She took a while staring at him and then asked," Li Fei's phone is not going through. Why?" "I don't know mother," he replied. "You don't know? Who is supposed to know? She's your fiancee. I thought you should know everything about her?" When he didn't reply, she added," Is she at work? I have some amazing wedding gowns that I'm sure she will like."
"There's no wedding mother," he spoke.
Shocked, she asked," W-what?! What do you mean by there's no wedding?!"
"We ended our relationship mother. We broke up." "What happened?" she couldn't believe it.
"I can't go into details but just like any other couple, it didn't last."
She stood up and walked back and forth before saying, I can't believe it. You both loved each other didn't you?" "I'm not so sure about it mother," he replied. "Why? Was she cheating?" she asked. "Of course not," he said immediately. "I need to know what exactly happened. I'm sure we can come up with a solution. Your father is all excited about the wedding," she said.
"I'm sorry for disappointing you," he said.
"Where's she? I want to have a word with her."
"She went back to Beijing." "What?! And you let her? You lost a good girl simply because of a mere misunderstanding yet it's evident that you're suffering. What is wrong with you?"
"Mother please respect my decision. We are no more and I'm trying to move on."
A week later, Li Fei was starting to accept her fate and she was trying everything possible to forget about him. Jianyu had gone back to work and Jiang would visit her on several occasions whereby sometimes, Xinyi would come along.
On one evening when Jianyu came back home, he smelt the aroma of food and he made way towards the kitchen.
"You're cooking?!" he asked on seeing her. "Yes. I decided to make something since it's always you that cooks," she said and he nodded.
With her hair tied into a messy bun and an apron, she looked nothing less to a cute wife. His mind then pictured when the two of them were married and he came back from work, finding her cooking for him, for their kids. "You should go and freshen up. I will call you when it's ready, you must be tired," she interrupted him from his thoughts. "I don't mind staying here. I love watching you," he said and silence reigned between them. She didn't know what else to say. Li Fei realized that he hadn't given up on the idea of pursuing her and it somehow made her uncomfortable because she wasn't planning on being with another man and she didn't want to give him any false hope.
And perhaps, he was too good to be used and she thought that he deserved someone who feels the same way.
"How was work today?" she asked. "Busy, just as always," he replied and he fetched a glass of water for himself.
"Are you sure you don't need help?" he asked drinking the water.
"No I'm good. I learned to cook a few dishes from Yin Chen." "Yin Chen? Who's she?" "Ah, someone I know of," she decided to say. Speaking of Yin Chen, she took a mental note of calling her after here and let her know that she was fine.
When she was done with the cooking, she said," You can eat without me. I need to first take a bath." "I will wait for you," he replied.
A while later when she came back, he realized that she was dressed in pajama shorts and with his eyes fixated on her legs, he didn't notice when she reached the table. "I thought you started eating already," she said as she took her seat.
"N-no I-I was waiting for you," he said clearing his thoughts. He wondered if she considered him as a saint. "Let's eat then," she said and she started eating. "I hope it's not that bad," she said looking at him. "It is nice actually. I never thought you could cook this great," he said as he ate the food.
When they got done with the food, he offered to do the dishes but she rejected it. In the end, they did them together.
As they were working on the dishes, he said," It looks as if we are a couple doing things together."
She took a while to say," Jianyu, I wanted to let you know that I will be traveling to Shenzhen."
He paused his actions and looked at her before asking," Why? When?" "I'm not so sure about when but I need to. It will help me," she said. "Is it a vacation?" he asked. "I don't know. I may choose to come back or stay there," she said.
"It honestly caught me by surprise but, I understand that you need it." "Thank you for everything though," she told him.
...
Jing Yue looked at Liling who had slept at the extreme end of the bed. It's been a week ever since they had an argument and the two were not in good terms. With the issue of the child still pending, Jing Yue realized that their marriage was being affected.
"Liling," he called but she didn't reply.
"I know you're not sleeping," he said and still, he got no response. "Let's talk. I know that you can hear me," he said and when she didn't reply, he inched closer and peppered kisses on her cheek and then her nape.
"Stop," she said but he didn't let go.
When she turned to look at him, he kissed her lips and soon, she responded to it. When he pulled away, he asked," Are you still angry at me?"
"I'm not angry with you. I'm just disappointed that you approve of your friend's actions." "I didn't say I approve of them. I simply said that he must have a reason behind it and as a friend, I have to be there for him." "Nothing can justify his actions," she argued.
"I know. You've also been on your friend's side even when she was in wrong. You remember the time when she chose to have an abortion?" "Yes but when I think of it now, she was right. Imagine having a baby in this mess." "Okay. Listen to me love. Let us not let their issues affect our marriage. Don't you think?" he asked. "But he's in wrong right?" she asked and he replied," Of course he is. Come kiss me right now."
She slowly came on top of him and lowered her face to kiss him.