Chapter 20 - 20.'Unrequited Love'....

When she entered the kitchen, she looked around but couldn't find Qin ZiXuan.

Then her eyes fell on the door that led to the garden through the kitchen, 'he must be outside.'

She wanted to brew the tea herself but it seems her prince got bored.

She shook her head and ordered a maid nearby to brew some Darjeeling tea for their siesta and she too, left through the back door, into the garden.

It was about 15:30, that is, it must be hot outside but where were they, huh?

It was the Qin Mansion!

In here, some patches of forest ran so deep that, it was like the dead of night even when the sun was at its peak ba!!

She got out and was hit by a cool breeze, the tree leaves were moving along the breeze and were rustling making a nice tune.

She took a deep breath as her eyes searched for him....and like usual she found him in no time.

This garden was one among the many gardens surrounding the mansion, though, it was on the smaller side.

It was about 3/4 of a soccer field.

One side was bound by the mansion while the rest three were demarcated by long trees.

A huge bed of yellow tulips was spread on the whole field, surrounding the small shed in the middle of the garden and..... there he was, sitting beside the short table, eating the strawberry shortcake she had bought earlier, enjoying both the sweet and the atmosphere.

Watching the soft smile on his face, a small smile bloomed on her own face.

For her, Yellow tulips really described him, lively and cheerful... or that's what she had told him when she had asked him to plant them here, last year before she came back...

She meant it's old meaning.....'Unrequited Love'.

She just smiled at her own antics, she had wanted them planted here because 'back then' the scene was the same.... but back then she had thought of the word 'lively' not Love....

Now it was to remind her of her own limitations....

As long as, he was beside her, she should be happy she couldn't and shouldn't hope for more.

But deep down she wanted him to know it's true meaning, though for her, it was just but a dream....

She went to him without making a noise and sat beside him.

She too closed her eyes to enjoy the cool bridge with the best companion.

.....

When he entered the kitchen before her, he found the shortcake over the tray and took it outside to eat even though he was supposed to accompany her....

1. He knew she would follow him out.

2. He wanted some alone time with her...he was pouting a bit.

When he had decided yesterday to stay at her condo, he was determined to spend some quality time with her or even go on a date, in the name of shopping or something along those lines until they had to come visit their grandpa but everything was ruined....he was happy for his family but if asked to choose he would prefer to be with Meilin, alone.

Whenever she was with them, he had to share her, in the company he couldn't always be himself beside her because of all those prying eyes.....there was just no'alone time' with her ba....'so angry!!!'

He was filial but when it came to her, he became selfish, extremely selfish but never showed it on his face because it would destroy the image he had on Meilin's heart.[Baby...believe me, SHE WOULDN'T MIND A BIT!!]

So, here he was venting his petty anger on the poor shortcake, he was a gourmet and had a huge sweet tooth but he loved eating the most when she was by her side...the last few years she was not beside him, god knows how he ate only for survival not for savouring the food.

The smile she saw on his face was because he was thinking about how she won't leave him anymore and relishing the time to come, it was not because he was relishing the sweet la. Still, the cool breeze helped him cool his mind bit, he liked this place because it held too many of there childhood memories, it was when she used to laugh and giggle not just smile..it was back when they had no secrets they couldn't share, his memories of the years before he came here was locked deep inside and he didn't want to ever open that lock so, there was no 'present secrets' between them back then...it was also the time when she was only his...

He sighed inside his heart as he opened his eyes and then... he visibly stiffened and had to exercise extreme self-contol on himself.

He saw her sitting beside him with crossed legs and her chin languidly resting over her raised hand.

She had closed her eyes enjoying the cool breeze with a soft smile playing on her face, the scene itself was quite serene and beautiful and he would have done the same with her by her side but his eyes fell somewhere they shouldn't have!!

In their country it was not proper etiquette for ladies to sit cross legged but with her time spent abroad she probably forgot it. Well, she was never the type to forget but she was also never the one to be bound by them.

Don't get her wrong, she would never do such thing infront of others but when with him, she always felt relaxed and forgot everything else and he was quite happy about it, well, but not today!!

She was in a qipao and the cut ran deep, at least for him, who saw nothing but her face and small palms on regular days, it was quite serious.

Through the cut, her slim legs with their milky complexion were peeking out.

Though the qipao covered it to a certain exetent that 'see but can't see' effect was devastating for his eyes and to make it worse, since she was not used to these dresses and was unware of it, she kept shifting them ever so slightly, her slim legs without any extra fat on them kept trembling as if inviting him.

He wanted to keep his eyes away but his body was betraying him as it just wasn't listening to him!!!

He stuffed his mouth with cake in order to distract him but the sweet taste made his mind go into ambiguos territory.

To get rid of his torture he spoke, "Linlin, would you like some?" It was not elegant to speak with a stuffed mouth but what is elegance? Can you eat it??

She gently fluttered open her peach blossom eyes and "hmm"ed as she looked at him.

For some reason he had a grumpy look but with his stuffed cheeks and foolish look, he really looked like a hamster, her eyes couldn't help but melt as her heart turned into a puddle...

She very naturally, took the crumbs from under his lips and licked it clean with her thumb, it was so natural for her that she didn't notice the darkening of his eyes.