Chapter 273 - The Truth from Ten Years Ago

Suddenly, the room turned quiet.

Zhang Yu Han took a deep breath as he tried to figure out the best way to explain. "The reason why I was investigating you was because I have been trying to find you for the past ten years."

"What?"

"The High School Basketball Tournament ten years ago. You came to support Han Yue Xiu on her basketball tournament, remember?" Zhang Yu Han began. "Do you remember the last time when I saw the picture of you with Han Yue Xiu back in your room in B City, I have told you that I was at the basketball tournament as well?"

Li Qin Yao nodded slowly. Her anger slowly disappeared. However, the expression on her face remained the same.

"Back then, you were alone on the empty court, dribbling the ball around the court. That was the first time that I saw you. Although you were unskilled and clumsy, I found myself unable to look away from you. I watched as you shoot a three-pointer into the hoop."

Her eyes widened. Of course, she remembered that day. That was her first try to shoot into the hoop and the ball went in.

"I went to find you after that, but I missed. I tried to find you according to the jersey that you were wearing, but I failed," Zhang Yu Han said. "I didn't even know your name."

Li Qin Yao recalled how Han Yue Xiu had passed the jersey to her. Since she had come to cheer for Han Yue Xiu's team, it was only proper for her to wear that jersey.

"You… saw me?" Her arms dropped to her side. She stared at him and suddenly, her heart skipped a beat.

Sensing that her anger had dissipated, Zhang Yu Han took the chance to inch closer to her. The two of them stood toes to toes as they stared into each others' eyes.

"It might sound weird to you, but the moment I saw you, I just know that I wanted to be with you. I just knew that when I grow up, I wanted to marry you," Zhang Yu Han voice was a whisper.

Her eyes widened in disbelief. 

"When I saw you again at the coffee shop where we met to exchange our phone, I knew that you were the girl that I was looking for. Then I asked Wei Jun Hao to find information about you."

Her expression changed again and Li Qin Yao hesitated whether to trust that he was telling her the truth. 

"That was how I got that documents in your hand," Zhang Yu Han said. "But once Wei Jun Hao was able to confirm that you are indeed the girl I was looking for, I found out that you were dating someone else," his voice weakened. 

At the thought that he almost missed his chance with this girl, Zhang Yu Han felt his ċhėst started to hurt. The feeling made it hard for him to breathe. He had to inhale slowly to be able to breathe properly.

"Even when I found out that you were dating someone, I still thought that I could not let you go," he continued. "I could not forget you. So I tried to get closer to you, even if you will only know me as one of your customers in your cafe."

Li Qin Yao lowered her gaze as she tried to process everything. She then recalled their interaction soon after. Was that why he kept giving her a mixed message way before they were dating?

"Even though I only saw you briefly that day, Qin Yao, I liked you from that moment on," Zhang Yu Han said.

Zhang Jing, who has been eavesdropping to their conversation cleared his throat and both Li Qin Yao and Zhang Yu Han turned around to him. 

"I am not trying to defend my grandson, but Qin Yao, Yu Han was telling you the truth." He looked at both of them back and forth and continued. "Who among us did not know that Yu Han has been searching for the girl that he saw at the basketball tournament? If you ask around, to his friends or his mother, everyone else would tell you the same. It was also because of this that Yu Han had never had a girlfriend and had rejected every blind date that his parents arranged for him to attend."

Zhang Yu Han shot a thankful glance at his grandfather. However, he still thought that his grandfather didn't have to mention those blind dates. What if his wife misunderstood something again?

"Ten years ago, even his Granduncle Qi could not help him to find you. Although there are a few CCTV around, none of them helped." Zhang Jing spoke again. "When we asked around to the LH School teachers, they all said that there were no such students at their school. We all thought that Yu Han was making things up."

Li Qin Yao lowered her gaze as she realized that Zhang Jing, has been listening to their conversation. She raised her head to look at her husband again and suddenly felt something sweet bursting into her heart. "Why didn't you tell me about this before?" 

Zhang Yu Han looked away for a second. "Because I was worried. I did not want you to think that I'm a freak." He met her gaze again. "If I were to tell you that I have like you from the first time I saw you, would you believe me? If I were to say these before we start to date, would you not think that I am crazy?"

Li Qin Yao thought over his question and knew that if he had told her earlier, she might think that he was crazy. How old were they ten years ago? How long had she spent time at the basketball court? It was less than half an hour, alright?

He merely spared a glance at her for a few minutes and said that he had fallen for her? Moreover, to marry her?

Any girl who would hear that would think that he's crazy. 

Back then, she did not know about him at all!

If Grandfather had not said those words, perhaps she would think that Zhang Yu Han was making things up. 

But because he's her husband, Li Qin Yao suddenly believed in his words. She did not think that he was a freak and instead, thought that his story was cute and a little sweet.

As the thought came to her mind, she started to feel a bit giddy instead.

Seeing that she was still quiet, Zhang Yu Han began to worry. "Qin Yao... Are you angry?"

"I'm not angry," she tilted her head down to rearrange her thoughts.

Suddenly, Li Qin Yao lifted her head again. This time, there was a hint of shyness in her expression. "So, you have waited for me for ten years?"