After coming back from her reverie, Xu Mey turned her attention back to Xu Cheng and asked, "Are you done diverting my attention?" Xu Cheng shook his head in negation but seeing her raise her brow unpleasantly, he instantly started to nod his head. "Okay then... Let me see your ankle." She picked up the icepack that was on his ankle and saw that the ankle wasn't that swollen.
Recalling something, Xu Cheng bit his finger between his teeth before calling her name, "Xiao Mey."
"Hmm..." She hummed to give him a response and placed the icepack back on his ankle.
"Your mother wants to meet you." Xu Mey's body stiffened as his words registered in her mind.
Getting her composure back, she said, "I don't have a mother."
Xu Cheng smiled bitterly and said, "Why don't you just see her? Just once... Maybe she has her side of the story to tell." Xu Mey couldn't believe what she heard. Was her father really urging her to meet that woman who left him alone all those years ago? He was even speaking up for her? What kind of love was it?
In her heart, she knew what kind of love it was. He had married Fu Lan even when he hated her, just because in his opinion, life had already lost its meaning when his first wife left. How did it matter who he married after her?
"And I am not interested in knowing her side of the story." She sighed out. "If she wasn't there to tell me bedtime stories when I needed her to then there is no need for me to listen to her side of the story either. There is nothing that can convince me to forgive her."
"I'm not asking you to forgive her... I just want you to meet her. Just this once." Seeing Xu Cheng's imploring eyes, Xu Mey averted her gaze. This was pure emotional blackmailing!
"Dad, can't we just pull her out of our life like a wild weed?" Xu Mey still didn't dare to look into his eyes. "We really don't need her presence. Neither you nor me."
"We can only do that once you have sorted out your hatred for her." Xu Cheng gave her a fatigued smile and held her hands in his own. Patting on her hand, he continued, "If you kept hating her, she'll still be a part of us. Try to sort out your feelings for her. I'm not asking you to meet her right now. Take your time to think, I won't insist."
Xu Mey nodded her head in a silent agreement. Xu Cheng didn't like seeing her dejected look as if she was being forced by him.
He thought of something to cheer her up and said, "I almost forgot to congratulate you."
"Huh? For what?" Xu Mey questioned with furrowed brows.
"One of your best friends got engaged. Isn't it something I should congratulate you for?" Xu Mey was dumbfounded. Did someone get engaged? Why haven't I heard of this?
"Who are you talking about?" Xu Mey asked impatiently.
"Li Qiao." Xu Cheng answered saw Xu Mey's mouth open like a fish. "He proposed last night. Didn't you know?" Xu Mey shook her head in a daze. She was left in the dark! That was a first!
"Who gave you this news? Are you sure it's credible?" Xu Mey was still skeptical especially since it was Li Qiao they were talking about. There were so many factors unsolved. How can he propose?
"I have a sister who likes to gossip a lot and she's always up-to-date about every matter." Xu Cheng rolled his eyes as he spoke.
"Aunt Bingbing?" Xu Mey asked uncertainly and seeing the way Xu Cheng nodded, she knew that the news was true. There was no doubt about it anymore since Wu Wang's mother was the most reliable news source. She was sure that until now only Fan Bingbing knew about Li Qiao's proposal.
To make sure, she made a group call right before her father. "Wang Ge, Shen Ge, and Jian Ge do anyone of you know that Qiao Ge proposed someone last night?"
"He did what?" Their reaction was within her expectations.
"When did he do such thing?" Wu Wang asked.
"And why are we left in the dark about it?" Lin Shen added his own query.
"Most important question right now is, who did he propose?" Listening to He Jian, the rest of them nodded. That truly was the real question. According to their understanding, Li Qiao wouldn't marry anyone, especially with Yu Kim right beside him. But he can't possibly propose Yu Kim as well since he loves his cousin a lot.
There seemed to be some missing piece... They definitely were missing something!
"I think Wang Ge you should ask Auntie about that. She knows the details." Xu Mey suggested over the phone.
"Wait for a second! This mother Empress of mine really loves her daily dose of gossip." Wu Wang grumbled to himself. "I just came home to see her. Let me ask her." Everyone waited while they listened to Wu Wang calling his mother. "Maa did Qiao get engaged?"
"Yup!" They all could hear Fan Bingbing's excited tone from the other side.
"With whom?" Wu Wang couldn't help asking.
"Dummy! Obviously with Yu Kim. Duh!" Fan Bingbing's voice rang and everyone listening including Wu Wang gave a dumbstruck look.
"Say what?" That exactly was their reaction since they felt betrayed. Every one of them felt like Li Qiao had let them down by hiding this huge news from them.