Jianjun did not know what to do with Sara. Was she trying to go through the sea of reporters because of a man?
She had not been able to control herself for the past hour and had called Heya for the umpteenth time to ask whether Mr Li was back but the answer still remained the same, He wasn"t.
She had also tried calling Ms Long back, but it was not reachable, which further worried her.
Jianjun wondered whether Sara would be fine if he injected her with a tranquilizer. He had never seen her this tensed.
"Jo. Go to the room" He said gently. He had to address this issue with Sara once and for all.
Joreen gave Sara a pleading look before she went inside the room. Those camera flashes had terrified her. She had not expected it, neither had any of them. Was that how celebrities also lived their lives? Opening the door one evening and having the paparazzi at your doorstep? She only prayed Sara would not do something unwise. And hoped the reporters would leave there soon. Thankfully, Bilike had called to say he would be spending the night with his Father at the hospital.
When Jianjun noticed Joreen had gone inside, he said to Sara softly.
"You promised me you didn"t like him. You said he was your boss"
Sara, who was pacing the sitting room, stopped abruptly. She looked at her father guiltily. He was waiting for it. Waiting for her to deny it at least.
But then, he was shocked when she suddenly burst into tears.
"I...am so...so sorry Dad. " She used her hands to cover her face and squatted down "I tried. I...really did. I don"t know what is wrong with me." She said in between sobs.
Jianjun stood there, speechless. One thing was for him to know she liked him. Another thing was for her to openly admit it. He looked at his pitiful daughter, who was squatting down, crying her eyes out.
He gradually moved to where she was and gently pulled her up. He saw her tearstained face and bloodshot eyes. When did his little Sara grow up to the point where she cried because of her confused feelings for a man?
"I"m really confused" She looked him in the eyes and said. "I just can"t stop it. I have really tried. He is so.... likable" She admitted.
Jianjun didn"t know whether to laugh or cry. She was all so serious crying, yet she was talking about him being so likable?
He pulled her into a gentle hug with her head resting on his chest. "Sara, Can you at least pretend you do not like him? You"ll be safer that way" He said. He didn"t want his daughter to take the same path he took. Why couldn"t he just scold her or scream at her. Maybe she would listen right?
Sara shook her head "I don"t know. I really don"t know. I just want to see him" She confessed
"You can"t" He bluntly rejected.
Sara stifled in his arms before she gently pulled away from him. "Why can"t I?" She asked in what sounded like anger.
"Sara. What are you doing?" He noticed Joreen coming out and shouted. "Jo, go back inside the room"
Joreen froze and gave them both a confused look before heading back in.
"You can"t go out. You know that" He said in a stern tone.
"You want me to not go out or you want me to not see Mr Li?" She asked. She didn"t bother to stop her tears from flowing.
Jianjun was startled. It was the very first time Sara had disobeyed him like this. And could he really blame her for it? Just like she had said, Mr Li was indeed likable. If he had been a little bit unlikable, then, it would have been easy for their entire family.
He couldn"t even ask Sara to quit her job now. He knew she would never agree to that. And even though he was her father, he had no right to tell her that. She was an adult after all.
She had always been one to think carefully before acting. He had always known her to be a very rational person. But the very person before him now, he could not understand her. She wasn"t thinking at all, merely working on impulse.
"Sara. You both can"t be together. You know that"
"I never said I am going to marry him. I"m not saying I want to spend the rest of my life with him either. I didn"t even say I want to date him. I"m only saying I want to see him. To know if he is okay, to explain things to him." It seemed like she was saying it out with her last breath as each words struggled before coming out. Her tears didn"t stop flowing either.
Jianjun knew she wasn"t asking for his permission. She was simply informing him. Telling him what she was going to do.
Sara"s phone rang to break the silence in the room. She hoped it was Ms Long or Mr Li calling her. But then, she saw it was an unsaved number. She knew she wasn"t supposed to take any strange calls now but she never could tell who was calling.
"You are?" She asked.
Then, she heard the voice speak. "I thought you wanted a simple and quiet life. Your life isn"t so quiet anymore."
"Director Li?" She asked in disappointment.
Now, even Li Hoy had seen it? Who hadn"t seen it in the country? She wondered.
"Yes. Why are you sounding like that? Were you crying? Hope you are okay?" He asked in obvious worry.
Sara suddenly thought of something that made her eyes light up then she spoke "Director Li. Can you please do me a favour?"
"Tell me" He said in his usual cold tone.
"But you really can"t leave now. The reporters are still outside" Jianjun said when she dropped the call.
She used her hands to clean the remaining tears on her face "Do not worry. I won"t be b.u.mping into them."