't get to pay full attention to him just now but the things he mentioned about being shunned by the Li family because of his ability did cause her eyes to blink.
'An abomination...' it was a powerful word to describe and it still left a bitter taste to her even though she wasn't on the receiving end of that word.
Pei Qian decided to keep the card for now.