Li Xiqing was surprised at this.
It"s not about her warning that surprised him; he had determined to do this from the start. What he was surprised about was Qi Ling saying this in front of Shao Yan.
Li Xiqing looked back at Shao Yan and saw her stiffened up. He took her hand gently and held it.
"Since you"re being honest, then let me be honest as well", Li Xiqing said to Qi Ling while squeezing Shao Yan"s hand.
"I have said this to her, and I will say it again to you now", he paused and looked at Shao Yan who also looked back at him.
"I don"t care about her past." he paused, "If she wanted to tell me, that"s fine. If she doesn"t want to, it doesn"t matter. It will not change my decision".
Li Xiqing was really staring into Shao Yan"s eyes now while saying, "Whether she was a jilted bride, or a divorcee, or even a mistress, I don"t care".
And then Li Xiqing looked back at Qi Ling, "Because she is mine now and I intend to keep it that way."
He paused and said earnestly, "That"s all that matters".
The room just went so quiet. They could only hear the humming sound of air conditioner, the refrigerator and the honking cars from the street downstairs.
Qi Ling sighed. Alright, mister, you have convinced me.
Qi Ling stayed quiet for a while just for the sake of giving Li Xiqing a pressure.
After all, Shao Yan had no one in her family anymore. It was up to her now to protect Shao Yan. To be her mother figure. To make sure Shao Yan met the right person.
Qi Ling saw it with her own eyes how Shao Yan was after the divorce. She was broken, desolated and dispirited.
Even Qi Ling herself did not have the confidence that she could help Shao Yan to heal.
But right now, looking at how Shao Yan was looking at a man with such a warm gaze, Qi Ling felt relief. She was happy for Shao Yan. She hoped this man really cared about Shao Yan.
Li Xiqing words kept playing in her mind. But, what was these jilted bride and mistress about??
Qi Ling looked at the two in the sofa, and then she stood up.
"It"s late. You should go back now." and then Qi Ling walked back to her bedroom.
Shao Yan was looking at Qi Ling until she closed her door. And then Shao Yan felt astonished. She looked surprised at Li Xiqing with her round eyes.
"You tamed the dragon lady just like that?!"
Shao Yan went silent for a while, and then she wriggled her hands away from his hold and threw his hand back at him, "You are really good with words, aren"t you!"
And then she gave him side eye, "How many girls have you conned before me?"
Li Xiqing hold her hands again and then smiled helplessly, "Well, it"s too late to back off now".
He embraced her, and leaned back to the sofa, "I"ve told your guardian that you are mine. And I am a man of my own words". He peeked down at her face.
Shao Yan just kept quiet and stayed still.
Shao Yan gradually relaxed within his embrace. She was so tired, she almost fell asleep.
Li Xiqing felt that her body was going softer, he looked at her and saw her tired eyes.
He slowly let her go, "I should go now". He stood up, "You should rest soon, alright? And remember I will pick you up tomorrow."
Li Xiqing caressed her hair again, and then walked out by himself.
Shao Yan got up to the door and locked it.
When Shao Yan was about to sleep, she heard a knock on her door before Qi Ling opened it and came inside.
She sat on her bed next to Shao Yan. "Yan Yan, are you happy?" Shao Yan knew what Qi Ling meant with this question.
Shao Yan thought for a while on how to reply her. "Ling, when I first met him, I only thought of him as someone who was really really good looking". She started to reminisce the first time they met at the coffee shop.
"He was smart, very charming and very attractive. He knew how to carry himself and enchanted people " Shao Yan smiled when she thought of all their previous dates.
Shao Yan turned to the side and looked at Qi Ling. "But Xiao Ling, over the time, he proved himself that he was more than that. And he was so warm. I never realized how cold I had been feeling, walking alone all this time."
"Not until he came into my life".
"At first, I really kept my guards around him. You see it yourself, how good looking he is. He must have had experiences with a lot of women around him".
Shao Yan felt so tired when she thought of this.
"But he showed me over and over again that he was not anything that I thought he would be".
Shao Yan looked down and gave a helpless smile.
"Ling, I am tired. I just want to be strong again." Shao Yan gave a sad smile and kept staring at the bedsheet.
"This man, he didn"t promise that he will heal me. He didn"t promise me the grand love of the world either."
Shao Yan looked at Qi Ling again, "But do you know what he promised me? He promised that we will walk on this journey together. That he will always be with me".
Shao Yan paused.
"And I think" she paused, "that"s when I knew that I want to keep this man in my life".
When Shao Yan woke up the next day, she felt refreshed. She remembered that Li Xiqing would pick her up, so he should arrive soon.
She quickly got up and showered. Shao Yan decided on light blue blouse, short sleeves with bow accent on each sleeve.
Shao Yan paired it with short white skirt, with one inch silver lining around the bottom of the skirt. And she finished it with silver chain belt around her waist.
Her phone chimed in with incoming message. Li Xiqing texted her that he was already downstairs waiting for the elevator.
Shao Yan got out and walked to the foyer. Right after she put on her shoes, her doorbell rang.
Shao Yan opened it right away, and saw him. "I"m ready, let"s go." She quickly stepped out, and then closed the door behind her.
Li Xiqing was surprised, but he just smiled and then took the laptop bag from her. "How was your sleep last night?" he handed her the soymilk.
Shao Yan took it and started to drink from it. "I slept like a baby, how about you?"
Li Xiqing looked at her and said, "I couldn"t sleep." he then looked at her with a grin on his face, "I was too excited".
Shao Yan knew what he meant, she blushed and just turned her face away and looked at the elevator numbers.
He"s becoming more and more straightforward now!