“How could you do this?” Bai Hongfei could not believe what his mother said. “I thought that you like her very much, didn’t you?”
“I like her then because she was a member of the Cheng family. After the death of her father, she would no longer the darling daughter of a rich family. As I have expected, after the death of Mr. Cheng, the family faced a series of problems.”
Madam Bai held the shoulders of his son. “Wake up, son. You are the only heir to the wealth of Bai family. Why worry about women? What is Cheng Yuxiu? Mind you, she is no longer a good match for you. You should be looking for someone better who can help you in your career!”
Bai Hongfei looked at his mother and said, “But I love her and I want to marry her. I want her to be my wife…”
Pop!
Mrs. Bai slapped his son in anger. “Why can’t you be a man?”
All this for a girl!
“She is just a girl. Do you know how she had manage to raise a sum of over tens of millions overnight?” Madam Bai cast a fierce look at his son. “I personally saw her get into a limousine. I am sure she is no longer a virgin. Don’t tell me you don’t mind taking her as your wife now…”
“Ahh!”
Bai Hongfei pushed her mother away. He could not stand listening to such derogatory remarks from his mother.
He raced to the river bank where he used to meet with Cheng Yuxiu. They both enjoyed looking at the crystal-clear water flowing there.
They often met there. Cheng Yuxiu would always lean against his chest while they enjoyed the quiet ambience that seemed to belong only to them.
They came here one day before celebrating Cheng Yuxiu’s birthday where he hugged her passionately. “Tomorrow you will be 20 years old.”
“So what”?
Bai Hongfei kissed her cheeks. “We can get married now.” And then he put his hands round her waist, telling her, “I want you to give birth to many children of our own. We will stay here for the rest of our lives. What do you think?”
She snuggled up to him. Tears welled in her eyes. “Hongfei, will you love me forever?”
“Yes, I will. I will never betray you. I will protect you and make sure you don’t get hurt for the rest of your life,” Bai Hongfei vowed.
Cheng Yuxiu leaned against his chest, hugging him tightly. She couldn’t resist the urge to sound playful. “I am willing to marry you and have many children with you so that Meng City will become White City populated by many descendants of Bai family…”
Bai Hongfei was touched. He kissed her hair and responded in jest, “So, you don’t have anything to do with the Cheng family anymore, do you?”
Cheng Yuxiu held him and kissed him on the lips. “I will follow the man I marry, be he a rooster or a dog.”
“How dare you compare me to a rooster and a dog?” Bai Hongfei pretended to be angry.
“You are just like that… “
“Like what?”
Cheng Yuxiu feared that Bai Hongfei might want to punish her so she pushed him off and started to run away.
Bai Hongfei chased her. “Cheng Yuxiu, stop running. Otherwise, I won’t let you off so easily.”
Cheng Yuxiu laughed and looked over her shoulders mischievously. “How will you punish me then?”
Bai Hongfei seemed ready with an answer. “I will marry you, lock you up in the room so I can stare at you whole day and love you — “
“Shame on you!” Cheng Yuxiu pretended to hate the proposed punishment. “Don’t even tell others that I know you. Oh!”
She ran too fast and tripped on a pebble.
“Be careful.”
Bai Hongfei dashed over trying to save her from falling face down. He managed to pull her just before she landed on the ground but he lost his balance. He fell back down while hugging Cheng Yuxiu.
The riverbank was filled with pebbles of different sizes. The fall caused him terrible pain.
Cheng Yuxiu quicky went over to check. “Are you hurt? Is it painful?”
Bai Hongfei grabbed her hands which were moving about wildly. He stared at her and his hands cupped her head and he kissed her on the lips before she could even react.
They hugged and kissed by the river bank enjoying the sweetness of courtship.
“After your birthday, I will ask my mother to meet your parents to discuss the necessary arrangements for our wedding. Say, what kind of bridal gown do you prefer? Just let me know and I will have it tailor-made —”
“I am happy just being around you; I don’t want anything else.”
“But I don’t want you to feel wronged for marrying me; I will make sure there will be a grand banquet to celebrate our wedding and announce to everyone that you, Cheng Yuxiu, is my wife.”
He shouted as he stared at the river and the sky.
Right then, even though he could reminisce the joy of courtship and hear their vows reverberating in his head, the girl he wished to marry was nowhere in sight.
Where has she gone?
Looking up helplessly, Bai Hongfei roared.
He could not accept the fact that Cheng Yuxiu had vanished out of his world.
He went to Cheng family’s residence again.
Cheng Yuwen refused to let him in. “Please go away. My sister’s engagement with you has already been cancelled. Both families no longer have anything to do with each other.”
Bai Hongfei was determined to see Cheng Yuxiu. He kept knocking on the door. “Please let me see Yuxiu or I won’t leave.”
Cheng Yuwen considered his insistence crazy. “Come on, man. Why must you do this? Tell me, do you think you can leave your mother? Of course, you cannot because you are a filial son. The point is, your mother looks down on our family; you can never marry her no matter how much you love Yuxi.”
Dong, dong —
Bai Hongfei banged on the gate furiously. “Please, let me see her.”
Cheng Yuwen was not moved by his determination. “I don’t care how long you want to wait outside.”
He went inside the house, not caring whether Bai Hongfei chose to stay back to prove his point.
Bai Hongfei waited outside for three days, without any food and drink.
Mrs. Bai couldn’t stand seeing his son suffering like this. She brought some helpers to try to force him to go home. “This is absurd! You are such a useless prick?”
“I am definitely not going back, unless you can make sure I meet Yuxiu!” Bai Hongfei was very determined; he frantically repulsed anyone who tried to approach him and take him home.
This angered Madam Bai even more. “How can I have a son like you! You are doing all this just for a girl? Tell me any girl you want and I will get her for you!”
“I don’t want anyone else; I only want Yuxiu, I like her and no one else.” His voice became weaker and weaker and he collapsed finally.
He covered his face with his hand and continued to complain, “Why did you call off my engagement with her? Why did you do this without getting my consent? How could you do this to me! Did you even have any respect for me? Did you even get my opinion? Have you ever treated me like I am your son?”
Madam Bai was speechless and her face turned pale. It hurt her very much to find her adult son misunderstand her. “I have done this for your own good. Why can’t you appreciate this?”
“I’d rather you did nothing at all!” Bai Hongfei was still sitting in front of the gate of Cheng family’s residence. “Go back, please. I won’t leave without seeing Yuxiu.”
Madam Bai knew she would only get angrier if she stayed here any longer.
“If you insist on mistreating yourself this way, there is nothing I can do to stop you. Get real, son; Cheng Yuxiu won’t feel bad because of what you are doing right now. I am the only one who truly loves you!”
