Thank You

Xu Ming closed his eyes signing in resignation, there wasn't a single threat she had ever made and not carried out, he doubted this would prove difficult for her.

She had always been like this, she always kept her word, and there was a day that this was especially true. They were still kids at this time, and he had been given homework from school.

Liling had told him he had to finish it before leaving to play games. She had told him he would have to study for the rest of the week otherwise, but he had found it boring and went outside to play anyway.

When she found out about it later, she kept her word, making sure he didn't go out to play every day after school for the rest of the week. He was made to come home, and after lunch, he would study until it was time for bed. After that week, he had never faulted his sister's instructions and would recall the strength he gained from that challenging week whenever he didn't feel like doing something.

"I'm still waiting", She reminded him,

"There was this man", he started, "he said he would support me by giving me somewhere to live" his voice went meek towards the ending anticipating his sister's unfavourable reaction

Liling's entire body froze, another bad premonition taking anchor in her stomach,

"And what was this man's name"

"He…he said his name was Mr Zhang, and he gave me his card"

Her entire demeanour darkened. Every fibre of her being burnt in anger, so this was her punishment, he was planning to take the most precious thing in her life from her,

A cruel smile played on her lips and Xu Ming felt a chill go down his spine, he had never seen his sister this way, and for the first time, he felt truly afraid of her,

"Xu Ming, look at me" he gingerly obeyed swallowing down his fear, "you will not under any circumstance go anywhere with this man, do you understand?"

He didn't respond,

"You will not attempt to see this man, and will not agree to see him again, understood?"

He managed only a weak nod and watched as she stormed straight out of his room, only saying a small goodbye before shutting his door behind her.

She stood with her back pressed against the closed door, gazing up at the ceiling as she tried her best to relieve herself of her pent-up frustration,

There was no way she was letting Zhang Wei take away her brother, it would have to be over her dead body, and even that wasn't an option.

Li Hao sat silently watching her, choosing not to involve himself, it wasn't his place to do so.

He gave her another minute to compose herself before inquiring if she was still interested in their dinner plans.

She gave a short sharp nod and began walking in the direction of the exit, he stood up and joined her easily keeping up with her pace.

*****************************

~La Bella Vita

They stepped out together, and Liling silently admired her surroundings.

The entrance of La Bella Vita was grand and welcoming, with warm golden lights and the intoxicating aroma of freshly baked bread wafting through the open doorway.

Li Hao shamelessly offered her his arm, which she took reticently, pleasantly surprising him. 

From the reception, they were led to their reserved table by a hostess and Liling watched as she took subtle glances at Li Hao

She subtly rolled her eyes. Why were women practically falling for him? She couldn't comprehend what they saw in him, he wasn't all that.

She stared up at him, sure enough, he hadn't taken note of any of the looks he was receiving left, right and centre, he was blissfully unaware of all the relationships he was casually tearing apart.

She would admit it though, he was very good-looking. He had sparkling amber eyes, messy jet-black hair, a defined jawline and a face practically sculpted by the gods themselves,

She looked away to hide the blush creeping up her neck, what on earth was she thinking, she was meant to be annoyed at him, not admiring his features.

Their table was in a more secluded area away from most of the prying eyes and closer to the floor-to-ceiling windows that allowed her to admire the stunning hues of the sun-setting

They ordered food and they were immediately served a vintage bottle of Barolo which was dutifully poured into two stemmed glasses

The waiter left and Liling stared at him, with his charming and easy demeanour, waiting for him to initiate the conversation

"First and foremost, I would like to thank you for accepting my proposal"