83 She refuses to be Juliet!

November 30, 20XX (Friday Night)

Zhao Manor

The dark sky littered with stars twinkling like vast series of Christmas lights which looked somewhat like Yang's dark eyes when he's amused at something and those little sparkles would light up like twinkling little stars. Maybe the stars fell to make room for his brilliance?

Mei Li hated the cold air this November night had brought for her as the biting frost sips into her thick winter jacket and caressing her skin with little bites of frozen kisses. She remembered the warm hand that had spent a short while at the small of her back. If that kind of warmth would envelop her tonight, this cold would be nothing.

Just as his name suggests, Yang was like the sun that had the stars in his eyes and the world at his feet with Mei Li's heart on his hands. This month had brought her heart-stopping moments that only he could ever cause her. She had expected him to give up on her after a few times of denial yet he always comes back to her stronger, better, and lovelier.

Oh, how she had grinned so hard when she was given chocolates with flowers.

Oh, how hard whooped in her bathroom floor when she had taken a bath when their date had been done and she had heard his confession.

Oh, how she had repeatedly hummed the Elvis Presley song in the comfort of her bathroom.

Oh, how long she had giggled giddily when Yang had come to apologize to her when he thought she was angry at him

Oh, how excited she was when he started to offer his help and had followed after her like a puppy.

Today must have been Yue's birthday but Mei Li feel that she was the celebrant. She felt her using Yang's arms as support was the greatest gift the fates could ever give her. She knew she was strong, everyone that survives life is strong but with him, she felt unbeatable.

"So when do you plan to wax poetry at me?"

Mei Li jumped in surprise at Yang's appearance on her side.

"When did you get here? Did you jump over your balcony again?" Mei Li glared at him with a strict reprimand but his reply was an obvious point at her opened door. Mei Li blushed as she had been so preoccupied with her thoughts of him that she had not noticed the person on her thoughts was already beside her. How utterly embarrassing if he knew.

"You were so busy staring into nothing to notice." Yang grinned as he moved closer to the shivering woman, "So when are you going to call out, 'O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?' because I plan to come back to my room and arrive again to answer my Juliet."

Mei Li snorted with anger, "I'm not going to be idiotic as Juliet. If Romeo wants to die, he can die alone."

Yang touched his nose helplessly. He almost yelped in pain at her words. So if he was to die? She would not feel sadness at all? and he had thought he had taken a large stride in winning her heart at the party.

They were silent for a moment but Yang hated that silence with a passion. He thought that it was a sign that she was still not comfortable with him. He didn't know that it was because of him that Mei Li was always so silent. It was because she was memorizing the way he moved, how his lips open and close as he talked, how his hair would be swept away when he turns his head, how his eyelashes would flatter as he blinked, how his face would show his emotions, how he would carry himself, how his body moved to close into hers, how warmth he felt, and so much more.

Mei Li did not want to be like Juliet. Everybody knows how tragedic Romeo and Juliet's love story ended, she did want her and Yang to end like that. She didn't want them to be a pair of star-crossed lovers that have to fight with every inch of their lives just so they could see each other. She didn't want them to be unfilial to their parents if ever she had parents in the first place.

She loves a classic love story like Romeo and Juliet, it was and still is a tear jerker but it wasn't one she wanted to emulate into her life. She wanted them to die old together, not young and suicidal, Dammit! She was thinking too much into this!

Before anything else, she needed to know if Yang was truly interested in her. He had courted her, made her feel special, wax her beautiful words of love, sand her a love song, and even confessed to her but Chen Zhong had done the same too.

She wanted to know that Yang would not be another Chen Zhong. Being in a relationship with Yang was much dangerous and more things were at stake if they were ever to break up. Firstly, Yue would be in between them and would be put into a bad spot. Secondly, his family would be lost on how to treat her. Lastly, her heart would not survive to have it heartbroken the second time.

She wanted to be strong but she only had the strength to look past what Chen Zhong had done because Yang had cheered her up in Paris, Yue was behind her every day checking up on her, Mother Zhao was distracting her with her constant shopping and being her shoulder of support. Without those three people in her life, she would probably be wallowing in her work.

"So if I'm going to die, you won't cry?" Yang's question pissed her off. Of course, she was going to cry! In fact, she would probably wail!

"What are you talking about?!" Mei Li spatted in anger. Her she was thinking of important things and he was thinking about his death? Really, this man is going to be the death of her!

"But you said something about Romeo dying alone and-" "Shut up, you're annoying." Mei Li interrupted him. She was kind of guilty about making him look so disappointed and downhearted as if he was a puppy she had abandoned on the street on a rainy day.

Mei Li pushed Yang outside of her room, feeling embarrassed at the words that she was planning to say. Only when Yang was outside her room and was looking reluctant to leave her alone did she said firmly, "If we're going to be a couple, we better have a happy ending!"

She closed the door in his face after seeing the man smile as if he had caught a falling star and had his wish successfully granted.

That night, Mei Li slept with many worries about her growing feelings for Yang but the CEO's blinding smile did not disappear even in his sleep.