"Let me just grab my purse real quick. Excuse me."

  Holding the coat firmly on her shoulder, Xiu Mei stood up from her seat to walk back to her friends’ table. Lu Chen followed behind her.

  "Are you going?" Lia asked, returning to their table as well.

  "Mm. Ah, before I leave." Xiu Mei turned to look at Lu Chen and started introducing her middle school friends.

  "This is Lia, Jing Yan, Qiao Qing, and Jia Ying. They’re my friends from middle school." She introduced her four friends to Lu Chen respectively. Then she turned to her friends.

  "I know you already know him so, I’ll just make it short. Lu Chen, um, my boyfriend."

  Somehow, the word ’boyfriend’ rolled awkwardly in her mouth. Since she was used to introducing Lu Chen as either her boss or the CEO so introducing him as her boyfriend felt a bit awkward.

  "Ooooohhhhh!!!!" Xiu Mei’s friends reacted in chorus. All threw a teasing look at her while Lia was nudging her ribs with her elbow.

  "Mr.Lu, we’ll be very generous with the red packet so don’t forget to invite us to your wedding ah!" Qiao Qing quipped.

  "Of course, that’s not a problem. I’ll make sure you all receive one very soon."Lu Chen replied, his stiff expression softening a little bit.

  "……"

  Xiu Mei gave him a side-eye with a look of suspicion on her face.

  Somehow, her guts are telling her that he was happier to hear that they’ll be generously giving a red packet instead of the wedding. Or is she just thinking too much?

  Xiu Mei ignored Qiao Qing’s comment and just grabbed her bag from her seat.

  "Anyways, we gotta go. I’ll keep in touch."

  "Liar. You said that after graduation too but you didn’t contact us at all."

  "I was too busy."

  "So now you’re not?"

  Xiu Mei paused to think. That……

  "See!"

  "Just message me from time to time. Don’t bombard me with your chain messages, especially you Jia Ying!"

  "Eh, but that’s fun to pass around."

  "What are you, a kid?"

  "……"

  "Anyways, Lu Chen and I really need to go now. So, see you around." Xiu Mei hugged them for the last time then left the ball hall with Lu Chen while holding hands.

  As they made their way to the parking lot, she bumped into Kei who was going in the opposite direction.

  "Mei! Oh, and you brought your husband to the party too?" Kei stopped in front of them. Xiu Mei quickly slapped shut his mouth.

  "You and your big mouth! What if someone hears you?"

  "Oh, sorry. Anyways, are you two really leaving? The party just started two hours ago though."

  "Lu Qiang’s waiting alone at home so we need to go. And I already did what I need to do so staying longer doesn’t make any difference for me."

  "Oh, that’s too bad. I was going to watch you get drunk though then take drunk pictures of you." Kei joked around earning a glare from Lu Chen. He unconsciously stepped closer beside Xiu Mei to put her in between them. Xiu Mei, on the other hand, hit him on the head.

  "Do you wanna die? And I’m already tipsy enough as it is. Your ex kept pushing drinks onto me ah!"

  "Jing Yan?"

  "Did you have another girlfriend that I wasn’t aware of back in middle school?"

  "No."

  She looked pitifully at her childhood friend who evidently dressed up for this evening. How can he chase her back if he’s this slow ah?

  "Why are you looking at me like that?"

  "Just…… praying for your success ah. You have a long road ahead of you, pal." She patted him on his shoulder before leaving. Kei looked at her with a baffled expression.

  Is she drunk talking ah?

  Lu Chen and Xiu Mei finally reached his car. She was about to open the door to the front door opposite the driver’s seat when she paused her movements. Taking one last look at the hotel building, she took a deep sigh and climbed inside the car. She let out a sigh again that was immediately noticed by Lu Chen.

  "What’s wrong?" He worriedly asked.

  Xiu Mei shook her head. "Nothing. It’s just…… I thought that it would be very difficult for me to face all of them tonight since the only thing that left an impression during my middle school was when I skipped classes and getting kidnapped and all. But weirdly, this thing right here,"

  She placed her hand on her chest. "It didn’t feel heavy like it used to be when I think of all those people. Somehow, I was able to face them all again without remembering my nightmare at all. Because my memories were filled with them giving me their sympathies. Instead of feeling better, those words felt heavier for me before. But now…… it seems that it was only me who thought that nothing healed from that time."

  She looked at Lu Chen and continued. "I’m not sure if I should be glad that I’m actually feeling better or should I feel scared instead."

  Listening to her worries, Lu Chen pulled Xiu Mei into a hug and rubbed her back.

  "Why do you feel scared?"

  "……I’m scared of forgetting my friend. It feels like if I forget about her, it’s the most unforgivable sin that I’d do in my life. After all, just like what her parents said, she did die because of me."

  "Xiu Mei, listen to me." Cupping her face, Lu Chen pulled her face closer to him making their foreheads touch.

  ’Moving on doesn’t mean that you will forget about that person. It just means that you finally chose to live for happiness instead of living in pain. It is the acceptance and not the denial of reality anymore. So don’t be afraid."

  "But acceptance is difficult."

  "It is and will always be. But what can we do? We can only choose to accept in order to move forward."

  "But what if acceptance means more pain? Accepting the truth that Ying Yue died because of me is torture enough for me. So how can I even accept the whole truth behind all of this?"

  Xiu Mei was scared. She was scared. What if knowing the truth is more painful? Would her heart and mind really be able to take it?

  "Then I’ll be there. Didn’t I promise you? I’ll protect you and make you happy."

  Lu Chen caressed her cheeks ever so gently as he continued, "No matter where your fate takes you, I promise that I will always be there. I’ll be your husband, your knight, and your savior that will take away your pain."

  "Just like what you told me before, I won’t let you feel scared as long I stay by your side. That’s why my wife, I promise to always stay beside so don’t feel scared anymore, okay?"

  Xiu Mei suppressed the giggle that was trying to escape from her mouth.

  This guy…… he really remembered that.

  But it does feel good hearing that. His sincerity and reassurance that he will always be with her are what pushes her to move forward and face the fears she kept running away from.

  Instead of keeping her away from pain, he reassures her that he will always be right beside her every time she stumbles. His protection is not sheltering her, but rather, encouraging her to face the truth and get over it.

  "Then my wonderful knight, do you want me to give you a gift?"

  "A gift?"

  "Mm."

  "Shouldn’t I be the one giving you a gift instead?"

  "Why you?"

  "Because I was the one who went on a business trip."

  "Pfft—stupid, that’s not what I meant."

  "?"

  "I mean this."

  Plucking up all her courage, Xiu Mei closed her eyes and pressed her soft lips in his.

  Lu Chen momentarily froze in shock. He stared wide-eyed at Xiu Mei, suddenly caught off guard by her actions. His mind blanked out and whatever thoughts he had a while ago was thrown out of the window.

  He was just starting to enjoy the kiss when Xiu Mei quickly pulled away, grinning at him.

  "Do you like it?" Her smile looked very much like a spell that was hypnotizing him right now.

  He felt a sense of loss when she suddenly pulled away and right now, all his thoughts are now focused on having that warm feeling back again.

  And so that’s what he did.

  Lu Chen firmly held her the back of her head and this time, he was the one who initiated the kiss. He nibbled and sucked on her lower lip hungrily, making it swell and feel plumper than before.

  In contrast with Xiu Mei’s fleeting kiss, his was fiercer and a bit more desperate yet gentle. He slowly and carefully tasted her lips. As if it was the most delicious dessert in the world that should be tasted and chewed on very carefully.