201 The Start of Dread Part 3

August 10, 20XX (Saturday)

Zhao Manor

When Yang placed the half-eaten cheesecake in front of him, he took the spoon that Mei Li used too. It's not like they hadn't been sharing saliva through their kisses, they're germs were probably the same by now. Mei Li still stared at him as he took every bite, he knew better than to feed her. She already had eaten half of his portion, giving her another would be an added loss to his already halved cheesecake. Mei Li put her hands around his arm and leaned her head to him causing Yang to stiffened. When he looked down at her, she saw her eyes begging for more cheesecake. He cursed to himself as he fed her another bite, why must she be this beautiful?

Mei Li chewed, slowly, before she asked him, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, grandfather and grandmother want to take you on their annual tour to grandfather's other branches or his Sheng Restaurants." Yang hesitated in answering her. He hates not telling her the truth. Praying to the Gods that his secrecy will not endanger their relationship, Yang decided to spill everything he knows if he saw one ounce of hatred in Mei Li's eyes.

"Okay, "Mei Li blinked. His answer was not the proper one for her question. She knows something is wrong; Yang had her hand in a right grip as if she will disappear soon.

"You will be gone for a month, is that okay with you?" Yang continued, "We just got engaged too."

Mei Li giggled at this man-child she calls her fiance. When her giggles were met with glares, she began to appease him, "What's a few months in comparison to a lifetime with you?"

Yang's heart promptly melted into Mei Li's hands as he placed a kiss her lips and gave her another bite of cheesecake. In fact, he let Mei Li have the rest of his cheesecake. He had only taken two bites from it, but he can always bite her lips if he wants something he is still craving. Yue snickered after Mei Li had finished her line. Her brother was already in the palm of Mei Li's hands. With a snap of her fingers, he would probably come running after her like a dog to a bone.

"Dear, how about we invite Mei Li to our trip this time?" Grandpa Zhao suggested after he saw Yang subtly nodding in his way.

Mei Li almost snorted when everyone already noticed their odd behavior yet they still pretended to be subtle about it. The Zhao family were full of weird and apparent people. Her growing mountain of secrets that needs to be uncovered is growing every minute. She hates the feeling of disappointment it caused inside her, but she knew there might be a reason why. When she feels like she can't take it anymore, she can always force Yang to fess up.

Grandma Zhao perked up, also choosing to ignore Yang and her husband's clear signals. She had always wanted to be with someone that she and her husband could relate to since they came from different backgrounds and field of interest, there are not many mutual friends between them. Her ending requests for her grandchildren to go with them were always met with resistance; nobody wanted to travel with old folks like them.

"It would be a wonderful idea to have Mei Li with us. What do you think about this, dear?" Grandma Zhao turned to Mei Li with a smile that nobody could say no.

Mei Li returned the same kind of smile, "Only if you have me. I want to go with you."

Grandma Zhao clapped her hands in excitement and started to talk about plans for their incoming trip. Everyone listened with amusement at their elders' enthusiasm because even Grandpa Zhao had quipped about their travel plans when he usually let her wife decide everything. Suddenly, Mei Li felt bad that Zhao Manor felt more like home than Xue Manor does.

"We will leave two weeks from now!" Grandpa Zhao announced after their prolonged breakfast was finished. Everyone had dispersed in their rooms on the large manor.

Mei Li and Yang had decided to go up to watch a movie on Yang's large computer. Yang had suggested they watch in their family theater, but Mei Li had demanded them to cuddle in the bed, so Yang just took his laptop and followed her command. Her demand was not too hard to fulfill, and he always likes cuddling with her.

Suddenly, Mei Li's phone rang. Yang was the first one to get it, and when they saw the caller ID of one of the orphanages' Matron, they were looking at each other with confusion and dread. Did something happen to the children?

Yang answered the call immediately and pressed the speaker button.

A cute girl's voice echoed, "Hello, is this Miss Wu?"

"Ling Ling?" Mei Li said while her eyes met with Yang. The painter asked, "What are you doing with the Matron's cellphone?"

"I just missed you, so me and big brother sneaked into the Matron's office to talk to Miss Wu." Ling Ling's cute voice added, "Are you mad?"

Suddenly, Yang and Mei Li heard the voice of the Matron shouting about their behavior. She lectured them about sneaking into private rooms of other people, told them how that could get them into trouble, and sent them to their rooms with older kids. The Matron noticed the call still on and tried to apologize for her charge. Miss Wu and CEO Zhao seemed like they were reasonable people, "I am sorry that Ling Ling has bothered you. I hope that you will continue to sponsor our orphanage and-"

"No, it's alright." Mei Li said. She could relate with Ling Ling so she will not be unfair about it.

Mei Li was just as surprised as the Matron when Yang asked, "Can we visit there tomorrow?"