The silence was the only reply that Jie got. He waited for a while longer before calling out again, "Are you even listening to me?"
"I am listening."
"Then give me an answer."
"Let's meet tomorrow. I have something to discuss with you anyway."
Jie felt something odd. "Okay. Let's catch up at our usual place." He finally answered contemplating for a moment.
The next morning...
Jie left the house earlier than Xu Mey which felt weird to Xu Mey considering the fact that Jie had resigned from his CEO's position from Ye Corporations.
But she didn't feel the need to pry into his business and got ready herself to leave for the office.
After reaching Xu Enterprises, the first place she went to wasn't her own room but instead, it was her father's. Knocking on the door, she made her way inside to find him going through the rows of files on his table.
Xu Cheng lifted his eyes briefly to see Xu Mey and after smiling at her, he lowered his eyes again. "What brought my daughter to my door so early in the morning?"
Xu Mey hesitated for a while as she sat before him. "Dad... I'm ready."
Xu Cheng frowned in confusion. "Ready? For what?"
Nibbling on her lower lip, she answered, "You asked me to think about something carefully. I'm done thinking."
Realization dawned on Xu Cheng and he placed the Parker pen in his hand on the table before giving his whole attention to Xu Mey.
"You really want to meet your mother?" He asked just to make sure.
"No... But I'm ready to meet your first wife. I want to see what exactly she had that made you fall for her." Xu Mey answered honestly.
"Isn't that the same thing?" Xu Cheng whispered to himself while shaking his head lightly. "Fine. I'll find a way to contact her. Then I'll inform you about this."
Xu Mey nodded her head not finding anything wrong with this arrangement. After that, she went back to her own office where a pile of work was awaiting her.
On the other hand, Jie had to sort out some documents at Ye Corporation in the morning. Then he had other projects to take care of at Glow Gemstones. By the time he found time to breathe, it was almost evening.
Jie made his way to the clubhouse which he frequented with his couple of friends. Finding his way to the private cabin, he found a mixed-race gentleman waiting for him with a glass of wine in his hand.
"Did you wait for long?" Jie asked while closing the door of the room.
"Even if I did wait for long, I'm not the one who can complain." The man answered calmly.
Jie came up to take a seat beside him and leaned back tiredly. "You seem a bit off. Is everything alright, Wayne?"
Wayne Chu took another sip of his wine and looked back at Jie. "Everything is fine." He answered half-heartedly.
"Okay... Then tell me what's Yiyi doing here?" Picking some almonds to munch on, he added, "Last time I saw her was at her brother's funeral. It had been what... Almost ten years or so. Right?"
Wayne nodded his head. "Yup... It's been ten years. As for why she is here. I asked her to come back."
"You?" Jie looked at him skeptically.
"Why? As her cousin brother, I do have this much right. She had stayed away from family for long enough." Wayne's answer sounded right to Jie. "By the way, did you just see her last night?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"She told me that she met you a while ago in the hospital." Jie frowned thinking when had he met her in the hospital. He couldn't seem to recall at all. "When your wife's friend was in the hospital. She said she saw you there."
That seemed to have rung a bell. Thinking about the time when he had accompanied Xu Mey to see Wu Wang with a 'cabbage soup', his mood instantly turned sour. That soup had ruined his day how could he possibly forget that day? But that soup also became the reason for him to not notice Yang Ziyi at all.
"I was distracted, I didn't see her. And even if I did, it's really hard to recognize her now. She's all grown up now." Jie tried to explain his side of the story.
"Grown up? Doesn't she still has the height of a Dwarf?" Jie glared at Wayne for such remark.
"Hey! She's at least taller than a dwarf. Don't exaggerate it like this." Wayne simply shrugged his shoulders not paying heed to Jie's glare.
"But you are right. She has changed a lot." Wayne started. "She used to be the life of her friends' group and now, she's nothing more than just an outcast." He looked downcasted even just thinking about Yang Ziyi's drastic changes.
"Death changes a person. Especially someone like her who lost her brother right in her arms. No matter what she was merely a teenager at that time. It really ruined her perspective on life and people." Jie could still remember the way she cried at her brother's funeral. It was heart-wrenching to see that when the tears ended, all she was left with was silence and loneliness. An endless one.