Suddenly the atmosphere got hot. What started off as a peck soon turned into a full on kiss. Both of them trying to steal the others air.
Li Hua's mind was racing. She knew this was wrong. She knew that they should stop however she couldn't bring herself to pull away. Each time her strength would dissolve. Each time she slightly pulled away, he leaned in closer.
All at once it felt like pent up pressure had finally released.
Li Hua kept her eyes shut as each kiss crashed down on her lips. She was slightly afraid of what would happen next. The passion in the room was almost touchable.
A million "no's" flooded her mind but for each no a yes was returned. She could feel his hands carefully caressing her waist and pull her in. We're they about to do it?
However, just when she thought he would go further. He stopped. Li Hua slowly opened her eyes to see him staring at her. Serious.
Her face was a shade of red and her lips slightly bruised. He started to feel a little sorry.
"Hua." He called out.
"Ye..yes." She stammered. She was still flustered from the previous second and needed to catch her breath.
"Let's start over. Forget about everything that happened in the past."
Hearing this she was shocked. What did he mean?
Forget about the past...high school?...The letter?
"I-"
"I know there are things that we both want to forget. Let's do it. I know that you plan to move back to America..."
He looked down while saying that. Obviously disappointed.
"However, we met again for a reason. So let's put it behind us and try again. "
Hearing this Li Hua felt her heart hurt. Try again? She never thought they could try again. She never thought they would meet again too, but here they were.
"If you still want to return to America after everything is over. I won't stop you. Just please think about it."
With that he got up and looked at Li Hua, who was still sitting in shock. He leaned down and swept the hair in her face behind her ear and smiled.
He walked over to the door and turned around one more time to look at her.
"I won't force anything on you. I'm going to win your love properly."
With that he turned around and left the room.
Li Hua sat in her bed alone. She laid down on her back and sighed. Her mind was racing and she felt like she might go crazy.
Did this really just happen? Was that all real?
She didn't need to question it however. The light sting of her lips and the lingering scent of his was all the confirmation she needed.
She suddenly felt the urge to grab her purse.
Inside she found the small piece of crumbled up paper. The letter. This was the source of all her sadness. The thing that, no matter how much she hated it, she still clung to.
She took that paper and gently clenched it between her hands. "Forget the past?"
To do that she'd have to throw away the letter. That was the only way she could do that.
She walked over to the trash can and was about to throw it away when she finally had a moment of realization.
Was she serious?! What about her life back in the states? What about her dreams and career? What would she do if it happened again?
Her mind was telling her no, but it seemed as if her body moved on it on. She threw the paper in the trash and returned to her bed. In the dead of night all she could do was look at the ceiling as the sound of her heartbeat filled her ears.
~~~~~
The next morning, she awoke to a headache. Looking in the mirror she almost gasped. She looked paler then usually and the area beneath her eyes seemed grey.
The memories of last night started to come back to her and she quickly shook her head. Today was the day she would meet his parents!
She quickly took a shower and got ready to leave. She applied some light makeup to cover the darkened spot under her eyes. Looking in the mirror, she thought she looked presentable.
She wore a cream colored sundress and her hair was neatly tied in a ponytail. When she walked downstairs Bi Yue gasped.
"Wow Miss!"
Li Hua was already a naturally beautiful woman, anyone could see that. However when she was made up she looked otherworldly. The thing that made her beauty even more captivating was the fact that she herself didn't even seem aware of it.
As the two of them were talking, Su LingTian came downstairs as well. They were so enamored with their conversation they didn't even notice his presence.
Feeling ignored he slightly coughed.
"Good morning."
Turning around to see him, Li Hua was a little taken a back. She had to admit that he was charming. He was handsome before but something was different now. Was is just the amount of time they didn't spend together that made her feel this way?
No. It was the fact that he was no longer a boy but instead a man. A man who wanted to try again. Last nights conversation surfaced in her mind and she quickly shook it away.
As she stood there thinking, he suddenly turned around and walked back upstairs without a word.
Li Hua and Bi Yue stood there together confused. Li Hua slowly turned to Bi Yue, "Is there something wrong with me? Why did he leave?"
She normally wouldn't have these thoughts but ever since last night she found herself having such crazy ideas. What if he took it back? What if he didn't mean it and all it was just the heat of the moment?
Bi Yue tried to calm her down, "Just breathe. I'm sure there is nothing wrong with you Miss."
Hearing this she felt dumb. What was she thinking? Was she really losing her mind over something like this?
Suddenly Su LingTian came back downstairs with his hands behind his back. He walked over to Li Hua before quietly putting a sweater over her shoulders.
"The weather is cold today and you could get sick." He shrugged.
Seeing this she felt her cheeks heat up. Before he could see, she quickly turned out of view to finish putting the sweater on.
Bi Yue looked from the side and shook her head. The madam was obviously not in her right mind if she thought Mr. Su didn't notice. I mean, right behind her the man was smiling from ear to ear.
That was actually the most surprising thing. She had never seen him smile like that before. Looking at Li Hua again she realized that this was something only the two of them could understand.
~~~~
When she finished and turned around Bi Yue almost wanted to laugh. Li Hua looked a little old ladylike. As she held in her laughter, she looked at Mr. Su's face. The once wide smile was gone but he still had a look of amusement in his eyes.
"That's better."
He grabbed Li Hua's hand and turned to Bi Yue.
"We'll be off now."
~~~~~
Outside the house, he lead her to the passenger door and opened it for her. It all felt very weird to her but she didn't turn anything down and stepped into the car.
The car ride was silent but there was obviously an air of tension surrounding them.
Li Hua usually wasn't the type to care so much over her looks but she still found herself checking to see if her appearance was alright.
Su LingTian noticed this and let out a slight laugh. He reached over and ruffled the hair on top of her head.
"My mother hates vain women."
"!"
Vain women? She was far from vain. It was only natural for her to worry and he simply created a new problem.
When they pulled up he got out of the car and opened the door for her. Arm in arm they walked together to the entrance. Su LingTians family was well off so of course their house was nice. Coming from money, she of course had seen many nice houses but this was a whole new level. There really was a big gap between the older and new families.
"Ready?" He turned asking her.
"Yeah."
Walking in together they were greeted by the maids and servants.
"Welcome home Mr Su!"
"Welcome young miss."
Everyone spoke kind words but she could feel their stares on her back. This was a feeling she disliked a lot, it reminding her off all the times where she was the outcast and stuck out.
Walking into the dining room, they passed a walk full of family portraits. In them she saw pictures of Su LingTian from when he was a child to a teenager. Staring at a particular picture she couldn't help but stop. He seemed to be the age when they were in high school.
Staring at the photo it all felt so long ago.
They continued walking and finally entered the dining room.
Inside the room was decorated lavishly with a huge table in the center. Siting at one end was both a man and a woman. They seemed to be in their late and early 50's. The father looked exactly like you'd imagine Su LingTian to look in 30 years. The mother on the other hand didn't resemble him as much except for her eyes. They were cold.
"Son you finally made it!" They both greeted him.
"Is this the girl?"
Up until this point she had been behind him so they couldn't get a good look at her. Hearing this, she slightly stepped out.
"Hello ma'am." She smiled politely.
Staring at Li Hua, his mother stopped.
"This is..?"