He immediately drove towards Liling's restaurant to check if she was there. Reaching, he asked to see Liling who arrived shortly. "Mr Jin Liwei," she acknowledged him and deep down, she had an idea why he was here. "Good morning," he greeted her. "Good morning," she said. "I want to speak with Li Fei," he came straight to the point. Pursing her lips she said," She went back to Beijing." His eyes narrowed and he asked," When?" "Yesterday evening." "Didn't she find it necessary to tell me?" he asked and she had no reply to that. "Okay. Excuse me," he said before leaving.
Sitting back in the car, Jin Liwei couldn't believe it. She dared to leave without informing him first? She ran back to the hands of her fiancee! He ran hands in his hair frustratedly while he thought about it.
Could he perhaps go to Beijing? But No. He might be head over heels in love with her but he still had dignity and pride. He wasn't going to chase after her when she clearly showed him that she wasn't interested.
...
They were only two days left to welcome the new year and everyone was excited. A lot of people were moving around the city with various types of decorations. The new year's celebration has always been one of the most important events to the people of China and Beijing was no exception.
Li Fei who was from meeting a friend, Kim Nana was on her way back home. Earlier when they were at the restaurant, they spoke to their friend Hun Ting who lives in Japan and she asked Li Fei to come visit her soon.
After thinking, Li Fei decided to go to Japan and spend some quality time there. Perhaps the trip will help her feel better given the way things were going between her and Jin Liwei.
But she decided to do go after the new year's day.
Reaching home, she was going to her bedroom when she remembered something and asked the maid," Is Mom home?" "No. Ms Li Mei left to buy some decorations for the New year's day," she replied and Li Fei nodded then decided to go see her father.
Knocking on the door, she pushed it open and peeked inside. "May I?" she asked. "Of course." Going in, she went to sit next to him on the bed and she asked," How are you feeling Dad?" "I'm feeling great. I'm actually at peace," he replied. "Why so?" she asked. "Because I'm with my family. I'm happy that both my kids have grown up well and that you've become great people," he said. She smiled at it and said, "Thank you Dad. I hate seeing you stuck in this bed." "It should take some weeks," he said before adding, "I want to ask for your forgiveness first of all, Li Fei. I know that I forced you to get married yet you didn't want to. I did it simply because I wish the best for you."
"You don't have to apologise for that Dad. I know you have the best interests for me," she said. "I'm glad to hear that. Again Li Fei, I want you to forgive me for failing to protect you when you needed me the most," he said and she interrupted him to say," You've always given me the best and you've always done everything in your power to make me happy." "Every parent wants what's best for their children. You've gone through a lot and I'm so sorry. I want you to promise me one thing though." "What is that Dad?" "That if a time reaches when I'm not around, you will prioritize your happiness. You will choose that, that only makes you happy without holding back," he said.
"You're not going anywhere Dad," she said getting scared. "Promise me first," he said. "I promise but stop scaring me. You will be here to watch us get married and have kids. You will live to see your great grandchildren too," she said.
"Sometimes when the time comes, you can't do anything to stop it." "You're scaring me," she said. He chuckled and said," You shouldn't be. That's just a law of life." "Promise me too," she said. "Anything." "That you won't leave us alone. At least not until our kids give you great grandchildren." "I promise," he said although he wasn't so sure about that.
...
Till the last day of the year, Li Fei hadn't gotten a call or a message from Jin Liwei. It seems she had overestimated her stand in his life, she thought. That moment, she got a call from Li Jiang. "What's up?" she answered. "How are you." "I'm alright how are you?" "I'm good. I called to inform you that...Xinyi agreed to take her out for dinner. Although she told me that I shouldn't keep my hopes high, it gave me hope," he said and albeit he tried to suppress his excitement, she didn't fail to catch on it. It was obvious that he was completely smitten by her. "That's great. When are you taking her?" she asked. "Tomorrow on new year's day. What do you think?" he asked. "It's perfect," she replied.
"Okay thank you for your advice. I will go now."
"I wish you all the best. Have fun."
She wished their love would bloom like a beautiful flower unlike theirs which had complications.
...
When it clocked midnight, fireworks and firecrackers were shot in the sky as people celebrated the arrival of the new year.
Li Fei who was watching a movie immediately left the bed and went to open her bedroom balcony then went to have a perfect view. They were making a beautiful effect in the sky and it brought a smile on her lips.
Seeing this reminded her of how they used to celebrate the new year's in prison since she had celebrated it there four times.
She then remembered that she would have been in Guilin with Jin Liwei, and the smile faded away from her lips. She wondered if he still remembered it.
...
Back to Shanghai, Jin Liwei was at the penthouse seeing the fireworks that were being shot in the sky through the glass wall. He had planned on celebrating this day in a completely different place with the person he loved but it didn't happen. Taking the last sip of his wine, he said," Happy New year Li Fei."