The lady gave a nod of approval to the butler as she stepped forward to enter the room. The royal butler went forward to push the door open for her to enter. Once inside, he respectfully closed the door behind her.
"Hmm~" the middle-aged lady let the couple know of her presence, who were all drowned in each other's company. "So, long time, no see people!" she greeted in a tone that none were allowed to use in the presence of the Royal King and Queen. But then again, the lady in front of them was none other but the closest friend from their olden days.
The eyes of the couple also shone when they found the lady standing at the door. The Queen stood up to reach her first as she said, "Yes, you can really say that now. Long time, no see, dear! It's been 5 years since I last saw you back in this city. How have you been all these years, Yun Yuchun". She asked as she enveloped the lady in a warm hug.
After getting a heartfelt warm hug, the lady, Yun Yuchun looked at her friend and said, shrugging her shoulders back. "What do you think, looking at me like this? I am all enjoying my life".
The Royal Queen let out a peal of small laughter at her words and then said out with a doubt of positiveness. "Yes, yes, I can see your outer shell screaming out with happiness but you know I am not a woman to care about someone's pretty outer shell. What I am asking about is about your broken inner soul?"
Yun Yuchun stared at the royal lady for some moment of time then letting out a cold chuckle of self – mockery said, "Since it is already broken then what else do you expect from it?" As she said her dark brown eyes turned sharp like daggers to combat with the royal black ones.
If it had been any fourth person standing with them then he or she would have definitely thought that both ladies were ready to have a battle in any other minute but the man lying behind knew the things better.
"My dear beauties, I think this is not the air a sick patient should have in the hospital. Instead of recovering he might get more depressed". The man said, chuckling lightly from behind.
"Tinming, are you really asking me to not say anything to her. Don't you know how much she has made me worry about her in the past years? Even you have used all your forces to search her yet you were not able to find her traces anywhere" The royal Queen, Chen Rui complained as she left her friend there itself and walked her way back to her husband.
How could the man dare anything such? He might be the King of Chiboa. But his heart has always been ruled by this very woman who knows well, how to make him give in with just a few words.
Shaking his head in disagreement, the man hurriedly said, "Darling, how could that be? Have I ever asked you to not talk? Your voice has always been the best melody to my ears and in no way, I would ever ask you to not use your voice. My words …"
Before he could even get to complete his words, the woman snapped at him, "Though your words never meant that meaning, your intentions did. So just don't lie now. I can see far beyond your words".
Shin Tinming really felt helpless at the scene. His beloved knows well how to stir his nerves of guilt, doting – ness and romance at the right time. And that too with such innocence. But he has got excellence in his field too.
"But Rui really! Believe … Ah, sh*t", he cursed as he tried to get himself comfortable in an inclined position. And the moment his painful cries rang in the air Chen Rui ran to attend him with utmost worry.
"Tinming, what happened? Are you fine? What are you planning to do? If you don't come to persuade me once that will not mean that I will leave you and go overseas. So sometimes it's just okay to not give in to my childish tantrums", the woman chided, while her eyes checked his every injury to find which one caused him the pain.
"Wait, let me check if the stitches of your wounds have got opened", Chen Rui said when her eyes were not able to find anything visible on the exterior part. But the man shook his head in denial.
"No, no, Rui. I am fine now. The stitches are fine too. After some surgeries, the patient's heart goes weak and emotional. Seeing you angry might have triggered me emotionally, making me feel the pain. But now since you are back to my side, I feel I am all fine."
"Are you sure?" The woman asked, not believing his words quite well but when saw him nodding his head radiantly, she accepted.
At that curse of agony, Yun Yuchun was also about to run to check on his friend but just when she thought of it his eyes caught the expression of the man's lies. Some couples are born to remain evergreen! She thought in her heart as her lips curled to give a graceful smile towards her friends.
"Hey! Can you guys please get over with your romance? For God's sake, you are no more in your college days. Or are you purposefully making me regret leaving my husband years ago?" She punned, swinging her handbag to and fro in the air while making her way to the chair placed at the side of the bed.
Chen Rui simply blushed at her words while Shin Tinming did not miss his chance to boost up his love for his dear wife. "Sorry, I don't think I will be able to take your words, Yuchun. But tell me something, are we really that lovey-dovey to make you feel sour?"
Yun Yuchun could only press her lips and squint her eyes warningly at him to which the man instantly surrendered.
"Fine, fine … I won't tease you anymore. But it's really good to see you back. So, when did you come back here? Did Atlanta already bore you in just 3 years and 8 months?" Shin Tinming asked as his wife too came back to take the seat on the other side of the bed.
Yun Yuchun's brows got raised at those words, intending that she was quite impressed at his record of data. "I never knew that nowadays, the King of Chiboa gets so much free time to send spies after their friends''.
The man felt least offended with those words. Pushing his shoulders back in nonchalance, he simply said, "What's so bad in spying your friends? Won't it only be good to see what they have got in their brains against you?"
"Aye, so you have already known her whereabouts, Tinming?" Chen Rui asked, getting all puzzled at the two people's words.
The man nodded as he plainly replied, "Not too long, but just a few months back my people reported about it to me".
Even though the tone of suspicion was quite clear, the woman did not get any faze with it. "So, did you find anything?" She asked but the man ignored her words to find the things he was intending to know.
"Yuchun, let's not beat around the bush. I would just be straight with only two questions. Tell me why did you suddenly disappear five years back and other things when did you come back?" Tinming asked, getting all straight to his point. He was not a person with good patience but that does not mean he was reckless.
The woman plainly smiled as she asked in a little playful tone, "Do you really want to ask? I fear my clear reasons might bring a storm to your sweetly smooth sailing ship".
The man did not understand her words. He was about to ask her what it was but before he could, the woman waved her hand to dismiss his curiosity and said, "It's fine. I would keep my replies vague, giving you just some piece of information as sharing the experience of Atlanta is not the reason that has brought me here".
Shin Tinming nodded accepting her gracious offer, knowing her little replies will be enough to dig the grave out of it.
"I left because I feared that if I lived here then my son, Feng Shufen would have searched me even out of hell. He would have never accepted me dead". She said with such ease that would have made the people feel that she never had any love for her son in her heart and was desperately pushing him away from herself. But that was never a thing the woman cared for.
"And I returned back because …" she paused to give a mysterious smile then added, "Because suddenly I got a desperate craving for an old authentic dessert, The Memories' Delight. But I was in no mood to bake it on my own. So, I have to return back to have a taste of it once again".
***
"Li Xue, why not stay with me tonight? It's already too late for you to go back", Feng Yi Lan said as her puppy eyes did its best to persuade her friend.
"Yi Lan, though I want to stay, you know the weekend ends today and this little angel of mine has got her classes tomorrow", Li Xue denied with a very reasonable reason.
Feng Yi Lan pouted as he offered a good bait to her friend, "Li Xue, think about it once again. If you stay here with me then I would tell you a secret about my brother. And it would only be better for you to know it before it gets too late and that woman returns back to the country".
"What woman? Did your brother have a girlfriend before?" Li Xue was confused. Having patience was not her field of excellence especially when her curiosity could play such a good game of enticement on her determination.