Eric had consented to accompany Hui on this overnight trip to the college at that time. Now all he had to do was figure out a way to send Jia Li instead of himself. For a person with his skills, he didn"t think it would be a tough task! Fifteen days later
Father son duo disembarked from the plane at the Heathrow airport. Winter had given way to a mild spring and the air felt fragrantly fresh. Before leaving, Wei had asked his mother, once, for the sake of courtesy, whether she wished to come along for Mr. w.a.n.g"s treatment. Her hesitation had filtered through the phone. Wei hadn"t bothered to hear her excuse and had told her that he would keep her posted on his father"s health, if she wanted.
She had been brought up in a family of strict authoritarian figureheads ruling the clan. Only if one performed, did one succeed. Only if one succeeded, was one worthy! Emotions were a sign of weakness and any such display was totally frowned upon. Maybe that was the reason why she couldn"t bring herself to overcome her husband"s failure as a businessman early on in their lives. Her own upbringing didn"t give her the perspective to measure her son"s love for a woman who was unsuitable for him in so many ways. She couldn"t help being who she was!!
The bitter taste of that conversation with his mother still lingered in Wei"s mouth. He had known her to be unfeeling kind of a person. But this sort of apathy had taken him by surprise. No wonder, his father had kept his emotions restrained for all these years. Had it not been for Jia Li"s advent in his life, he would have never discovered his wonderfully warm father.
With a smile, he addressed him now, "if I recall correctly, you prefer London infinitely over New York, right?"
Mr. w.a.n.g nodded his head and said, "there is still an old world charm about London which is missing in the concrete laden culture of America, at least in my opinion. As a youngster, I loved coming here during the rains. There was a melancholy mixed with a hint of romance in the air. It almost made me want to write a poem."
Wei was loving this side of his father. Tang had told Wei in no uncertain terms that he was not to come back to work till his father didn"t attain full recovery. He was grateful for Tang"s support at this juncture and wanted to enjoy their friends.h.i.+p for as long as he could. He knew that once he started looking for and pursuing Jia Li, this unlikely camaraderie won"t be able to bear the weight of the intense love, which both of them had, for that woman.
"Where are you, Jia Li? Do you miss me as I miss you, with every breath, every step?" Wei"s heart called out.
Outskirts of London
Jia Li was seated next to Hui in his stylish silver Bentley. The car carried a faint smell of expensive leather mixed with Hui"s now familiar signature cologne. They had left really early in the morning to avoid the ghastly traffic on the road. Though, it was a weekday, but traffic could be notoriously bad.
"How is Eric feeling now? I sent him a message last night but he didn"t respond," Jia Li asked Hui, who had been maintain his customary silence for the past hour or so.
Originally, he was the one who was to accompany Hui on this trip but he had contracted a nasty stomach bug the previous day and had begged Jia Li to take over. She had been shaken by his ashen pallor and deeply moved by his commitment towards work. Even in so much pain, his first thought had been towards the next day"s agenda. She had readily agreed and after helping him reach the hospital, she had gone home to pack an overnight bag.
"He a.s.sured me that he was much improved when I spoke with him last night," he answered back.
The uncomfortable thought of being stuck in the same car for hours with the boss, had hit Jia Li when she was getting down from her flat. Hui had informed her that he would pick her up from her residence. The initial ten-fifteen minutes had been awkward for her in the absolute silence of the car. But soon she had forgotten all about it and her co pa.s.senger. The view changed as they zipped pa.s.sed the city and that kept her enthralled.
Their intended destination was York, the most charming city of Britain. Jia Li hadn"t travelled anywhere beyond the city ever since she had started working in London. This was an unexpected treat for her and she wanted to enjoy it to the fullest.