Chapter 93 - Do You Remember Me?

Before Halia got a chance to respond, the man grabbed her hand and dragged her out onto the dancefloor. While this happened, some of the other socialite ladies watched on with jealousy from the side.

"Did Emerson Wu just ask Haili Feng to dance with him? He's never asked anyone to dance with him before?" one of the women complained.

"Lucky Marissa's gone to the bathroom. If she saw this, she would be furious," another woman said.

Emerson smiled as he placed Halia's hand on his shoulder while still holding onto her other hand. He then placed his hand on her waist.

"I don't know how to dance," Halia said under her breath.

"Don't you remember what I taught you before?" Emerson asked.

Halia looked at the man with confusion. Before? When had he taught her how to dance?

"Just follow me," he said as he glided to the right.

Halia quickly followed and the man smiled. He then turned his body a little and glided to the left. Halia followed again.

After stepping on the man's foot a few times, Halia finally moved in sync with the man and the music. As she glanced up at the Emerson, she suddenly felt a sense of familiarity.

"You're a natural," the man smiled.

Halia's eyes widened. She had heard this before. Halia ran her eyes carefully across the man's face. His eyebrows were thick, his eyes were small and charming, his nose was tall and defined, and finally, his lips were thick and soft.

"Do you remember me now?" the man asked with an amused look in his eyes as he pulled Halia closer to his body.

Halia gasped in surprise as she gripped tightly to the man's shoulders.

"You're...that little boy?" Halia asked.

"I'm hurt..." Emerson replied. "I shared my first dance with you, yet it took you so long to remember me."

Emerson was only 12 when he first met Halia. Like any other little boy, he didn't like girls at that age, so when he first met Halia, he didn't really think much of her.

His father and Halia's father were friends, so, even though one lived in Hong Kong and the other lived in Guiyang City, they saw each other at events and special occasions a few times each year, but Halia and Emerson never had any proper conversations.

It wasn't until Halia and Emerson turned 14 that Emerson suddenly saw Halia in a different light. Perhaps, it was the peak of his puberty. Emerson noticed during one of his visits to Halia's house, things that he had never noticed before: her smile sent tingles down his spine, her long wispy hair danced in the wind like an angel, her smooth skin glistened in the sun and her slender body was delicate and s.e.xy.

That was the first time he felt his heart race because of a girl.

Back then, Emerson was so shy that he used to hide and watch her in secret. But, because of this shyness, she barely saw him properly. It was no wonder that Halia didn't recognize him.

A few months after he turned 15, Emerson learned that he was attending a ball. When he heard that Halia would be there too, he immediately started taking dancing lessons. He assumed that she would be impressed if he knew how to dance and he wanted to give his first dance to her. So, on the night of the ball, he asked her to dance with him. But, to his surprise, she had never danced before, so he patiently taught her. He remembered the softness of her hands and how she trembled nervously as he told her to follow him. He remembered her soft voice as she apologized for stepping on his foot. And, he remembered her smile when she finally danced in sync. He would never forget that smile.

He remembered that entire night vividly.

However...his happiness ended as quickly as it started. Life continued after that ball, but...he never saw Halia again. He was told that Halia was sent to boarding school and only visited home every so often. But, the worst thing was, she never attended any events anymore. One year passed after another. Emerson eventually heard that Halia moved to Beijing to study and work. He had visited Beijing a few times for work and he deliberately drove past her university, hoping to catch a glimpse of her, but he was never that lucky. After all, he didn't even know what she was studying and what faculty she was in; it was a complete stab in the dark.

Gradually, time passed and he continued on with his life, assuming that they would never met again.

Until last night, when he saw her walk in through the doors. He recognized her immediately and felt his heart stop for a second.