"Li Fei," Suyin called and she stopped then turned back.
"Good morning, where are- Are those hickeys!" she exclaimed when she saw them. Li Fei had totally forgotten about the marks on her neck.
Before she could reply anything, she said," Wait, ain't these the same clothes you had yesterday? You didn't sleep at your house, did you?" Li Fei looked around before saying," Can you lower your voice?" "Oh, I'm sorry. So, who's the lucky guy? I don't think it's your boyfriend," she said. "Ah, Suyin I have to go. I'm really not in the mood for chitchatting right now," she said clutching her handbag tightly. "I completely understand. You must be exhausted," she said and Li Fei rolled her eyes before walking away.
Entering her house, she closed the door and leaned against it. She raised her fingers to touch her lips and then her neck as she closed her eyes remembering his hands and lips on her skin. She was startled when she heard a knock on the door for she didn't expect it.
She calmed her nerves and opened the door only to see Jianyu standing before her.
She expected him to be at work at this time.
She swallowed when she saw his eyes fixated on her neck and she realized that it was too late to cover the hickeys.
"Jianyu," she called and he raised his eyes to meet hers. Not able to maintain eye contact with him, she looked away.
"Are you okay?" he asked and she nodded.
"May I come in?" he asked again and she stepped aside before saying," Of course."
Getting in, he turned to look at her and asked," So, you spent the night with him?"
"Uh...yes but- " "You should have answered my calls at least when I called. I didn't get a wink of sleep thinking that you might be in danger. I nearly called your mother to inform her that you're missing."
She lowered her eyes in guilt and said," Jianyu, I'm sorry, it's all my fault. The truth is that, I didn't have the phone with me whole night. It remained in the car."
He took a while to ask," How did you end up in his car?" "I-I was coming from work when he offered to drop me home. He took me somewhere I didn't know of and we were caught up in the rain then one thing led to the other." He looked at her neck again and asked," And then, those marks?"
Not knowing what to say, she said," I'm so sorry Jianyu. I-I cheated on you."
Silence reigned between them. A while later, he asked, "So then, you're back with him?"
"No. This was a mistake. But I understand if you can't be with me because what I did is unforgivable," she said.
"Li Fei, I love you and you know that but there's no way we can be in a relationship if you say one thing and your actions prove otherwise," he looked at her and added," Give me a reason, just one reason not to give up on you."
When she didn't say anything, he turned around and started walking away.
When he reached the door, he heard her say," Jianyu, let's get married."
With that, he halted in his steps and turned to look at her. "What did you say?" he asked.
Swallowing, she repeated, "I said let's get married."
Walking to where she was, he asked," Are you sure about it?" "Y-yes, if you want to. If you can forgive me for what I've done then let's do it," she said and he embraced her in a tight hug.
When they pulled away, he cupped her face and said," You can't imagine the happiness I'm feeling right now." She smiled and said," I would like to have a bath. Can we continue with this conversation later?"
"It's alright. I will let you rest," he said. "Thank you but Jianyu, please don't tell my family yet. I will tell them myself," she told him and he nodded before leaving.
Sitting in the bathtub, she wondered if she had done the right thing. How was Jin Liwei going to take the news?
She decided not to go to work for the day because she was so exhausted.
She ignored Jin Liwei's calls for the whole day and when Jianyu came back in the evening, he asked for them to talk about the pending conversation.
"Uh, when do you want us to get married? If it's up to me, we can do it tomorrow," he said. "I haven't thought of the date yet," she replied. "I understand and I don't want to sound as though I'm pressuring you but we need to plan beforehand. And it will also give me solace that you won't change your mind," he said.
She thought before saying," Okay. Let it be...in a month." "I think it's long but I will wait."
When she nodded, he asked," Should we do a wedding or a registered marriage?"
"Registered," she replied and he nodded.
The next day while at work, she called Liling.
"Liling, you won't believe what I just did."
"What tell me." "I'm getting married." "What?! When?! When did you guys get back together?" she couldn't believe it. "Not with him," she said. "Not with him? What do you mean?"
"I'm marrying Jianyu," she revealed. "Jianyu? FeiFei, what's wrong with you?" "What?" she asked. "You love Jin Liwei. Why are you going to marry someone else?" "Liling, Jianyu is not bad either. I will learn to love him," she said.
"We are speaking about marriage FeiFei. Where you're going to spend the rest of your life with someone. You should stop that nonsense for your own good. Is Jin Liwei aware?" "I haven't told anyone else."
"What made you decide that way?" asked Liling. "I don't know. Just yesterday, Jin Liwei and I spent the night together and I got so confused. I just want to forget about him," she said. "FeiFei, you're making a mistake and you know it."