The drive to the Li Family house was unexpectedly longer than AiLin had thought. She didn’t know by the first hour of the ride she was lulled to sleep and remained asleep for the entire duration of the ride to the house. When she was woken up by Li ZiChen, she found the car driving upward to a hill, making their way to a place that was surrounded by trees and a running tall waterfall beside the large wooden gate of the traditional Chinese household design.
Calling it gorgeous was an understatent, it was unbelievably otherworldly. Each small pot of flowers were place delicately beside the circular house door and even though it looks welcoming, the house also appeared very secured with the hundreds of n who were around and beside the house, patrolling with their big builds and the earpiece stuck on their ears which they communicated from upon seeing Li ZiChen’s car.
Just like that, they were allowed to be let inside as if the door could magically open on its own after sensing its master. After a while, the car stopped and AiLin walked out from the car into the outside corridor. There was the white pebble stones in shape of diamonds padding her path, a wooden circular table with short chairs beside the stack of bonsai trees. Then beside it was a zen garden, beautifully crafted.
Everything was so beautiful as if she had stepped into the old ages.
"My parent’s love a holy feeling from a house," said Li ZiChen, "They don’t quite like mansion so after they got married, they imdiately built this place."
"Oh, so this is your childhood ho?" She asked and he nodded.
"That zen garden was once a koi pond but JingYi fall into it for so many tis that my mother turned it to a garden instead. Fun fact, he still fell to the koi pond during his high school years so my mother thought there was nothing else they could do other than removing the pond and making the garden instead."
She chuckled, imagining the clumsy JingYi who always fall to the sa pond.
She looked around again as they pass by the other corridor through the circular door. On the way she et the few maids who bowed seeing her wordlessly but there was a gentle and welcoming smile on their faces. The maids also seem not too interested in poking their nose to the young master’s business, allowing her to feel utterly comfortable without the need to worry about people’s gazes and what it ant.
After seeing a tall tree of persimmons, AiLin stopped beside it and stare at the green leaves with a softer smile, "Yeah, this place feels like you."
Slightly surprised, Li ZiChen tilted his head, "Can a house have the sa vibe as a person?"
"Hm, maybe? I can’t explain," she drawled, placing her hand on the circular table underneath the persimmon tree, which was made out of stone. The coldness made her skin feel even warr. "This house, mhm, I can imagine why you turn the way you are by looking at it. You know, usually a big house feels so lonely. But here, I can only feel warmth and a sense of security. Maybe it’s how it’s designed," she then turned to him, "Or maybe because I know that in this house, I’m safe with you."
She didn’t see Li ZiChen’s face after she had uttered her piece, that was why she wasn’t aware of the expression that had crossed upon his face when hearing her words. How under the persimmon tree, his eyes had glistened as if a hazy drop of tears had covered his lens. His cheeks had gotten warm and red, his lips softening widely as if he had just achieved the bliss of life that he had been hoping to touch.
"Zi Chen?"
A woman’s voice called up to him. AiLin imdiately turned backward to find a tall young lady who was dressed in a casual attire that was accented in red hue. Her smile was beautiful, her eyes dark in black color but the shape of her eyes were one to one to Li ZiChen beside her. When the lady walked toward them, she instantly knew from her guts that this was Li ZiChen’s mother.
"And you must be, AiLin?" The woman then directed her smile toward AiLin who was still gagged by the beauty in front of her, not wanting to believe that this woman was over forty years old when she looks as if she barely touch the age thirty. She can’t even begin comparing her to Mrs Jiang who is utterly older looking than the woman, though now she think about it, it wasn’t because of her features that Mrs Jiang looks old but it’s the creases of anger that had caused to make her face always looks so upset and frustrated.
She snapped from her thought and greeted Zi Chen’s mother excitedly, "Yes, I’m AiLin. I have always been wanting to see you, Mrs. Li. I’m sorry for the delay, I should have t you earlier."
"Oh silly you," Mrs. Li patted her shoulders, "Who can we bla other than myself and my own son? I was the one who had suggested to visit Europe with Zi Chen’s father so we clashed our plans which can’t be avoided. But that’s all fine, considering now we can finally et."
"Yes, what’s matter is that we have t," she answered. "You’re really beautiful, Mrs. Li. You don’t look your age at all."
Mrs. Li laugh while patting her head, "Oh you sweet talker! You’re more beautiful than I am, sweetheart. Oh co, co in, let’s not stand out here in the open. The weather is getting too cold, I heard JingYi just got a cold the other day, we can’t have my future daughter in law catching one either."
AiLin looked backward at Li ZiChen as Mrs Li pulled her. He seed briefly in a daze and after a while snapped out on it to give her an encouraging nod of his head, telling her that everything would be all fine now.
Mrs Li then whispered beside her ears, "Has Zi Chen been treating you well?"
They were in a distance slightly away from Li ZiChen. He was close enough to hear them talking but not close enough to hear if one of them had whispered. But Mrs Li Had whispered as if worried that she wouldn’t like the question to be asked so loudly.
She nodded and encouragingly replied, "He has treated so well, so much so that I can’t even begin thank him for it."
"He does?" Mrs Li was taken aback but looked so delighted, "I’m glad, I’m glad to hear that. I have heard a little about you from Zi Chen, AiLin. You have gone through a lot and I’m sure unless soone had went through your hardship, none of them could ever understand the pain that you had to suffer."
Surprised and moved, AiLin gulped as she nodded her head, "But it wasn’t..."
"Shh, don’t try to minimize your sufferings, you’re a survivor of abuse, darling," said Mrs Li who knew about her pasts. Though Ailin was always uncomfortable with others finding out about the abuse she had went through, for so reason whether it was Mrs Li’s words or her tone, she didn’t feel that the woman was pitying her or looking down at her, she was encouraging, her voice so gentle and tender to her ears as if they were partners who had gone through similar things and was encouraging the others to be brave after what they had gone through.
"I," she drawled as seeing the gentle countenance of Mrs Li only softened her heart even more, "I was truly worried that you wouldn’t like coming here as Zi Chen’s partner."
"Why so?" Asked the woman, taken aback.
"Well, my history but more than that is the fact that I.." she gulped, "I’m full of flaws unlike your son. Soone like is too lacking to be beside Zi Chen. If you aren’t happy with , I understand and I wish you don’t have to force yourself to like when deep down you don’t truly like my presence."
"Oh dear," Mrs Li wasn’t offended by her forward words instead she tapped her hands gently. "Everyone has flaws dear. Your flaws are especially different when it was caused by soone else and not you. My son, both of them, have their own flaws. You don’t seem to ntion that because you never look at their flaws, the sa as how Zi Chen and I only look at your good side and not your flaws." She sucked her breaths and looked at her again, "What I an is, there is no flaws in you from what I have seen and heard. I know darling, I can read people well and I can tell in a glance that you have a heart of an angel, my family would be very welcod to have you as our own."
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