The next day arrived with Hou Lin waiting for Da Shang to arrive outside the subway station. He stared at the crowd pass by him in silence.
"Lin!"
He turned and saw Da Shang eagerly waving her hand at him with a radiant smile on her lips. It was evident that she had taken efforts to dress up for this meeting.
"I hope I didn't make you wait for long," she said with a blush appearing on her cheeks.
"Thirty-three minutes and twenty-four seconds. I don't know if that counts as long or short," he said, not meaning any ill-intent or scorn.
"I-It was hard choosing my dress for today…" she coughed, abashed. "I wanted to look my best. A-anyway!" She cleared her throat.
She gazed at Lin, hoping he would compliment her. But that notion seemed to completely bounce off his head and he asked, "Shall we go?"
"W-wait!"
"Yes?"
"Don't you have anything to say?" She nervously asked.
Hou Lin stared at her. "I do and I did ask you. Shall we go?"
Her right brow twitched. "Not that. I m-mean how do I look?"
He blinked. "Pretty as always. Did I have to separately mention that?"
Her jaw dropped. "You didn't say anything…so I thought you didn't notice."
"I did notice. But I thought I didn't have to mention it explicitly because you already know you are pretty. Isn't that why you are the campus belle of our school?"
Her jaw remained dropped, not knowing how to counter the argument which seemed to make a valid point. Nevertheless, she felt her heart pounding faster. It was normal course for a girl to get mad if her date failed to notice and compliment her on looks. But Hou Lin stated it as an obvious and assumed fact which didn't give her any reason to be angry at him at all.
They made their way towards the cafe and sat down. Da Shang fidgeted with her fingers and frequently threw glances at him. "Why are you still being so nice to me? After what happened with your father…shouldn't you be blaming me? I thought you would humiliate me instead of saying I look pretty because you are mad at me."
"I do blame you and your father for unjustly firing my Dad," Hou Lin bluntly said.
She stiffened.
"But that doesn't have anything to do with your beauty. If you are pretty, then you are pretty. It's a plain fact. I have no reason to say anything otherwise."
She stared at him and felt as if she was getting to know him for the first time. "You…you are really a nice person."
Hou Lin considered her words. "I think it's supposed to be a compliment so thank you."
"It is a compliment."
"Yes, that's why I said thank you."
Her brow twitched again.
Hou Lin slightly leaned forward and said, "I invited you out to give my answer about our relationship about which we talked yesterday."
Da Shang wryly smiled. "I thought a lot about it yesterday too. When you asked me if threatening you was the right thing to do?"
He nodded. "I pondered about it too."
She clutched her bag on her lap. "So then…what did you decide?"
'You will go to meet Da Shang tomorrow and say that you want to get back with her,' he recalled his father's orders.
Hou Lin stared straight at her and said, "I am sorry, but it's not possible. We cannot get back together."
Da Shang said nothing. It was after a few moments that she quietly released her breath, not knowing that she was holding it all along.
"I thought you would say the opposite."
"That's what my Dad wants."
Her eyes widened, and she jerked her neck up to look at him, aghast. "And you are confessing that to me so openly?"
"You threatened me. Wasn't that practically confessing that you used your father's position for yourself?"
Da Shang choked in her throat, and she felt like she would puke blood at any moment. She took a deep breath and regained her composure.
"If your Dad told you what to do then why didn't you listen to him? It would secure his job. Isn't that what you want?"
Hou Lin stared into her eyes and said those words that he thought long and hard about the entire night. "Because it's not right to pretend to love you and play with your feelings. Even if that comes at the cost of my Dad's job. I don't want to commit one wrong in order to correct another."
Tears plopped down her cheeks before she knew it. His words shot straight through her heart, filling her entire being with guilt. "I-I…I am sorry Lin…I am so sorry…" It was difficult to speak for her. "I am so sorry for being so selfish…"
She lowered her head, hiding her face in her palms and quietly sobbing. "I am really very sorry for making your Dad suffer. And…thank you so much for not agreeing to your Dad…" she gasped and said with broken words. "I-It would have…hurt a lot more…if you were to be acting with me…"
She quickly wiped her eyes and cheeks with a tissue. "I regret not treating you nicely when we were together. I wanted to be more popular with you beside me. You are smart and handsome too. I was indeed a show off. I am sorry…"
She looked at him and wondered if she had taken genuine efforts to understand him, then had her relationship turned out differently? He was blunt but he had a good heart.
Hou Lin nodded. "It's okay. I think it was fun getting to know about Karaoke, but I would limit myself to just knowing about it."
Da Shang involuntarily burst into laughter. "You are funny as much as you are nice."
And I am an idiot for not seeing it earlier…
She almost asked him out loud if it was possible for their relationship to get a second chance. But that question couldn't escape any further from the tip of her tongue.
I guess it's too late, isn't it…? The guilt stabbed her heart mercilessly. Not that I deserve the chance after treating him so rudely…
She cleared her throat and smiled with radiance. "Thanks for giving me your answer, Lin. I will talk to Dad and tell him to give your Dad his job back to him. I will also personally apologize to him though I understand it would be hard to forgive me."
Hou Lin trembled, his gaze expressing his shock. "R-really?"
"Yes."
The same radiant smile shone on his lips too as he hadn't expected this pleasant outcome. "Thanks a lot, Shang."
Da Shang stared at his blindingly handsome and pure smile and then bumped her forehead on the table.
I really am such an idiot…
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