Hello, Mr Li: The Christmas Trip

One would have thought that with all the scolding earlier, Hoy had learnt his lesson but no, he didn't learn. 

Watching how Joreen was trying so hard to get the ball from the others but she could not get a hold of it, he had snatched it from his older brother's hand and threw it to her again! 

The women began to take advantage of it so whenever a man was with the ball, his partner was usually the one who tried to snatch it and it always worked because they would have no choice but to hand it over especially when the woman gave them a death glare or threaten they would sleep alone that night. 

The only one who stubbornly refused to fall for it was Jaime. In fact, he took the opportunity to mess with his wife before throwing it at another man. When the ball got to Mr Ping, he didnt think twice before carefully handing it over to Changyu. 

At the end, the women won the men! 

"Goodness! I feel sore all over." Cixi complained as she sat down on the wide mat carefully placed on the ground. The others felt the same way, especially the elders. 

The young men usually went to the gym so things like this wasn't considered strenuous to them. As a professional fitness coach, it was also not a big deal for Sara, neither was it for Reen. But Eva, Heya and Joreen felt the impact in their bones alongside the much older people as they all sat down to enjoy the snacks laid out for them. 

Muchen's mother had wanted to suggest they play a game together, but she wasn't sure anymore because she was exhausted and she was sure the others felt the same way. 

"You'll be fine." Reen assured Joreen when she sighed for the umpteenth time. She could tell it was because her body ached all over. "Get yourself properly soaked in a warm bath and I'll help massage you all over." 

"What about the water heater?" Joreen asked. 

"What about it?" Reen asked, looking lost. 

"I told you it broke!" 

"Oh! Shit! I totally forgot about that." Reen slapped a hand on her forehead. 

"Yea, because you weren't the one who had the freezing cold water splashed all over you." Joreen visibly shivered as she remembered this morning.

"We can use the one in dad's room when we return and see if ours can be fixed later tonight or early tomorrow morning." 

Joreen nodded and placed her head on her older sister's shoulder. 

"Feeling sleepy already?" Reen asked out of concern. If there was anyone who treated her like a baby more than Hoy, it was Reen. 

"Just a little. But I'm looking forward to having a really hot bath first."

"Then we probably should return to the house." Reen said before she stood up and helped Joreen up. 

"Where are you two heading to?" Cixi asked. 

"Jo feels sleepy and we really need to shower."

"Good point! I should probably head back with you girls." Hoy's mother said and stood up. 

The others decided to remain there. Instead of helping the men clean up, they made it even more difficult for them and played around. 

Hoy simply watched Joreen leave. He could tell she was tired but there was no way he could leave there now. 

When the girls walked a bit farther from the group, Reen suggested to Joreen in a whisper.

"Maybe I should return? You should take this opportunity to bond with her."

"No! Don't go any—"

"Have fun." Reen said to Joreen before giving a vague excuse to the second madam Li and then she disappeared. 

It was very awkward between them after Reen left. And Joreen wanted to give an excuse to escape, but she could not allow the woman leave on her own. 

"Jo dear?" The woman called softly, causing Joreen's heart to skip. 

Joreen turned her head to the side to look at her. The woman was finding it difficult to walk properly even though she hadn't been a very active participant in the game just now. 

"I owe you an apology for what I said the other day. Maybe you heard it, maybe you didn't, but I apologize." 

"You.. don't have...." 

"As a mother, I was worried about my son just like your mother was worried about you. So I hope you understand where I am coming from."

"I.... understand." Joreen said, feeling flustered.

"Thank you my dear. If you need anything, do not hesitate to let me know. I will do it to make up for my reaction that day." 

"Not at all. You did what you had to do. I don't blame you for it." Joreen said calmly. The woman smiled before gesturing for her to come over so they could both lean on each other for support. Joreen very much appreciated it because she was tired. 

After a while, the older woman spoke again. "Have you noticed anything different about your uncle Hoy lately?" 

"Different? Uhm... I am not sure." 

"I think he likes someone." She said before giggling.

Joreen froze but quickly recovered because giving herself away.

"And I am suspecting it is either that Aishu girl or Long Xi. They both have been acting really nice to me lately. I cannot tell the one he likes." 

"Long Xi...?" Joreen asked. The name sounded familiar, yet it wasn't. 

Hoy's mother reminded her about the lady who had approaxhed Hoy during their family gathering at the ship a few days ago. 

"Since you are close to him, you can easily find out who he is dating or probably likes and let me know right? I need to know the woman who is my potential daughter in-law and invite her to dinner. I cannot just invite both." 

Joreen was very confused because she didn't know what she was supposed to say to this woman. She also didn't want to believe Hoy liked either of the two. If he liked any woman, it should be her!

"How did you know he has someone he likes?" She asked carefully, trying not to let her curiosity become so obvious, lest the woman suspect her. 

"I am his mother. I know him so well to notice the little changes in him. How he smiles often to himself and easily agrees to join the family have fun together. Only love can change a person that much. I should thank the lady who softened his hard heart." She said before sighing sadly. "I wish I could talk to him directly and ask him all of these questions. But he just keeps getting mad at me for everything." 

Noting how sad she looked, Joreen assured her, "Uncle Hoy loves you a lot." 

That seemed to make the older woman smile. But Joreen had a lot going in her head and mind. But firstly, she needed a hot bath before she could think about anything else. 

"Goodness! I cannot believe we are only just getting here after the long walk. It feels like I have been walking on a treadmill." The older woman complained when they took a turn and could see the front of the resort. If they continued walking at this pace, they were probably going to arrive at the house in thirty minutes. Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck her and she smiled broadly. 

"Why didn't I think about this?" 

Joreen wondered why the woman looked very excited. 

"We could rest in our rooms here!" 

Joreen also hadn't thought about it at first until now. But before she could get excited, she remembered her parents' instruction. 

"Mum and Dad asked them not to let Reen and I inside our rooms no matter what."

"Why?" The woman asked curiously. 

"She thinks we'll run away from the house to live here in isolation." She didn't add the part about the creepy person who had sent her a box of chocolate and a note for Christmas. Her parents wanted them to stay together with the family until they found the person. 

"Well, that's too bad." She said while thinking seriously. 

"I don't know how long I'll be staying in the bath tub, I need my muscles to relax. Maybe you can be resting inside the room until I am done and then you use the tub?" 

"Sounds like a plan." Joreen nodded in agreement. She really needed to rest somewhere. 

When they got to the counter, Hoy's mother asked for her key. After it was handed over to her and they were about to leave, the woman stopped abruptly and turned around before walking back to the counter. 

"I would also like to get the room key for my son Li Hoy." 

Joreen wondered what she needed Hoy's room key for since he hadn't mentioned he was going to come here tonight. 

She introduced herself to the receptionist as Li Hoy's mother, explaining how she wanted to leave a surprise for her son. Apparently, she didn't need to convince them too much because they knew who she was and gave her the key. It wasn't unusual to them and besides, they didn't want to annoy the woman by saying no. 

When she got the key, she smiled at Joreen and handed it over to her. 

Joreen looked at it in confusion before accepting it relunctantly. 

"What... is this for?" 

"You can use his room." 

When Joreen's eyes widened, she laughed and said, "I'm sure he won't mind. We are going to waste a lot of time waiting for each other to finish before heading back to the house. So you can use his room. We can meet up here in the next thirty minutes." 

When Joreen still looked a bit skeptical about it, she added. 

"Besides, what are the chances that he is going to return here tonight?"