Chapter 28 - Li Heya?

Joreen was torn between the two people who wanted her to obey them instead of the other. 

She wondered whether she should sit there like the second madam Li asked her to, or follow Hoy when he asked her to stand up. She didn't know madam Li's plan so she had been surprised to hear her tell Hoy she wanted to introduce her to a nice boy. But why would she do that when she knew Hoy would not agree to it? She tried to think about everything but it wasn't clicking. And why did Hoy say no one was perfect for her? Because he still thought she was immature? Because he still saw her as a kid? Just why? 

And then... her aunt had to ask Hoy that question that startled her. Judging from Hoy's reaction, he looked surprised and slightly confused with the older woman's question. The hall was a bit rowdy since people were still finding their way to different tables while some were busy looking for their family members, but this particular table was very quiet. Everyone was looking at Hoy even though they knew the question was ridiculous and his answer was definitely a NO. But they wanted to hear it from him so Changyu would finally stop thinking about silly things like that. 

"We have a problem." Hoy's older brother's wife, Kim Eva, suddenly interrupted. She walked past Hoy to the table and sat down on the last empty seat which had been reserved for Cixi while the one Joreen was sitting on was supposed to be for her father. 

"Problem? What is it?"

Everyone's attention turned to her. If not because of how tensed Eva sounded, Joreen would have really showed she was excited by her interruption. She wasn't curious to hear Hoy's answer because she knew he certainly didn't like her like that. But she didn't like the fact that he was placed on a hot seat and everyone was looking at him, waiting for an answer to the absurd question. She was embarrassed for herself and for him. 

"The Zhu family is here." Eva announced. 

The question, "Zhu family?" echoed.

There were a lot of Zhu's in their country. But judging from her reaction, the first person to guess the Zhu family she was talking about was the first madam Li, Heya's mother.

"Zhu family? As in.. the automobile Zhu? Zhu Liang?" She asked in surprise. Everyone looked surprised and turned to look at Eva. 

"Yes. He is here. On this ship!" 

Since Eva was acquainted with Sara before she married Li Minde and became a part of the family, they easily clicked. Sara was also friends with Heya so the three of them became friends even though they were both older than Heya with 5 and 6 years. So they knew about Heya and Liang and was also aware of how she had been doing her best to forget about him. But suddenly, he appeared here again. 

"That is exciting!" Heya's mother said happily, making the others look at her. "Does Heya know about this? Maybe this is an opportunity for them to come back together?" 

They had been wondering why she was excited about Heya's ex boyfriend being here, but hearing her reason, they began to really hope a miracle would bring them back together since they all knew Zhu Liang and thought he was really perfect for Heya. Heya had been very happy when they were still a couple but after they broke up, they all noticed how she changed.

"Actually..." Eva started. "I'm not sure whether Heya had met him or not, but I saw him with a girl. They looked really close."

"A girl?" Heya's mother asked, stupefied. "A little girl or...?" She really hoped it was little girl.

"A young woman." Eva replied. 

Joreen's eyes slightly widened. That wasn't good. 

"Do you have any idea where sister Heya is?" Joreen asked as she stood up. 

"I have no idea. I was looking for her earlier, but I don't think she is here. I wanted to let you all know. My husband and brother in law are already keeping their eyes down for her. " 

"Maybe she has seen him?" Changyu asked. "It doesn't sound good." 

"I... will look for her." Joreen offered. As she walked past Hoy, it was his turn to grab her hand making her stop to look at him. 

"We will go together." 

"It's fine. I can—"

"You could get lost. Let's go." He cocked his head towards the door and let go of Joreen's hand. 

*********

Yan Shen joined the table where his family was already with the Zhu family at the back. 

"Where is she?" Suyin asked her older brother.

"Who?" Her parents asked but she didn't reply since her brother knew who she was talking about.

"She returned to her room."

"You met a woman already?" Zhu Liang's mother asked Shen with a genuinely curious smile.

"Oh my! This is a great news. Call her down here let's see her." Shen's mother said. His father also looked surprised and happy as he asked, "Which family is she from?" 

Shen looked a bit embarrassed with all the attention he was was receiving. 

"There is nothing going on between us. I just met her." He corrected before adding, "And I do not know the family she is from. But her name is Li Heya." 

"Li Heya?" His parents asked together.

Madam Zhu's face paled.

"Li... Heya?" She asked in a shaky voice before turning to look at her son whose face remained impassive. He was looking ahead like none of their conversation interested him. She could guess he must have met her already or else, he would have been really surprised. She looked at her husband whose facial expression showed shock. He was also looking at their only child, Zhu Liang. 

"Yes. You know her?" Shen asked Madam Zhu. Her reaction didn't escape him.

"Uhm... well... I..." Madam Zhu stammered. She didn't think saying she was Liang's ex girlfriend was wise but she didn't know what else to say. 

"Everyone knows her family!" Shen's mother said in surprise before she gave them a summary of the Song, Wang, Li and Luo family. She sounded so excited at the prospect of Li Heya becoming her daughter in law. 

"I didn't know she was here. Did she come with her family? How come we didn't know they were here? We should go look for them." Shen's mother said before standing up. 

Seeing how excited their mother was, and even suggesting they go say 'hello' to her family, they finally realised how influential Li Heya's family was. 

"Yes. We should say hello to them. Maybe the entire family is here including Madam Song Changyu, who knows?" 

"You got yourself a really rich and pretty princess. Congratulations big brother." Suyin whispered to her brother as they followed the elders.

"Do not be too forward. I never said I liked her. Besides, we only just met like two hours ago." 

"Tch! As if I didn't notice how you looked at her earlier." Suyin suddenly remembered something and looked at her brother. "Did you say Heya went back to her room?" 

"Yes. Why?"

"Oh no! But I'm with her key card. Why hasn't she returned for it?" Suyin asked and checked her purse to be sure it was still inside and it really was. 

"Where is Liang?" Madam Zhu turned to ask Suyin when she didn't see her son following them. They all looked around but didn't find him. 

********

Heya stood on the deck of the ship with her hands gripping the iron bar rails while she looked over the sea. It was really cold outside. Key word, 'really'. Her long sleeves could not keep her from shivering. Normally, she would have returned inside which was a lot warm, but she didn't want to. 

She made sure to find a secluded spot that wasn't very bright to hide herself from others. Since everyone was busy inside, the deck was empty except for a few people who patrolled the area just in case of any emergency. She was grateful for the serenity she found here. 

The air felt fresh and cold, and she could practically taste salt in the air. She had thought spending a few minutes here was going to make her feel better but she had been wrong. Really wrong. Nothing changed. In fact, the more the time rolled by, the worse she became. 

She felt like crying but she couldn't cry. She had to keep reminding herself that this was what she wanted. 

Escaping from Yan Shen hadn't been easy. He kept asking her what was wrong and if she was okay. She lied she wanted to use the restroom and when he tried to direct her towards one which was near the hall, she claimed she wanted to use hers and also get something from her room. This time, she refused his offer to escort her there. She hurried to her room and remembered she had locked it. She almost cried out of frustration. There was no way she was going to go back there to meet Suyin and ask for her key. She couldn't do that. 

She took in a deep breath and shivered again. "It's really cold out here." She mumbled. 

"Then you should go inside." 

A quiet voice spoke behind her, making her jump.