It started raining after they entered the cafe. At the time, after office hours, it was when this place became more busy with clients and most of the tables were full, yet they were still able to get one in a corner. She'd been there many times before, it was close to her apartment and the service was good, but being there with Long Wei made it different in a way she could not explain. Perhaps it was because they had never been together somewhere else than in the pub or his apartment.

He'd told her he would explain things to her, that was the reason for them to be sitting there, but Bai Lu still had a strong desire to run and get away from him. As she was the one to go looking for him first, however, she refrained herself from doing so. She was an adult, surely she could act maturely in these circumstances.

But...

" Are you sure you only want tea?" Long Wei asked.

She nodded silently. She already ate just hours before with her blind date, but couldn't just tell him that.

" You said things have been difficult for you lately. I worried, so today I had some time and decided to visit." All the way since they were on his door until this moment, she had been thinking how she'd explain herself, and the words were finally out of her mouth. " I'm sorry if it was an inconvenience."

" You could hardly ever be an inconvenience." He smiled. " I'm more worried about the ideas you might have in your mind."

From what he had seen of Bai Lu the time they spent together, she was someone who spoke very little but thought too much.

" Well, last time I knew, you lived alone." She said, and avoided his gaze, instead concentrating in the teacup in her hands.

" I brought my son with me, and I'll be raising him from now on." He said.

So she hadn't guessed wrong. Bai Lu was feeling upset, even though she kept telling herself it was none of her business, that they were not ( had never been) together in that way. However, shouldn't he at least have told her he already had a child? Had he broken up with the mother, and decided to come back now? Or had she always been a third party? It was difficult to think of Long Wei as someone who would do that to her, but it was also possible.

" I see."

" Don't misunderstand. I didn't know about him. I would probably still ignore his existence if it wasn't because his mother was sick." Long Wei sighed.

She noticed then that he looked tired, which was unusual. Even though he didn't sleep much, he was the kind of person who always looked fresh and active, was he saying the truth just now?

" His name is Aaron. His mother just passed away, so I'm the only parent he has left."

Perhaps it was her natural instinct of comfort others first, but she reached his hand over the table and held it tight.

" I'm sorry to hear that."

Long Wei was in that kind of situation, how would he be thinking about a relationship? For a brief moment she'd let herself hope for something new in her life, and try opening up again to someone, but even in less complicated situations relationships could so easily end, if things were already like this for him... it was just better to accept that chapter in their lives was over.

" Thank you."

She withdrew her hand from his.

" I... I shouldn't bother you anymore in the future."

" You're not bothering me. In fact, I have missed your company these months." He smiled and let out a sigh " That's why I said I wanted to see you again. Quite selfish on my part, isn't it?"

She was a careful person. Whatever made her to be that way, he didn't know. However, that casual thing they had before would be difficult to continue now ( if she even wanted that) and even trying something different, something more, would be putting too much pressure on her shoulders. Bai Lu had wanted to cut ties before, why wouldn't she do so at a moment like this? Long Wei was thinking along those lines, so her next words surprised him.

" It's not. If you ever need help with something, you can call me."

" You are a really kind person."

She wasn't. She was just very confused, and didn't want to completely cut ties with him, although she was afraid about the future. Bai Lu used to think that, being someone who'd managed to live on her own for several years now, there were certain situations in which the answer would come to her, but it wasn't like that. Even if she'd fallen in love before, even if she'd given her best or if the other person let her down, none of that made it easier for her since she found herself interested in Long Wei.

" Does your invitation to eat out together still count, then?"

His question made her come back from her inner world.

" What? Did you read my message then?"

" When I was picking my keys and phone before leaving the apartment."

Outside, it had stopped raining.

" It looks like the night will still be good for your business later."

" You still didn't answer my question."

She sipped her tea again, and then grabbed her purse.

" Yes, we can meet when we both have time. But now, I think I have to get going because I have some work to do."

It was a lie, or at least she didn’t have an urgent matter that required her to go in that moment, but her heart felt heavy, and she'd rather be home.

***

The more she thought about it, however, the more strange Long Wei's actions were and the more curious she was. Did he have a bad relationship with his parents?

It didn't make sense for him to come and live here, instead of staying in the States where he had his family, who could probably help him at times like this. In a situation like that, she would have gone to her family if she had become a single mother in the past, no matter how much other relatives would look down upon her. There was a time when she was scared that would happen, and it was just around the time Peter had left, but luckily she was mistaken.

" Zhing Yi, you have a niece and a nephew. What kind of toys do little kids like?"

" Uhm? Why are you suddenly asking that?"

" To buy a present for a friend."

" Well, there are many things. We could go to the mall later and look around the toy stores."

She didn't ask Long Wei how old his son was, and she only caught a glimpse of him, but he should be around two. It was a very sad thing that the boy lost his mother being so young, and even his father was probably just a strange face starting to become familiar.

" That would be great. I'm not good at picking presents. Thank you, Zhing Yi."

To be honest, Bai Lu didn't know what she was doing. Perhaps that would be called following one's feelings. She was still scared, maybe more than she was before, because Long Wei had some baggage behind him as well, but it felt wrong to walk away from him at this moment. All her life, she was used to being the person who would step in to help someone when she thought she could do something, it was just what her parents had taught her.

Even with Meng Meng, they had not gotten along well for years now, but when they were in college and her cousin go expelled from the campus dorm, it was Bai Lu who helped her to get a place to stay until the semester ended and worked with her to pay the expenses, otherwise Uncle and Aunt would have found out and lashed into Meng Meng. Later they fell apart, and sometimes Bai Lu felt a bit sour about the whole thing, but if she hadn't done anything back then, she would regret it more.

Regarding Long Wei, she wasn't really sure she could do something to help, or if it was just because she liked him and her heart wasn't ready to give up.

Letting go of something was hard.

She'd even sold all the furniture of the apartment where she lived with Peter, because it was hard to live somewhere that reminded her of him, but she still kept the ring he gave her just a month before he left.

" Dew, be honest, are you dating someone now?"

" That's why you rejected Brother Li Xian!"

" What are you two talking about?" Bai Lu asked, confused.

Zhing Yi and Li Min exchanged glances, and then pointed at the bouquet of roses on her desk. In all the time she'd been working in the school, it was the first time she received something like this.

Bai Lu went to pick the bouquet, and read the card attached to it.

[ Come to have lunch with me this Saturday?]

He could just have texted her, but instead did this. In the end, it brought a smile to her face. Long Wei still didn't know where she lived, so he just sent the flowers to her workplace.

" Teacher Bai, who is him? Tell us."

" Yes, Dew, why are you so secretive?"

Tao and Teacher Yang also came, feeling some curiosity when they saw Bai Lu holding the bouquet of roses.

" What's this?"

" Our Dew is receiving flowers from a boyfriend now."

With all her friends giving her questioning looks, she was feeling shy.

" It's not a boyfriend yet." She said, and grabbed her things " You still have classes, but I have to go home and prepare my lessons. See you tomorrow."

When she arrived home she looked for the ring that someone gave to her so long ago. It was ridiculous she still had it with her, when that part of her life was over. If it was for the memories, those were still going to stay with her anyway. She'd go to sell it the next day.