Liu Yunlong was surprised at Qian Qian’s boldness. He reached out quickly and pushed her away.
It was right at this moment that he saw Li Yi standing in front of him.
Their eyes met. He remained calm while she grew flustered. Li Yi turned around quickly and left.
“Xiao Yi!” Liu Yunlong yelled as he chased her immediately with long strides. He reached out and grabbed her slender wrist.
“Xiao Yi, listen to me. It’s not what it looks like, I have absolutely nothing to do with her,” Liu Yunlong explained nervously.
Li Yi turned to look at him. Her eyes, though filled with tears, showed no emotion. “Can you let me go?”
Liu Yunlong froze.
“I would like to go to the washroom.”
Liu Yunlong saw the women’s restroom in front of him.
It was at this moment that he realised she had came out only to use to restroom and she did not care at all that she had seen him with another woman.
“Xiao Yi,” Liu Yunlong lowered his striking eyes, “Do you still remember me? We’ve been friends ever since we were young children and we’ve known each other for practically decades. I refuse to believe you’d forget me so easily.”
A voice broke the tension.
“Keely, why are you here?” Darren asked.
Li Yi pulled her wrist back forcefully and walked towards Darren, “Oh I happened to bump into Mr Liu.”
Darren looked at Li Yi before averting his gaze to Liu Yunlong, “Chief Liu, are you and Keely old friends?”
Liu Yunlong froze at the question. He hurriedly gathered himself and said, “Yes, we know each other.”
“What a coincidence! Chief Liu, when are you free then? Would you like to join us for a gathering sometime?”
“Sure.”
Darren squeezed Li Yi’s shoulders warmly, “Let’s go back to the private room.”
The corners of Li Yi’s lips lifted into a beautiful and gentle smile, “Sure.”
Darren hugged Li Yi’s shoulders. “Let’s go back to the private room.”
Liu Yunlong looked at the retreating figures.
“Liu Yunlong, they’re already so far gone. Why do you keep looking at them? Do you like her? She looked like she was married.”
Qian Qian stepped up beside Liu Yunlong.
Liu Yunlong glanced at Qian Qian and warned, ” I don’t like people who gossip, so stay away from me in the future!”
Liu Yunlong marched ahead.
Everyone left the hotel lobby after dinner. Outside the confines of the hotel, it had begun to pour.
“Keely, the car is parked right there. It’s not that far, we can run there together,” Darren said as he took off his jacket to shield Li Yi from the rain.
Before he could do so, Xiao Tian, his assistant, walked over and handed him a black umbrella.
“Mr Darren, here’s an umbrella for you.”
“What about Mr Liu then?”
Li Yi glanced around and saw that Liu Yunlong, a figure of handsomeness, was walking far ahead in the rain.
“Let’s go, Keely.”
When Li Yi and Darren both got into the car, he looked at the rearview mirror and said, ” Keely, it appears Mr Liu’s car has been following us the whole time. His car is behind us now.”
Li Yi turned around to see if this was true. Seeing that it was, she sunk into silence.
Later in her room, as LiYi dried her hair with a clean towel, her slender white fingers drew the curtains opened slightly. She saw a luxury car parked downstairs. This meant Liu Yunlong hadn’t left.
Darren came to stand behind her.
“Keely,” he looked downstairs, “Was Chief Liu the person you were referring to in your story?”
Hearing this, Li Yi’s beautiful face broke into a faint smile and she nodded slightly.
“Yes, I haven’t thought of marrying another man aside from him.”
“Then why did you break up? Did he make a mistake?”
He had mentioned in the hotel room earlier that he made a mistake after all.
“He slept with another woman,” Li Yi said.
“Why?”
“He was drugged.”
“Keely, since he was drugged, wouldn’t his actions be understandable? He has remained single ever since both of you broke up. It’s clear he’s been waiting for you to return. Why don’t you reconcile with him?”
Li Yi glanced back at Darren, “Why don’t you like women then?”
Darren shrugged, “I can’t stand it when women touch me.” He was gay and only liked men.
Li Yi raised her eyebrows, ” You see, my situation is the same as yours. I can’t stand men touching me.”
Darren looked forlorn as he reached out and stroked Li Yi’s hair, ” We’re not the abandoned children of God, we’ll find our own happiness eventually.”
“I hope so.”
“Alright then, I’ll head back to my room to rest for the night. Goodnight, Keely”, Darren said as he left.
Li Yi looked at the luxurious car downstairs and slowly leaned her head against the wall, closing her eyes gently.
The next morning, Liu Yunlong was awakened by a phone call. He had shut his eyes for a short while last night as he rested in the chair and somehow he had managed to sleep in it for the entire night. He took his phone out and peered at it, his eyes bloodshot.
“Hello…” he trailed off.
“Hello, is this Mr Liu? Your mother had chest pains this morning and she would like to meet you. Is it convenient for you to come on down to the hospital?”
“Okay, I’ll come right away.”
Liu Yunlong threw his phone into the passenger seat and looked upstairs. He started the engine and left quickly.
When Liu Yunlong got to the hospital, he headed for the VIP ward.
He pushed the door open, “Mom, how are you feeling?”
His mother lay on the hospital bed. While her hair was almost white, her old age had not dampened her energy and vitals. When she saw her son, she broke into a kind smile, “Ah Long, the doctor did some checks just now, I’m fine. I just missed you, that’s all. It’s been a long while since you’ve spent time with me.”
Upon hearing this, Liu Yunlong suddenly felt guilty. His focus had entirely been on Li Yi recently.
“Mom, I’m sorry, I recently went overseas to hold a concert. I was busy so I didn’t call you. I’ll spend more time with you in the future.”
Madam Liu held Liu Yunlong’s hand, “Ah Long, there’s no sense in neglecting your body just to earn more money. Earning money is merely an endless pursuit. You, on the other hand, should rest more.”
“Yes, I understand, Mom.”
Noticing her son’s gloomy expression, Madam Liu said, “Ah Long, I’m not trying to rush you, but have you found Little Yi? It’s been almost seven years. Why haven’t we heard anything about her?”
Liu Yunlong’s face stiffened. He lowered his eyes and pursed his lips shut.
“Ah Long, it has been seven years since you said you committed that scoundrel’s crime. Xiao Yi has left for seven years as well. How long must we wait till we hear from her?”
“As people who grew up in the mountains, we may not have much, but we value our friendships and we always keep our promises. Both of you were childhood sweethearts – Xiao Yi refused to attend a key provincial university when she was eighteen just to follow you to the big city even though you had no concrete plans! Her parents may have passed away, but prior to their death, they refused to forgive her and now you’re all she has!”
Madam Liu let out an audible and frustrated sigh, “You mentioned that Xiao Yi has trouble conversing in other languages. She is also really simple-minded. I wonder how she’s doing abroad and whether she’s eating enough. I feel my heart being torn by a knife whenever I think about this.”
She placed her hand over her heart.
“Mom, the doctor warned that you can’t get too agitated,” Liu Yunlong said.
“Why can’t I be agitated? Son, have you really heard nothing from Xiaoyi at all?”, Madam Liu retorted.
Liu Yunlong avoided his mother’s gaze and shook his head, “Not yet.”