He carried her towards the car and placed her in before securing her seatbelt. He understood that she was dizzy because she neither ate nor slept well these days. Before he could start the car, he expectantly asked," Should I take you with me at the house?" Thinking about it, she shook her head and replied," I would love to but I can't. Mom needs me." Nodding his head, he drove her back to her home and parked just outside to say," I understand it's hard but you should take care of yourself. Have proper meals and rest." "I will try," she said and silence came between them before he said," I will be waiting for you at the house whenever you come."
"Thank you for everything. You being here with me has helped me a lot," she said. "That's my duty," he said. "I think I should get going," she said and before she could leave the car, he said," Take care."
Reaching home, she went to her mom's room and found that she was sleeping and left so that she could rest. She went to her room and sat on her bed bored. She didn't want to sleep, she didn't have an appetite and it made her wish she had left with Jin Liwei to spend some time with him.
The next day, Li Jiang moved back to the house. When it was time for dinner, he came to the dining room and found it empty.
He went to Li Mei's bedroom and found her sleeping. When he woke her up, she said that she wasn't hungry and she wished to rest. He then left to Li Fei's bedroom and found a maid who was just taking away the plates. "You're done with your dinner?" he asked. "Yes. I didn't feel like coming to the dining," she replied wiping her lips. He took a seat next to her at the couch and said," Li Fei, about what happened yesterday. Why don't you let go of that man?"
"I-I tried Li Jiang but I couldn't. He's the one I love and I'm sure that no other man will ever make me feel like this," she confessed.
He shook his head in disbelief and said," So, this whole thing about the engagement was just an excuse so that Dad could have surgery?" "Yes, nothing more." "Is Jianyu aware that you used him?" he asked. "I didn't use him, I begged him to help me so that we could take on the lie."
"But, Jianyu is also a fine man. He may not be as rich and powerful as that...man but he's decent too. I honestly thought you had given him a chance," he said. "He's not the one I love," she said.
Shrugging his shoulders, he said," It's your life anyway. I don't know how you're going to convince Mom but don't count on me. And the day she ever finds out, I will deny ever knowing anything," he said before getting up to leave the room.
Two weeks later...
Liling had come back from the seminar a week ago and she would call Li Fei almost every time. She had proposed on coming to Beijing the moment she left Korea but Li Fei told her not to, knowing how occupied she was right now. The situation home was the same as nothing much had changed. Li Mei was always keeping herself in the room and it worried Li Fei. Apart from her mother, Li Fei was also worried about Jin Liwei who hadn't gone back to Shanghai ever since he came. She knew that he had a lot to do and that by the time he will go back, he will find loads of work waiting for him yet he had insisted that he wasn't going without seeing her first.
Checking out herself in the mirror, she had plaited her hair into a single braid and placed it at the back. She was wearing her long black dress and it had become her dress code ever since her father died. Applying a small amount of lip gloss, she picked her handbag and left the house but not before urging the maids to take care of her mother and call her immediately in case anything happens.
Reaching the house, she knocked on the door but a while later, she didn't get a response and knocked for the second time. When she got no response still, she pulled out her phone to call him when the door opened and for a moment, she was in a daze.
He was from having a bath and his black hair was dripping wet. Water flowed from his hair to his chest before flowing down and soaking in the towel he had tied loosely around his waist. "Come in," he said breaking her from her trance and she came in. "I was in the bathroom so it took me a while to know that someone was on the door," he said. "It's okay. I didn't stand for that long," she said sitting on the couch but her eyes couldn't leave his body.
"How are you?" he asked looking at her. If he wanted to know how she was feeling right now, the answer was hot. "Fine. Ain't you going to change?" she asked. She couldn't concentrate with him displaying his perfect body in front of her. "A moment," he said before leaving and she released a sigh of relief. Did he think she was a nun?
A while later, he came back dressed then sat next to her and asked," What do you want to eat?" "Anything," she replied.
"You're sleeping over ain't you?" he asked expectantly and to his disappointment, she shook her head. "I'm sorry but I can't. I have to be there for Mom," she said and he understood albeit it hurt him. He missed her so much. He missed having her in his arms. A while later, the food he had ordered was delivered and they went to the dining table. Serving her a plate of fries and steak, she started eating and it clearly didn't disappoint. It was delicious and the steak was to her liking. Tender, not too dry and not overly cooked.