章 43: The collapsing Castle

After having a quick conversation over the phone call, Liang returned to the kitchen, only to find out a curious Li Juan, staring at the picture posted on the refrigerator.

"Oh, Li Juan, you are about to over boil the broth." He rushed towards the cooking top and turned it off.

"Dr Liang, you said that you are not a doctor?" Li Juan was in confusion. "Then what is this?" She asked him with a cold tone.

"Oh this, I dropped out of medical school when I was in the final year." He replied casually.

He is a medical school dropout?

"But why?"

"Family responsibilities," Liang replied with a straight face.

Family responsibilities! Li Juan left dumbfounded.

"What kind of family responsibilities you had which required you to quit the studies?"

Li Juan looked at him while keeping her hands in the waist. She looked like she was ready to scold him.

One thing Li Juan couldn't tolerate was ignoring education. Even in the twenty-first century, there are children, who got no access to education. And here we are purposefully quitting the course.

"I simply couldn't understand. It was the final year, If your family cared about you, they would've let you finish the course."

"My uncle got into an accident at that time and my grandpa wasn't in a good health to handle the family business. So I had to take charge of it."

"Ah." Li Juan was speechless for a moment, she forgot that this guy is also from a wealthy family. Joining or dropping out from the university won't be a big deal for him.

"But still, it doesn't make any sense." She looked at him hopefully. "You can still complete the studies, can't you?"

"Well, I can go back and complete my studies," Liang told, impassively.

"It is just, I don't want to go back there. I lost my inspiration to pursue a career in the medical field."

"You are crazy." Li Juan giggled and looked at the other picture.

"Who is this?" She pointed at the picture of the women and child.

"Oh, that's my grandmother with my girlfriend."

"Oh, I thought it was your sister or some cousin."

"Ayeee, I only have a brother."

"She looks so familiar." Li Juan pointed to the baby, especially the baby's big black eyes.

"What is her name?"

"We used to call her Wol Ju."

"Wol Ju, What does it mean?" Li Juan was curious to know the meaning of the name.

"It means moon." Liang explained.

"I guess it is common in K country to give girls a feminine name related to the moon."

"She is actually from Yun city." Liang added with a radiant smile as he gently touched the photograph. "She was born on a full moon day, so we wanted to give her a name related to the moon."

"But she looks like..." Li Juan stopped for a moment to observe the features of the baby.

"Different?" Liang completed her word.

"Aye...she is way more beautiful than any babies that I have seen so far. And this is you and brother?" Li Juan pointed to the other photo.

"Yes. Enough of the nostalgia...come, let's eat." Liang stopped her from asking more questions.

Both of them took the side dishes for the hotpot and the broth and went towards the dining room.

"When are you going to sleep?" He asked Li Juan who appeared fully charged even after a hearty meal.

"I am not sleepy. Can we go out for a walk?" Since they had a heavy meal, it is better to give some time for digestion, before hitting the bed.

" Sure, Let me check whether the rain has stopped or not."

Both of them went towards the balcony and looked outside. The raindrops were still falling and the atmosphere was still cold.

"It's still raining! Do you still want to go out?" Liang asked her with a confused face.

"No" Li Juan replied with a dispirited voice and walked towards the sofa in the living room.

"Do you like video games?" Liang asked her as if he found out that Li Juan appears gloomy.

"I don't hate it." Li Juan confessed. "But I'm more like a board games person."

Of course, what do you expect from a bookworm?

" Haha, fine" Liang understood that she is not interested in playing right now. How can he improve her mood?

"Thank you so much, Dr Liang." Li Juan suddenly thanked him. Liang stared at her with an interrogative expression.

"I was in a bad mood when you saw me at the bus stop." Li Juan decided to open up about the things which disturbed her well being for the last few weeks.

"Because of him?" Liang asked her. He could guess that the reason behind Li Juan's mood swings is Tang Wei Sheng.

"Did you talk to him about the engagement?"

"He said that he is getting married only for the sake of his family. He said that it is a corporate wedding and there is no romantic relationship attached to them."

Liang just nodded to her words. He was well aware of these corporate weddings. People get married only to gain power and some shares.

"Chairman Tang, his grandpa knows about me. I have met him and we had a conversation about Wei Sheng ge. He wants me to stay away from his grandson."

"It is common among the elders, you don't have to worry about it". Liang tried to comfort her. "What is Tang Wei Sheng's stand on this?"

"He gave me two options. We can get married as soon as possible and keep it as a secret or wait for him until he gets a divorce." Li Juan added.

Tang Wei Sheng wants to play safe, Liang thought, of course, it is not easy to give up on the position of CEO.

"So, what did you decide?" Liang asked her.

"I am confused. I feel like I'm forced to decide without evaluating the circumstances." Li Juan tried to clarify the uncertain thoughts in her mind.

"You liked him for these many years and you never thought about your future with him." Liang was surprised to hear Li Juan's answer.

"I loved him, Dr Liang." Li Juan replied with moist eyes. "But the thing which confuses is that, Chairman Tang told me that, Wei Sheng ge and Ning Jing were already in love when they used to live abroad. He asked me to forget any false hope given by his grandson."

"He was two-timing. That son of... "Liang just cussed Tang Wei Sheng. He looked towards Li Juan, she was sitting expressionless but her eyes showed melancholy.

"And he asked you to wait for him?" Liang was furious. How can someone be so ruthless?

"I wanted to believe him, I wanted to give him a chance. But when I talked to Ning Jing, I came to know that they are in a relationship." Li Juan said as her eyes sunk in sorrow.

"He asked me to secretly register the marriage, while he is already engaged to Ning Jing."

"And you didn't say a word against him? Did you?" Liang lost his aloofness. Bloody hell!

"He claims and acts like he owns me in front of my friends and refuses to admit the truth in front of the whole world. What does that make me? A mistress." Li Juan bitterly smiled.

"The man, whom I loved my entire youth, he asked me to become his mistress and told me to move in with him. What should I do, Dr Liang?" Li Juan asked the man sitting in front of her.

"You are also a man, if you are in a similar situation, what do you expect from your girlfriend?"

Liang sighed. "First of all, Whatever I am going to speak, I don't want you to take it as an advice."

"I don't support the belief that something like "an ownership" exists between lovers. Even if they are ready to die for each other- that doesn't give any right to own other person or forcing them to do something they don't like." Liang shared his viewpoint on relationships.

"People often forgets to treat each other as two individuals in a relationship and instead of that, they end up becoming a master and a slave."

"If my girlfriend hesitates to marry me, I will probably give her some time to sort out things. And still, she finds it difficult to accept me, then we should call it quits." Liang said with the firm tone of voice.

There is something called mutual respect.

"I am no one to comment upon your relationship, but there are few things which act as the pillars which strengthen every relationship. Trust, Respect and communication. Just give it a thought Li Juan, do you have these factors in your relationship with him or is it just love and lust?"

"I am not saying that it is completely wrong to feel lust and desire, but what do you want Li Juan?"

Li Juan looked at him in confusion. What does she need?

Did she ever want to marry Tang Wei Sheng?

Did she ever dream of a future with him?

"What are you scared of Li Juan? Liang noticed her silence. "You love him, then why are you hesitant to make a decision?"

"I love him, but I can't forget my moralities in the name of blind love." Li Juan said in a firm tone.

"All my life, I feared of becoming someone who is a homewrecker. But in the end, it was my fate."

"Are you sure, Li Juan? Is that your reason for your hesitation?"

Li Juan was silent. She knew that it wasn't the only reason.

"Let me be honest and ask you, have you ever thought about the worst possibilities?" Liang was determined to help Li Juan to sort out the things happening in her life.

"What if he has some ulterior motives?"

Suddenly li Juan reminded the nights they spend together in Xi city.

Were they little quick about getting into a physical relationship? No, that's not possible. Li Juan tried to shake off that thought from her mind.

Tang Wei Sheng loves her. He loved her from the first moment they met. She repeated in her mind and looked at the Jade ring on her finger.

Tang Wei Sheng proposed her and even asked her to move in with him. And she agreed with him. But what happened after that? Why did she find it difficult to accept his proposal?

Li Juan took a moment to gather her thoughts.

She was nearly killed in Xi city and almost went missing for one week and Tang Wei Sheng never asked about it. He didn't even call her once. And suddenly the news of his engagement got viral.

There is something amiss. Li Juan looked at Liang.

"Marrying him or waiting for him is entirely your decision, but Li Juan, you should be brave enough to face the aftermath of the decision. And more than anything else, you should be brave enough to discuss all these things with Tang Wei Sheng. So why don't you talk to Tang Wei Sheng, face to face?" Liang suggested.

Liang was sure about one thing, the three pillars of relationship in which Li Juan and Tang Wei Sheng's relationship built was weak. If a third person enters and creates some misunderstandings among these two- their relationship will get destroyed like a sandcastle.

The worst thing at the moment is that their castle has already started to collapse.