It startled Ming Lan. She didn't expect this reply from her mother-n-law. Seeing her confused, her mother-in-law offered a light smile, "I mean it's your work and we all know you always stay away from home. As long as you and Zac are fine with it, we have no say in it. It's both of your life and you two have to decide what to do. Now you are back, he is away for his work so I can not question my son even because it's his work. So you don't need to be apologetic. All I want is for both of you to be happy whether you stay together all the time and spend time away from each other. We don't expect you to be an idealistic daughter-in-law. We don't follow that in our family. Just live the way you feel comfortable."
Ming Lan understood what her mother-in-law said, "Thank you, mother."
"If you are tired due to a long journey, you can rest or you can spend your time with Liwei or as you feel right. I am taking my mother to the hospital."
"I will accompany you," Ming Lan immediately said as she thought this way she could make up for her absence and the responsibilities she could not fulfil.
"You are already tired. Maybe next visit you can accompany us," Mrs Wen said and Ming Lan agreed.
When the two older ladies left, the younger ones were left in the home.
"Sister-in-law, are you going to rest?" Liwei asked.
"Not really. I slept enough on the flight," Ming Lan replied and sat next to Liwei in the sofa of the Drawing room. "You can call me by my name, Liwei."
"Mother will scold me," Liwei chuckled, "She will think I am being westernized."
"I don't think so. Mother seems to not be the kind of person to mind it," Ming Lan countered, "Just call me by name my. I would like it."
"Fine, sister...I mean...Lanlan," Liwei said, "It's a cute way to call you like a little girl- Lanlan. I am sure my brother must be chanting your name all the time in his mind."
Ming Lan cleared her throat awkwardly, "I believe he is too busy with work to think about anything else."
"You don't come among those 'anything else'. He married you, that shows you are special."
Ming Lan looked at her with a questioning gaze, "I think at one point he would have married anyone even if it was not me and I would have done the same."
"I always thought he wouldn't marry anyone so easily as he was not over his first love...." Liwei stopped thinking she had spoken something she should not have. "I...mean...it's good that you two got married..."
"First love?" Ming Lan asked.
Liwei felt caught off guard and didn't know what to do. She didn't intend to say it but as she was happy for her brother, she spurted it out. "Lanlan, I am sorry. I just said whatever came to my mind. Please ignore it."
"It's fine Liwei. You can tell me. In fact, it might help me understand your brother better. I am sure the kind of person he is, he would never tell me about it," Ming Lan insisted. She was curious about Wen Zac.
Liwei felt hesitant a little but then said, "It happened long back and not now so you don't have to feel insecure. As my brother married you now, I am sure he must have decided to let her go."
"I won't feel anything. Don't worry," Ming Lan assured.
Liwei finally spoke, "I don't know who she is. All I know is that he used to like her a lot. He then confessed to her but she didn't reply to him."
"Didn't reply?" Ming Lan asked, feeling surprised.
Liwei nodded, "She didn't reply with anything like to show whether she accepted him or rejected him. She just never replied."
It surprised Ming Lan. "Didn't your brother go to her and ask her for an answer then? I mean even if it's rejection?'
"Not sure what happened exactly later but I think even if they came in front of each other, she acted as if nothing happened. Then brother thought she didn't even find it important to reply to him. Still, he waited for her till now and I guess ended it finally and decided to marry you. I am glad he did it."
"I wonder what kind of a woman she must be to not even reply," Ming Lan wondered and then asked, "Are you sure there was no mistake like she didn't understand what your brother meant or something that was misleading to her."
"I heard it from my grandmother long back and my brother didn't tell me directly."
"Grandmother?" It surprised Ming Lan.
Liwei nodded, "Brother shares everything with our grandmother. She is like his friend. He doesn't even tell anything to our mother but grandmother. She told me that he clearly confessed to her but how he did it I don't know. Even I wonder why she never replied with anything. Brother was hurt more than he would be on hearing the words of rejection from her. I wonder what kind of a person she is."
Ming Lan didn't know what to say but felt hurt for Wen Zac. 'I should be good to him.'
"Don't tell brother that I told you. He doesn't know I know it. After my engagement with Lu Lijun was cancelled, that was the only time he mentioned it to me but didn't tell me anything in detail. He just told me to console me."
"I won't tell him," Ming Lan assured. "Thank you for telling me."
"That's our little secret," Liwei said with a smile and then asked, "Just like my brother, were you also in love with someone? If you don't want to tell me then it's fine."
"I won't call it a love but a crush maybe," Ming Lan replied.
Liwei's eyes brightened up and she exclaimed, "Who?"
"Lu Qiang who is no more now," Ming Lan replied, feeling sad about his demise.
The excitement Liwei felt, disappeared the next moment, "It was indeed sad. He was a good friend of brother Zac. I met him a few times when I was a kid but I still remember him clearly."
"What about you?" Ming Lan asked to change that sad mood.
"About me? There is nothing. My first love or whatever it was, failed miserably and everyone knows about it," Liwei said with a down tone.
It didn't take time for Ming Lan to understand, "Lu Lijun?"
Liwei nodded, "It was the first time when I felt something about any guy but...it was not meant to be," she said and then looked at Ming Lan, "To think about it, both of our first love interests were two brothers."
Ming Lan felt like laughing at this coincidence and nodded.
"I hope he gets the one he had feelings for," Liwei mumbled.
"I am sure he will and you too will get someone that you would want to be together with," Ming Lan added.
"I don't want all this anymore. I am good with my studies for now."