Jia Li was ready to pull her hair out in frustration. It had been a few hours since Wei had come home. To begin with, the breakfast table had been an awkward place to be, where two grown men ate in silence, ignoring each other almost exclusively. Any attempt at conversation by her had been turned into matching of wits, both shooting barbs at each other.

She had heaved a sigh of relief when Chu had walked in with Ethan. But her relief had been short lived since both Tang and Wei expected the affianced couple to choose one of the warring sides. Thoroughly embarra.s.sed and peeved at the juvenile display of testosterones, she had declared that she would go to the inst.i.tute despite it being the weekend.

By the time, she had finished her bath and changed clothes, Tang was ready and wanted to escort her to work, as promised by her, the night before. Wei, on the other hand, insisted that he needed to talk about "critical financial matters" regarding the inst.i.tute and wanted to visit the place along with as well.

Ethan had tried to intervene by attempting to extract Jia Li from the situation, only to be told off to keep away lest he became a casualty of war!

It was nearly lunchtime now and she wanted to run away from the two of them.

"Why don't we go to the eatery which is located in the newly built resort at outskirts of the town? I have heard that their hotpot preparation is absolutely yummy," Chu addressed the room.

When no one raised an objection, she said, "great. It's settled then. Ethan and I shall take Jia Li with us. Wei, why don't you drive Tang there. We'll see you soon!"

With that, she nearly ran along with Jia Li and Ethan out of the place before anyone could realise or raise an objection to her trick.

"Phew…I owe you a big one for helping me escape just now. I thought the testosterones in that room would choke me to death," Jia Li rolled her eyes, settling comfortably in the back seat of Chu's car.

Clad in a cabled peach high neck sweater and a pair of faded jeans, she revelled in the cold air which went past them in the open roof car.

By the time they reached the dining place, her ears and nose had turned red because of the chilly wind. Her wind swept auburn hair had wrestled free from the confines of her customary bun.

Wei stopped the car just behind theirs and hopped out of the car, handing over the car keys to the valet. Tang, in the meanwhile struggled to unbuckle the seat belt and open the door because of his hand in cast. Jia Li saw that and rushed to help him.

"Why are your hands so cold? Was the heater not on in the car?" Tang asked, taking her hands in his own and brought them close to his mouth.

He repeatedly blew warm air into her hands till they weren't normal enough.

"We just wanted to enjoy the weather a bit," she said with an impish smile.

"Enjoy the weather?? Your lips are going to turn blue any minute and I am worried that the foreigners visiting this place shouldn't mistake you for a reindeer, seeing how red your nose is," he chided her.

Rolling her tongue out at him, she walked away.

The endearing smile on his lips froze as he caught Wei staring intensely at him. Tang raised an eyebrow in enquiry but Wei simply looked away.

Ethan walked up to Wei and asked him to come along to explore the property. Wei couldn't think of a reason to refuse without sounding churlish. And he anyways had something to ask him as well.

"Why did Chu and you not tell me about Tang's visit to the inst.i.tute on the day of the accident? It was deliberate, right?" Wei asked the question which had been burning in his mind ever since.

"What do you think?" Ethan asked him back, softly.

Snorting, he replied, "it must be one of Tang's cowardly way of sneaking up on Jia Li. Had he announced his visit, I am sure that she would have found a way to avoid him."

"And why do you think does she need to avoid him or he needs to concoct ways to meet her?" Ethan prodded further.

When Wei didn't answer, Ethan continued on a small smile, "it is because they have tons of unresolved issues amongst them and a fiercely burning angst caused by those issues. Don't you think they should clear the air so that both of them can move ahead in life, whatever the direction may be?"

"It's fairly evident to me that both of them have already moved ahead in life. He, by marrying Mei Zhen and she by carving out a new life for herself," he replied pointedly.