Li Jinghua met Xue Rui outside Li Xinwen’s hospital room and together they walked down the hall towards the elevators. It was Li Jinghua who broke the silence. “Rui, how about we go to a nearby cafe and have a chat? I have something important to tell you,” Li Jinghua said as she gazed at her fiance.
Xue Rui looked back at her almost lovingly. Remembering how hard work has been on her these past couple of days, he decided to indulge Jinghua and accepted her invitation.
“Alright, let’s go.”
They entered the elevator and headed towards the hospital’s basement parking. They left in Xue Rui’s silver Maserati Quattroporte and drove to a nearby café. Xue Rui parked the car in the first empty slot near the entrance and hurried to Li Jinghua’s side and opened the passenger door for her. ‘Still acting like the perfect boyfriend…’ Li Jinghua thought as she alighted the car and hesitantly took Xue Rui’s extended hand. When they reached the café entrance, Xue Rui held the door for her as she entered.
Xue Rui escorted her to a cosy corner of the café before heading to the counter to place their order. Li Jinghua followed Xue Rui with her gaze and recalled that they used to spend some of their afternoon dates there. Nostalgia was hitting her hard. ‘He was such a gentleman…’ she thought to herself.
Xue Rui came back holding a tray with two cups of espresso and a slice of opera cake. He set them down on their table and made himself comfortable. “This pairing is the best, don’t you agree, my Jinghua?” He gazed at her as he lifted the cup to take a sip.
For a moment Jinghua felt her heart skip a beat, just like how it would before. In her mind, she thought, ‘It seems that he has not forgotten how much I love this dessert. Perfect with a hot cup of espresso.’
“Mn…” she answered as she took a sip from her cup.
They spent a couple of minutes silently sipping coffee as if to brace for what was to be discussed. Finally, Jinghua set down her cup and looked Xue Rui straight in the eye, all nostalgia and affection erased.
“Rui, let’s end our engagement.” Jinghua said nonchalantly while at the same time thinking: ‘It’s sad… To think that I used to love this man and how much I thought of him…but that’s all in the past.’
Xue Rui was honestly surprised at her words, and for a moment he was unable to react. He never suspected Jinghua was the sort of woman who would take the initiative to break off their engagement, especially when her family needed his support.
“Why all of a sudden?” he finally managed to ask. “Aren’t you afraid of the consequences? Your brother’s treatment for example.”
A part of him rejoiced at the idea of breaking off the engagement as he thought about Li Xinwen. Li Jinghua scoffed at Xue Rui’s statement and stared at him with a mix of pity and disdain. It was the same expression that had crossed her face when she met with Li Xinwen earlier.
“I believe that even if we break off the engagement you will still continue to support Ah‘Wen’s treatments until he makes a full recovery. After all, do you not hold feelings for him? Didn’t you use me to get close to him?” Li Jinghua remarked, all the while trying to maintain her composure.
Xue Rui was taken aback but managed to recover his composure. He smiled and, at the thought that he had been found out, he almost laughed at himself. “Since when did you realize this?”
Jinghua averted her gaze from Xue Rui and looked out the glass wall separating them from the outside.
“Since I’ve been found out, then I no longer need to put up an act. But you’re wrong about one thing. I never used you, Jinghua. I didn’t approach you to get close to Li Xinwen,” Xue Rui remarked as he straightened his tie and ran his fingers through his hair. Li Jinghua returned her gaze to the man in front of her…to the man she used to consider her world.
‘It’s all in the past,’ she reminded herself.
“I mistook you for him, Jinghua.” Xue Rui said almost apologetic.
He then continued, a frown on his face as he thought back to when he first saw Li Xinwen. He felt as if he had been cheated by these two siblings. “How can you blame me? He was so beautiful and radiant in that dress. And I was immediately taken in by his beauty. It was love at first sight. But at that time I had no idea that he was a man. And when I saw you I thought you were that person I was attracted to. You two looked almost similar. And whose idea was it to have him dress up as a woman anyway?!”
“That was for a play at the school festival!” Li Jinghua hissed and glared at Xue Rui, suddenly exasperated at the thought of being mistaken for someone else – and of all people her own brother in a woman’s dress. ‘It’s almost funny… but heartbreaking at the same time,’ She closed her eyes at the thought and let out a deep sigh.
“It doesn’t matter anymore. Since you already know, there is no need to keep up any pretence. I will agree to break off the engagement and will pursue Li Xinwen. But I am curious… How did you find out?” Xue Rui was certain that he was very discreet about all his interactions with Li Xinwen. Not even his secretary had found out.
“It’s no longer any of your concern how I found out.” Li Jinghua said as she took the last sip of her coffee. “I forgive you Xue Rui for deceiving me all this time. I once loved you so I will forgive you and leave it at that. From now on, you and I no longer walk the same path. Please do not approach my family any longer. I will be going now.”
Li Jinghua stood up from her seat and Xue Rui also stood up but Li Jinghua stopped him “You don’t have to send me home. Goodbye Xue Rui.”
Li Jinghua left the café. Although it was a bit chilly outside, she decided to walk home to give herself some time to think. Their home wasn’t that far from the café anyway. She thought back to the past when she had been blind and oblivious to the indecent affair between Xu Rui and her brother. What a fool she had been, for not even noticing Xue Rui’s behaviour. She had to hand it to him, he was good at hiding things from her. Or maybe it was because she had been blinded by her love for him at the time.
When she found out about their indecent affair, she felt betrayed and disgusted. She hated Li Xinwen and loathed Xue Rui. She was so angry at her brother, that she didn’t even try asking him for the truth and never gave him a chance to explain himself. That was her one regret – letting her brother die without having the opportunity to say that she forgave him for what he had done.
She felt her strength give way and she found herself crouched on the sidewalk as tears suddenly welled up from her eyes. “I’m sorry Ah‘Wen,” she whispered through the tears. But that incident was still a ways away. It would happen exactly five years before the apocalypse. Yes, she had been given another chance and had travelled back from the future.
‘I can fix this,’ she thought as she stood up. She wiped away the tears from her face and continued walking towards home. This time, Li Jinghua was determined to do everything it would take protect her two brothers. If she could prevent their mother from turning, that would be better. But with the knowledge she had of the future, she knew that their mother would not survive the transition. ‘It’s alright… There are still five years… that is enough time to prepare and maybe, just maybe, there is a way to save Mom…’ Li Jinghua sighed as she looked up at the night sky. She shook her head to clear away the unwanted memories as she quickly made her way home.
The apocalypse that Li Jinghua had witnessed five years into the future was devastating to say the least. At this time, where she was now, her mother was still alive. If she truly could not change their mother’s fate then she was going to make sure she cherished their remaining time together. Li Jinghua decided that she was going to share the information regarding the apocalypse, as well as her time travel, as soon as Li Xinwen made a full recovery. It was imperative for Li Xinwen to be at his full strength before they begin preparations for the apocalypse.
They would need financing to purchase everything that they would need. Working at a brokerage firm had allowed her to acquire the knowledge as to which businesses were most profitable to invest in. Hours and hours of observing financial data gave her the acumen to ascertain when it was time to buy or to sell shares. In spite of this, the pay was not lucrative. Commissions were not high. She would be looking to Li Xinwen and his years of accumulated savings to aid their preparations. She was planning to ask him for capital, and then together with her knowledge in the financial market they could grow their money and finance their preparations for the apocalypse.
As for Xue Rui, she could care less for that scum of a man. If possible, she’d rather he died on the first day of the apocalypse. But she already knew it wouldn’t happen. For some reason, the heavens decided to bless him with tri-awakening abilities. It was unfortunate, but Li Jinghua could not do anything about it. At the very least, she knew that the further away Xue Rui was from her family, the safer they would be. After all, Xue Rui had been the catalyst for Li Xinwen’s death in her past life.
