106 Unpredictable Mr. Xie

"At that point, both of us were still studying, so we decided to wait until we were well settled in our careers, for us to figure out our choices in life. My work preference took me to Beijing while yours kept you in Shanghai. I was unwilling to quit my job and come down to Shanghai during all these years. During this period, we also realised that when it comes to relationships, you and I have a different way of handling things. We weren't sure if in future we would be compatible or not, despite our feelings. So we waited," Jia Li came into the room and said this to Tang, in a monotone.

She could feel everyone's eyes on her. Reaching outside the room, she had overheard the conversation and decided to intervene before anyone else said something which could further complicate the matters.

Tang got up from the bed with some difficulty and walked towards her. Disregarding the varying looks from everyone, he gathered her in his arm and hugged her tight.

"I am really sorry about your parents' death. It must have been a traumatising period for you. I hope you received enough comfort and love at the time," he said it with sincere apology tinging his words.

Tang had been carrying the heavy guilt of abandoning Jia Li during her most trying time. When his father had decided to become a tyrant and insult her parents all those years ago, he had run away like a weakling, hiding behind his studies as an excuse. He had hoped that his father's anger would die a natural death in sometime and by then, he would have established himself as a capable person professionally. As a result, he had avoided her calls and messages.

Even when she had told him that they should break up, he had agreed thinking that it would buy him sometime, instead of taking her words seriously. He had been overconfident of patching things up with her later. Funnily, when she had mailed him about her impending marriage with Cheng Fu, he had dismissed it as her way of lashing out at him or seeking his attention. Never did he think that she would actually take that step.

Before he could muster courage to tell Jia Li about the reason for his going AWOL, her parents had met with that accident and she had completely gone off the radar. She had frozen him out. It was Deng Chung who had informed him that she had gotten married already. By the time he could react to it, the news about her parents meeting with an accident reached him. In that moment, he had realised that she was lost to him forever.

Heartbroken and miserable, he hadn't even called her to offer condolences on her parents' death. He had withdrawn himself into a shell. By the time he resurfaced, it was a polite, distant version of him where he kept everyone at arm's length from himself.

Holding her tight just now, he took the opportunity offered to him in the guise of amnesia. It was his first tiny step towards seeking her forgiveness.

"It was some time ago. I am alright now," she said with a small smile, disengaging herself from his embrace.

Tang went back to the bed with her aid.

"Since you are the culprit for keeping us apart for so long, it is only right that you take responsibility for me now," he said to her, with a charming smile.

Mr. Xie had been secretly relieved when Jia Li had managed to handle the situation few minutes ago. He didn't want the lies to become unmanageable but an insistent part of his heart was holding him back from breaking this spell right now. The way his son had looked at him a little while ago, when he expressed his thanks for consenting to his relation with Jia Li, he hadn't looked at him like that in five years now.

The father's heart had missed it. But the magnitude of how much had he missed it, hit him now as he got a chance to taste it again, despite it being under false pretences. The bond between the father and son had been severed brutally many years ago but without a sound.

"It would have been infinitely better had Tang displayed a rebellious streak. But all he did was put a clamp on his emotions," thought Mr. Xie ruefully.

"Dad, am I right or not?" Tang suddenly asked him.

Mr. Xie looked startled for a second. But the next words out of his mouth shocked everyone else.

"Yes, you are absolutely right. I think it's a good idea that you take some time off. The past few months had been hectic at the workplace anyways. We'll make whatever necessary arrangements need to be done but only for a week. Then you come back to Shanghai," his father declared.

The room went completely silent.