Hello, Mr Li: The Christmas Trip

APOLOGIES DEAR READERS! I HAVE A BEEY TIGHT SCHEDULE SO IT'S MAKING IT DIFFICULT FOR ME TO WRITE. THIS CHAPTER MAY HAVE A LOT OF TYPOS AND ERRORS, BUT I PROMISE TO CORRECT IT LATER. BEAR WITH ME, PLEASE

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Reen was walking around aimlessly when she felt someone bump into her. He just didn't bump into her, but he began to walk ahead after giving a vague apology. 

Reen turned around to look at Mr Ping who was walking away in confusion. What could be up to make him behave like that? 

Since she didn't have anything to do in the first place, she ran after him. 

He didn't stop walking until they got to Changyu's room. Reen wondered why he was going there while looking like that. 

"Is something up?" She asked herself as she saw him knock once before he opened the door.

After he closed the door, she went to the door and contemplated entering inside or not. 

"You are here! I got him." Reen heard Changyu's voice. 

"Why aren't you saying anything? I asked you a question!" 

"Mum?" Reen asked herself when she heard Cixi yelling at someone. 

"Calm down. He is going to talk anyway." 

She also heard her father's voice. Her curiosity got the best of her and she opened the door. 

All eyes went to the door when she entered. She bowed and noticed a man kneeling in the centre of the room. He looked like he was going to pee on his pants any moment. It wasn't only Changyu, Jianjun, her parents and Mr Ping that were inside. Hoy's parents alongside Muchen's parents were also inside. 

Their attention moved away from her to the man kneeling with his head down. He was shivering. 

Reen noticed he was wearing the room service' uniform. 

She really wanted to know what was happening but she didn't know who to tell since everyone including her parents looked angry. 

"You don't want to talk? We are being nice but you don't want to talk? Who asked you to take those photos of my son and Joreen?"

Reen's eyes shone. So this was it? They caught him? 

She moved forward to get a look of his face. 

"I swesr, I know nothing! I am just an employee here." He said in a shaky voice. 

"Ning... Xiehan?" Reen asked in surprise as she went forward. 

"You know him?" Her parents asked at the same time. 

Xiehan raised his head to look at her. He really looked scared. His face was white and his lips were quivering. 

"I know him." She answered her parents. 

"If he doesn't want to say anything, we just have to throw him out of this ship." Changyu said before turning to look down at Xiehan, "I really hope you are a good swimmer." 

Reen was still trying to process what was happening. He had been the one to take the photos of Joreen and Hoy? Why? 

Was this the secret he had with Zichu? Now, it was all beginning to make sense. 

"I swear, I know nothing!" Xiehan swore, almost at the verge of tears. 

The door was pushed open and this time, it wasn't any member of the family. It was Zichu. He also looked pale and he was panting like he had ran here. 

"And who is this?" Muchen's mother asked before she furrowed her brows, "Isn't he Reen's friend?" 

They all looked at him curiously as he entered inside the room. 

"What... are you doing here? Get out!" Xiehan yelled at his younger brother. 

Zichu ignored him and continued to walk inside. When his gaze moved to Reen, he gave her an apologetic look before he focused on his brother and went to kneel beside him. 

"What do you think you are doing? Get lost!" Xiehan yelled, his face now showing some hints of warmth from the anger he was feeling. 

"And what is this?" Hoy's mother asked with a frown. 

Reen's parents were looking at her, confused as to the reason Zichu was here kneeling beside Xiehan. 

"I'm... sorry." Zichu said with his head down. His voice sounded broken which gave them and hint that he was crying. 

"Stop this now!" His brother barked at him. 

"We are... sincerely sorry." Zichu kowtowed, making sure his head hit the hard floor. 

"I said stop it!" Xiehan grabbed the back of Zichu's shirt's collar to stop him. 

"They are brothers." Reen said from the side when the others continued to watch in confusion.

"Brothers?" Her parents asked in surprise. 

"You are his brother? So you are in on whatever he was doing?" Hoy's mother asked, looking even angrier. 

"He had no idea! It was all me." Xiehan said before Zichu could say anything. 

"I wanted some cash so I sold those pictures to the press. I am sorry." It was Xiehan's turn to kowtow. 

"Do you think anyone here is stupid?" Changyu asked. "Someone must have put you up with it and it's the name we want!" 

"It was—"

"Zich—"

Zichu didn't let his brother stop him from speaking, "It was a lady." 

Xiehan closed his eyes in resignation as Zichu continued. 

"She is also here. I do not know her name. She asked him to take some pictures for her. I also do not know why or what for, but he did and sent them to her. I am deeply sorry. Please forgive us." 

Reen looked at them in disbelief. She couldn't utter a word. 

"Is this why you approached my daughter?" Jaime asked in a dark voice. 

"No!" Zichu cried. "I swear I had no ulterior motive!" He raised his teary eyes to look at Jaime, hoping he would believe him but the man's face was filled with disappointment. This was something he couldn't undo.

"We accepted you as our daughter's friend and saw you as a family. This is how you pay us?" Cixi asked, her voice was filled with disappointment which broke Zichu's heart. He hadn't wanted to go on with this. But his stubborn brother wouldn't listen because according to him, he was smitten by the certain lady. They had done a lot of immoral things to earn money and this was even one of the cleanest since he just had to take a picture and send it in order to receive good money in return. Which was why he hadn't thought it was a big deal in the first place. But he slowly began to feel guilty especially after seeing how Reen and her family treated him like a person. His brother refused to stop and gladly took up the job again when he was asked to get more scandalous pictures of the Hoy and Joreen. A part of him was glad he had been caught so this whole thing would end. But a bigger part of him wished the ground would open up and swallow him. This people treated him like human when the others looked at him like he was trash. Maybe he was truly trash after all. 

"So this is what you do?" Hoy's mother asked in anger. "Did you think to consider how this is going to affect the people involved? We all came for a vacation for crying out loud!" 

If she didn't know now that it was partly true, she probably would have slapped this boy senseless for putting her son through all this. 

Reen shook her head at the brothers before she turned around to leave the room in a hurry. She had been hoping she had just heard things, but it seemed like it was the truth. 

"Who is the lady?" Changyu asked. It seemed the others won't ask since they were busy letting the brothers know how disappointed they were for hurting their kids. 

Zichu looked at his brother who was looking at him with a pained expression. He didn't know if it was because he was mad at him for spilling everything or because he was regretting what he had done and feared the punishment he would be receiving. 

"I asked you a question! Don't just stay there looking at me!" Changyu yelled at him. If her husband wasn't there, she probably would have pulled him by his hair until he started confessing. 

The two boys flinched when she yelled at them. 

"I... I... don't know her name!" Zichu said and looked at his brother. 

"Doesn't matter! He should take us to that little wench. I am so going to deal with her when I lay my hands on her." Cixi promised before snapping her fingers at the two young men kneeling down. 

"Get up you two!" 

Zichu stood up before helping his brother up. He could understand his brother's unwillingness since he had mentioned he liked that lady but this wasn't the time to put his stupid crush first. 

"Please... do the right thing." Zichu softly pleaded with his brother. 

He knew he was being an hypocrite since he probably wouldn't have minded much if he didn't get close to Reen, but there was nothing any of them could do now. 

They all followed Xiehan as he led them to the room where the lady stayed.