Reen and Joreen had both agreed to always leave the room open since there could be an emergency requiring one to return to the room but if there were not with the key, it would be difficult looking for the other person around. Joreen was glad they had both had that conversation that morning because it would be embarrassing returning to that table to ask Reen for the room key. The room was not locked so she opened the door and entered inside.

She hadn't even gotten to her bed when the door opened and her mother barged in.

"Care to explain what that was all about just now?" Cixi asked.

Her voice was plain so Joreen could not tell whether her mother was angry or not.

"I.. don't know!" Her voice was high hitched and nervous and her heart was beating so fast she thought it would fall out. "It just came out. I don't why it came out. I don't even know when I said ever I said. I just noticed every eyes on me amd realised I said something." She began to ramble nervously, looking at her mother with pleading eyes so she would understand her predicament.

When her mother took a longer time to answer, she became even more worried.

"You... are not mad at me, are you?"

Cixi sighed before moving closer to Joreen. She took her head and led her to the bed until they were sitting beside each other.

"What do you expect me to do?" Cixi asked, clearly expecting an answer.

"I don't know. I don't even know what to do myself."

"Do not panic."

"I can't stop it! I said that in front of the whole family. They would suspect I like him and uncle Hoy is going to hate me for it. He doesn't want me to like him. I'm sure he'll freak out ones others starts to suspect." Her eyes began to turn misty. The embarrassment was already too much for her. This trip wasn't how she had anticipated.

"Did he say that?" Cixi asked in surprise. "I mean, did you confess to him?"

"I did." She bobbed her head up and down, glad her mother was being calm and not blaming her for anything.

"I was drunk last night. I remember telling him I liked him but he kept blowing it off and told me today that it was all a drunken ramble." Joreen said, pouting sadly. "I don't know whether I should be grateful he thinks that way or feel sad about it because he thinks I am not worthy of his love. Everything is just—"

"Hey!" Cixi began to rub her back gently. "It's okay. It's okay." She tried to calm Joreen down but it wasn't working. Her daughter looked uncomfortable and she was freaking out.

"How much do you like him? Do you want to date him?"

"I don't know! I don't know anything. I don't even know whether I truly like him enough to date or whether this is a stupid crush that will go away anytime soon. But he is like a chick magnet attracting every lady and it makes me feel like I am going to lose him if I do not try to keep him. But I still feel inferior to all the other ladies."

"Don't say that."

She suddenly heard her stepfather's voice. She didn't know when he came in, but he was standing in front of them now.

"You are not inferior to anyone so never say that."

"But he doesn't like me! He turned me down and wants me to keep calling me uncle."

"Then do just that." Jaime said with a shrug.

"What? Whose side are you on?!" She almost yelled at her father but he chuckled. "Calm down Jo." He said.

"There are different ways to get a man's attention." He started. "If he is still playing hard to get, snub him and put your attention into someone or something else. Treat him as nothing more than a 'uncle' and always act indifferently even when you see him with a woman. Since he already knows you like him, acting that way begins to make him wonder if you have stopped liking him. The realization wouldn't sit well with him because he is a man and men naturally have a big ego. He would want to know why you easily got over him, wonder if you are pretending and try to get closer in order to rekindle what you feel for him. Majority of guys are like that. Trust me Jo."

"Really? How do you know all of this?" She asked, her eyes looking up at him like he was a god sent to deliver her from this predicament.

He shrugged and smirked proudly. "I am a man after all."

"You feel so proud of yourself, don't you?" Cixi rolled her eyes at her husband.

"Will you help me?" Joreen asked her father hopefully. "But what if I start subbing him and one of these women take him away from me?"

"He refused to be with any woman for years and you think he will suddenly fall for one during this short trip?" Cixi chipped in.

"That's right!" Joreen stood up with a big smile on her face. The smile slowly faded when she thought about something.

"But... all of these doesn't mean he would end up liking me too right? What if he really doesn't like me that way?"

"I won't lie to you Jo, it is a tricky situation." Her mother said. "This is the reason I didn't ever want you to realise how you felt for him. Aside from the fact that most people in the family wouldn't find this okay, he might break your heart. But if after this, he still doesn't show any interest in you, we will always be available to help you get over your broken heart quickly."

"YOU ARE NOT HELPING!" Joreen said unhappily.

"Ignore your mother Jo. Only a gay wouldn't fall for that. And trust me Jo, I don't think he is one." Jaime said confidently.

*******

Heya had been so busy with her life that she didn't know what was going on with everyone else

If not for the little family gathering earlier, she wouldn't have known about Joreen and Hoy.

"I suspected something was happening between them when we bumped into them hugging in front of your room." Heya's mother had said when she followed her parents to their room after the meeting.

Remembering it and Joreen's reaction earlier, Heya chuckled as she left the elevator and began to head towards her room.

But the voices of two women caught her attention and she looked up. The two women was walking and suddenly stopped in front of the door opposite Heya's room.

"It's okay. You cannot keep crying like this."

Heya heard the older lady telling the younger one. Surprisingly, the younger one was Suyin so she guessed the older woman was her mother.

"I don't know why he is always so harsh to me. I only wanted to feed him medicine so he would feel better."

"Not his fault. He told you he doesn't like medicine."

"Why do you always take his side?!" Suyin raised her voice but quickly kept it down when she took note of Heya watching.

Realizing she had been caught eavesdropping, she began to approach.

The two women comported themselves. Suyin turned around and began to clean off her tears.

When Heya got closer, she bowed to greet Suyin's mother. Heya didn't know whether the woman was usually that hostile, or maybe because her daughter wasn't in a good mood which was why she blew off her greeting.

"Are you okay?" Heya asked Suyin.

"I am. I am." Suyin forced a smile to Heya even though it was clear she wasn't in a good mood.

Not wanting to make the atmosphere anymore awkward, Heya bowed again before leaving both women. When she entered inside her room, she pressed her ear to the door, hoping to hear the women continue their conversation but it seemed like they both entered inside Suyin's room.

From their conversation, she was able to deduce that someone was sick and the person didn't like medicine, and Suyin had cried about how he was always harsh to her. She guessed the person they were talking about was none other than Zhu Liang. He hated taking meds or injections whenever he was sick. He preferred sweating it out or simply sleeping for hours. And he always craved for orange juice whenever he was sick.

"No! Li Heya. Do not think about it." She said while slapping both sides of her cheeks with both hands to bring herself back to her senses.

"No. Don't do it. Just remain in your room and mind your business." She said to herself over and over again.

She guessed maybe if she got busy with her guitar, her mind would leave other unnecessary things. So she picked up her guitar. After strumming for a minute, she found herself already taking the elevator to the last floor with a bottle of orange juice inside the bag she was holding.

Her heart was beating very fast because she knew quite well how dangerous this was but for some reason, she couldn't turn back now.

She remembered Suyin had mentioned he stayed in the VIP room 100. Entering the floor, she took in a really deep breath as she approached the door.

She was just going to to leave it for him and return to her room.