The Lis had not bothered to throw a lavish party on New Year"s Eve since Grandmother Sun was not fully recovered yet and was still in the hospital.
So instead of throwing a party in their homes, the Lis had all gone to spend the whole day with her and once it was 12am which marked the beginning of another year, they all watched the fireworks together from the hospital"s rooftop.
They could not believe that their once healthy mother and grandmother was now being wheeled on a wheelchair.
Once it was 1am, they began to disperse. Because they had to return home since that day was Muchen and Sara"s wedding day.
Over at the w.a.n.g"s apartment, they also watched the fireworks outside. Jianjun, Changyu, Cixi, Sara, and Joreen all watched it together joyously.
They all had the same thought. They believed this New year was going to be different and joyous for them.
Immediately it clocked twelve, they all wished Joreen a happy birthday first before congratulating Sara in advance on her wedding.
"Baby Jo, tell me what you want for your birthday. Anything" Changyu said to Joreen who was sitting beside her on the couch in the sitting room.
"Anything" people liked to hear that word, especially when it was coming from someone powerful and capable.
Joreen looked at the other members of the family as if she was hoping for one of them to make a wish for her.
They had all given her gifts except Changyu who was now giving her a blank cheque to ask for whatever she wanted.
"Can I....ask for a bigger hou..se?" Joreen asked awkwardly and with a sheepish smile since she did not know whether she was going overboard with her demand.
"Jo!" Cixi called first in shock. She could not believe that Joreen had asked for a house of all things!
Sara and Jianjun were also surprised but did not say anything.
Changyu began to laugh before asking "What type do you like? And in what City?"
Joreen"s eyes widened when she realised that Changyu was really going to buy them a house. She quickly turned to look at Jianjun and asked,
"Dad, what type of house do you like? Hurry before she changes her mind"
"Me? Why are you asking me?" Jianjun asked her in confusion.
"Am I the only one supposed to live in the house? It"s for all of us. Even though they have fixed the elevator here, this place is still too small and I am sure pretty Aunt is very uncomfortable with you sleeping in her room every night"
Everyone was quiet after Joreen said that.
If Changyu or Jianjun had been eating or drinking something, they would have choked immediately.
Cixi did not know what to say, all she could do was to use her hand to cover her face.
The entire atmosphere turned awkward.
"You should not worry about that Jo. Just make another wish" Sara desperately tried not to laugh when she spoke to Joreen.
Her Father"s embarra.s.sed and shocked look was very amusing to her.
Of course Jianjun was also shocked because now, no one remembered that the room was his to begin with. He even had to sneak into his own room now!
But unlike him, Changyu had a smile on her face.
If she had been talking to an a.d.u.l.t, she probably would have said "I don"t actually mind that he sleeps in the same room with me."
But because Joreen was a little girl who just clocked eight, Changyu could only smile.
"Let"s go through some magazines later and choose the one to buy okay?"
Joreen was so excited that after jumping around for some seconds, she hugged Changyu happily.
She had liked Changyu even before meeting her. Knowing that she was Sara"s mother, Joreen liked her even more now.
Joreen had always dreamt about staying in a big house. Now, her dream was finally going to come true.
Hallelujah!
"She should have asked for something else." Cixi complained to Sara once they were in the room.
Joreen did not pay much attention to them since she was on a call with Muchen who had called to wish them a Happy New Year and was now wis.h.i.+ng her a Happy Birthday.
"Any wish for your birthday?" Muchen asked Joreen, who could not still get over Changyu"s promise.
Joreen bobbed her head up and down as if Muchen could see her gesture. Then, she quickly rushed to the bathroom so the two women would not hear her.
As Cixi watched her run out, she sighed.
"Let her be. I know you"re feeling this way because there is a little rift between you and mother. But it"s going to be fine. Trust me."
"You should not be here trying to advise me. It"s your wedding day! You should be having a party with some friends or something."
"You know I don"t have friends. And I do not need any." After what she experienced from Weiyoung, she was not sure she needed another "friend" in her life except for Muchen who was currently her best friend, boyfriend, and soon to-be husband.
"What about Liu Weiyoung? Heard from her?" Cixi asked curiously.
Sara shook her head. "I haven"t. I do not know if she saw the invite since the Mo family was invited. But as much as I want her to come so I could rub it on her face, I don"t want to see her. She may ruin my day" Sara said with a sad face before quickly switching..
"Enough about me. What about you? A little birdie told me you"ve been in contact with a certain Mr Luo. I"m glad I finally remembered to ask you today." Sara winked at her.
"That tiny gossip!" Cixi gritted her teeth.
She knew that "little birdie" was obviously Joreen.
"He is... just there."
"Just there? Do not lie to me Aunt. I heard he came to ask for your number when you were about leaving the store. Is he into you?"
"Oh please! Didn"t I mention he looked younger than me? Besides he has a clingy woman beside him and —"
"Enough with the excuses. Invite him to my wedding. That way, I can see him, and you also get the chance to spend some time with him. Deal? Deal!"
Cixi laughed out when she heard that. "You must have learned that from your mother."
"Of course, she"s been frustrating dad too much. I feel bad for him. He doesn"t even get to make his own decisions these day"
They both laughed together before Joreen finally returned.
The wedding was to take place in the evening. But throughout the day, Sara was very nervous. It was still very difficult to believe that she was getting married; And to Li Muchen of all people!
"It"s okay. You"ll be fine." Changyu a.s.sured her with a gentle pat on her back.
Sara desperately tried to believe Changyu"s words. She really hoped for everything to turn out well.
She was not actually scared of anyone ruining her wedding since her biggest problem had been the Blacks. But luckily for her and the rest of the world, most of the Blacks who escaped that night, were caught.
But Fuji, the man who thought he had the world at his feet, died in the clash.
And the one who had helped get, was the least person she expected —Snake!
On her way home two days back, a little girl had stopped in front of her father"s restaurant to give her a candy.
Sara bad been confused because she did not know the child and thought she was probably lost. But when she touched the candy, she knew it was not actually a real candy that was wrapped in it. It was more like a note.
With a smile, she took it and thanked the girl while pretending to know her. She knew the military men were watching nearby and did not want them to suspect anything.
So as soon as she got home, she opened it to find a note inside. It read..
" Pretty little sister. This is my first time writing a note to someone and I feel weird about it. I thought this was the best way to get to you since those annoying creatures keep going everywhere you go in a bid to protect you from us. Okay, writing kind of sucks so I"ll just go straight to the point.
I really wanted to tell you that I am truly proud of you. And I do envy you.
I envy the fact that you get to live a normal life, that you get to be loved by people, that you get to be strong and fight for your life and what you believe.
Sometimes, I ask myself... "If I had rebelled and stood up to Fuji just like you did, would I have been living a normal life by now?"
Don"t mock me little sis, I already know the answer is a capital NO!
He probably would have killed me and dumped my body in the cold waters where no one would ever find me and every traces of me disappears like I never existed.
I want you to live well. And I am sorry for everything I did to you. Here is a little Wedding gift for you below this note. You better allow those flies get to Fuji before your wedding day. Else, it may turn to your boyfriend"s burial ceremony.
Good luck to you. And thank you for making me feel like a human again.
PS: You always reminded me of my little sister. Her name was Yue Queen. Probably the reason I liked you a lot.
Yk"
Sara had been really emotional when she read the letter from Yue King that day.
She knew it had taken everything in him to be able to make up his mind to betray Fuji and the rest gang members.
Once she took the address to the military, they quickly planned to take Fuji down.
Maybe she had imagined it, but it was difficult to swallow the fact that Snake had still been with Fuji till that moment. No one saw the three others that were in his crew: Blue Rays, Black Dog and Sword. Snake must have helped them escape but had remained with Fuji.
He had also died with Fuji.
When Sara heard the news of his death, she had broken down in tears and no matter how hard Muchen tried to console her, she could not stop her tears.
She then remembered the reason she was not happy on the day Medusa was captured. It was because she had a friend there.
It made her regret the times she treated him badly.
All she could do now was to forget about the past. But she was never going to forget Yue King.
"Why do you look so sad?" Changyu asked in concern.
"I just hope everything turns out well today" Sara finally said to her with a forced smile.
"It better be. You are going to be the first person getting married in this family. So do not bring us any bad luck" Changyu said lightly before herself and Sara began to laugh.
Yes, her father never got married. Neither did Changyu. Her Aunt was also single and Joreen, well...
Evening..
As much as they tried to make the wedding less known to people, the news still went around.
CEO Li Muchen was getting married!
A lot of people were curious about the bride and the family she came from. But no matter how hard they tried to pry, no meaningful information seemed to come out.
The only ones who counted themselves lucky, were the ones who were invited to the wedding. They were going to see the mystery woman that stole his heart.
"Who holds a church wedding in the evenings?"
Dexi complained immediately his car stopped in front on the large church"s building.
Till this very moment, he still refused to believe that Sara was getting married to Li Muchen.
Was the Heavens playing a joke on him? Because this was a huge joke indeed!
While he had been trying to gather information about her life in Country Y, she had been planning to get married to someone else?
He did not even get the chance to pursue her at all. Neither did he get the chance to go on a single date with her.
But now, of every person in the world to get married to, why did it have to be Li Muchen?
That manipulative b.a.s.t.a.r.d!
He was sure it had been Muchen"s doing. He had been trying to know what happened to Sara during the time she disappeared but all of a sudden, he found the record. And it was perfect with enough alibis.
It showed that she had been given a one-year scholars.h.i.+p by Li corporation to study abroad.
And everything made perfect sense with the way it was arranged and organised.
"Mr Mo. A little smile would do" His secretary advised.
"Are you crazy? Did I come here to wish them well? Why should I smile then?"
Dexi thought it was a mistake to have gone there. He did not want to see what was going to ruin his entire day. It was best best to go attend to something else, or probably go meet someone who was more annoyed than he was in other to feel better.
Mo Jinyong!