Any plan to fly out for their honeymoon was put to a halt. The rest of the day, Sara cried while Muchen was there to console her.

It didn't take long for news to go around.

Everyone knew that Sara had gone to visit her 'friend' and also knew that Weiyoung died.

Some reporters brazenly made different speculations about Sara's visit being the cause of Weiyoung's death.

When Muchen saw the news, his eyes darkened.

By the time he asked called Ms Long to handle the issue, Changyu's people had already done so. And it wasn't good for the reporters at all.

As he watched her sob in his arms, he couldn't help but think that she was too soft. Despite everything Weiyoung did to her, Sara still cried this much for her?

It was good that he had a kindhearted wife. Because for him, he would be the one to kill whoever vexed him or his family.

"It's okay. You might fall sick at this rate" He said in a gentle voice. But no matter how much she tried to control her emotions, she could not stop crying.

Weiyoung had been the only 'friend' close to her for over ten years. How else was she supposed to react?

*****

Everyone stopped what they were doing immediately they saw a lady walk inside the decent looking beanery to join their group.

They all looked at her from her head down to her toes.

Her long black hair was side-parted with one side tucked behind her ear, on that exposed earlobe, a little diamond earring perched there.

She wore a light nude make-up but her lipstick was a dark shade of red.

Dressed in a long black windbreaker trench coat with an orange shirt under and a black denim jean trousers.

On her feet were a pair of black thigh high boots.

Her sling back danced around with each movement she made.

"Li....Heya?" One girl asked in shock when she approached their table.

"Sorry I'm late." Heya apologized with a smile and looked around for any free chair to sit on.

She noticed that they probably had rented the entire place for this reunion because she did not see other customers around.

She was able to recognise most of the people present there, but she couldn't recognise some. They were probably her seniors since most of them were invited for this event also.

Too bad Cearo had to miss it because if his family's issue. But it was a good thing he wasn't there because she did not want to see him.

The rectangular table was really long like the type people used during feasts to accommodate a whole lot of people. On both sides were a line of nice wooden chairs. And on top of the table, she could see drinks of different kinds. Mostly alcohol.

There were up to twenty people present there. And it looked like the girls were more than the guys. All dressed flamboyantly, probably to show off to the others.

"Over here!" A girl taooed the free seat beside her and Heya joined her.

"Wow. You were the last person I expected to see. This is quite surprising" The first girl spoke again.

Heya would never forget her name. The girl was called Hua Tianmei. She was one of the reasons Heya hated going to school.

Heya only sent a smile to her direction and said nothing. She was not in the mood to argue with her—well, for now.

"You look really nice and pretty. Never imagined you were this pretty." A guy from the opposite side of the table said to her with a smile.

"And you lost a lot of weight. Wow!" Another added.

Other people chipped in to say one or two things and from there the conversation led to curious questions about her brother's wedding.

They wanted to know more about Sara and how she met Muchen. They also wanted to know how Sara turned out to become Changyu's daughter overnight.

It was obvious that everyone liked a Cinderella story.

From there, they moved to the topic about her weight loss. How she did it and the how many pounds she was able to lose in a month.

Heya said one or two things to keep the conversation going but she said nothing in regards to Sara and Muchen. If they wanted to know so badly, they should go ask them themselves.

"I saw that video of you singing in the streets before it was taken down. That was.... sweet"

A young man blew a kiss at her and the others laughed.

The guys seemed to give her more attention that the ladies. All she could see from the ladies were glares and hisses.

Even the lady who had showed her were to seat didn't seem too pleased with the attention Heya was getting.

"This shouldn't be about me alone right?" Heya looked at all of them.

"You've all been asking questions since I came here." She added to emphasize her point.

"You should be happy that we are giving you the attention you came here for." Hua Tianmei sneered.

"Sorry?" Heya cocked her head as she asked Tianmei.

"What? Am I wrong? Didn't you come here seeking for attention?"

Heya looked her up and down again. Everything about her screamed extravagance.

Despite the cold weather, she wore a body fitted mini gown and long coat, knee length boot, fallen curly hair, loud make-up and a lot of jewelries.

She was pretty no doubt. But she was full of trouble.

"Oh.." Heya ignored her and began to chat with the boy opposite her.

"Are you ignoring me?" Tianmei asked with a red face.

"Stop it. Don't you know the family she's from?" A girl beside her advised.

"And so? Does that give her the right to ignore me when I talk to her?"

"And who are you to not be ignored?" Heya asked pointedly.

"You're so loud. Keep it down or go outside? What's wrong with you?" Heya asked her in an annoyed voice.

"Weren't you taught basic manners? Should I throw you out of this place before you realise just how much we hate it when you open that thing you call a mouth to talk?"

Hua Tianmei's mouth dropped— Including everyone else.

No one had ever spoken to her that way before. Even though Heya was from the Li family, she had been able to bully her quite well when they were still in school.

"Thr....row me out? Who dares throw me out? I organised this. I fucking did! I paid for every damn thing here!"

"How much did you use that's making you feel so special?"

Heya took out her credit card and slapped it down on the table.

"You can go withdraw the money and get out of here then"

Everyone was shocked. No one dared to say a thing.

They could not believe that this was the same Heya they knew back in school who was so tumid and shy. She hardly spoke or said anything even when people bullied her.

Did her confidence come with her weight loss?

"How...how dare you talk to me like that?" Tianmei pointed an accusing finger at Heya but Heya smirked in return.

"Do not provoke me little girl. I can be scary when pissed" Heya said to her with dark eyes.

She was even scared of her behavior right now. Never would she have believed that she had such an intimidating side.

"Hua Tianmei?" They all suddenly heard a voice call her from the door.

"Brother Liang!" Tianmei quickly ran to his side to hold his hand intimately.

"She bullied me. Everyone saw it." Tianmei pointed at Heya.

Heya froze when she saw Zhu Liang.

When Liang looked at the lady Tianmei was pointing at, he also froze but quickly recovered himself.

It was the first time she was seeing him dress casually since the other two times, he had been in a suit.

Now, he wore a highneck sweater with beige pants and a coat.

His hair was slicked backwards and he still had that earring resting on his earlobe.

She looked at the intimate way Tianmei held his hand and knew he was a different kind of 'brother' to her.

She wasn't wrong about him. He even had a girlfriend and was troubling her. 'What a osychi' She thought. But still felt sad for an unknown reason.

"Here's your phone. Be careful to take it with you next time" Liang gave Tianmei a phone with a pink pouch.

When Heya thought he would quietly leave without talking to her, he looked towards her direction and said a simole

"Hello"

"Why are you greeting her? I said she bullied me" Tianmei tugged on his sleeve and pouted but he didn't seem to be paying attention to her.

Pretending not to see or hear him, Heya threw her head to look at the other side.

"Li Heya doesn't seem like the one to make trouble unnecessarily. You must have angered her." He scolded.

Heya turned to look at him when she heard that.

"Am I right?" It was as if he was asking her instead of the girl beside him.

"It was nice meeting you all. Do have a lovely day all of you"

Heya stood up, took back her credit card, left a lot of cash notes on the table, and walked past the both of them and out of the beanery.

Once she got outside, she sighed in relief.

Quarreling with Tianmei brought her joy. She had always imagine standing up to her ever since they were in school. And doing that now, made her feel like she was free.

Back then, she could not tell her parents about what she went through in school because it was embarrassing. And she was tired of moving from school to school.

Remembering how Tianmei held Liang and called him 'brother Liang', she suddenly felt that pang of sadness again but still did not no why.

She sighed and was about taking out her phone to call her driver when she heard the familiar voice behind her.

"You look stunning."

It was Zhu Liang. Probably to flirt with her again. She concluded.

She ignored him and still went on to take her phone but before she could dial the number, he appeared in front of her.

"Tianmei's family and my family go way back. I know you must be thinking we're dating or something, but we are not. She's not my type. You're my type." He explained.

His piercing eyes seemed to stop her from using her phone and all she could do was stare back.

If she was watching a movie right now, she would have said something like "Damn, that was smooth!"

But being faced with this kind of scene, she realised she could not say a word. But she managed to stammer..

"How...how does that concern me? I don't care."

"Okay" He nodded. "I'll drop you off."

"I don't want you to"

"Why?"

Heya could not tell him she was uncomfortable and had never driven in the same car with a man who was neither her brother nor cousin.

"My driver would be here soon."

"It's cold out. Just stop being stubborn...please"

Truthfully, the weather was freezing. She was a bit skeptical but finally relented and followed him.

With a triumphant smile, he led her to where his Ford was parked and opened the door for her.

The both of them were quiet during the drive. She had told him to take her home even though she didn't want to go home.

Her parents were not expecting her until later that evening and so she wanted to hang out a bit. But wasn't he going to follow her if she asked him to drop her off by the side of the road?

The car suddenly braked and parked by the side of the road.

"What is wrong?" She asked in confusion.

"Mind going somewhere with me first?"

"What? Somewhere? Where?" She asked nervously.

"You'll see" He sent her his signature charming smile before taking another route.

After a couple of minutes, they both arrived at a pretty garden area that looked like a special place for lovers.

"My mum brought me here one time. Isn't it pretty?"

"It is." She nodded with bright eyes. She thought the place was peaceful enough to give her inspiration to write a song or just generally become creative.

The place was quite secluded so they weren't much couple there; Just about three or four other pairs.

"I do come here once in a while to think. You should try it sometimes. Look there" He pointed at a bench.

"I was sitting right there when I first saw the video of you singing with the boy from the Jin family. You were so pretty and your voice was the nicest I've ever heard in my life. And to be frank with you, I got a bit jealous of that guy singing beside you. I wanted it to be me."

He stopped walking and turned to look at her.

"Can't you see that I like you? I really don't play around like you think." He looked at her confused face with pleading eyes.

"Am....am I ...supposed to.. say something" Heya asked in confusion because at that moment, she could not think of anything to say.

"You like me Li Heya. The feeling is mutual. Trust me."

He used his hands to cup her cheeks and raised her head a little so she would not avoid his eyes.

Heya's heart began to beat very fast. This was crazy.

Did she make a mistake by following him here? She wondered.

But if she wanted to be frank with herself, she did like him. He was cool, straightforward, and had a likeable personality.

When he noticed she was not trying to deny the fact that she liked him, he smiled.

"I...want to kiss you." He said in a low voice.

"I'm... not sure I like you enough to let you kiss me" She answered nervously.

He chuckled before pulling her into his embrace.

"You shouldn't have a problem with this right? I've always wanted to hug you"

.