Chapter Nineteen (Part 2)

On New Year’s Day.

An Xiao Li gloomily talked to her dad whilst waiting a long time for Miss Chen to cook breakfast. Finally Miss Chen came out of the kitchen and called them to sit down at the dining table for breakfast. ‘Eat radish. I hope this New Year is full of radishes!’

Miss Chen picked up a large radish for her husband and her daughter and put it into their bowls.

An Xiao Li stared at her large radish for a long time. Then she pretended she just remembered something. ‘Where’s Chen Yu Bai?’

Miss Chen picked up a large radish for herself. ‘Left already.’

‘Left already?’ An Xiao Li asked and the chopsticks in her hand clanked on the dining table. ‘Where did he go?’

‘He said he needed to go to console his girlfriend,’ Miss Chen said and laughed cheekily. ‘He left early in the morning.’

An Xiao Li choked on her radish, she couldn’t swallow or throw up the radish but her tears overflowed. She lost her appet.i.te, stood and escaped to her room to call Qin Sang.

An Xiao Li pushed open her bedroom door and everything smelt like the familiar cool mint scent. She was frustrated and opened the window to let the icy wind get rid of it. Then she pushed the bed sheet and pillows off the bed onto the floor. She sat on an empty bed and called Qin Sang.

Qin Sang was back at her own house and when An Xiao Li called Qin Sang, Qin Sang was having a bubble bath.

‘You’re regretting already?’ Qin Sang asked. She waited for a while but didn’t hear An Xiao Li respond. ‘Then are you coming home?’

‘No,’ An Xiao Li said. She looked at the yellowed walls. ‘The emperor’s defeated. If I go back home now then I don’t know what I’ll dream about.’

‘An Xiao Li, you’re really… indescribable,’ Qin Sang said. ‘Then what do you want? You don’t want to be depressed but you don’t want to love either. Right now are you feeling compa.s.sion for your little Bai? Thinking about him being alone on New Year’s Day out on the streets…’

‘Qin-Sang! Are you human?’ An Xiao Li asked.

‘Mmm… right?’ Qin Sang said.

‘Not right!’ An Xiao Li said.

‘Oh… then I’ll hang up,’ Qin Sang said.

‘Don’t hang up,’ An Xiao Li said. ‘You haven’t told me what’s happening with you. Why aren’t you with your Wei Ran? Aren’t you scared he’s eating junk food outside?’

‘Of course I’m not scared. I don’t need him to eat too full,’ Qin Sang said.

An Xiao Li glared at her phone. She didn’t need to think and knew that Qin Sang’s vast knowledge were put to use on Li Wei Ran’s body. What was there for Qin Sang to rub into her face? Her little Bai…

An Xiao Li remembered the nights that made her blush red and her heart pound and the little growls that made her skin crawl. She didn’t want to think about those nights, because within a second she felt depressed again. ‘Sang Sang, what do you think about him accepting our break up this easily? Perhaps he doesn’t like me anymore, right?’

‘Do you hope that he clings to you forever and not let you go? Make a dramatic scene for your parents to know?’ Qin Sang asked.

‘Of course not!’ An Xiao Li said.

‘Then right now isn’t it good?’ Qin Sang asked.

‘But… why do I feel… so depressed?’ An Xiao Li said.

An Xiao Li felt the psyche of the female population’s fatal flaw was men – they’d lose all common sense and become wishy washy, hoping their man would still cling to them and love them even after breaking up.

‘Miss Chen wants me to go on an arranged date, do you think I should go?’ An Xiao Li asked.

‘Don’t go. You just broke up with Chen Yu Bai. If you go, you’ll hurt his pride and also it’ll be disrespectful toward the man you’ll be having an arranged date with,’ Qin Sang said.

‘Um, that’s right. But Miss Chen will beat me to death!’ An Xiao Li said.

‘Come back home tomorrow, I need your support,’ Qin Sang said.

‘Huh? Sang Sang, do you want to tell Li Wei Ran the truth about your dad’s family?’ An Xiao Li asked.

‘Um. But before that I need to tell the truth with his dad,’ Qin Sang said.

The following night An Xiao Li arrived at Qin Sang’s house but Qin Sang wasn’t home. Instead An Xiao Li received a call from Chu Hao Ran and he invited her to a banquet. She declined his invitation, but he said that it was an engagement banquet for Qin Sang and her fiance Zheng Hao. An Xiao Li was shocked and knew that Qin Sang was blindsided. So An Xiao Li agreed to let Chu Hao Ran drive her to see Qin Sang. Inside Qin Sang’s room, An Xiao Li quickly changed into one of Qin Sang’s dresses.

Chu Hao Ran picked up An Xiao Li and drove her straight to the banquet. When they entered the banquet room… she saw Qin Sang distraught like the way Qin Sang was a decade ago.

‘Sang Sang!’ An Xiao Li called many times before Qin Sang lifted her head.

An Xiao Li saw Qin Sang’s long eyelashes blinked, but there was no sign of life or the usual focus in Qin Sang’s eyes.

Qin Sang felt like she was taken back to a decade ago. She was reunited with her dad, but hated by his family. She felt like the whole world abandoned her, she couldn’t go back to her hometown to be with her mum. She felt helpless and the only person she wanted to find was her best friend. ‘Xiao Li.’ She recognised it was really her best friend in front of her.

‘I’m here,’ An Xiao Li said. She couldn’t care less where she was, she hugged her best friend and softly patted her best friend’s back. ‘Sang Sang, I’m here.’

Qin Sang couldn’t hold back her tears anymore and it flowed out.

Suddenly Qin Sang and An Xiao Li became the focus of everyone’s attention and the banquet room was eerily quiet. Zheng Hao and Chu Hao Ran looked at each other. Then Chu Hao Ran pulled An Xiao Li away from Qin Sang and Zheng Hao held onto Qin Sang.

Chu Hao Ran saw Chen Yu Bai stepping toward him and An Xiao Li so Chu Hao Ran wrapped an arm around An Xiao Li’s shoulder.

An Xiao Li was about to push Chu Hao Ran’s arm off her shoulder, but she felt a familiar cold aura at the back of her neck, it was paralysing, why was it similar to… Chen Yu Bai’s cold aura?

An Xiao Li turned around, a sofa separated her and Chen Yu Bai but the cold look in his eyes seemed like he wanted to shoot daggers in her direction.

‘You…’ An Xiao Li said in a choked voice. ‘Won’t you supposed to be going for celebratory drinks?’

Chen Yu Bai’s whole body gave off a scary icy aura. He slowly and calmly spoke to An Xiao Li. ‘Come here.’

An Xiao Li reflexively moved toward Chen Yu Bai but Chu Hao Ran held onto her shoulder tight. Chen Yu Bai laughed coldly, pursed his lips and strode off.

Later that night, An Xiao Li went outside for fresh air. She rubbed her bare shoulders spotted with goose b.u.mps from the cold snow. Her body felt it wasn’t worth freezing to get fresh air so she went back inside. On her way back inside she nearly b.u.mped into someone. She quickly steadied her body and stood straight. He took a step closer to her and his body pressed against her. His cool mint scent was exhaled onto her face, she didn’t need to tilt her head up and look at his face to know who he was.

‘Your dress is too beautiful,’ Chen Yu Bai coldly praised.

An Xiao Li laughed sweetly. ‘Thank you, cousin.’

Chen Yu Bai lifted his head and gulped down the rest of his gla.s.s of wine. He laughed, bent his head and exhaled into Xiao Li’s ear. ‘Beautiful to the point I want to personally use my hands to rip it off your body… rip it to pieces!’

An Xiao Li could smell the alcohol stench from Chen Yu Bai’s breath and she immediately took a step back. He took a step toward her, and trapped her between the wall behind her and his body. She saw the intense burning desire in his eyes.

Chu Hao Ran kept his eyes on An Xiao Li from a distance and the moment he saw Chen Yu Bai was with An Xiao Li, Chu Hao Ran stepped toward them. Chu Hao Ran pulled Chen Yu Bai away and Chu Hao Ran hugged An Xiao Li protectively. ‘CEO Chen, tonight you seem to be fated to run into with my girlfriend.’

After Chen Yu Bai was pulled away from An Xiao Li by Chu Hao Ran, Chen Yu Bai smiled gently. Chu Hao Ran never seen anyone smiled gently like Chen Yu Bai, in a way that intimidated Chu Hao Ran’s whole body.

In that second that Chu Hao Ran’s body was motionless, Chen Yu Bai stepped toward Chu Hao Ran. One of Chen Yu Bai’s hand held Chu Hao Ran’s shoulder and the other hand grabbed Chu Hao Ran’s arm that was recently in a cast and slammed it into the wall. The unexpected attack on Chu Hao Ran’s arm was painful to the point he couldn’t cry out. Chu Hao Ran’s legs were limp and staggered forward, Chen Yu Bai’s knee didn’t hesitate and struck into Chu Hao Ran’s stomach.

Chen Yu Bai’s swift attacks on Chu Hao Ran in total didn’t take longer than five seconds to complete. An Xiao Li was shocked and her mouth gaped opened. Chu Hao Ran leaned his back against the wall and slid onto the snowy ground. Chu Hao Ran hunched his body, relaxed his arm that was injured, and used his good arm to press it against his stomach.

Guards immediately ran toward Chen Yu Bai. Chen Yu Bai easily dodged many guards and leisurely rolled up his shirt sleeves. Chen Yu Bai grabbed a wine bottle, anyone that came toward him, he’d kick them back and if two people came forward he’d kick at a faster speed. Chen Yu Bai’s kicks and punches increasingly became stronger and the battle quickly became chaotic.

An Xiao Li’s first thought was – what a romantic scene! Finally there was a man that fought because of her, and it was a strong and handsome man too. The second thought was – little Bai’s stomach!

An Xiao Li couldn’t break apart the fight because there were too many men fighting all at once. She could only stand on the sidelines and watch Chen Yu Bai defend himself on his own against so many men and slowly his energy depleted. In that critical moment, she glanced at Chu Hao Ran and saw someone carried him away from the fight. She carelessly went to Chu Hao Ran’s side and she cried loudly. ‘Chu Hao Ran! Why aren’t you breathing? Don’t die!’

End of Chapter Nineteen (Part 2)