Chapter 98: Winters
Ray's eyes almost teared up but he held it back.
Last time he had seen Liu Jing was when he had run away. This young man had aided him in his plans for fleeing the country. Now the boy had grown up into a fine young man who had a number of accomplishments under his name to make their ancestors proud.
Looking at Liu Jing not a single word escaped Ray's mouth. He stood there gaping like a fish until Liu Jing's playful comment broke him out of his internal shackles.
Jing: (chuckling) did you not miss me?
Ray: (scowling) you brat! You gave everyone a fright!
Jing: (pouting) I just wanted to help Miss Yi. And you are still scolding me!
Ray kicked his brother playfully in the shin which earned a chuckle from the young man.
Both men settled down after exchanging some more words and a small banter. Yi Ran opened her mouth after seeing that they had both calmed down.
Yi Ran: Preparations from my side are almost done. I just need your aid to destroy the Yi family and keep the pieces to myself.
Ray: (shrugging) I don't mind but I need everything to be done in three days.
Yi Ran: (shaking her head) no, we can't rush at this critical moment. Give me a week.
Ray: (nodding) alright.
They shook on their deal while Liu Jing became the third wheel.
Ray: you still plan to marry into our family?
Yi Ran: (chuckling) it was just a small lie to convince my family and the world of my madness and obsession. Jing is my saviour but that doesn't mean I should marry him.
Ray looked sideways at his brother's darkened face. He had returned to his original brooding self.
It seemed like his Liu Jing had a long way to go before he could win this cold and calculative woman's heart.
***
After a week as promised, Yi Ran succeeded in bringing the magnificent Yi family down. Of course with the help from the notorious Liu brothers.
The army found Liu Jing held hostage in the Yi family dungeon- thanks to a tip from some unknown source. The business of Yi family was hit hard but what was worse was Liu Wei Xin took it as an opportunity to strike keeping up his end of the bargain.
Liu Jing gave the statement that he was abducted by Yi Meng and other elders of the Yi family in order to exact revenge on Liu family. He also claimed Yi Ran was innocent and had tried many times to save him but failed miserably. And it was Yi Meng who had spread all those false rumours about her.
The news then came that Yi Meng was found dead in his room. He had committed suicide. A note was found near his body. Thus, the remaining assets were all transferred to Yi Ran's name- the sole descendant of the main branch. She grieved for a while and then left for her home country to spend days with her sick mother.
Ray brought Jing back to their home and Yi Qing's happiness knew no bounds. She shared the good news with her daughter and told her to come back.
As for Jian Yi, he was happy and sad at the same time.
Jing's return was a great thing but it also meant that Wei Xin would once again leave them. But this time he chose to swallow this bitter medicine, no longer trying to come up with ways to hold him back.
***
A day after Liu Bo's arrival, Ray found his mother strolling in the gardens. He mustered up his courage to speak with her. After his several failed attempts Yi Qing decided to have mercy and help him.
Yi Qing: Wei Xin, don't beat around the bush. Just say what you want to say.
Ray: Mom, everything is fine here. So I was thinking-
He couldn't bring himself to say the words.
Yi Qing: (smiling) you want to go back?
Ray: (nodding) yes.
Yi Qing: I won't lie. I would have loved it if you stayed.
Ray: b-but-
Yi Qing: (caressing his head) I know. You miss my daughter-in-law and have promises to keep.
Ray: (hanging his head) I am sorry.
Yi Qing: don't be sorry. I am happy that you found your happiness. When do you plan to leave?
Ray: Tomorrow night. I plan to surprise them all.
Yi Qing: Oh that was why you stopped Bo from making that call yesterday?
Ray: (nodding) yes.
Yi Qing: (scolding) when are you going to let me meet her?
Ray: (grinning) Soon.
Yi Qing nodded happily and gave her approval for him to return.
***
As soon as Ray landed his first agenda was to find his woman.
It had been four months since he saw her or heard her voice. It would suffice to say that he had been miserable the whole time and was slowly dying from inside.
Though he wanted nothing more but to hold Ye-Jin in his arms it still wasn't the right time.
It was three in the morning and not to mention the freezing temperatures were acting against him. In his excitement of coming back, he had forgotten all about the winters (It was still fall in his home country) and was sadly not prepared for the attack from the dry and cold weather. With no other destination in mind, Ray hailed a cab and reached his shared dorm with other members of 5 Emperors.
***
Mui opened the door feeling extremely annoyed. They had all been preparing for their concert in three days and were busy. Thus, they had all returned to the dorm at two and fallen asleep a mere hour ago.
The sweet dreams were calling to them but someone had the audacity to incessantly knock on the door waking them all up. Though others ignored the knocks and went to sleep, Mui couldn't do so.
Mui wanted to give the person a piece of his mind but his words got stuck in his throat in surprise.
Mui: R-Ray? You're here?
Ray: yes it's me. Let's go in first.
Mui moved aside to let his brother in and closed the door before following him inside.
Kai was the only one wide awake and gloomily sitting in the living room. It came as a surprise to Ray that Kai was crashing with them.
He stared at the unexpected arrival with wide eyes.
Kai: YOU CAME BACK!!
Ray: (Sheepish) yes I did.
Kai: Why didn't you inform us? We were all so worried!
Ray: (Awkward) I wanted to surprise you all.
Ray smiled woodenly at the guys. Truth be told, he had completely forgotten about the guys. When Liu Bo told him that Ye-Jin was equally miserable he had only one thing in his mind- to hold his woman in his arms. To shower her with the love she deserved.
Kai: (frowning) Why do I feel like you're lying. Tell me the truth my friend, you didn't think of us until you landed right?
Ray's ears turned red in embarrassment.
Kai: (scoffing) Ha!
Chapter 99: Found her
Kai scoffed at Ray and Mui followed suit.
They were here worrying their pretty little heads for this man, who they believed was equally missing them but everything was in vain. Their hopes were all dashed and all that was left behind were Echoes of broken expectations. (too dramatic?!)
The saying, "hoes before bros" strongly resonated within their minds.
Ray: (indignant) Come on Kai! You would have been worse if you were in my shoes!
Kai: (sneering) yeah but I am not.
Ray: Well how about that time when-
Kai: (raising an eyebrow) when?
Ray: I'll get you for this in the future! (Yawning) Look it's pretty late, I'll go sleep for a while. A little tired.
Ray tried but he couldn't recall a single time when Kai had abandoned them for his wife. Well, there would be a first time for everything. He was after all married only for a few months now. Right at that moment, Ray wanted to escape from their judgemental looks. They were pretty scathing.
Kai glared at Ray's escaping back but he didn't say much. After all, he knew he'd be terrible if it came to Mel. But he wasn't going to accept the fact that easily and give the dogs a bone to chew on. He would try his best to not become an object of their ridicule.
Kai followed Ray to their shared room after bidding good night to Mui.
Mui quietly watched his older brothers make fools out of themselves. He was slightly annoyed by their pointless bickering but he was more amused. Shaking his head he buried himself on the couch vacated minutes before by Kai.
***
Following morning, Ray was the first to be up. There were dark circles beneath his eyes- a sign of overexertion. But he was brimming with energy. Without waiting for other members, he got ready and headed out to find Ye-Jin. This time he was bundled up to fight against the cold.
Mui saw him leave through his hooded eyes (since he was crashing on the couch) but shrugged it off and went back to sleep.
***
From his memories of what Bo told him after her return, Ray first went to Ye-Jin's workplace. But the result was not fruitful. The receptionist at the desk didn't recognise him and also refused to give him any information about Ye-Jin's whereabouts.
With no other way left Ray pulled out his phone and dialled Aera's number.
He didn't feel comfortable enough to call Ye-Jin's family and it might spoil his surprise. But his calculations went a little astray.
Aera was woken up by the phone call and it would suffice to say that she was more annoyed seeing the who the caller was.
Aera: (sharply) you're still alive?
She didn't even bother saying a small 'hello'. Ye-Jin could put up with such absentee boyfriend but she was extremely pissed at him for causing her friend all that pain.
Ray: (surprised) Aera?
Ray couldn't think of any proper reply after hearing her harsh tone.
Aera: (scoffing) it's me! What do you want?
Ray was confused by her cold attitude. He couldn't figure out what had pissed this woman off early in the morning.
Ray: I am looking for Ye-Jin. Do you happen to know where she is?
Aera: (sneering) So you're back and you do remember that you have a girlfriend?
Ray: It's fine! I'll look for her on my own.
Ray hung up before she pissed him off too.
He had been an idiot in the past to think that this girl was innocent and sweet.
Shaking his head with a dry chuckle he dialled another number to find out Ye-Jin's location.
Ray: (hurried) Mr Shin! Hello, do you know where Ye-Jin is?
Shin Jay was at first a little confused when he received the call.
Being a new father he had stayed up for the majority of night to take care of his daughter. He was returning to the bed beside his wife So-ah after putting their little baby girl to sleep for the nth time.
Thus, Ray's call and a sudden barrage of questions were not comprehended by his slow brain.
Shin Jay: I am sorry, can you please repeat?
Ray: Do you know where Ye-Jin is? I am not able to reach her.
Shin Jay: n-no... wait! She was here last night and telling about some site visits near her old house.
Ray: (grateful) Thank you, Mr Shin.
He once again didn't wait for any reply and directly hung up.
Once again leaving Shin Jay confused.
He ran a hand through his head and shrugged off the man's odd behaviour. He lied down beside So-ah exhausted.
So-ah: (groggily) who was it?
Shin Jay: (surprised) you're up?
So-ah: mmm-hmm...
Shin Jay: (pulling her in his arms) It was Ray. He is looking for Ye-Jin.
So-ah: (sleepily) oh...
Nothing else was said and the couple quietly laid in each other's arms enjoying the silence until a baby's cry broke cut through the silence.
***
On the other side of the city,
Ray arrived near Ye-Jin's old home after being stuck in traffic for nearly three hours. It was already nearing noon. After arriving there he remembered that he was clueless about her exact location.
He felt like a fool acting without thinking but he couldn't help being clumsy when it came to her.
With no other destination in mind, he randomly drove his car around the neighbourhood hoping to find her somewhere on the way.
After some unsuccessful tries and wasting lots of time, he gave up on his plans of surprising her. He parked his car on the other side of the familiar park and got down with his shoulders drooped in defeat.
With his cell phone gripped tightly in his palms, he entered the park internally cursing his luck for being rotten. He looked up to see a familiar figure staring in the distance.
At first, he couldn't believe his own eyes. He was searching for her everywhere like a clown and she appeared in front of his eyes just like that.
Ray's heart leapt in excitement and he practically ran to where she was sitting. His pace slowed when he saw her shivering. His grin was replaced by a frown.
Without hesitating, Ray removed his jacket and placed it on top of her shoulders. Ye-Jin looked up startled but her face changed quickly. She was shocked.
Ray didn't see any of that. He was busy worrying about how he should warm her up.
Ray: (frowning) Were you planning to freeze to death?
His tone was harsher than he intended it to be. It was laced with disapproval but Ye-Jin sat there like a stone statue unable to say or do anything.
Seeing her stupefied state Ray shook his head. How can his woman be this careless about her health?
Without waiting for her permission he bent down and picked her up 'bridal style' in his arms and walked towards his car.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Sanchi94
Sanchi94
Next chapter is going to be the finale.
Originally the plan was to end it here but it didn't feel right so another very long chapter is on the way.
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