222 Her favourite band!

"Stop, I can't take it anymore. I have no interest in knowing how her love interest looks like," she said, trying to hold her laughter in.

He gave her a hurt look, "you are so harsh. Here I was trying to showcase my acting chops and you crushed me with that one line. The creative person inside me is feeling thoroughly unloved," he continued in the same vein.

She rolled her eyes at his theatrics and told him to stop with the exaggerated nonsense.

It was a Thursday night, when one of her favourite local bands performed at Covent Garden, every week. On an impulse, she told him about it.

"Of course, I want to go. I wanted to go the minute you declared that they are better than our band. The vocalist in me is aghast and protesting on behalf of Li Jie and Deng Chung. How dare you!" he chided her in a heartbroken voice.

"You are such a child," she shook her head and told him.

The bill came and Tang took out his wallet to settle it.

She stopped him and said, "my city, my treat."

"Ok, remember that you said so. You may come to regret your words later," he replied, laughter tinging his tone and returned his wallet to his pocket.

They decided to walk from South Bank to Covent Garden. Moving at a leisurely pace, Jia Li acted as a tour guide once again and showed him all the places which she had frequented during her stay here all these months.

By the time they arrived, the band had already set up in the open arena and were strumming up their instruments. A small crowd had begun to gather in anticipation.

Tang gave her a thumbs down and closed the distance between them to whisper in her ear.

"They are already starting with a minus point. Where is the female lead vocalist? I didn't expect her to be stunning like ours but having no female lead already makes it an incomplete band?" he tut tutted.

She gave him a glare and put a finger on her lips, motioning him to be quiet. The crowd was building up in numbers and someone accidentally bumped into her from behind. Apologising distractedly, the person shuffled to go ahead. Tang gave him a glare and made a move to go after him but she pulled his arm back.

"I am alright. He didn't do it deliberately. Put your shining armour back inside the box," she laughed.

He gave her a mock scowl and shifted so that he was now standing behind her, shielding her body from any further onslaught. After a few minutes, someone came and stood right next to him. It was a young woman, and she seemed extremely interested in cosying up to him sideways. He was slightly conscious of the same but even before he could take a step away from the woman, Jia Li turned to glare, first at her and then at him, arching an eyebrow. Wordlessly and meekly, his eyes lowered, he moved and went to stand in front of her, as if expecting her to shield him. She wasn't impressed with his timid act. She had sensed the woman move next to them, almost immediately. She had waited for one full minute for him to act on his own before she turned to look at them both.

Thankfully she couldn't see his expressions right now because she would have definitely punched him in the face. Grinning ear to ear, he stood there, humming the song with the band under his breath. He could feel her angst rippling against his back and he loved it. When he had boarded the flight to London, he hadn't been sure of his reception. He had braced himself for the worst possible reaction from her. Thankfully, she had been too stunned to let her brain remind her of his sins.

He was grateful for all that had transpired this evening. It gave him hope… hope that he still had a chance. That was all what he needed at the moment.

Jia Li got shoved from behind and banged her face in his solid back.

"Ouch," she rubbed her nose tenderly after being hit by a massive beer belly of the man behind her.

Tang frowned and looked for an alternate place to go and stand. Taking her hand, he pushed past people, making way for her and found a spot next to a pillar. Placing her in front of him, he circled her shoulders with his arms and drew her in. As a result, her back was nearly touching his chest now. Jia Li's senses started screaming danger and she took a step forward, creating slight space between the bodies.

Loathed to let her go, he didn't resist though.