Hello, Mr Li: The Christmas Trip

Reen didn't know what exactly to tell her parents since she also didn't know much about it. So she was conflicted as she thought about the best way to handle this.??

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Cixi asked. They weren't exactly putting much pressure on her, but they wanted her to share her burden with them and she perfectly understood that. Her parents were always supportive and she didn't want to blow off their concern just like that.

"I'm sorry. It's just... Kyle has a thing for Joreen." She started and prayed they would believe this. It wasn't??the main reason but it wasn't exactly a lie.??

"It pissed me off yesterday to see how hard he was trying to convince her more than he was trying to convince me that nothing happened between him and the girl he thought Zichu accused him of. I was also pissed because of how he hurt Zichu and when I went to meet him last night, he didn't seem that eager to talk to me anymore."

"Oh baby!"??Cixi stood up and pulled her into a warm motherly hug.??

"I am so sorry about that. You should have talked to us." Jaime said from the side.

Reen felt like crying because of everything that had happened so far and how much support she was receiving from her parents. But she was a little surprised to see they were not surprised she had said Kyle liked Joreen. They were both smart after all.

"Do you still like Kyle?" Her mother pushed away from the hug to look at her.??

"What? Hell no! I don't." Reen shook her head immediately.??

She saw her parents sigh in relief. Since Reen didn't like Kyle, that was one out. It would have been crazy if she still liked him while he liked Joreen. How would they handle that???

"What about Zichu? Is he the guy you like?"??

Reen thought about this one for a moment. "I... guess I like him. But as a friend. I just think he is cool." She answered honestly.??

She wasn't sure she loved him. Neither was she in love with him. She had never been one to believe in love at first sight, neither was she the type to quickly like someone after talking for only a couple of times. That was why whatever Zichu was up to, was hurting her. Because she had taken him as a friend.

"It's complicated." She added.??

"It's okay. We understand. Things like this are bound to happen in most teen's life. You are just 19 and a very beautiful 19 years old woman who is very talented. You have a long time to find a good man who is going to love you."??

Reen frowned. "It took you over 40 years to find dad. Are you saying it's possible for me to wait that long?" She asked Cixi.??

Cixi's face flushed but she laughed. "No. If you are lucky, you can meet them even this year. Take Joreen for example. She found hers at an early age, Sara was 25 when she found hers. So you see?"??

"I don't care. I don't even want to think about boys anymore. They are assholes." She huffed.??

The couple exchanged a look and Jaime shrugged.

"We left you a piece of cake. You should go have it before the kids find it in the refrigerator."

As Reen began to hurry out, her father called after her, "Do not drink wine!"

"And do not touch the other cakes there! Just the small piece of cake!" Cixi quickly added. They knew Reen had a sweet tooth and would be tempted to have a taste of the other cakes.??

Reen ignored them and hurried inside the kitchen excitedly. When she opened the kitchen's door abruptly, she heard something like a spoon fall to the tiled floor.??

She looked down and noticed it was a fork which had cake crumbs all over it. Her head snapped up to find Mr Ping who was staring at her like a deer caught in the headlight with cake crumbs around his mouth. The refrigerator door was open.

When she began to move closer, he quickly picked up the fork from the floor and hid it behind him.??

Reen didn't have a good feeling about this. When she got closer, he closed the refrigerator and stood in front of her, forcing out a smile with one hand still behind him, "Good... morning Miss Luo."??

"You are a cake thief?" She asked, trying to reach for the refrigerator but he kept blocking her way.

"Cake thief? Who? Me?" He asked in disbelief and scoffed. "Of course not! I came here to get a bottle of water and saw this fork inside the refrigerator so I was taking it out."??

"And you looked so shocked? You looked like a thief!"??

"How... how.. can you accuse me of doing something like that? I don't even like cakes!" He said, feigning sadness.??

He pretended to cry and used two fingers to press down his eyelids, "I feel so offended."??

Reen looked at him in disbelief. What kind of a drama king is was this?

He was really denying it right now when the evidence was all over his mouth???

She just had to be sure it wasn't her cake and she wouldn't mind.

Even though it didn't show, she was quite strong so it didn't take much to push him out of her way, startling him when he almost fell down. She opened the refrigerator and allowed her eyes roam around to look for her cake.??

She saw two uncut big cakes and only one small piece inside the refrigerator which she believed was hers.??

She looked at him with a death glare and yelled, "You stole my cake!"

"I said I didn't! I feel really offended right now." He began to look angry too.

Reen scoffed. If it wasn't??her cake that he stole, she probably would have found this funny.

She took the cake out and inspected it. First of all, it was unwrapped. There was no way the would have left it open like that for her.

His overconfidence was even making her angrier, "Look at the way you trimmed all the edges. What are you? A contractor?" She raised her voice angrily.??

"I won't have you insult my reputation just because of a piece of cake I know nothing about! In fact, you know what? I am out of here." He slapped the fork on the kitchen counter and stormed out dramatically, almost tripping on his way out.

Reen would have showed him the evidence right on his face, but she knew it was going to be more embarrassing for him to find out on his own later and remember how confident he had been. She wanted to see how he was going to face her after he realised it.??

***

Mr Ping placed a hand on his chest immediately he left the kitchen and sighed in relief.

"That was close!"??

He praised himself for being a very good actor. If he wasn't, Reen would have caught him.??

He was just about to enter inside his room when he noticed someone approaching. When he realised it was Changyu, he straightened up and tried to look composed.??

He didn't know when she arrived here since she had gone to the resort last night with her husband. That hadn't pleased him at all.??

The pretty woman smiled when she saw him.??

"Good morning Madam Wang." He greeted with a smile.??

"Don't be too formal. You can call me aunt or auntie."??

He would have preferred to call her by her name but that was also okay. Calling her Madam Wang always reminded him that she was married.??

"How is it going? Have you found the person who took those pictures of Jo and Hoy?" She asked.??

"People are being tight lipped. And it's not helping that we are far away." He said truthfully.??

"I see. I'll see what I can do about it. Just enjoy your holiday like the rest and leave it all to me. Hmm?" She smiled warmly at him and he returned it eagerly while thanking her.??

She walked past him but turned around to give him one quick look that made Mr Ping wonder if she was checking him out,

"Your face... looks nice." She grinned and walked away.??

He was stunned. She had really been checking him out! His face looks nice? All his skincare products and cosmetics finally paid off!

He excitedly hopped inside his room. He wanted to check out his gorgeous face and always try to keep this look whenever he was leaving his room.??

He had a big grin on his face as he looked at the mirror. His smile slowly began to fade and he wondered why he was seeing something else.??

His brows furrowed, eyes widened, and he could literally feel his hands shaking as he reached for his face and slowly touched it.??

He looked at his hand, almost praying for it to disappear but it didn't.??

Cake? When his mind registered it, he mentally screamed, CAKE??!

How come he hadn't felt it there???

How did it get to those places???

He was like this in front of Changyu?

HELL! He was like this in front of Reen!!!?