Hello, Mr Li: The Christmas Trip

Facing room 100 right now, Heya wanted to turn around and run away. She tried to remind herself of all the reasons she wasn't supposed to be there right now. If someone saw her, what was she going to explain to them? That she heard his fiancee and her mother talking about her ex boyfriend being sick and she brought him orange juice because he usually craved for it whenever he was sick? Absurd!

This was only going to cause trouble to not just her but to her entire family, to Zhu Liang and his family, and also to Suyin's family. 

But she couldn't turn around now. This was a guy who had been in her heart for years, a guy she loved. Which normal person would hear about the ill health of their loved one and turn away, pretending not to care? She couldn't do that. 

She knocked on the door but very lightly. 

No answer came the first time so she knocked two times more. When she still didn't get any answer. She began to worry he was very sick but on a second thought, maybe he was feeling better and went out for a stroll? 

She wanted to leave but something told her to turn the doorknob. She did and surprisingly, the door was opened. Her heart began to beat very fast like a thief on her first job. 

She opened and entered inside stealthily while carefully closing the door behind her. The room looked grander and far better than her room and even the couples' room. There was a large floor to ceiling window at the left side of the room which revealed the clear sky and pretty sea.

She didn't get the chance to look around because her eyes caught sight of the figure sleeping on the bed. 

She tiptoed towards the bed and watched him as he slept. He was wearing a white polo and blue shorts. From how contorted his facial features looked, she could tell he felt discomfort. He had beads of sweat all over his forehead also.

Her heart squeezed painfully as she watched him. She wished she had the right to take care of him, she wished she had the right to stay beside him until he felt better. 

"Heya?" 

She was taken aback when he suddenly called her name in his sleep. His eyes which were almost looking red probably from the sickness, slowly opened and he looked at her.

"Am... I dream..ing?" He asked almost quietly as he continued to look at her.

She moved closer and carefully sat down beside him on the bed. "I brought you something." She reached for a bottle inside the bag and took it out. "I thought you might need this." 

A little smile formed on his face, "It's really you." He said with a mixture of surprise and relief while trying to sit up. 

"I had a dream." He started saying, "You were with me. Your smell was everywhere so I knew it was too real to be a dream. And here you are." Since they were both sitting on the bed, they were almost at the same eye level. 

"I... have to leave now." She stood up but he was quick. He held her hand and pulled her to sit back down on the bed. 

"Please... stay." He pleaded.

Heya bit her lower lip nervously. This was wrong. She shouldn't stay here. She shouldn't be here. She shouldn't have come in the first place. But she was already here. 

Holding one of her hand to keep her from leaving, he used the other hand to collect the bottle of juice from her. 

"I am glad you remembered." He said, not bothering to ask how she knew he was sick. Since she was practically 'best friends' with Suyin now, Suyin must have said something to her. 

He finally let go of her hand. He wouldn't have mind holding her the entire time, but then he had to open the juice. He opened it and took a sip. He took another longer sip before he began to gulp it down until the bottle was empty. 

"Wow!" Heya exclaimed, watching him. 

"Yea." He said with a short laugh. "I really needed that. Thanks." 

"There are still two bottles here. But you should take them later so you wouldn't upset your stomach." Heya instructed while handing him the nylon bag. 

He didn't take it. He just simply stared at her until she shifted uncomfortably. 

"What... is it?"

"Aren't you worried? Being here like this... aren't you worried about the repercussion?" He asked. "Which lies are you going to tell if someone sees the two of us this time?" 

She frowned in annoyance. Did he think she liked to tell lies? She was doing it for him!

"I need to leave now." She stood up again. Just like the first time, he pulled her back until she fell backwards into his bed, his hand wrapped around her waist and he pulled her fully into the bed before lying down. 

"Just stay with me. Please?" 

He was pleading with her and even his voice was very soft and placating, but the hand around her waist was firm. He didn't want her to leave.

Only a little tug on his path and she found herself lying on the bed while he spooned her from behind. 

With a resigned sigh, she stopped struggling. She was just going to wait until he fell alseep before she would leave. 

*****

"For the talent show tonight, what are you planning to do?" Reen asked Joreen who was busy playing a video game on her tablet. 

"Nothing." 

"You know you are a celebrity right? A few people here would expect you to do something. Besides, there is a prize."

"Maybe I can sing or dance?" Joreen said with her eyes not leaving her game. 

"Anything other than that please. Aren't you tired of embarrassing yourself over and over again? At this rate, uncle Hoy wouldn't take you seriously." 

"What should I do then?" Joreen asked. She finally put her andriod down and looked serious. 

A mischievous grin split up Reen's face. "Maybe I just have the perfect idea. You are a model after all." 

"Whenever you smile like that, it's always bad news." Joreen narrowed her eyes suspiciously. 

"Trust me on this one Jo. We are going to show everyone what a femme fatale you are."

"O--kay.... now I really want to know what your plan is." Joreen said, not letting go of her suspicion. 

Reen took her time to tell her the plan in details. "Not a bad idea right?" She asked with a big smile when she was done.

"It's a bright idea!" Joreen said with a happy smile. "But... what are the others going to think?" 

"You should stop caring about what other people think about you Jo. You can always count on me." Reen assured her. 

Joreen didn't doubt that. She didn't know how she would have lived without Reen. 

"What about you? What are you doing?" 

"Dancing of course! I am going to show off a little with my ball." She said with a wink.

Reen had joined her inside the room more than an hour ago. After talking about her blunder and how she embarrassed herself, she also told Reen about the conversation she had with their parents. It was only now that Joreen noticed something was off. Reen was still dressed!

Reen would have already stripped to her underwear a long time ago but she was still wearing her complete outfit. 

"Are you going out? Thought we were going to practice."

"I am going out. There is this person I am hoping to bump into so I'll remind him he's supposed to hang out with me tonight."

"Kyle?"

"No. We broke up."

"What?!" Joreen asked in surprise. "W..hy?" Something deep down told her she was probably the cause but she didn't think it made sense. 

"We just broke up. It's nothing important so you don't have to worry about it. See me off to the elevator?" Reen asked, blowing the issue off like it didn't matter. 

Joreen felt guilty somehow and that guilt made her stand up from the bed to follow Reen. Normally, she would have said no and continued with her game. 

Once they left the room, they noticed a few others in the hallway heading to their different rooms with their partners while giggling together like teenagers even though some of them were already middle aged. 

"Love is a beautiful thing isn't it?" Reen asked. 

Joreen nodded. "Yes. I wish I had someone like that to giggle with." 

"Too bad the guy you fell for is as cold as a stone. I cannot imagine him giggling like that with you." Reen cringed when she tried to imagine it. 

"If sis Sara can make Uncle Muchen run around the house like a kid then it won't be difficult for—"

Reen clasped Joreen's mouth when she noticed Hoy and Mr Ping were approaching. 

She eventually released Joreen when she noticed Joreen had seen them too. 

"Miss Luo. Hello to you two." Mr Ping greeted them first but there was a bright glint in his eyes when he looked at Joreen especially. It was as if he was trying not to laugh. Joreen blushed. 

"Hello to you too Mr Ping. And..." She turned to look at Hoy and bowed. "Uncle Hoy." 

Reen almost burst into laughter when she saw the weird frown on Hoy's face as he looked at Joreen.

"We were just leaving." Joreen said politely before bowing again then she pulled Reen with her. 

"Did she just... ignore you?" Mr Ping asked.

Hoy stood there with a frown on his face and turned to look at the retreating figures. 

"Does she have a multiple personality disorder or something?" Hoy muttered to himself.