Bab 85: Moving Out

December 2, 20XX (Sunday Morning)

Zhao Manor

The dark blue sky had limitless reach; from the decorated rows and columns of constellations to clouds in all forms and sizes. Light golden brown eyes glazed over the beautiful scenery of the dawn with her mind elsewhere. Her thoughts were full of worries that had been boiling inside her from the time she had met Zhao Yang in Paris.

Mei Li was scared.

She was scared that after she would move out of Zhao Manor, Yang would find another woman more interesting than her.

She was scared that this man she had grown close to would return to ignoring her as he had done for almost ten whole years.

She was scared that Yang would like another woman prettier than her with a higher status as he deserves and she will be left alone regretting her decisions.

Mei Li had already admitted to herself that she liked him, she had already accepted that fact ages ago... but that fact did not stop her from feeling frightened at all the possible ramifications should they break up.

But at the same time, she could not stop feeling sad when she thought of being just Yang's friend. A friend that would attend Yang's wedding with Yue at her side, a friend that would help Yang propose, a friend that would advise Yang when he would find a girlfriend, and a friend that would remain his friend until her bitter end. The feelings that had wreaked havoc in her was chaos she never knew she was capable of conjuring up.

She didn't want to be just Yang's friend; she wanted more.

Yet she could not bring herself to accept more.

Every time Yang would be so gentle, so lovely, and so caring with her, Mei Li's mind would jump immediately to the events that had happened two months prior. Chen Zhong had taken many things from Mei Li but the greatest thing he took, in her opinion, was her ability to trust in men.

Mei Li sighed as she shook her head after adjusting her jacket to cover more of her exposed hands that were starting to freeze with the biting cold.

"Why are you in the balcony again?" Yang's said while entering her room without knocking and then staring at the lady leaning all her weight into her balcony's sidings.

"Don't you know how to knock?" Mei Li turned to his direction as she asked him that question. She did not let him see the surprise in her face, covering it with her practice mask of indifference.

Yang ignored her question with another question, "... So tomorrow, huh?"

Mei Li merely nodded her head in affirmative.

"Why don't you stay?" Yang had asked her this question a couple of times already.

"... Because I've been bothering your family for the whole month now and-"

"You're not a bother!" Yang's voice had risen causing Mei Li to be startled.

The painter shifted from awkwardness to tense as the silence becomes intolerable. She had seen many masks and emotions that Yang wears but never this sad and helpless look.

"Look," Mei Li returned to looking at the sky as she felt Yang moving closer to her, "I need a time for myself; to reflect on the things that have gone wrong or right, to process the events, to paint... to think of my decision in concern to your confession when we ate dinner together."

"We didn't eat dinner together," Yang mumbled childishly and continued to complain, "We had a third wheel in the form of Xue Chang Min."

Mei Li had no energy to banter with him anymore. Her thoughts had already conjured her all the possible scenarios that would happen should she do this or that. Right now, she knew the best way to come into an understanding with Yang was to be like him, direct, honest, and reasonable.

"At this same balcony, you asked me to give you a chance. Now, it's my turn to ask you for something."

Yang's eye widened. Will she accept him? Will she deny him? Is this finally happening? He waited for her to continue with bated breath.

"Now, I ask you to give me time."

Yang could not decide whether this is a good sign or a bad sign. He should have known she would surprise him again. His expectations would never be the reality when it comes to Mei Li.

He wanted to say a comical reply of waiting for a thousand years as long as the answer was a yes but was interrupted as Mei Li started her monologue, "Our time together has been both fun and irritating but never was it boring. You bring a new side to me that I never knew existed and I don't know if that is dangerous for you or me... I am an inexperienced woman and had only ever had one boyfriend who I had never dared to touch sexually. These feelings you give me are a mixture of feelings that I can identify and feelings that I did not know I was capable of."

Mei Li shifted to face Yang with her eyes looking up at his surprised dark eyes and asked, "So will you give me more time to move on completely from Chen Zhong and then we can start talking about being in a relationship after that. I don't want to take advantage of you just because you are available."

Yang felt as if he could see a small light in front of him after being in a dark place for so long.

"Okay," He agreed without hesitation. He will let this butterfly go; if Mei Li comes back, then she's for him if she won't then he'll send someone to capture her again until she becomes his. Easy solution.

Besides that, he knew she also needed time for herself. Her main job and hobby had been put on hold for more than a month because of Yue's birthday parties and his company's interior design. The fact that Mei Li had promised him that she would continue to help him until it is done was already heaven sent for him.

It was not like he wouldn't see her every day in his office. It was just that the time they would spend together will be lessened. That was the main reason why Yang does not like her to move out.

"Can I hug you?" Yang had asked this as a joke but had said it with a serious face, planning to tease the painter until she smiled. He even opens his right hand as if he was side hugging someone.

Yang never thought that Mei Li's would occupy the space he had made as she leaned her head into his chest and her little fingers grabbing Yang's hovering hand into her upper arm, making his long fingers curling into her small arms.

The feeling of his arm at her back felt like great support should she need to lean backward and the warmth of his proximity felt like coming home from a blizzard.

At this exact moment, Yang wishes for time to stop and freeze so that he could have more of her. Unfortunately, time stops for no one not even for Zhao Yang.

As the dawn breaks and the sun began to shine, their two bodies remained close. Only until Mother Zhao had called Mei Li for breakfast did they separate. Mei Li went to prepare for her moving today.

Yang replaced Mei Li as he looked at the sun rising in the east, thinking of reasons to use so he could visit Mei Li at her studio.

He promised her that he would wait, but that doesn't mean he would wait patiently.