After getting home at almost 2 a.m. Long Wei was exhausted and just wanted to sleep. This was just a part of his routine... until some weeks ago, when he met her. However, now he supposed it was time to get used to it again.

When he was still incapable of sleeping thirty minutes later, he understood more the reasons Bai Lu gave him that afternoon when she... broke up with him? He wasn't sure it could be called that, seeing that they didn't really have a relationship, but certainly they got to a point in which he was used to having her around every day.

Actually, he wasn't really surprised by her decision, her attitude all that time suggested it would happen someday, but he was a bit disappointed.

" I'm sorry. I really like you, but I'm not ready for a relationship right now. I also can't continue this thing of just sleeping together."

It was just the way things were.

The following days and weeks, she stopped frequenting Loko's, in the future it would be hard for their paths to cross again. He knew very well about that.

Once, to put some distance between him and Thalia, he abandoned the architecture firm where he'd just been promoted to designer, his sister had called him stupid more than once for that move. However, seeing he had some success with his pub now, he didn't consider himself a failure. Who knew, maybe in the future he went back to school for a master's degree, but Long Wei no longer felt the pressure of being on the top of his career field to feel satisfied. The same could be said about the way he saw relationships. Whatever happened, he'd just take it and be fine with it.

At the end of March, however, he received a call from his sister, Mei Li, and he couldn't just be fine with the news she had to tell him.

***

As expected, Bai Lu had gone just with her parents to Meng Meng's wedding, and her cousin couldn't help but make some comments about it. Couldn't she just be happy that she was marrying that 'very successful' boyfriend of hers? It wasn't that Meng Meng's new husband was bad, not, by her parents' standards he was probably perfect. Bai Lu, however, couldn't imagine why a woman who was doing so well in her career as her cousin would just quit her job because her in-laws wanted her to be a housewife.

Having to do something just because the husband's family wanted it so, she could never imagine herself doing that. Perhaps that was one of the reasons that attracted her to Peter in the first place. She was fooling herself to think that if they were not around, they wouldn't influence his decisions so much, but he still went home and never came back to her...

" Bai Lu, it's been a while since we saw you around town." Yi Zhen had sat at the same table as them, and Bai Lu didn't think it was a coincidence. Probably her parents had arranged that.

" I am busy with work, senior." She smiled " How are you doing?"

" I'm fine. Things in the restaurant are going well as usual. You should stop by before you leave."

" I'm afraid I just came for Sister Meng Meng today, but I have to be back at school on Monday."

To Yi Zhen's credit, he seemed somewhat disappointed.

" That's a pity. We would really like to have you here more often."

" Thank you, Senior. You are always so nice."

Once they were really close and Bai Lu didn’t limit herself to saying only courtesies to him, but things were too different. She was too different.

She thought off Long Wei again. It had been two weeks since she didn't see him, and part of her missed him, but that was exactly why they had to cut off their affair. Bai Lu had needed great courage just to say the things she told him the last time they saw each other, but even more courage to stop herself from going back to Loko's and sneak a peek at him.

The first week it had been exceptionally hard, but the last few days it had been much easier. She expected soon it would all be forgotten, and he too hadn't contacted her anymore, so he'd probably found other ways to amuse himself.

***

He wanted to be angry, and felt he had all the reasons to, but how could he be mad at someone who was dying already?

" I'm sorry, Hayden. I should have contacted you sooner."

He sighed.

" Don't worry about it. At least I'm here now. How can I..." He swallowed hard " Is there anything I can do?"

Thalia shook her head. When she decided to look for him it was really her last option, although it would hurt him if she admitted it was like that. Her cancer was in the last stages, perhaps if she'd gone to check herself sooner it would be different, but she didn't have the money for the treatment anyway and at this point it would be useless. She also didn't want to suffer the pain for much longer.

He didn't like to see her like that. It was true their relationship was over a long time ago, but while love wasn't there anymore, it didn't mean he no longer cared about her or wanted to see her so defeated. Besides, now that bond would never really disappear, would it?

When Mei Li called to tell him Thalia was looking for him, he was just thrown shocking news after shocking news. They had a two-year-old son she'd never told him about, and Long Wei would most likely never know if it wasn't because she was dying and no one else in her family would take care of the toddler.

What was he supposed to do now? If there was a right thing to do in this kind of situation, he certainly didn't know what it was.

" Do you want to see Aaron? He's staying with my sister now, but I'll tell her to bring him to you... if you want to."

He told her not to worry about it, but still...

" Why didn't you tell me?"

" I was angry at you. You left so fast, too. I thought it was better that way. If you can't take care of him, then..."

" It's my responsibility." He said. " I'd like to see him."

In a moment like this, he should at least give some kind of reassurance to her. But what was he supposed to do with a two-year-old child? He didn't know a thing or two about raising children, should he come back to live in California and have his parents help him with his son? It didn't seem right to give his parents that kind of responsibility, and it might not be the best for the kid either. Long Wei's parents were too strict.

But he was living alone in a foreign country, it didn't seem right either.

He'd have to arrange some things to stay a couple of months more and think about what he was going to do.

***

" Dew, do you have any plans for this Friday night?" Zhing Yi asked during lunch. " Let's go for some drinks."

Bai Lu was busy chewing her food, so she could only nod in response.

" Who's going for some drinks?" Li Min and Tao were coming to sit with them.

" Dew and I, and you too if you want to."

" Where?"

" There's a great pub around your place, isn't it?" Tao asked Bai Lu.

" Do you even know where Teacher Bai lives?"

" Tao and I helped her to move, of course we know." Zhing Yi rolled her eyes " You are talking about Loko's, right? Let's go there."

Suddenly Bai Lu didn't feel like eating anymore. Until now she'd done a good job at avoiding the pub, it had been months since she last saw Long Wei, should she still feel so nervous about it? They weren't even in contact with each other, so their short time together was forgotten on his side, and so should it be on hers.

" Okay, let's go there..."

Eventually, the greater sign that things were back to normal was to return to the routine she had before meeting him, and that included frequenting his pub once in a while without fearing to see him there.

She was fully prepared for it, so when that night they arrived at Loko's and after some time she still didn't see Long Wei around, it was offsetting. Her curiosity was piqued, and she finished her glass just to walk to the bar and ask one of the bartenders about him.

" Mr. Long?" Chu Feng was a bit surprised. Wasn't this lady one of the boss' friends? Although she hadn't been around the pub for a while. " The Boss went back to America more than two months ago. We don't know when he'll be coming back."

" Oh, I see. Thank you."

She felt annoyed at her own disappointment. Wasn't she the one who decided to end things early? If he'd gone back to the States, of course she wouldn't know, and yet...

" Is everything okay, Dew?" Zhing Yi asked.

" Yeah, of course. I was just... thinking."

" Teacher Bai, you know the drinks' list here so well, you must come very often." Li Min pointed out.

She smiled.

" I used to, after all it's close to my apartment."

" It's what years of teaching do to you. When I was a college student, I was very healthy and didn't party as I should, but now I see how necessary it was" Tao said " And Junior Dew here, she is actually still well-behaved, she was like that since the beginning."

" Teacher Tao, why did you give that nickname to Teacher Bai?"

" I'm also curious about it." Zhing Yi asked.

Bai Lu sighed, and Tao felt a bit uncomfortable.

" It wasn't me, but her boyfriend back then."

" Dew, you actually had a boyfriend?" Zhing Yi was surprised. Of course, the young woman was beautiful, it was strange she was single. When one heard something like that, it was normal to want to hear the whole story.

Bai Lu just smiled and nodded.

" He was an exchange student in our university, and then decided to stay here, but after some years he still went back to England."

End of the story.

" We've really known each other for so long" Tao was quick to change the subject " even my girlfriend was jealous at first hahaha. But now I have proposed, I don't think she's worried anymore."

" You proposed!"

" When?"

" How did you propose?"

They were all engrossed in hearing the proposal story, when a waiter brought some drinks to their table.

" It must be a mistake, we didn't ask for these," Zhing Yi said.

" No, it's on the house." The waiter addressed Bai Lu. " Miss, the boss is glad you came back."

Wasn't Long Wei in the States?

She looked around, and saw him with his arms resting on the bar counter, staring at her direction. He smiled, making her remember just how handsome he was, and then walked out of her sight.