As the morning sky turned close to afternoon, Chu Li Xiang finally escaped from the airport. He jumped into a taxi and sighs in relief. His chest heaved up and down as he tries to catch his breath, and his appearance was disheveled.
"Sir, where to?"
In the front seat an elderly taxi driver asks as he glance at Chu Li Xiang from the rearview mirror.
Hearing the man, Chu Li Xiang looks at the man before reaching inside his coat pocket to hand the driver a piece of paper.
"Drop me off at this location."
The taxi driver took the piece of paper and punch in the address on his GPS. At the same time, Chu Li Xiang relaxed and leans his head back to rest.
However, as he closed his eyes, he did not see the quick glint of light that flashed within the elderly man"s eyes.
As the car drives away from Imperial Airport, in another part of Imperial, Yue Ling is casually sitting near a window inside a restaurant by herself.
She wore a long plaid flannel under a beige knitted sweater. On her bottom was a pair of black denim and her feet wrapped in warmth by a pair of black ankle booties.
Set on the chair next to her is her black wool coat as the inside of the restaurant is warm.
"Yue-Yue!"
From ahead, a woman"s cheerful voice calls out to her and she looks up at the person.
It was Zhao Ya"Er.
She wore a loose grey turtleneck sweater and a white pencil skirt that reach her knees. Place on top of her short pixi haircut is a pink beret hat as she wore a pair of black sock boots to finish her outfit.
Zhao Ya"Er smiles happily when she sees her best friend. She waves her hand as she approach the table to sit.
"Ah, sorry to make you wait. I had to make a quick stop to meet my mother."
Watching the woman make her way to the table, Yue Ling sighs a smile.
Zhao Ya"Er had suddenly called for them to have lunch together. She almost turned the invitation down due to a certain someone, but coincidently, a pile of work matters dropped on Lu Tian causing him to go to work.
Seeing that it has been a while since she last saw her new friend in Imperial, Yue Ling sweet talked her way in letting her leave the house.
As Zhao Ya"Er sits down on the chair across from her, Yue Ling also came back from her thoughts. She gives the woman a smile.
"I just got here too."
Seeing her pretty and perfect smile, Zhao Ya"Er sighs inside. She has seen many pretty women, but when compare to the person sitting in front of her, no one is comparable.
Not only that, as a woman, even she can"t help but fall for Yue Ling"s charms. If she was a man, she would be fighting with her cousin brother for her (Yue Ling) attention.
Remembering her mother had a gift for Yue Ling, she hands the giftbag across the table to the retired supermodel.
"My mother said the weather has gotten colder, so she bought this for you."
Yue Ling was taken by surprise, but she smiles again and takes the giftbag. It was pink and had floral prints all over.
"Tell her I said thank you and that she didn"t have to."
Setting the bag on her lap, Yue Ling looks inside and was surprise to see a tan coat.
It was a very simple gift, but her entire being softens. As a designer, she has a room full of clothes, but being gifted a gift from someone, she finds it heartwarming.
Seated across, Zhao Ya"Er held a curious expression as she did not look inside the giftbag.
"What did my mother buy you?"
Yue Ling set the bag on the chair her wool coat was on and she looks at Zhao Ya"Er.
"It is a coat."
Hearing this, Zhao Ya"Er arch her brows then pout her lip.
"A coat? Wah, my mother is so sweet to you, but nags to me every day."
Her words sounded like a person full of jealousy, but one can hear her joking tone of voice.
Truth was, she is extremely happy. It was like she and Yue Ling are now sisters.
As she thought this, she suddenly remembers another thing and she looks at Yue Ling with a pain-stricken expression.
"Yue-Yue… I"m really sorry for your lost."
She sighs aloud and thought back to when her aunt, Madam Lu informed them of the tragic news.
"If you need anything, just let me know. My family and I are here for you."
Yue Ling stares at the woman as she felt a sharp stab in her chest being reminded of her lost. However, she kept herself together and smiles rea.s.suringly.
"It"s alright. It wasn"t the right time."
She kept her smile, but Zhao Ya"Er knew just by the sad look in her eyes. She regret bringing the topic up, so she decides to change the topic.
"Did you order yet?"
"Not yet. I was waiting for you."
Yue Ling replied with a thankful expression as she knew Zhao Ya"Er didn"t mean to talk about the tragic subject.
As the two women decided on what they wanted to have for lunch, a waiter took their order and asked them to wait.
Zhao Ya"Er took a sip from her gla.s.s of water and looks at Yue Ling with a serious expression.
"Can I tell you something?"
Hearing the question, Yue Ling arch a brow but nods her head. She didn"t know what Zhao Ya"Er wanted to tell her, but from the woman"s expression, it must be serious.
Zhao Ya"Er"s eyes lit up as she has never been able to tell someone something.
It was because the group of so-called friends around her are all gossipers and can never keep anything to themselves.
She didn"t know Yue Ling well, but she knows that Yue Ling is a person who will not go around and gossip to others. After all, Yue Ling is a person who kept to herself and didn"t care for attention from the media.
However, remembering a certain person, she leans forward and takes a deep breath.
"You can"t tell my cousin brother what I"m about to tell you."
The s.p.a.ce between Yue Ling"s brows slightly crease into three lines. Since she can"t tell Lu Tian, this must indeed be something serious.
"I promise not to tell him."
Her last word fell as she reach for her gla.s.s of water as Zhao Ya"Er leans more towards her.
"I"ve fallen in love with a man name Xu Long."
"*cough* cough*"
Yue Ling had just swallowed the water she drank when she started choking from it. She sets the gla.s.s down and pats her chest to calm herself.
"Oh my, Yue-yue are you okay?"
In a panic state, Zhao Ya"Er quickly asks as she stood up but was gesture to stop by Yue Ling.
Once Yue Ling finally calmed herself from coughing, she drinks the gla.s.s of water again.
"You said you"ve fallen in love with Xu Long? As in a.s.sistant Xu?"
Seeing that Yue Ling had returned to normal, Zhao Ya"Er smiles a smile that reach her eyes. She sounds a giggle like a little girl who had finally come clean about who her crush is.
"Mm, that Xu Long. My cousin"s a.s.sistant."
Yue Ling stares in amus.e.m.e.nt at the woman. She slowly place one elbow on the table and held her chin for support.
"How? When?"
She is surprise about this news as she thought Zhao Ya"Er had something important to tell her. However, she would never have expected the woman to confess who her crush is.
Oblivious to Yue Ling"s thoughts, Zhao Ya"Er blush shyly with crimson red cheeks. She lifts her hand and removes her beret hat to put it down.
"We met by chance the other night at the nightclub Spring, but I think he forgot who I was."
Yue Ling nods her head as she listens. However, quickly as her head nodded, her eyes dimmed dangerously when Zhao Ya"Er removed her hat.
Seeing the look in her eyes, Zhao Ya"Er was quick to realize the reason behind the sudden look.
She faintly smiles and lifts her hand to fix her hair. However, because of its shortness, it didn"t hide anything.
"Pitiful, aren"t I?"
She had been wearing a hat so it was noticeable, but now that she had taken it off, one can see a dark purple bruise on her hairline and forehead.
"It"s really nothing. I had an accident the other day."
Zhao Ya"Er smiles to let Yue Ling know that it wasn"t anything serious, but who was Yue Ling again? She is someone who can see through anyone.
And just like that, Zhao Ya"Er knew that she couldn"t lie to Yue Ling.
"I was in a bad relations.h.i.+p. I didn"t know this person would be so abusive and no matter how much I tried to escape from him, he always showed up."