Andrea Invited Isabella and her son to their mansion and have them stay until dinner. It was Lu Fang who suggested giving the opportunity for them to talk to each other.
Juan picked them up from the hotel. Since Ricardo was busy with his shoot, only Isabella and Matteo arrived.
Isabella was amazed by how huge the couple's estate was. Lu Fang had already had the property fenced and within the area, it was surrounded by vegetation. It had a beautiful garden in front of the residence and a Patio on one side.
"Wow, Ms. Andrea -"
"Isabella, you can call me Andy. We should establish our closeness now," she said while winking at her. She leaned forward and whispered, "besides, who knows we are going to be family soon."
Lu Fang clearly told her that it should all come from Hanxi and not from her. However, it did not mean she can't give a hint. Right?
Although it would pain her if Hanxi ever decides to leave her side, her husband reminded her brother will eventually have his own life. She could at least convince the two to take it slow… when both she and Hanxi are ready to part ways.
Isabella's face instantly turned red. She realized Andrea had an idea. She bit her lip, thinking, 'How obvious am I?'
"Andy, your home is so enormous and beautiful," Isabella said. She dared not touch on her teasing words. "And you can call me Bella."
"Thank you, Bella. Come. Let's get inside," looking past Isabella, she called out to Hanxi who has carrying Matteo, "Hanxi, hurry - Oh, the little boy is asleep."
"I'll take him to my room - "
"That is a good idea. You and Bella stay in your room for now. You can get some rest and hope that Matteo sleeps a lot longer," Andrea interrupted her brother as she said this.
Hanxi's eyes instantly narrowed at Andrea. He knew what was on her mind but chose to ignore it, hoping that Isabella did not take notice.
Isabella's eyes glistened while studying the interior of the couple's mansion. It was well thought of and yet very family-oriented. It made her jealous. She hoped she will also have a complete family of her own and a similar home one day.
Seeing Hanxi was already at the stairs, she hurriedly followed him to his room.
Laying down Matteo on the bed, Hanxi asked, "Why is he so tired?"
"He woke up early to watch the Karate Kid movie. Thanks to you," Isabella said before giving a smirk and sitting on the bed beside her son.
"Pfft… I thought you'd watch it last night," Hanxi said before his hand reached for her nose, pinching them. "You look cute when you smirk."
"I bet you are tired too. We have been going out the entire week. You should take a rest as well, " Hanxi suggested.
Hanxi has been accompanying them in touring Beijing. He occasionally goes to Lu-Wei Enterprises early in the morning to check on the office security before leaving. Although he had asked for a two-week leave, he wanted to make sure his team was on top of the office surveillance.
Isabella took a deep breath and leaned against the headboard saying, "I don't think I can sleep. I haven't been sleeping well."
"Are you still having nightmares?" Hanxi asked with concern on his face. He recalled how he had to watch her sleep a few times through a video call. She told him she had bad dreams.
From time to time, when news of the same type of violation was exposed to her by accident, it would remind her of her trauma. There were also other triggest but mostly, seeing others experience the same difficulty makes her relive it as well. Whenever she had those fears, Hanxi would offer to watch her sleep at night.
She smiled, appreciating how he had always remembered everything about her. She looked at his handsome face and said, "No, not that. I'm often thinking of - of something else."
She meant to say; he was always on his mind. Hurting over the fact that she was only a friend in his eyes.
"Besides, I will crumple my dress. I did not bring any extra - "
Hanxi cut her off and said, "You can wear my clothes - or if you prefer wearing Andy's I can -"
"No!" She pursed her lips and while avoiding his gaze she said, "Your clothes are fine. I don't want to bother Andy that much."
Deep inside she was excited. They rarely saw it each other and any physical touch or feel made her heart flutter uncontrollably, regardless if it came from a mere shirt of his.
She got changed inside Hanxi's bathroom. She lazily put on his shirt and his huge shorts. They were barely on her but thankfully; the shorts were adjustable ones.
Before stepping outside, Isabella pulled up the shirt up to her face, smiling from ear to ear. She told herself, 'So this is how it feels like to really like someone.'
Suddenly she lightly pat her cheeks and mumbled, 'Here you go again, Bella. You are daydreaming. You are so pathetic."
Coming out of the bathroom, she was surprised to see Hanxi had fallen asleep next to Matteo.
She slowly walked to the other side of the bed and studied them both. Hanxi's arm was holding Matteo and her son was snuggled comfortably in his chest. Tears welled up in her eyes. She thought it was such a beautiful sight.
She wondered how come Hanxi be this way to her and her son. She thought, 'Surely, he must like me too. Or is there really a person this kind-hearted and casually be this affectionate?'
Isabella's phone beeped, and she silently grabbed her device from the handbag.
Ricardo had sent her a message saying, "How is everything? Thank you, by the way for sponsoring my shoot. As promised, I will allocate two weeks of my time to shoot one for the Maldives… Isabella, you should take this chance to speak to Hanxi. I sincerely think he likes you too. You are a beautiful and desirable woman. I don't know what is keeping you from being honest with him, but I hope you can find it in you to be confident and believe in yourself."
"Thank you, Ricardo. I am hoping to tell him today. Wish me luck. Haha! You should also take your own advice and speak to your ex-wife," Isabella replied, smiling while looking at her mobile.