208 Tango Anyone?

Every ten minutes, Tang ended up refreshing his mailbox, checking if Jia Li had replied to his mail.

"She would have read it by now, wouldn't she? No matter what, she would not delete it without opening it… but what if she did? She would have definitely been surprised, but what if she was more angry than surprised? If the possibility of her reading the mail is 50%, what is the probability of her replying to it?" Tang's mind went round and round, thinking of various permutations and combinations in his head.

One moment, his heart was full of hope and confidence but the very next second, it oscillated towards the worst possible scenario. He couldn't remember the last time that he had been this nervous.

"Why the hell did I not write directly in the mail that Mei Zhen and I are officially divorced? Did I think if I piqued her curiosity, the chances of her replying back would be higher? What if she didn't understand the reference, or worse, she doesn't care??? Argh… I will go mad," with a thud, he shut the laptop.

Thousands of miles away, Leicester Square, London

"This is absolutely amazing. I love the vibe, the energy of the place. Excellent choice, Eric!" Jia Li exclaimed as they sat down.

"I am glad you liked it. Actually, Hui loves coming to such places," he said with a grin.

Both Hui and Jia Li swivelled their heads in surprise, she towards her boss and he towards Eric.

Eric laughed inwardly looking at his friend's reaction.

Maintaining a poker face, he continued explaining, "did you know that our boss is a fantastic and passionate dancer? And Tango is his favourite dance form."

Jia Li could have never imagined Mr. Ying to be a dancer, moreover an enthusiastic one. This proved how perceptions could be so wrong and deceptive. While she was busy assimilating this information, Hui was giving a death stare to his imprudent friend. If looks could burn, Eric would have been roast meat by now!!

Ignoring the angry looks being thrown in his path, Eric braved ahead with his mission.

"I have been meaning to learn this dance form for the longest. I am hoping that I can find someone this evening who could at least show me the basics. What about you, Jia Li? Do you know how to Tango?" he asked, an innocent look on his face.

Hui would have never thought that he could be reduced to physically harming someone but that day had arrived! He was getting more and more embarrassed by his friend's behaviour. How could he blatantly, shamelessly matchmake in such a manner. What would Jia Li… uh, Ms. Lin think of him if she figured it out?

"No, unfortunately, I never got a chance to learn any of the ballroom dance forms during my growing up years. Looking at this tableau, I wish that I had," she replied wistfully.

Hui looked at her, surprised by her words. Did she want to learn the dance?

Before uncertainty could grip him, he heard these words coming out of his mouth, "would you like me to teach you a little, tonight?"

Now, there were three people with surprised looks on their faces. This was turning out to be one unexpected night. Hui had surprised himself along with Jia Li and Eric.

Anticipating that Jia Li may find a reason to refuse him, Eric quickly took over and said, "oh my, you are one lucky girl. Not everyone gets the opportunity to learn from one of the best and the most PATIENT teachers!"

He had emphasised on 'patient' for Hui to understand it. After all, he wasn't known to possess that trait. In fact, the one thing which irritated Hui the most was people's inability to keep up with him. Eric hoped that he had got the hint and he also hoped that Jia Li was feeling politely pressurised, enough to say yes for the first dance. He wanted to wipe his brow, after all the effort he had put in already. They hadn't been here for even fifteen minutes but he felt as if he had run a marathon and come back.

"Sure, but I don't know the first thing about this dance form," she replied slowly.

Eric clapped his hands and said joyously, "you don't need to worry about a thing when you are with the master."

Then he gave a look to Hui which indicated that the ball was in his court now.

Getting up from the table a bit shyly, Hui cleared his throat and said, "they have just started to play one of Di Sarli's compositions. It should be a good start for a beginner. It has a clear dancing beat."

He extended his hand towards her and pulled her to her feet.