Chapter Eighteen (Part 1)
Miss Chen was overwhelmed to the point her eyes were brimmed with tears.
An Bu San was sitting on the sofa waiting for his daughter and his future son-in-law to arrive. Unexpectedly the young man that arrived with his daughter was his wife’s nephew instead of his future son-in-law. He sat next to Chen Yu Bai on the sofa but didn’t say anything.
An Bu San didn’t say anything but he fared better than his daughter.
An Xiao Li was in her room for half an hour still unpacking her suitcase – Chen Yu Bai… Miss Chen’s nephew.
That year, the teen boy that didn’t say a lot and wore a white school uniform… the weird teen boy who had a bedroom that took up a whole floor, but only put a bed and a table in his room… the cold teen boy only looked at An Xiao Li with cold eyes, but made her scared enough to cry… her ‘cousin’ who only stayed with her for one afternoon, but she only needed to hear Miss Chen mentioned his name and she’d cry loudly…
Chen Yu Bai was actually her ‘cousin’ Chen Yu Bai.
An invisible hand pulled An Xiao Li into a lifeless cold abyss, there were no sounds of clocks, no time, it was just her dummy self who laid in a vase looking at the lively world around her.
Little Bai, you… how could you treat me in that way?
When Qin Sang and Li Wei Ran arrived at An Xiao Li’s family home, they saw Miss Chen was excitedly mincing meat in the kitchen to make dumplings. An Bu San was in the study room, he held a magnifying gla.s.s to verify the authenticity of objects from the Song Dynasty. There were two wooden chairs next to a coffee table, An Xiao Li sat unusually quiet in one chair and Chen Yu Bai sat in the other chair with his head bent whilst drinking tea.
Li Wei Ran gently knocked on the study room door. An Bu San quickly looked up and saw Qin Sang and the young man who’d been playing chess with him the last few days. He quickly ordered his daughter to pour tea for them.
An Xiao Li in her dazed state left the study room. Qin Sang saw her best friend’s pale complexion and knew it was bad and followed her best friend outside.
As Qin Sang feared, An Xiao Li went straight outside the front door instead of going to the kitchen. Qin Sang followed An Xiao Li to the terrace on the sixth floor that was their sanctuary since they were kids.
The white snow covered the terrace looked beautiful and pristine. But An Xiao Li took one step on the snowy terrace floor and lost her balance.
Qin Sang was late one step, she stretched out her hand to hold onto An Xiao Li but they both fell down onto the snowy terrace floor. They both cried out in pain.
Qin Sang grabbed snow with her hand and smeared it on An Xiao Li’s face. ‘You dummy!’
The cold snow on An Xiao Li’s face made her burst into tears and she cried loudly. Her cry echoed far and wide that could even be heard from the school’s field.
Qin Sang panicked. She quickly removed her gloves and wiped An Xiao Li’s tears. ‘I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.’
The more Qin Sang apologised, the louder An Xiao Li cried. Qin Sang resorted to covering An Xiao Li’s mouth. ‘If you continue to cry, I’ll stuff my gloves into your mouth!’
An Xiao Li believed Qin Sang was cold blooded enough to go through with the threat so she stopped crying immediately and wiped her tears.
Qin Sang pulled An Xiao Li up. They walked further along the terrace until they reached a set of stairs that led to the water tank that was their secret sanctuary.
An Xiao Li and Qin Sang sat on the stairs in front of the water tank. An Xiao Li looked up at the dark sky. Qin Sang didn’t ask her what was wrong so it made her want to confess her grievances more. ‘Sang Sang, Chen Yu Bai is Miss Chen’s nephew!’
‘Huh?’ Qin Sang asked.
‘I’m certain from the start he recognised who I was, when we were younger we met each other once,’ An Xiao Li said.
‘Then why didn’t you recognise him?’ Qin Sang asked.
‘Because… Miss Chen brought me to his house and the moment I finished introducing myself, he scared me to tears… Sang Sang, what do you think? Did he seek me out on purpose? Miss Chen’s family always hated my dad and me. Do you think they sent Chen Yu Bai to purposely get close to me?’ An Xiao Li said.
‘Um. I think that’s a possibility,’ Qin Sang said in a serious tone.
Even though Qin Sang’s tone was serious, but An Xiao Li felt that Qin Sang saw her suspicions as a joke. An Xiao Li’s weak state couldn’t take it and she screamed loudly, which startled Qin Sang.
‘It’s true! Why don’t you believe me?’ An Xiao Li asked. She shook Qin Sang’s body fiercely. ‘Why are you so calm about it? Did you know about his scheme long ago? Tell me!’
Qin Sang let An Xiao Li have her crazy outburst. Finally An Xiao Li was tired from shaking Qin Sang too much and An Xiao Li sobbed.
‘Xiao Li, right now are you confused?’ Qin Sang asked.
An Xiao Li covered her teary face with her hands and nodded her head. It started from the afternoon she arrived at her parents’ house, she felt that the world wasn’t genuine.
An Xiao Li felt that the world turned crazy… that one loud noise would cause the world to collapse.
Qin Sang’s phone rang, it was Li Wei Ran who naturally asked where they were, because they took a long time to pour tea.
‘We’re admiring the snow. We’ll be back later. Yes, I know, we’ll be back before dinner. Make sure you don’t call Chen Yu Bai third brother in front of Xiao Li’s parents! I’ll explain it to you later. All you need to do is follow Chen Yu Bai’s lead,’ Qin Sang said and hung up.
Qin Sang rubbed An Xiao Li’s head. ‘Don’t cry anymore. First you need to listen to Chen Yu Bai’s explanation.’
That night, Ye Dao, Qin Sang and Li Wei Ran ate dumplings at An Xiao Li’s family home. Miss Chen didn’t say a lot but it was obvious to everyone that her nephew was her pride and joy.
Since Xiao Li and Qin Sang returned, Chen Yu Bai always kept his eyes on Xiao Li. He knew Xiao Li cried before because her eyes were swollen. It started since he called Miss Chen ‘aunt,’ Xiao Li didn’t look at him once or smiled with him. He felt that Xiao Li was really petty.
Chen Yu Bai put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth with a tissue and smiled with Miss Chen. He was about to say something to Miss Chen, but Miss Chen suddenly turned toward Xiao Li. ‘You said you’ll bring your boyfriend home. Where is he?’
An Bu San and Ye Dao acted naturally, but Li Wei Ran and Qin Sang sat upright in their chairs at the same time. Chen Yu Bai put his hand under the table and fumbled for Xiao Li’s hand, but she avoided his touch. Xiao Li put her hands on the table and finally lifted her head. ‘My boyfriend… couldn’t come.’
Miss Chen raised her eyebrows. An Bu San shook his head. ‘The so-called…’
‘Be quiet!’ Miss Chen ordered.
An Bu San swallowed the rest of his words down his throat.
Miss Chen looked at An Xiao Li and it seemed like Miss Chen wasn’t happy with An Xiao Li. In that moment An Xiao Li was calmer. ‘We broke up, I don’t love him anymore.’
Xiao Li said she didn’t love Chen Yu Bai calmly, but it soured his complexion.
Miss Chen couldn’t use her chopsticks in front of everyone and was forced to wait for the next opportunity to use her chopsticks. She knocked Xiao Li’s forehead hard. ‘What do you want me to say?’
Miss Chen wanted to knock Xiao Li’s forehead more, but Chen Yu Bai stopped her.
‘Aunt, you’re still so fierce,’ Chen Yu Bai said.
Miss Chen laughed and didn’t reprimand Xiao Li anymore.
Chen Yu Bai responded to Miss Chen and glanced at Xiao Li who sat next to him at the same time. He saw Xiao Li’s eyes were brimmed with tears before she bent her head and quietly swallowed her dumpling.
End of Chapter Eighteen (Part 1)