Hello, Mr Li: The Christmas Trip

Heya's heart literally dtopped to the floor when the door was pushed open. It was only now that she remembered she hadn't locked the door. Well, the door hadn't been key-locked when she came in so it didn't cross her mind. Besides, she had only wanted to drop the bag and leave.

She didn't have the time to think much when a woman hurried inside the room. 

It was Zhu Liang's mother. 

Heya had already jumped from the bed. She stood there looking very confused and guilty and also embarrassed. Meanwhile, Madam Zhu looked very surprised and upset to see Heya there. 

"What is.. going on here?" She asked, looking between Heya and her son who was still sitting on the bed. If he looked embarrassed, he was really good at hiding it. He slowly stood up from the bed, feeling a lot better than he felt earlier. 

"If you really do not want to cause trouble, you better leave now. Your family is looking all over for you." Madam Zhu said while eyeing Heya. 

Heya didn't look at Liang again. She immediately hurried out of the door with her heart in her hand.

She cussed herself and hit her head repeatedly. What had she done? What if it had been someone else? What if that was his fiancee, Suyin or Shen or even Suyin's parents? Wait! Her family was searching all over for her? Why? She began to panic again. 

Meanwhile, Madam Zhu looked at Liang. It was evident on her face that she wasn't only angry but she was disappointed. 

"Mother..."

"What is wrong with you? You promised your father just this morning and this is what you do? What if it had been someone else? How would you have handled all this?" 

She placed a hand on her forehead and looked up. 

"Do you know what kind of mess you are both trying to create?" 

"Did something happen?" He asked. 

"Yes! Everyone was busy looking for Li Heya. I had a hunch she was with you but didn't want to believe it. Hearing her mother mention going to check the CCTV footage, I had to come check. And look!" 

It was that serious? He wondered with a frown. Heya was 29 years old for goodness sake!

He looked at his pitiful mother who looked worried and sighed. "I'm sorry for making you worried."

"You promised your father just this morning!"

"I know. I... couldn't help it. She came in here and I didn't want to let her go. It was my fault. If this blows up, I will take the blame for everything."

"And what? Break up with Suyin? Remember you cannot do that now until we are back home." 

"I remember." That was the only sensible thing to do. 

"Can you start acting with you head and not your heart for goodness sake Zhu Liang?!" She raised her voice in frustration. 

"You do realise if I was acting with my head all the while, I wouldn't have agreed to most of the things you and father made me do?" He asked..

"I messed up and I sincerely apologize for making you worried. Do not blame Li Heya." 

She sighed deeply. "I don't even know why you like that girl. There are many other girls out there. Maybe not Suyin, but there are others."

"You also liked her."

"That was before she broke your heart. You were nothing but faithful to her and was just about to propose marriage to her!"

"Did you think it was easy for me as your mother to watch you back then? I knew how much you cared about her. You already bought her a house and car and planned the proposal, even invited a few friends and family...."

"Mother. It's okay. That is all in the past." He said, not wanting to remember. Of course he had planned to propose to her on her 24th birthday but he had been consumed with work. He wasn't sure about his schedule so he pushed the proposal to the weekend after her birthday. Unfortunately, he had been too busy on her birthday and didn't call her until the evening he went to see her. He got the shock of his life when she broke up with him and that had really affected every aspect of him. The first time he talked about marriage with her, she was 21. She told him she wasn't ready until she was done with all her projects and school. He understood her because he also was in his early twenties too and didn't feel pressured to get married. They gave themselves time. He asked again when she was 22 then again when she was 23. At that time, she was open to the idea, he was simply too excited and wanted to make an official proposal on her 24th birthday but everything shattered. 

"I don't want you to go through all of that again Liang. I am worried about you." She said softly and touched his face.

"I know mother. And I love you." He hugged her, his tall figure covering hers. "I promise I won't do anything to hurt you." 

"Your father mustn't know about this. He won't be pleased."

"I know."

"And if this blows up, you shouldn't put the blame on yourself. I can always say I asked Heya to come here with me because I needed help bringing some stuff and I couldn't bring them myse—"

"Mother..." He pulled away from the hug, his hands on her shoulders as he looked at her face. "I won't let you. I am an adult and can take care of myself. So stop treating me like a child." 

His voice was stern but he hugged her again. He loved his mother so damn much and he felt really bad for putting her through all this. 

"Your temperature feels better at least." She noted in relief. 

******

"Heya! Glad I found you. Mother is worried sick." Her older brother, Li Muchen said immediately he saw her come out of the elevator. 

"Where is she?" Heya asked impatiently.

"To check the footages of the past hour."

"Give her a call now. Please." Heya said desperately. "I left my phone inside the room. Let her know I'm back." 

When he noticed how nervous and desperate she sounded, he nodded and quickly placed a call to let his worried mother know she was okay. 

"She wants to "Mother."

"Li Heya! Do you want to kill me?!" She asked and broke into tears of relief. 

Heya didn't know why her mother was so worried. It wasn't like someone was going to kidnap her or something. 

"I'm sorry mother. I am fine. I promise never to leave my phone again." 

When the call ended, she returned the phone to her brother and thanked him.

"We should talk." He said before leading her towards his room. She was already in their floor since she had come to meet her parents after hearing from Madam Zhu that they were searching all over for her.

He opened his door and ushered her inside first. After she entered, he followed.

Heya was very nervous. She could tell this wasn't good. 

He gestured towards the couch where she slowly sat down and looked down. She felt like he would be able to read her and know where she had been once he saw her face. He was that intuitive. 

He sat down across her and crossed his legs. 

"Are you sneaking around with Zhu Liang?" He asked, staring directly at her. It was even more direct than she had thought. She was so surprised that her head shot up to look at him immediately. How did he know? But she hadn't really snuck around right? She just went to give him something and spent a little time with him.

"You do not have to hide it from me. I am your older brother so we can say I know you quite well." 

She looked down again, feeling embarrassed and guilty. 

"I won't tell you what to do or what you're not suppsoed to do. You are a big girl so I'll let you to decide. But one thing I should bring to your notice is the fact that sneaking around is never good. If you get caught by the wrong set of people, you will regret it and blame yourself."

"I... know."

"Also, even if you are already an adult, you are still my little sister. So don't be too surprised if you heard or saw me speaking with Zhu Liang. There are some things we need to be clear on. I won't let him mess with you when he still has a woman." 

Heya sighed deeply. "He isn't messing with me. I went to him myself." 

"You still love him, don't you?" He asked. 

She was uncomfortable having this conversation with him but she nodded slowly. 

"Then I really need to talk to him. I guess he still loves you too but he is going through some kind of dilemma. More reason I need to speak with him. Do not worry, no one will hear about it or suspect a thing. Okay?"