112 Cruel Intentions?

"I was really surprised when your father agreed to let Tang stay back. Did he not foresee this happening?" Ethan asked Chu the minute they were alone.

She replied with a sad smile, "I think he wants to hold onto this version of brother Tang for a little while longer before going back to reality. You should have seen his reaction when he found big brother smile at him unguardedly."

"Isn't that cruel on Tang's part? He is playing with everyone's emotions here. We never took into account the ripple effect that this scheme would create," he said thoughtfully.

"Don't say that. He isn't playing with the emotions. He is submerged in them. If dad is using this opportunity to live in the past for a few moments, so is brother Tang. He is savouring these interactions as well because there is a part of his heart which still hero-worships his father. Its due to dad's actions against Jia Li's family that Tang shut him out but love doesn't go away like that. At the first given opportunity, dad went running like a new excited father to get his son's favourite breakfast. I only wish that by the end of this, they both find some sort of closure for the past," she finished speaking on a sigh.

"You can't possibly carry the tray with one hand in plaster. It's heavy and you will drop it," Jia Li was arguing with Tang in the kitchen.

After a few attempts, he gave up trying to take the tea laden tray from her hands.

"Fair enough. You win. Now since your hands are fully occupied, let me make the most of the situation," saying that, he planted a quick, but hot open mouthed kiss on her unsuspecting lips.

Grinning at her surprised reaction, he winked at her and walked away to where Chu and Ethan were seated.

Later that night…

"Have they reached back safely?" Jia Li asked Tang who had just gotten off the phone with his parents.

All three of them had decided to stay back for dinner and it had been a lively affair. But now she wanted them all safely back in their rooms. Though the distance to the nearby resort wasn't much but Jia Li was fretting because of the recent accident.

Tang nodded in affirmative.

"So, uh…I will see you guys for breakfast tomorrow morning, unless you decide to sleep in late. I would head straight to the office then," she said.

"Looking for excuses to run away from me, already," Tang came close and whispered in her ear.

She looked at him guiltily.

"Also, now that I look at you, don't you think you have put on a little weight around your midriff and maybe your face? Been leading the good life, have you?" he surveyed her critically.

Jia Li gawked at him. She was unsure if he was being serious or joking.

"I think you need to start some sort of exercise post food, especially after dinner. Maybe you could walk me back to the hotel right now? I can use the fresh air for my lungs and your body can digest the amazing food which you cooked. Btw, had I not seen it with my own eyes, I would have never believed that you prepared those dishes," he said.

"Ahhhhh, that's so unfair. You can't see beyond her, can you? What about all the effort which Ethan and I put in? Does that count for naught," Chu sulked.

"Can you both not start another round of bickering, please? I think Ethan may re-think his decision to be a part of the family," Jia Li teased Chu.

Tang remarked, tongue in cheek, "I don't think we need to worry about that. It seems that he isn't the brightest bulb around. After all, he did fall for my sister."

Chu lunged at her brother with a cry of war and chased him around Jia Li's hallway. On the way, she picked up one of the carving knives from the dining table and threatened him.

Ethan grabbed her from behind and gently extracted the sharp knife.

"Can't afford to have you hurt, even a wee bit, my precious! And you need to stop rising to every bait which your brother throws your way. You know that he would only feel encouraged, right?" with that, he planted a kiss on her nose.

"God, I feel like vomiting after such sappy display of puppy love. How old are you guys," Tang made an exaggerated gagging gesture at them.

Jia Li poked him in the ribs.

"Stop tormenting her. You weren't this mean ever before," she chided.

"Maybe I am feeling left out. Why don't you give me some sappy love and I won't resent them theirs, hmm?" he said in a low voice, meant only for her ears.