She glanced at her opened wardrobe and saw the different dresses scattered on the floor as she pondered what she should wear this time. Not that she wanted to impress her date, but Li Meili, the Black Nightingale would never be seen dressed shabbily in public. Her pride wouldn't allow her to step outside without dressing up for the occasion.

  Her thoughts then drifted to Tang Beixuan, who somehow found a way to get her number and was messaging her nonstop. She hadn't answered any of it or picked up any of his calls as she knew that there was nothing else that needed to be said between them.

  Why couldn't he accept no for an answer though? It would be best for the two of them if he stopped chasing after her.

  Forcing herself to get up, Li Meili took a halter black dress that reached her knees, dropped it on her bed before going for a quick shower. When she returned, she dried her hair, dressed up, styled her hair in a loose bun before doing her makeup.

  She would treat this as a break from her hectic schedule. Hopefully the man her family chose this time wouldn't bore her to death like the previous ones. Pleased with what she was seeing in her reflection on the massive vanity mirror of her bedroom, Li Meili stepped out of her room and took a pair of high heels from her shoe collection.

  Unlike the empress, Li Meili needed to wear high heels to increase her height. She was a few inches shorter than Tang Moyu and would pass as a woman in her early twenties with the kind of face she had. People would wrongly assume that she was younger than her age because of it and would often underestimate her, along with Tang Moyu, in a street fight.

  Li Meili held a purse in one hand as she prepared to leave.

  When she unlocked her door and opened it, she was shocked to see Tang Beixuan standing right outside her door.

  "Meili." He called her with a familiar boyish grin on his face. The moment he saw how she was dressed, his smile faltered. One didn't need half a brain to know what Li Meili was up to.

  Tang Beixuan frowned and looked at her from head to toe.

  "Where are you going?" He tried to interrogate her on the spot, not liking that she was dressed up to see another man.

  Li Meili snapped out from her trance and squinted her eyes. She casually locked her door behind her before walking past Tang Beixuan.

  He didn't wait for five fucking years just to see him with another man! He didn't persistently send flowers every day for the past five years only to know that he would lose Li Meili.

  Li Meili's steps halted as she looked over her shoulder, glancing at his face.

  "I have nothing to explain to you, Beixuan. Please leave. I thought I made it clear last week? You are only hurting yourself if you don't listen to me. I don't need you to teach me how I should live my life." She said before resuming her steps towards the elevator.

  However, even before she reached it, a man appeared in the hallway with a bouquet of flowers in his hand. He looked so dashingly handsome in his three piece suit as he strode towards Li Meili, who arched a brow skeptically.

  "Miss Li, I'm sorry for keeping you waiting. I'm Zhan Liang. I hope you didn't wait for me for too long." The man said before glancing behind her, only to see Tang Beixuan looking at them with a scowl on his face.

  Li Meili, who could sense the awkwardness in the air, stepped forward and accepted the flowers from Zhan Liang.

  "No, you were just in time, Mr.Zhan. Shall we keep going?" She asked before decking Tang Beixuan altogether, hoping he wouldn't chase after them and make a scene.

  Tang Moyu would definitely hear about it if he does and Li Meili wouldn't be able to face her best friend at all.

  Zhang Liang looked at her then at Tang Beixuan before nodding, offering his arm for her to take and make their way out, leaving Young Master Tang feeling betrayed and frustrated over Li Meili's rejection for the umpteenth time. He clenched his fists, jaws hardening while his eyes never left Li Meili's retreating figure.

  Watching her back, leaving with another man… he couldn't take it. He cannot accept this. Was his effort and persistence not enough for her to see that he truly wanted her? Was his intention not enough to reach her heart?

  Once Li Meili settled in the front seat next to Zhan Lian inside his car, she released a sigh she didn't know she was holding.

  What was Tang Beixuan thinking showing up at her door unannounced? Did he really think it was that easy for her to pick up wherever they left off without considering how Tang Moyu would feel over their unusual affair?

  "Miss Li, are you alright? That man… he…" Zhang Liang curiously asked, but was stopped by Li Meili. She laughed awkwardly and checked her reflection in the mirror.

  "It's alright. He's someone I know. He's my friend's brother, just looking after me."