They came to a park, which provided a refuge from the bustle of the town's noisy streets. Walking up to an empty bench, Wang Zi sat down and so did Gui Gui. The windy weather caused a loud but pleasant rustling of the leaves in the trees all around. This refreshed both of their moods at the same time. Since there was hardly anyone else within their sight, Gui Gui removed her earphones and took a deep breath of the soothing clean air.

Beside her, Wang Zi was aware of what she did and could not stop himself from guessing, "Has bringing a player along with you often help much?"

Facing him, she wondered what kind of an answer would be most suitable to give. Not seeing him even over a short few days could lead her to lose touch of a sense of past familiarity with him. It was as though they had only first met and introduced through a dense lense of misunderstood perceptions. Gui Gui clutched tighter at her discman, now has long turned to be her constant company whenever away from home. She trusted it as deeply as a well-attached friend, which she came to realise there was no one in the world worth such high honour in her regard.

"Have I?" he uttered to break off her train of thoughts. Gui Gui only gathered that he had been speaking all the while she was engrossed in her own little episode of contemplation. She could not figure out what he had been saying and overly despised her brief foolishness.

She stammered, not knowing how to respond but still, the word was earnestly pronounced, "Sorry....."

The moment he heard, Wang Zi highly doubted if he was in a deserved position to accept the apology. He turned to her, with his hand reaching out to grab her uneasy ones. Looking softly into her hesitant eyes, he set aside his usual aloof attitude and continued, "Know why I have never tried giving you birthday presents in a long time?"

She shook her head in silence. Once more, the hurts she has sustained from their ambiguous relationship now hurled back against her like a huge unwelcomed blow.

He revealed, "I had been waiting to come up with something you really longed for all this while...especially on days when you have the most hopes for...I was naive, thinking that I could be the only one to alleviate that clingy source of your main distress..."

"Wang Zi, I've never had in mind for you to perform the impossible," Gui Gui stressed.

He sighed in exasperation, "So it's not me...but him??"

She thought that by averting her gaze away from him, that telltale expression on her face could be less apparent to be detectable.

"Sorry," he expressed with undeniable regret. "It's always when you needed me most that I never failed to hurt you..." He then slid a hand into his pocket and took a thing out for her, "I have read your letter...Here's your bus pass which you have given up for my indecision..."

He placed it into her hand. Recognising what was originally hers, Gui Gui assured, "Wang Zi, you did come by the phone booth at last, right? Tell me it's true..."

He was unsure at this minute to admit, for what he would say might cause her undue confusion. She met someone else who could naturally offer her much relief from her problem at last. Aaron should be her ultimate stop of happiness, not Wang Zi himself.

Gui Gui nudged him strongly, "Please, Wang Zi...I need you to say it!"

He remained as quiet as ever and let go of his hand reluctantly, looking away to shift his focus on the empty wide green field before them.

On the side, Gui Gui hung her head low, with tears slowly but gradually filling her eyes. Disappointment was eating bit by bit deeper into her soul at Wang Zi's unwillingness to reply. As she scanned aimlessly from one end of the park to another, she said wearily, "It's been 16 years since we first met each other as kids in the orphanage...I can remember once again all so clearly this second...Even with so much changes through these trying years, we're still--..." Her voice trailed off when Wang Zi suddenly closed the gap between them and hugged her tight.

Gui Gui wiped dry the streams of tears down her face and grasped firmly onto his shirt, "I will surely know your answer one day, even though....."

"Gui Gui!! We should not be discussing this at the moment," he insisted. "What's important is that we've seen hope in your illness...And..."

Gui Gui could not withhold herself from crying again on his shoulder, "Wang Zi, I know that I have never lose hope all along..."

He pulled apart, only to witness her lovely face now fully-drenched in tears. He wiped them away, feeling the softness of her babyish skin, "That's good...I have always believed in your resilience..."

She choked and lifted her hand to touch his concerned face, "How I have always been yearning to hear your very own voice, Wang Zi...the still voice of an ever gentle Prince..."

He held her hand, "Promise me, Gui Gui...pay Dr Zeng a visit with me at his clinic tomorrow...It's been 10 years since you last did so...I don't want to see you go on suffering without a cure...As for other matters of our own, leave that to fate and the future...Okay?"

She surveyed the persistence and faith in his eyes. They spoke of a great deal of promising recovery for her near at hand. Finally, she nodded boldly to agree with him.