The very next day, ZhangWei went out. Xiaomei didn't mind and stayed behind. She kept herself busy with her novels. Soon, out of the blue, Haoyu appeared in front of her.
"Miss Daiyu, we wanted to inform you that we spotted one of Zhou Haitao's men snooping around here, but don't worry, we have already taken care of it. Also, Young Master was informed and said he would be back very soon," Haoyu reported to her. Bao and LiMei immediately became troubled by the news. Their eyebrows frowned in worry as they listened. It took a minute for Xiaomei to comprehend what Haoyu said with her eyes slightly widened by the news, but then she immediately said, "Tell him not to worry since everything was taken care of. ZhangWei doesn't need to come back. He can continue to help them out."
"Sorry, Miss Daiyu, but Young Master has already arrived," Haoyu said, looking behind her and slightly bowing his head before disappearing into the shadows again. Xiaomei turned her head to see ZhangWei walking towards her.
"Z-ZhangWei," she tried to say, but he already placed his palm against her cheek,
"Are you alright?" he said softly. She looked up at him.
"I'm fine. Nothing happened. Your men already handle it without me noticing anything," she reassured him. He took a small sigh of relief and rubbed her cheek with his thumb.
"Alright," he said. Before she could say anything, he already said, "I have to go somewhere, but Haoyu and my men will be on watch, so you are safe."
"Where are you going?" Xiaomei asked, slightly tilting her head as she sensed the tightness in his voice.
He smiled before answering, "I need to know where his master is." She could hear the cold chill in his voice. Soon ZhangWei left. Both LiMei and Bao insisted that she head inside. She agreed and headed back inside.
She didn't expect ZhangWei to be gone for most of the remaining day. He arrived back when the moon was high in the sky. She lowered her book down before putting it aside once she saw him entering her room and walking towards her.
"How did things go? Why did it take you so long?" She asked many questions at once. He sat down beside her on her bed before slowly answering her questions one at a time.
"Nothing to worry about. Everything is handled," he answered being discreet.
She narrowed her eyes and said, "Tell me." He smiled, seeing her stubborn eyes glaring at him.
He began to tell her everything. He simply explained to her that Zhou Haitao's men refused to talk, so they killed him. When ZhangWei informed Baozhai and them about Zhou Haitao's men, they also told him they planted a trustworthy minister as a mole for them.
Xiaomei quietly listened to every word as her full attention was on him. "No need to stress about things. Everything is being handled," ZhangWei said, rubbing her head. She sighed in relief before asking, "What about the memorial service? It's everything going as planned?" ZhangWei nodded his head.
"That's good," Xiaomei said as everything was going well and everything was being prepared.
"Ah, here." ZhangWei pulled out a narrow box from his sleeve. She accepted it while asking, "What is it?"
When she opened it, she saw a simple silver hairpin with a small jade pendant attached to it inside the box. She looked up at him, not understanding why he was giving her a hairpin out of the blue. He reached over and picked out the hairpin from the box. He then held one end of the hairpin before pulling the other end. Her eyebrows raise in surprise. He soon pulled out a narrow sharp dagger.
"To protect you if anything happens," he said, putting the dagger back into its sheath as it returned to an ordinary hairpin. She looked at him speechless, as he placed it back into the box.
"Um..thank you," she said.
"I'm hoping you don't have to use it since you will have me, but just in case anything happens," ZhangWei said, lightly tapping her nose.
The next day, the Emperor announced the news about the memorial service and how everyone must participate, and all the people must mourn at home. The announcement had reached every single person as written statements were all over the city. Soon, the palace had started preparing for the memorial service. Since the Emperor's decree was announced, everyone settled down and started preparing for the memorial service in their homes. The streets and the homes were no longer as lively as before and were now quiet and mellow.
During this time, ZhangWei still had his men on the search for the whereabouts of Zhou Haitao, while the minister that they had sent to be a mole had started giving ideas to Minister Yu to rebel on the day of the memorial service since it was a perfect chance to get them off guard as everyone will be respecting the deceased Empress and General Huang. He also reported to them that he was never able to meet with Zhou Haitao, as Minister Yu and Zhou Haitao were the only two to meet with each other, as the other ministers who had also joined them, including himself, were never told the time or place they met.
"So they took the bait," Xiaomei asked again.
"Ngh, that's what Minister Cheng wrote in his letters," ZhangWei said, leaning against his hand.
"That's great that Zhou Haitao and Minister Yu are falling into the trap," Xiaomei said, sighing in relief as the story was heading in the right direction.
"You sound so relieved," ZhangWei said, brushing his pointer finger against her nose.
"Of course. Aren't you?" Xiaomei said as she rubbed her nose, but then she noticed how quiet he was. "What's wrong? Aren't you," she grabbed his hand and directed his attention to her.
"I-I," he tried to speak but then sighed before grabbing both of her hands and burying his face in them. "I can't watch you disappear. I don't want you to leave," his voice was low and heartbreaking. Her heart trembled from his words.
"Ah...I see... All this time, he's been thinking about this while I was so focused on the present," she said in her heart. A small sigh came out of her mouth as she slightly bent down and tapped her forehead against his head.
"So this whole time, your mind was always worried about this?" She softly said.
"Haven't you?" He asked quietly with his face still buried in her hands.
"Here and there, but mostly the thought of you," she said, lifting his face. She looked into his eyes.
"Ugh, I can't!" ZhangWei pulled her into his arms and deeply hugged her. "I just can't..." his voice slowly breaking as they held each other tightly.
It wasn't a surprise for the day to come. Xiaomei and ZhangWei both arrived at the palace. They wore plain and simple clothes that synchronized with one another. The atmosphere in the palace was somber and silent, which spread throughout the city, making all houses quiet and all roads empty. Soon, the sky became dark with no sunlight.
ZhangWei took one more look at Xiaomei. She felt his gaze and turned her attention to him as he locked eyes with her before she could speak. He reached over and secured the simple silver hairpin in her hair. Without a word, she knew how worried he was. She lifted her hand and lightly touched the hairpin before they both took a step inside the palace.
Once they entered, they softly and quietly greeted the Emperor and the others. Before she realized it, Haoyu appeared right next to her as ZhangWei went to discuss with the others. He didn't take long before coming back to her side. He quietly explained to her certain things, but mostly where the safe area would be and how she should be there at all times when the fight breaks out. He constantly reminded her to be behind him or Haoyu at all times. She was starting to get slightly annoyed but kept it to herself since she knew how incredibly worried he was for her.
Everyone soon started to gather around into position as the memorial service was about to begin. Right before the service was set to begin, a sudden loud bang echoed throughout the palace as the gigantic doors were forcefully broken down. A large group of soldiers led by Zhou Haitao rushed in, while archers stationed on the roof surrounded them.
Zhou Haitao laughed, "Surprised to see me?" However, before he could finish his sentence, the archers surrounding them were getting shot down one by one. Zhou Haitao's smile slowly died, and his eyes started to become dark.
"We were expecting you," LiJie said with a cold remark.
Zhou Haitao frowned before glancing at Minister Yu, who immediately charged toward the Emperor. Minister Yu pulled out a sword ready to strike the Emperor.
However, once he was close enough to kill on the spot, the Emperor immediately pulled a sword and deflected the attack before using all his strength to strike Minister Yu down.
Before Minister Yu could get up and attack again, two sharp swords were against his neck. "Don't you dare make a move," LiJie said.
Minister Yu immediately looked at Zhou Haitao for help. Zhou Haitao glanced at him and said under his breath, "How useless," before giving a signal to his men.
At that moment, two arrows came soaring down and aimed at LiJie and Bojing, who held their swords against Minister Yu's neck. They quickly swung their swords up and cut the flying arrows in half. Minister Yu immediately took his chance to get up and attack, but both Bojing and LiJie were quick enough to defend themselves.
Without warning, Zhou Haitao shouted, "Attack!" as he raised his hand, ordering the soldiers to charge. The soldiers immediately started taking charge and attacking. LiJie instantly whistled as the royal army broke through and charged towards the enemy.
It didn't take long before Haoyu said, "Miss, it's best for us to go to the safe area." Xiaomei nodded in agreement, and they both started to make their way there. Haoyu continued to cut his way through and protect Xiaomei with all his capability. Before any enemy could face her, Haoyu immediately killed them on the spot.
Since it was Xiaomei's top priority to get to the safe area, she didn't pay any attention to the fight between Zhou Haitao and LiJie, or Bojing, who was busy protecting the Emperor, or Chuhua and Baozhai, who was also making their way to the safe area.
Xiaomei stuck close to Haoyu to avoid any enemy encounters, but she didn't notice one of Zhou Haitao's men had appeared behind her. Before Haoyu could react, the man lifted his sword to strike. As the sword was an inch away from her, a hand pulled her into his embrace and deflected the sword with his before quickly using the same hand that had grabbed her to snatch her hairpin and use it to stab the enemy's neck. He pulled the hairpin dagger out before the man fell to the ground. Xiaomei looked up to see ZhangWei covered with blood splatters all over his face. She reached out to wipe it away. He glanced down at her before saying, "Didn't I tell you to be aware of your surroundings."
"I-I...," she didn't know what to say as she had no excuse to give. "Sorry...," she said.
"Dummy, I wasn't yelling at you. Just reminding you," he said, lightly tapping her forehead before handing the hairpin dagger to her. "Use it to protect yourself," he said, as she took it back.
"You know...I can't kill people," she said.
"I know, but try when the time is needed," ZhangWei said as she looked at him. "Now hurry and get to the safe area," he said, looking at Haoyu. Haoyu nodded his head. Haoyu and Xiaomei continued to the safe place as Chuhua and Baozhai caught up to them along with the Emperor and Bojing. Before they continued towards the safe area, they were surrounded in all directions, forcing them to be stuck.
"Miss, please stand behind me at all times," Haoyu said with his sword up ready to kill anyone who came charging his direction. Xiaomei quickly nodded her head and stood behind him along with Chuhua, Baozhai, and the Emperor. Both Bojing and Haoyu were prepared to strike. They swung their swords as the enemies started coming at them. Bojing slashed their necks while Haoyu stabbed their chests before kicking them to the ground. It didn't take long before Minister Yu appeared and started attacking with great force. Haoyu was head-on with Minister Yu. Haoyu's skills were slightly lower than Minister Yu's, so Minister Yu had the upper hand.
Both Haoyu and Minister Yu clashed their swords together. They both gritted their teeth as they used their strength to determine who had the upper hand over the other. Haoyu started to lose his grip, but he gritted his teeth tighter before pushing his strength harder as Minister Yu started to lose his strength. Minister Yu knew he had to act fast or he would lose, so he quickly tilted his sword before slightly turning his body with it to prevent Haoyu's sword from striking him. He then took the opportunity to redirect his attack. Haoyu was caught off guard but quickly regained composure. However, the other soldiers started attacking him, and because of that, Minister Yu quickly swung his sword at him. Before Haoyu could completely dodge it, his arm still got slashed, but he was able to block the remaining attack. However, Minister Yu didn't miss a beat and continued to strike Haoyu. He then received an opening and shallowly stabbed him in the stomach before kicking Haoyu so hard that he flew, causing Xiaomei to go with him. They both flew and slammed against the wall.
"Huang Daiyu!" Baozhai, Chuhua, and the Emperor shouted. Bojing immediately cut his way through and charged towards Minister Yu. Haoyu and Xiaomei both groaned in pain and tried to get up, but Haoyu struggled.
"H-Haoyu," Xiaomei said in concern. "Are you alright?" Xiaomei said in pain as she noticed he was unable to get up. He clutched his stomach and tried to get up again, but it was pointless.
"Daiyu, are you alright?" the Emperor asked her in great concern as they helped them up.
During this time, ZhangWei and LiJie were fighting with Zhou Haitao. They all immediately noticed what was happening on the other side. Zhou Haitao instantly smiled. He noticed there were hardly any protectors, only basic soldiers he could defeat easily. He then whistled before his men immediately surrounded ZhangWei and LiJie. Before Zhou Haitao charged toward them, a group of soldiers quickly surrounded him, but he didn't want to play with them, so he jumped past them. He then positioned his sword ready to strike.
Before any of them noticed Zhou Haitao was rushing towards them, it was too late. Zhou Haitao already cut the soldiers out of his way and was a couple of feet away from them. When the Emperor glanced back, Zhou Haitao was two feet away from him with the sword aiming right at his heart.
"Watch out!"
At this time, LiJie and ZhangWei had finished off the remaining men. They quickly glanced over before LiJie repulsively moved the way he held his sword and immediately threw his sword, like a spear, with all his might. The sword pierced through the air before penetrating deep inside the back of Zhou Haitao, instantly killing him. Zhou Haitao dropped dead on the ground, but loud cries rose.
"Your majesty!"
Even though LiJie was able to kill Zhou Haitao, Zhou Haitao had already stabbed the Emperor. The Emperor stumbled while holding onto his wound before falling onto the ground.
"Your majesty!" another roar of cries burst as everyone immediately stopped fighting.
Minister Yu immediately laughed, "Yes, victory is mine! What are you guys waiting for? Continue to attack," but he could finish his words. Bojing gripped his sword tightly and swung it so hard that his action caught Minister Yu off guard, making him miss a beat, and instantly, his throat was cut open. Minister Yu gagged as he fell to his knee while holding onto his neck as he collapsed to the ground.
At once, the enemies were defeated.
"Your majesty," Xiaomei said, quickly going to him. "Your majesty, hold on. The doctor is coming," Xiaomei said, kneeling beside him. The Emperor coughed up blood before he glanced at her. He shakily raised his hand before saying, "Y-you know...you resemble the Empress. B-but you have your...father's eyes even though you have your mother's features..." His eyes started getting teary as he struggled to speak, "I...I..." He couldn't bring himself to express his feelings as he had no right.
"I-I'm sorry...," he said breathlessly. "They must h-ate me... They will n-ever forgive me for what I did..., and probably don't e-ever want to see me...," his voice broke. Xiaomei looked deep into his sad eyes and said, "They forgive you." His eyes instantly tremble with his eyes filled with tears.
"They are probably waiting for you," she said as tears flowed down his eyes. He looked up at the sky to see the sun was trying to peek through the dark clouds. It was as if he saw them waiting for him on the other side. His heart immediately felt so light, and he couldn't help but break into a smile before closing his eyes. Once the Emperor breathed his last breath, the sun finally pierced through the clouds.
Xiaomei slightly bowed her head before slowly getting up to look for ZhangWei, as he was also striding towards her.
However, once Baozhai and LiJie ran to each other embrace, the light burst throughout the sky, giving it a heavenly effect. It was at that moment that Xiaomei felt sharp pain coursing throughout her body. She soon felt warm liquid rush up her throat, and momentarily, she coughed up blood before collapsing. Her entire body felt weak, and her throat was burning in pain.
"Daiyu!" ZhangWei shouted as he reached her. He quickly kneeled to her, holding her in his arms and calling out her name again. She could barely hear him as she felt like she was drifting in and out of consciousness, but something felt different this time as if she was being taken away.
"Ah...I guess I'm leaving...so the end was the end," she thought, looking at ZhangWei, who was calling her name with shaky eyes.
"Please don't go. Not yet," he desperately said. "Why didn't you tell me this was the end?" his voice trembled. "Please wait." His eyes filled with tears.
"I-I'm sorry..." she softly said. She weakly lifted her hand to wipe away his tears. "This is w-why I told you...n-not to fall in l-love with mee... I-It was going to h-urt you," she struggled to speak, but she looked deeply into his eyes.
"Please...," he cried. He tightly held her hand before bringing it to his lips and kissing it.
Her heart felt so much pain but also warm. In a cracked voice, she said, "I...love you..." She smiled one last time before spitting up a mouth full of blood.
ZhangWei's eyes trembled into tears as he heard her first and last 'I love you'.
"Me too... I love you," he quietly sobbed in her hands before leaning down to kiss her cold lips. This time, their kiss felt so bitter. She then took one last look at ZhangWei before closing her eyes with tears rolling down her cheek. She quietly thought as her mind slowly drifted away, "How silly of me to get emotionally involved with a book. It's just a story. It's not even real... It's like a dream...and eventually, you have to wake up from your dream to face reality..."
The bright light soon woke her up. Once she opened her eyes, the bright sun was blinding her eyes. She lifted her hand to block the sunlight. She then found herself in her bed, as it was 6 in the morning.
She immediately noticed the bandage on her finger. She quickly sat up and looked for the book. The two books were still on her nightstand. She grabbed the book and started flipping through the pages to find nothing had changed. The story was the same as she always remembered it. She set the book down and stared at the empty space. It was as if it was all in her head or just a long dream...
She quickly changed out of her pajamas and hurried to the bookstore with the book tightly in her hands. She didn't know why, but she felt she needed to go to the bookstore.
To her surprise, the bookstore had the author of the book as a guest and was signing autographs of her latest novel. She saw tons of people gathered around the shop. Her legs immediately took her to get in line with the others to get their book signed. It was finally her turn, as she was the last person in line. The author greeted her with a smile.
"How do you like my book?" the author asked, but before Xiaomei could answer, the author noticed the book Xiaomei was holding. "Oh! I haven't seen that book in a long time. Have you read the second volume?" the author said enthusiastically with her eyes bright.
"No...I have not," Xiaomei said as she was surprised. She didn't know there was a second volume. If she knew, she would have read it.
"Aww, that's too bad you haven't read it yet. It looks like you like the series," the author said. Soon, the author started looking for something in her bag. She then pulled out a book with a beautiful cover. "This is the second volume. Since you like my books, I will give it to you as a gift," the author handed her the book. Before Xiaomei could speak, the author added, "You know most people like the second volume more than the first, but I'll let you be the judge of that." The author smiled at her.
Xiaomei was long gone as it was just the author and the bookstore owner alone in the cozy shop. The store had closed for the day, and the bookstore owner came up behind the author.
"Won't you get into trouble for giving her that book about her past life?" the bookstore owner said, glancing at the author, who just smiled.
"Of course, I will get into trouble, but I can't help it. He's been waiting far too long," the author said, looking out the glass window.
"You know we can't interfere or force," the bookstore owner said, looking at the author.
"I know...," the author softly chuckled, "But I'm not technically interfering or forcing. I'm just helping them since she is so busy and doesn't seem to have the time to find him, but I will leave the rest to them."
"Don't come crying to me when you get into trouble for getting too emotionally involved with your cases," the bookstore owner said, crossing his arms.
"Yeah, yeah, but doesn't their love story break your heart?" the author said, looking at the bookstore owner.
"Mmm," the bookstore owner softly agreed and slightly nodded.
"Now it's up to them...," the author said as they both looked out of the window in the direction where Xiaomei had left.
Xiaomei was still shocked that there was a second volume. She didn't understand how she didn't know there was a second volume. She then looked it up and was surprised to find it was published right after the first book.
"How come I didn't see this?" she thought.
Once she entered her apartment, she immediately opened the book and started reading. "It begins with a little girl in a yellow hanfu with her hair tied up, running around in her courtyard while two boys in light and dark blue robes chase after her.
"MeiMei, wait up!" the two boys shouted as they couldn't keep up with her since she had a head start. "Daiyu, slow down before you fall," the oldest one of the boys said, finally reaching up to her speed."
At that moment, Xiaomei stopped reading. She went back to reread the little girl's name again. "Daiyu," she read with her finger touching the name. She quickly searched and read the summary of the book. It's the story from Huang Daiyu's point of view. She felt as if her body froze for a minute before she started ramping through the pages. To her surprise, everything was slightly similar to what happened to her so-called dream. Her hand trembled while holding the book before thinking, "This is impossible." She then started skimming through the book.
Her eyes were startled; she couldn't believe it. She felt like it was so unreal. Huang Daiyu never died to begin with, as it was the same as the dream. It was the maid who framed Huang Daiyu.
Xiaomei soon realized that someone's perspective doesn't always tell the whole story. Since the first volume revolves around Baozhai and those closest to her, her perspective only shares her experiences and what she deems important.
So when Baozhai regained consciousness from being poisoned, she only heard bits and pieces of Huang Daiyu and, then beheaded. Therefore, she assumed that Huang Daiyu was beheaded at first. However, as the story progresses, Baozhai's perspective only focuses on events revolving around her, gradually disregarding Huang Daiyu's presence, as she is a meek character in Baozhai's side of the story.
The more Xiaomei read the second volume, the more everything became clearer. For instance, Huang Daiyu never sent an assassin to kill Baozhai as they all assumed it was Huang Daiyu who sent an assassin; however, the culprit was ZhangWei, who was trying to meet with Baozhai.
Soon Xiaomei found how Huang Daiyu actually died. Since Huang Daiyu had taken so many poisons to get LiJie's attention, the poisons started to manifest with each other inside her body, causing it to be incurable as she did die from poison.
Even though Xiaomei's mind was becoming chaotic with all this information, she didn't care. She also couldn't care less about gathering her thoughts together. She needed to know what happened to ZhangWei. She needed to know how his story ended. She hurriedly skipped to the end of the book, hoping to find any details on ZhangWei.
Once she reached close to the end of the book, her heart felt relieved. She found it. She felt thankful that the story continued even without her in it. She wanted to know what happened to everyone after she passed away. Even though she was relieved, she still felt uneasy about what to expect.
As she read, "The battle was over, and Crown Prince Liu LiJie was now throne as the new Emperor. However, before that came, the burial ceremony of the late Emperor was soon held, and the mourning period went on for a while before Huang Daiyu's burial ceremony could happen.
Once that was all over, Liu LiJie's official celebration of being the new Emperor arrived, and soon after, the marriage between Liu LiJie and Zhou Baozhai came. Then came Chen Bojing and Han Chuhua's wedding. Wang ZhangWei couldn't care less about anything that occurred. The only reason he stuck this long was for Huang Daiyu's burial. Once that was over, he departed.
Since everything was resolved, the little sect was no longer living in fear and was free to go wherever they wanted. However, they all chose to stay in the little sect but open their gates for anyone to come in and out.
Everything was turning for the good, and the new beginning was going smoothly except for Wang ZhangWei. At first, he wanted to roam around and face the lonely world on his own since the one he loved was no longer by his side.
He immediately appointed the new leader of the sect to Junfeng before leaving everything behind. Of course, Junfeng refused, but then he agreed that he was willing to be the temporary leader for him to roam around before returning.
It only took two years before he was forced to return as bandits were constantly tormenting the sect, which Junfend could handle one at a time, but soon enough, different groups of bandits were joining forces to overtake the sect. Once he returned, the title of the leader returned to him. Soon, his new focus in life was taking care of the sect and doing his duty as a leader to occupy his mind.
Three years passed by, and ZhangWei came to the capital city for business. Before he could return, Emperor LiJie and Empress Baozhai urged him to visit the palace once before he departed, once they heard of his arrival in the capital.
"So, how is everything going? We haven't heard from you for so long," LiJie said, pouring tea for them.
"It's the same old," ZhangWei answered, picking up his teacup.
"The bandits are no longer creating a ruckus?" Bojing asked.
"I already handled them all the year I came back," ZhangWei said indifferently. He then started swirling the tea in his cup. During the years, the three of them seem to have become friends. "How about you two?," ZhangWei looked at both of them. "How's your duties as the Emperor?" ZhangWei said to LiJie, "Or what about you? I heard you are now the great general?" he said to Bojing.
Both of them were slightly startled by his abrupt questions. They both smiled and said it was going well. They usually avoid this topic, but LiJie opened his mouth.
"Are you going to stay a bachelor for the rest of your life?" LiJie asked. Bojing looked at LiJie before cautiously looking at ZhangWei.
However, ZhangWei remained silent as they all knew the answer.
"You know she wouldn't be happy if she knew you were living like this. She would probably say something snarky to you," Bojing said, trying to lighten the mood, but then he started to smile, and soon smiles appeared on all of their faces as they started to reminisce. However, ZhangWei's smile slowly faded away.
"If she is unhappy with how I live, then that is what she gets for leaving me behind," he said under his breath. He knew he was being petty, but so what? It's not like she will come back to him and make a fuss with him again...
He then stayed for a couple more minutes before getting up and saying he was leaving, but then Baozhai and Chuhua arrived back from making some snacks for them all.
"ZhangWei, you are leaving already? Can't you stay and have dinner with us before leaving," Baozhai said, sitting down with Chuhua as the maids set down the plate of snacks. ZhangWei was quiet for a minute before saying, "I can't. I have to depart before night falls."
"Then stay a little bit longer. I haven't got a chance to talk to you yet," Baozhai said as she slightly frowned.
"Maybe next," he said.
"When will that be?" Baozhai asked.
"When I have to come back to the capital," he answered.
Baozhai sadly looked at him before saying, "Alright. Safe travels."
He then took his leave without looking back. They all stare at his back. He looked so lonely in this vast world without her.
Baozhai couldn't help but say, "He truly misses her. I hope in the next life, they can be together..."
Before he left the palace, he slowly walked toward the cold palace. Once he entered, he saw how empty and old it was. He stood there in silence as his eyes moved along the house to the broken well and then to the empty ground where she used to garden. He slowly walked towards the nonexistent garden. Then he saw her basking in the sunlight under the tree with her eyes closed while holding her watering bowl in her hand as the wind lightly blew her hair. Soon, her eyebrows frown from the bright light before opening her eyes. She then looked up in the tree to see him sitting in the tree and leaning his back against the tree as he was gazing at the clouds and occasionally glancing down at her.
"Young master," a voice awakened him from his memories. He then turned back and answered, "What's the matter?"
The shadow guard slightly bowed and responded, "Bao had heard that you had arrived in the capital and wanted you to spend the night with them."
ZhangWei nodded his head and said he would handle it as the shadow guard disappeared. ZhangWei then took one last look at the cold palace before leaving.
Once he arrived, Bao and LiMei greeted him at the front door. They were so happy to see him again.
"Young Master Wang, have you been well?" Bao said. ZhangWei nodded his head in response.
"Young Master Wang, have you eaten? I can set the table," LiMei said.
"No need. I came here to check on you two, and then I will be departing," he answered.
"Young Master Wang, you should spend the night. You must be tired," LiMei tried to insist.
"It's alright," ZhangWei gently declined the offer. LiMei nodded her head and no longer insisted. "How are you two?" ZhangWei asked.
"We are doing well, Young Master Wang," Bao answered, slightly bowing his head.
"Good," ZhangWei said. Ever since Daiyu passed away, ZhangWei has taken care of Bao and LiMei on behalf of Daiyu. He purchased her house and let Bao and LiMei stay there to take care of the house so whenever he came to the capital and needed to spend the night, he would go there. He would also send money monthly to them to take care of themselves.
Soon enough, ZhangWei bid them farewell before leaving and heading back to the sect.
As days passed into months and then into years, Wang ZhangWei remained unmarried for his entire life. However, he wasn't completely alone. The people who once cared for her would always take their time to visit him once in a while and tried to keep him accompanied, but to him, it didn't matter how many people came to visit him; his heart still felt completely alone as the person he wanted to accompany him was no longer with him..."
She couldn't express what she was feeling. Her heart felt this piercing pain as if she was stabbed in the heart before it was ripped right out of her chest. She collapsed to the floor, tightly clutching her fist next to her chest as the book was laid open on the ground next to her. With tears in her eyes, she couldn't help but painfully cry, "I'm sorry..."
She didn't understand why she was apologizing. It was just a story.
She closed her eyes, enduring the pain she felt in her heart. Once her tears fell down her cheeks and landed on the last page. A bright light glowed from her teardrops, and soon, words were starting to form. She glanced down and read the cursive words, "Your past life."
"My...past life?" she slowly said, staring at the bright words. She softly touched the words, and before she knew it, memories came rushing to her. She slightly trembled as these memories flashed through her mind. She finally regained consciousness. She touched her forehead as her body felt numb. Before she could even think, her phone started to ring.
She didn't want to grab her phone, but the caller was not letting her go. She reached over and grabbed her phone. She realized she had missed the caller ten times already. She answered her phone but felt her every move was slow as if she was still trying to comprehend everything.
"Hello?" she slowly said with her mind being absent-minded.
"You finally answered! Where have you been? I have been calling and texting you nonstop. Did you know it is already noon? You are very late. Don't you remember we have that important meeting today? Everyone must be present or else. I was able to cover for you on why you weren't in this morning and could only say that you should be here very soon once you get out of your doctor's appointment. Now hurry up. The meeting is very soon," Jianyu anxiously said.
"Oh shoot. The manager is coming by. Got to go. Talk to you later. Don't forget the meeting. Now hurry it up. Bye," Jianyu said quickly and hung up before she could say a word.
She wanted to gather her thoughts and situation, but now she could only think at this moment was the meeting!
She quickly rushed out.
Once she finally arrived at the company, Jianyu spotted her.
"Finally," he said with a sigh of relief. "Took you long enough," Jianyu continued to blabber.
However, even though she rushed to her workplace, her mind was still somewhere else. Her mind was chaotic as she was trying to sort things out.
"Hey, are you alright?" Jianyu noticed her quietness, "You don't look too well. Are you sick? I'm sorry. I should have let you speak on the phone so you could have told me you were not feeling well. I assumed you were fine since yesterday you were fine. If I knew, I would say you were sick," he said, worried as he noticed her pale face.
"Ah, no. I'm..fine," she said, snapping out of her thoughts. She thought, "Let's put this aside for now, and deal with it when I get home. Right now, I have to deal with this. Deal with one thing at a time."
"Don't worry. If you get picked on, I will cover you," Jianyu said, patting his chest.
Soon, everyone gathered around and stood around the room, waiting for the meeting to begin. Then Jianyu introduced someone to her, "Oh, this is a friend of mine. She is the one who tweeted your time card."
Once Xiaomei's eye lay on his friend, her eyes surprisingly widened and unconsciously said, "LiMei?"
The sweet girl smiled in response before saying, "It's Liling. It's nice to meet you," as she wasn't bothered or upset by Xiaomei saying her name wrong. Then, someone called her over to them before she quietly excused herself.
Jianyu looked at Xiaomei and then to the back of Liling. "You know her?" he asked. At first, Xiaomei didn't say anything as she was busy looking at Liling, who was walking away from them.
"Maybe...in a past life," she opened her mouth and said. Immediately, Jianyu raised his eyebrows as he looked at her. "Are you really okay? What's up with you today? You were never the type of person who thought people had past lives," he said, getting close to her face. She just smiled, not answering him. He looked at her, seeing how weirdly happy she was. He then crossed his arms together as he lifted his chin slightly before saying, "I have a feeling in my past life, I was probably a handsome, rich man who had all the ladies lining up for me,'' he sprouted.
She couldn't help but roll her eyes and joked, "I doubt it. Maybe, an uneducated farmer."
Jianyu frowned his eyebrows and responded, "Oh. Then you were probably my cow. Look at your horns," as he grabbed her hair, trying to form two horns out of her hair as he messed with her.
"Maybe. I was wrong. You were probably a duck," she said, taking the advantage to pinch his lips together and pull it out. "An annoying one," she teased, but she felt maybe he was a certain chipmunk.
While they were teasing each other, the loud sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted them. They immediately stopped messing with each other and slightly turned their heads to see their director and two men dressed in black suits. Her eyes immediately widened as she let go of Jiayu's face. She remembered those pouty lips he had when he was jealous and those upset eyes, but most importantly, she recognized his charming beauty mark under his right eye. She had the urge to shout his name, but she knew he probably didn't know her...as she quietly stood there, looking at him. Her heart felt this longing as they both stared at each other.
"Hey, do you know him?" Jianyu whispered into her ear, but she didn't say anything and quickly shrugged.
Her director cleared his throat to quiet everyone down and to listen up.
"Alright. Everyone, please listen up. This is our new CEO, Han Zhuang. He now owns this company. Please welcome him," the director informed everyone in the room as everyone was dead silent for a second before applauding.
"Owns?" both Xiaomei and Jianyu said while going along with everyone to applaud the new CEO.
"Wow, our company is great at informing us...this late," Jianyu whispered to her, as she nodded in agreement with her eyes on him the whole time.
The man with a beauty mark under his right eye, eyebrows twitched with his eyes shooting a glare at them.
"You there! Are you feeling well? You look pale," the man with a beauty mark said as he intentionally cornered her.
Immediately, Jianyu answered, "Yes, Mr. Han. She's fine. It's a pleasure to meet you."
In response, Mr. Han's mouth twitched in jealousy, and looked at the director before saying, "Do all the workers wait for someone to answer for them?"
Instantly, the director's forehead started to sweat and started to stutter, "Ah, of course not." He then looked at her manager.
"Ah yes, she is just a quiet person but a very hard-working person," her manager quickly responded.
"Is that so... It doesn't seem like it," he said with a low voice, staring at her as she forced a smile. She knew he was jealous, but does that mean he knows her?
It was her! The girl in his dreams. As long as he can remember, he always had these dreams about a woman. However, he could never see her face clearly. He only saw her backside or a blurry face. It wasn't until the last year of high school he saw a glimpse of her face, but it was only for a second each night. It wasn't until he was in college that he was able to see her face clearly as each dream was getting longer and more vivid.
At first, he didn't mind it, but the more he dreamed, the more his curiosity grew. He didn't know who she was and why he was dreaming about this woman, but every time he dreamed about her, his heart ached in longing as if she was someone very dear to him. And soon, everything became clear to him as a vivid dream appeared before him.
"He was doing his daily duty as a leader. However, today he had to go out. Once he returned, he was surprised to see an exhausted old man by the entrance of the sect. The old man explained that he was wandering the woods to pick up some herbs and soon got lost in the dark. Now he was very tired and asked if he could spend the night. He noticed the old man's clothes were covered in dirt and glass stains with a basket of herbs. He could instantly tell how tired the old man was, so he agreed. He then told one of his men to clean a room for the old man and give him something to eat.
It was not until the next day he saw the old man again as the old man requested to meet him. The old man wanted to show his appreciation.
At first, ZhangWei told his men to just send the old man on his way safely, but then, he was told by his men that the old man wouldn't leave until he saw him and showed his gratitude. So ZhangWei reluctantly agreed.
When he met the old man again. The old man quickly pulled a token of his gratitude out of his sleeve, but before he gave it to ZhangWei, he noticed the two waist tassels that were tangled together, swinging on his waist.
"Oh, you have two waist tassels. The craftsmen are very well done, but why do you have two? Don't you find it heavy?" the old man asked.
ZhangWei looked at them and answered, "One is my lover and one is mine."
"Ah...I see," the old man said, stroking his beard. "Is that why I see your eyes in despair? It looks like you are hollow inside as if you are not living. Time will heal and soon you will find another," the old man said.
ZhangWei stood there in silence as he remembered the year he came back to the sect. Once he finished handling the bandits, everyone in the sect knew about his heartbreak and left him alone, but it wasn't long until the elderly men started urging him to get married. However, once ZhangWei threatened he would leave the sect, they all settled down, but soon enough, they once again urged him to get married to have an heir.
If it wasn't for ZhangWei's snarky remark, would they be happy that he's not getting married and getting an heir so one of their heirs can have the opportunity of getting the position as the leader? They all shut their mouths and never brought up marriage to ZhangWei again.
"Time doesn't completely heal everything, and I will never find another...," he said, looking at the empty space.
The old man looked him in the eyes and said, "At this rate, you die at a young age from a lonely heart."
"I am fine with that. Maybe then I can see her again," ZhangWei said.
The old man stroked his beard again before saying, "You know, in the next life, you both won't remember each other."
ZhangWei looked him dead in the eye with great determination, "I don't believe in superstitions such as reincarnation, but if there is, then I will remember her no matter what."
The old man started chuckling, "I don't think anyone has the option to choose to drink the meng po soup (soup of oblivion) or not."
"Even if I drink the meng po soup, I will remember her. I will even engrave her name onto my chest. Just to remember her," ZhangWei said.
The old man smiled before saying, "Easy now, young fella. I too believe that you will remember her even without engraving her name. With your strong determination, you will indeed remember. But what if she doesn't remember you?"
ZhangWei didn't hesitate to say, "It doesn't matter if she doesn't remember me. At least I remember her." his eyes became soft, and a smile slowly appeared.
"Ah...I see," the old man said as he seemed to be touched by ZhangWei's words. "Well then, I should be leaving now. I wish you well. Here is a token of my gratitude and my blessing for you two to meet in the next life." The old man handed ZhangWei a gift wrapped in a red cloth before making his way out the gates. ZhangWei looked at the old man before looking at the wrapped-up gift in his hand.
He unwrapped the gift to find a translucent jade pendant with a carving of a fox and a cat together. He immediately looked in the direction where the old man had left, but the old man was already gone. While ZhangWei was distracted by the old man's disappearance, the light touched the pendant, and soon the pendant gleamed."
"Man, that meeting was long," Jianyu said as the meeting was long over, and both Jianyu and Xiaomei were riding on the elevator. She just nodded her head as she was too busy thinking of the new CEO.
"Does he know her? Does he remember her?" She had all sorts of questions but no answers. She didn't know how she could get those answers. She couldn't possibly go up to him and start spouting nonsense. What if he thinks she is a nut job and avoids her?
Jianyu then looked at her in the crowded elevator.
"Hey Xiaomei, do you happen to know the new CEO because it seems like he knows you," Jianyu said, tilting his head to her. She stopped her thoughts for a minute before she softly smiled and looked at him.
"Maybe, in a past life," she said with a bright smile. Jianyu immediately poked her head. "Past life again? What is with you today? You're saying weird stuff today," Jiayu said, looking at her confused.
"Don't worry. I'm fine. I'm just messing around," Xiaomei softly chuckled.
"Sure," Jianyu rolled his eyes but continued, "So do you know him? You didn't stop staring at him the whole time we had the meeting."
"Of course, I don't know him," she lied. "But who knows, maybe I do...," she softly said to herself, but someone happened to hear what she said as he and his assistant were listening to the whole conversation between Xiaomei and Jianyu. They were a couple of feet behind them as there were a couple of people in front of them, so Xiaomei and Jianyu didn't see them.
Once he heard her words, his ears perked up. He felt his body tremble as he was overwhelmed.
"Was it possible? Is it possible?" he thought.
The elevator's door opened as Xiaomei and Jianyu exited first before the rest followed.
It was at that moment a voice called, "Stubborn cat?"
Xiaomei immediately turned to see him coming out of the elevator a couple of feet behind her.
She broke into a smile and answered back, "Cunning fox." They both stare deep into each other eyes as their hearts finally feel complete.
1
~The End~
—
Author's note:
Thank you to everyone who read this story! I am truly happy and grateful that you all stayed and finished this story. I do apologize for the very short and open-ended ending but hopefully you all like it, though.
I do inform you all that I am planning to write an extra so please look forward to reading it. I am planning to upload it tomorrow! Hopefully, it meets some of your expectations.
Thank you again!
See you guys in the extra.
It's been two months since Xiaomei and Zhuang finally found each other and talked everything out, and since then, they have been stuck to each other's side. Well, to be exact, Zhuang stuck to Xiaomei's side. Whenever he was not busy, he would go to her.
At first, Xiaomei told Zhuang to focus on getting the company adjusted to his standards since he now runs the business. Once he settled everything, he stuck to her like glue, which she didn't mind. On the other hand, she was busy trying to readjust herself back to her usual routine.
They didn't officially declare the status of their relationship with each other since they both never brought it up. They just went with the flow of their relationship. They text, call, hug, kiss, hold hands, and spend time with each other. It was as if they just continued where they had left off from their previous life.
They had finished their day at work and headed out together. Both Xiaomei and Zhuang were walking to the door of her apartment.
"When are you ever going back to your place?" Xiaomei asked as she pulled out her keys to open the door.
"When you start living with me," he answered. Xiaomei rolled her eyes before opening the door. Xiaomei refused to move in with him until her lease was over. Therefore, Zhuang spent the night at her place all the time.
Once she opened the door, voices were heard as if there were people inside her house. Immediately, Zhuang pulled her behind him. He was about to grab his phone to dial the cops, but Xiaomei stopped him. She felt these voices sounded familiar.
"Where did she put it?" a female voice said as cabinets were being opened.
"Mom, hurry before Dad ruins the dish," a young male voice shouted.
"Mom, it's right here," an older male voice said.
"Honey, can I add the vegetables now?" another male voice said.
She quickly went around him and walked towards the voices. She saw her mother, father, and two older brothers around the messy kitchen and dining table.
"MeiMei," one of her brothers noticed her as everyone in the kitchen stopped moving and turned their heads in her direction.
"Xiaomei, you're home so early?" her father said as she stood there looking at her family with an aching heart.
"W-what are you guys doing here?" she slowly said.
"Did you forget? It's your birthday, silly," her mother said with a smile.
Xiaomei has been so busy with work, Zhuang, and readjusting that she didn't have time to contact her family.
She hurried into her mother's arms and started crying. Her whole family was shocked and started asking what was wrong and why she was crying.
"I missed...you guys," she softly said, burying her face in her mother's arms.
"What's the matter with you? It's only been a couple of months since we haven't seen each other. Also, you could have visited us if you missed us so much," her mother said, stroking her head.
"There, there. Don't cry now," her father said, stroking her head as well.
"Yeah, MeiMei. Don't cry anymore, or you will look ugly," said one of her brothers, who was wearing shorts and a tee shirt. She then shot him a glare before her eldest brother with glasses smacked her brother in the head.
"Quit yapping," he said before looking at her, "MeiMei, who is that with you?"
Everyone then turned their heads to the door where Zhuang was standing.
"Ah...," Xiaomei tried to think what to say, but Zhuang already answered for her.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all. I am Xiaomei's fiance, Han Zhuang," he introduced himself.
Everyone's mouths were wide open, including Xiaomei. They all stared at him and then at Xiaomei as she stared at him dead in the eyes.
"Was he out of his mind? How did I forget how shameless he can be," she thought, giving him the look. He just smiled at them all.
"How shameless can you be?" she said to him as she closed the door to her family, who just left after finishing their dinner together.
He just smiled before answering, "Don't tell me you forgot how shameless I can be?"
"Of course not," she forced a smile and joked, "Perhaps it was a mistake to start a relationship with you."
He then pinched her cheeks. "Well, too bad. You are stuck with me," he smiled.
Soon, she sighed in relief and couldn't believe it, "Just be thankful my family accepts you, you smooth talker."
Her family started asking all sorts of questions, but Zhuang interrupted them all.
"I know that you all may think this is out of the blue and absurd, but I truly love Xiaomei. It's as if I spent my entire life waiting for her," he said as his eyes were telling their whole story to them. Her parents were immediately moved by his words and eyes. Even though her brothers felt moved by his words, they still wanted more. However, for the time being, they will accept him, but not completely.
Soon after the whole dinner, her family continued to ask questions to get to know Zhuang better.
"Your family is very kind and understanding," he said.
"What about your family?" She asked, getting nervous. He then petted her head.
"Don't worry. They will love you," he said. "They are very nice people. Also, if they don't, it won't stop me," he said, assuring her.
She couldn't help but think about his family and wonder what they were like, but then she remembered.
"I saw some people in our past lives now. Do you see any?" she asked as she remembered LiMei, well Liling now. She also saw Bao as a security guard at their company. He seemed to be Liling's boyfriend from Jianyu's words. She was also starting to talk to them more since Jianyu introduced them to her.
He was silent for a minute before nodding his head.
"Really? Who?" she asked, gazing intensely at him.
"Everyone... Baozhai, LiJie, Bojing, Chuhua, but their names are no longer that..." he said reluctantly.
"When? How?" she said, surprised.
"T-they are sort of my friends," he said quietly. He then explained that Baozhai and him were childhood friends. Then he met Bojing and LiJie in high school, and soon they became bros, while he met Chuhua through Bojing.
She was gobsmacked to hear that. She was extremely surprised yet fascinated by how they all still were connected in this life. It was interesting, she thought.
She then smiled, "Now that I think about it. Perhaps we were never meant to be? You and the rest of the gang still met each other in this life. While I had no relation with you guys at all," she teased, but Zhuang went dead silent.
She was about to say she was just kidding, but then he picked her up out of nowhere before going to her bedroom.
"Z-Zhuang," she said, startled. "I was joking," she tried to say.
He then placed her in bed with him. He held her tightly before finally speaking, "Don't joke about that." He hated that... Just the thought of that was horrible to him...
She immediately noticed the pain in his voice.
"I'm sorry," she said, lifting his face to look at her. She saw his dim, sorrowful eyes. She couldn't help but feel her heart ache. She then leaned over and kissed him on the lips. Before she could pull away, he deepened their kiss. He moved his lips, refusing to separate from her as his lips clung to her, but she couldn't stand their deep kiss for long as she tugged his shirt to tell him she needed to breathe.
He soon released her lips, but he still held her, quietly staring at her. She placed one of her hands on his cheek before wiping the saliva off his lips and said, "I'm right here, ain't I? We met again, didn't we? This time we'll be together forever," she said with a genuine smile.
He looked deeply into her eyes before leaning in.
"I love you," he softly whispered into her ear.
"I love you too," she answered back. He then took her lips away again as they held each other in each other's arms.
~Completely finished~