Daoming Si impatiently looked at his watch. Its only been 10mins, but he felt like he was waiting for an hour. His friends should be here by now, as he crossly sat in the secluded VIP area of the restaurant. He looked out the window and watched the busy streets outside. It has been so long since he came back to Shanghai. Last time he was here was to look for someone who didnt want to be found. He frowned as he felt the familiar ache in his heart every time he thought of her.

Its been a over a year since they parted ways in London. He regretted everything. He regretted letting go of her hand on that bridge. He regretted not trying hard enough to look for her. It was the best day they had together, also the hardest. He remembered as they parted their own ways, he regretted it. He tried to find her again that same day but couldnt. He asked Lei, and he didnt know either. They tried looking for her at hotels and lodges and even those cheap rentals he knows that she was likely to book, there was no trace of her. She completely disappeared.

And the last time he saw her was looking at her tear streaked face, he thought.

"Daoming Si! Bro!" a loud voice interrupted his memories.

He opened his eyes and watched his friends Ximen and Meizuo loudly enter the restaurant, causing a few heads to turn their way. The two didn't even bat an eyelid. They're used to the attention and living every moment of it.

Daoming Si groaned. He knows his friends were always a handful. Heck, he is a handful himself. But he didnt want anyone to see him, while he was trying to lay low and be off the radar of his mother.

The two friends sat themselves across the table and looked at him like he was growing another head.

"You! You look like a zombie" Ximen said matter-of-factly.

"No, he looks like a homeless bum." Meizou added in as he studied Ah Si's face.

The usual tall and arrogant demeanor of the fashionable young heir they knew their entire life is a big contrast to the person sitting in front of them. Long almost shoulder length hair, unshaven beard covering his handsome features, gaunt eyes, and mismatched clothes. Bright yellow tie against dark red almost burgundy dress shirt under a navy blue parka. Wreck, Meizuo thought. A total heartbroken wreck.

"Shut up. I was busy." Daoming Si defended himself, as he crossed his arms and leaned back.

"If you're busy trying to save the Daoming Group looking like that, I doubt if any investors would strike any deal with you. You look ugly as f.." Ximen looked away and picked up the menu, as if the food is way more interesting.

Meizuo laughed at Ah Si's petulant face. There, that's the Daoming Si I know.

"I'm finally back in Shanghai and this is how you welcome me?"

"Hmm..we didnt know you wanted a party..."

"Nevermind. You two are no help. Where's Lei?"

"He's in Sanya, said he has a few things to take care of for his exhibit there."

"Huh. He didnt tell me that when I talked to him last night before I arrived"

"Well.. it is Lei were talking about.. so..."

The waitress arrived to take their orders. She glanced at Daoming Si, and looked at him distastefully before looking at the other two handsome men. He really does look like a lost child, Ximen thought as he glanced at the waitress' reaction to Ah Si.

I wonder if these two hotties are doing charity work, the waitress thought as she side-eyed the scruffy guy with yellow tie.

They waited until the waitress finished taking their orders and leave before continuing their conversation.

Ximen crossed his arms on the table and looked at Ah Si straight in the eye. "Explain to me why you look like a homeless bum."

Ah Si just sighed and ran his fingers through his messy hair. "I said I was busy."

"Cut the crap, Ah Si. It's us you're talking to." Meizuo interrupted.

"I'm just tired. I've been too busy."

"I heard from Zhuang-jie that you havent been to the company for almost a year now. So I doubt you are busy with work. She said you've been travelling. Where?" Ximen, as usual, being the no nonsense person he is, went straight to the point.

Daoming Si knew he couldnt keep anything from his friends. They knew him more than he knows himself. Even after being away from China for so long and not contacting them, he knows they keep tabs on him. Heck, even Lei who he is closest to didnt even try to contact him directly.

"I've been around Europe trying to look for Sanchai."

Meizou and Ximen glanced at each other. They are not sure how much they should tell Ah Si yet at this point.

"I tried so hard. I looked everywhere! Lei tried to help but had to give up when he needed to come back here. There was no trace of her in London or in Shanghai. I cant believe that idiot would just disappear like that!" Ah Si rubbed his face, as he started to feel all the tension and uncertainty become familiar again.

Ximen continued to study his friend without saying anything. It was Meizou who took the reign in the conversation.

"Ah Si, you're my friend but I saw Sanchai before she left for London to find you. She tried to keep herself from breaking apart from all the pressure she's getting from Aunt Feng. She has always been stubborn and strong." Meizou carefully said, while trying to gauze Ah Si's reaction then continued "I dont know what happened in London, but I do know that she was supposed to be coming back in Shanghai with Lei."

Ah Si knows he messed up. And he messed up bad. But he also knows that he can find Sanchai if he tried. He is Daoming Si afterall! But after over a year of searching for her, there was no trace whatsoever. Not even her friends know, and they had transferred schools already last he checked. He tried to look for her parents, there was no trace of their residency. It's like she never existed. His world just stopped. It's like his life was left at that bridge and it kept repeating itself.