"Oh!"
Li Chunhua's hat almost fell off as Shao Jingfei tugged her by the hand, prompting her to follow him. She wasn't sure if this was a good idea, but she followed him nonetheless.
As expected, Shao Jingfei brought her to his mother's grave. He smiled widely as he turned to her.
"This is my mother, the most important person in my life. Today is her death anniversary, so I want to visit her. That's why I told you to drop by next time."
Li Chunhua knew that, but she had to act so he wouldn't suspect anything. "Oh, I see. So by date, you meant a date with your mother."
"Yup! Did I surprise you? But I did go out to meet a woman, so it wasn't a complete lie, don't you agree?"
"You're right. Since I'm already here, I must pay your mother respect."
Li Chunhua stepped forward to give the deceased her respect again. "Hello, Auntie. I'm Jingfei's friend from school. It's a pleasure to meet you here today."
Honestly, Li Chunhua wasn't prepared for this situation, so besides the introduction, she had no idea what else to say. Yet, the silence seemed to urge her to say more. But what else could she say?
'Oh, that's right.'
"Auntie, you don't have to worry. After this, I will take Jingfei to a good restaurant in town. I will not let him spend his birthday alone today. Let me take care of him in your stead. Leave it to me!"
Shao Jingfei was surprised. Not only did Li Chunhua remember his birthday, but she also boldly declared that she would take care of him.
For some reason, that statement almost sounded like a proposal and made his heart skip a beat.
Li Chunhua said something more to his mother, but he couldn't hear anymore past that last part.
'I never knew that knowing someone willingly offered to stay by my side could make me feel peaceful. This year's birthday is not so bad, after all.' Shao Jingfei thought while smiling.
He watched how Li Chunhua kept chirping in front of his mother's grave, and a sense of tenderness swelled inside him. That tender feeling spread to his eyes, and it surprised Li Chunhua when she looked back and saw him staring at her like that.
Suddenly feeling self-conscious, she snarled, "W-what are you looking at? Did I say something funny?"
Shao Jingfei shook his head. "No. I thought I was lucky to have you here with me now. You made my day."
Li Chunhua's eyes widened. The world seemed to move in slow motion as they stared at each other.
The heat, the swaying of the leaves, and Shao Jingfei's smile would forever etch in her mind from there on.
It was a very gentle and beautiful smile, like he was staring at a person he cherished dearly.
And it stirred her to the core, changing something inside her.
"Thank you, Chunhua. I will never forget what you have done for me today. I'm sure my mother won't be worried about me anymore with you here with me. You'll stay by my side, right?"
Li Chunhua was speechless and couldn't take her eyes away from him.
There was a twisting and dull throb inside her. Recently, she kept having this feeling whenever he was nearby. This was definitely not the side effect of the medicine.
Then, everything came back to her at once. It all made sense for her now.
The meaning behind these inexplicable discomforts, the reason she followed him here, and the rapid heartbeat she felt now. It concluded one thing, and everything became crystal clear to her.
'It turns out I have romantic feelings for this person.'
If there was a story about her life, this was probably one of the twists she didn't see coming.
***
Li Caiyi took a deep breath before entering the Glorious Days anniversary party venue.
She wore a semi-formal dress because this party was more like an event to ingratiate herself to the publishing circle. She wanted to look like a proper adult and promised herself she would gain something from this event. So she prepared her armor meticulously.
Taking her friend's advice in mind, Li Caiyi finally set her mind on a short, ivory-colored champagne dress that looked exquisite on her fair skin. Her silver heels made a noise on the marble floor when she walked, and the earrings of the same color swayed with her every movement.
No one could deny that she looked stunning that night. More and more people began to pay attention to her and attempted to converse with her.
For Li Caiyi, this was, of course, a welcome advance. For this reason she was here in the first place.
Thanks to her mother-in-law's strict teaching, she had no difficulties maneuvering her way into the conversation. The guests almost couldn't believe that Li Caiyi was still a high school student, with how refined her bearing was.
"I can't believe the author of that book is a pretty young woman like you. You are blessed with talents."
"You are exaggerating. Everything is thanks to my capable editor. My skills can't possibly be compared with veteran writers like you, Madam."
"Not only pretty, but you are also very polite. By editor, do you mean Mr. Shao Jingfei?"
"Yes, that's right."
"I have heard many times about how competent he is, but I believe he isn't going to come to today's party again this year. Such a shame."
Li Caiyi glanced around, and as she said, Shao Jingfei was nowhere to be seen. It seemed he really wouldn't come tonight.
Although she didn't know his reason, she sure hoped everything was alright with him.
"Oh, look! It's the Chairman!"
Li Caiyi turned her head to see where she pointed, and the glass in her hand almost slipped when she saw two people standing on the stage.
She believed that the man on the right was the Chairman of Glorious Days company, which means he was Shao Jingfei's biological father. He looked younger than the last time Li Caiyi saw her before regressing.
However, the one who caught her attention was the person standing beside him—a man who immediately awakened many bad memories in her.
Li Caiyi laughed dryly. "To think I will meet him again here out of all places. Fate sure is a mysterious thing."
"Miss Caiyi, is everything alright with you? Your face looks pale."
"Ah, please don't mind me. This is my first time being surrounded by many important people alone without my family, so I feel a bit nervous, that's all."
The woman chuckled. "My, you are doing very well so far, so it didn't occur to me you would feel like that. But I understand that feeling. Will you feel better if I call your friend here to accompany you?"
"Sorry? My friend?"
"Oh, pardon me. I thought you would feel better if you had someone you knew by your side.
"Thank you for your consideration, Ma'am, but I'm afraid I don't know anyone here except for a few people I talked with just now."
"That's strange. I'm pretty sure I saw Young Master Meng here earlier. Aren't you two close friends?"
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶