306 Hello Tang...

He fancies the woman! Tang thought to himself.

The woman turned around but before she could fully face him, Tang had moved his gaze elsewhere. He wasn't interested in watching any display of affection. But after a few seconds, the man and the woman came into his line of vision as they walked past him.

Tang looked and then stared and then stared some more. Was he hallucinating? Did he conjure her up from his thoughts?

How could she be here? And who was she with?

As Tang sat stunned, frozen in his seat, Jia Li paused and took off the jacket.

"Mr. Ying, I am not a delicate flower like your London girls. I am sturdy enough to weather any storm, forget the light breeze which is blowing right now. And, more importantly, your coat doesn't match my dress," her voice held a hint of laughter.

Tang was too far to hear what was being said but he could see the easy smiles flowing between them. She looked stunning, almost too pretty to be real, like always!!

Had it not been for the guy standing next to her, he would have thought that this was another one of his dreams. Unfortunately, he recognised the guy as Jia Li's boss at Earthly Matters. He also realised that the guy fancied HER.

"What am I supposed to do now? Isn't life done playing with me yet?" he thought to himself in despair. 

It wasn't a typical wedding where everyone was seated in a row and the bride walked a defined path. The podium where the groom stood was on a slightly elevated ground but tables and chairs had been scattered around in a near semicircle fashion.

Jia Li chose to sit at one of the tables which wasn't very close to the podium but afforded a clear view of the proceedings. The groom stood next to Eric, laughing at something what he was telling him. Jia Li could only see his side profile. But she could make out that they shared similar built and colouring. Right then the organ began playing the familiar tune, signalling the arrival of the bride.

And the groom turned to face everyone. Ethan!!!

Jia Li took a few seconds to assure herself that it was Ethan whom she was looking at. Quickly turning her head, she scanned the entrance of the garden and voila! Chu was walking down the path with her hand nestled in Mr. Xie's.

This was Chu and Ethan's wedding? She was here for Chu and Ethan's wedding? So where is HE?

Taking note of Jia Li's agitated expressions, Hui asked her in a low tone, "do you feel unwell?"

She didn't pay any heed to him or the question. Instead, she got up from there and started scanning the crowd.

There, she found him… next to a tall, buxom woman. Heart in her mouth, she got up and started moving towards him.

Five minutes later

"Chu is looking beautiful. She makes a radiant bride," Patricia remarked, sniffing delicately.

Tang pulled out a tissue from the box kept in front of him and handed it over to her. She took it but instead of wiping her tears, moved to wipe his cheeks, where moisture had appeared without his knowledge.

He moved her hand away. His hands were shaky and his thoughts were cluttered. He was yet to recover from the fact that he was going to face Jia Li sometime soon today. 

Pat laughed and said, "just because you are wearing sunglasses, you think I can't figure out that you are crying behind those? You are such a wimp and so bad at hiding that fact."

Tang tried to type a reply to her but before he could pass the phone to her for reading, a shadow fell upon him.

He looked up and the phone clattered from his hand. Patricia looked at him in concern and then at the woman who had come to the table.

"Hi, would you be kind enough to leave us alone for a few minutes?" Jia Li addressed the woman, without moving her gaze from Tang's face.

Pat was unsure till Tang nodded his head slightly. Getting up from the chair next to his, Pat gave a curious look to the expressionless woman before finding a table nearby to keep an eye out for her patient.

"Hello, Tang. Long time no see. How are you doing?" Jia Li sat down on the chair which the other woman had vacated and spoke softly.

Thankfully, everyone's attention was focussed on the wedding vows which were taking place right now.

Tang was trying to stay calm. He didn't know how to react, what to say. When he had first seen her ten minutes ago, he knew that she would find him and he was trying to brace himself for it. Even if he wished, he couldn't run away from the situation right now.