I did not know how long I slept.  My shoulders felt cold and I shivered.  Then I felt a warmth on my shoulders and at the same time, a low soft voice sounded over my head.  The voice did not sound happy.  "Wake up.  Go home and sleep."

          I knew he had arrived.  I grunted lazily and lying on the table, I opened my eyes to look at him.  Giggling foolishly at him with my mouth reeking of alcohol, I said sweetly to him.  "You've come......"

          When a person is drunk, maybe his eyes are also drunk.  When I looked at Kang Zixian I found that under the lights, he looked particularly nice with his straight nose, so nice that I did not think I was unworthy to possess him…….but I would not possess him for long. 

          Kang Zixian pulled me up as I swayed left and right and I felt like I was stepping on clouds.  I was pulled into his arms but I did not resist his hug.  I raised my head and smiled at him.  "He, he, he……..Uncle is really nice……."

          He put his hand around my waist and held me tightly to him to prevent me from slipping down.  On an impulse, I said.  "I'll sing you a song."

          "Don’t make any trouble.  If you want to sing, let's go home and sing."  A few people turned around to look at us and Kang Zixian was at a loss. 

          "In this world, only Uncle is the best.  A child without Uncle is like a stalk of grass……."  I sang the song faintly in Kang Zixian's embrace.  I was tickled by my own compilation of lyrics and giggled in amusement.

          I did not know why but recently I liked to call him Uncle.  If I could not win against him then I would misbehave just to tease him.  Looking at his gloomy face, I always have the urge to laugh out loud.  

          Seeing his deflated and unhappy expression, I felt it was better than watching a troupe performance with gongs and drums. 

          Kang Zixian did not know whether to cry or laugh.  Stone who was sleeping all this while had woken up.  He raised his head slightly to look directly at me and he muttered.  "Lao Da, don’t leave me behind."

          Kang Zixian glanced at him without any expression as if Stone owed him money.  I was trembling on my weak legs and pointing to Stone, I said.  "Forgot to introduce……this is Stone."

          I fiercely patted my chest and proudly said.  "My…..I and Fei Ge's brother."  My voice lifted up.  "Brother…….we grew up together!"

          Stone nodded.

          I pointed at Kang Zixian.  My forehead felt hot and talked nonsense to Stone.  "Stone, this is my uncle……"

          "Ah!...."  Someone's hand that was resting on my waist pinched me hard.  It was so painful that I gave a loud yelp and the nonsense at the tip of my tongue was swallowed back.

          "You pinched me…."  I huffed, raised my head and stared at the culprit.

          With an expressionless face, Kang Zixian ignored me and politely nodded at Stone.  "Hello, I am Fang Liang Liang's boyfriend." 

          "Hey, when did you become my boyfriend?"  I blinked at him and asked.

          His face was calm and he stared at me intently with his sharp eyes.  "Other than me, do you have any other boyfriend?"

          My brain went blank.  "No……."

          "Then that's right."  He said naturally leaving me in a daze.

          How come I feel like he is leading me into a maze again?

          I felt dizzy.

          At the side, Stone slowly stood up and stared imposingly at Kang Zixian.  He gnashed his teeth and said. "You must be good to our Lao Da or…… I, Shi Lei would deal with you!"

          Kang Zixian did not answer.

          One second, Stone was talking to Kang Zixian fiercely and the next second he turned towards me with a smile and said.  "Lao Da, I have a girlfriend.  One day, I'll bring her along to let you see her.......to meet the elders."

          I thought for a while.  "Does the girl have any dimples?"

          Stone's facial expression changed slightly.  He stared at me foolishly, did not answer and his flushed face was blank.  It seemed that time did not take away anything.  The young man or the 18-year-old boy in my eyes still looked so pure with a clean smile.  The rebellion was still clear but the stubbornness, in reality, was harder than stone.

          I knew I had guessed correctly.  I was about to reprimand him when I paused and thought for a while.  Feeling it was not right, I reached forward and took off his glasses from his nose and said with a voice of deterrence.  "This time, open your eyes wider.  If you meet a white-eyed wolf again, I think you'd better not wear glasses anymore.  I and Fei Ge will gift you a magnifying glass!"

          Stone giggled, revealing two rows of white teeth and childishly saluted me in respect.  Then he said in a loud and clear voice.

          "Yes, Madame!"

          I laughed and gave him a palm slap on his forehead.

          "Okay, I'll send you back."  Kang Zixian standing at the side probably could not stand to watch this brother and sister meaningful drama, a crazy version of a drama and opened his mouth to interrupt.

          I nodded and clung to Kang Zixian like a climbing vine as he led me towards the exit of the restaurant.  I turned my head around and called out to Stone.  "Stone, tomorrow we will come out for a drink again!  Tomorrow Fei Ge is coming back and the three of us can have a good time!"

          Stone was staggering and following behind us.  He could have heard wrongly, so the answer he gave was completely out of context as he roared.  "Lao Da, I want to drink at your wedding!"

          "Wedding ah……okay……Stone, when I have a child, you must attend the full moon dinner…….Well, Lao Da is poor.  You must remember your red packet must be thicker.  You can’t be just an uncle only……."

          Stone replied sharply from the back, patted his chest and shouted loudly.  "As to the red packet, Lao Da doesn’t have to worry……if you can’t afford to bring up the child, you still have me…….I'm rich!"

          Kang Zixian stopped walking, turned around to look at Stone and coolly said.  "Thank you.  Don’t trouble yourself.  I can still afford to bring up my own child."

          I lifted my head to look at Kang Zixian and then standing on tiptoes, I whispered into his ears.  "Do you have a child?"

          His eyes held a faint smile and a trace of helplessness.  He leaned close to my ears and whispered.  "In your stomach."

          "In my stomach?...... In my belly, there is only wine, no child."

          "Because I still have not planted it yet."

          "Yi…..so a child is planted?"

          I was stupid enough to ask such a silly question to tease Kang Zixian.  His usual cold face had a smile which showed some warmth.  I could smell faintly the perfume on his body, like the fragrance of flowers in the spring breeze and I started to giggle.

          The next second, Kang Zixian's smiling face turned cold when he turned around to face the shop's entrance.  His smile had vanished and in place was his usual cold expression. 

          Involuntarily, I also turned around and my smile froze.

          Fu Chen was standing at the door and his eyes were looking at me with complex emotions.  We were only a few steps away from each other but we were so distant like we were separated by thousands of mountains and rivers and neither of us could cross over. 

          I looked at his pair of eyes that showed his sorrow.  I felt a tinge of pain somewhere in a corner of my heart and suddenly I woke up from my drunken stupor. 

          Fu Chen was staring at me and he threw a glance at Kang Zixian who was standing beside me.  His slightly dry mouth moved.  "Liang Liang, you……are getting married?"

          When I heard the word 'married' coming out from his mouth, I became distracted for a moment.

          The time when I was in love with Fu Chen, my eyes and heart were totally filled with him.  I decided to control my temper and worked hard to be a woman capable of gracing a hall and a kitchen* (A woman who is a good hostess and a good cook). Back then I had wholeheartedly waited to be his bride and had sincerely believed in love. 

          I never thought that one day we would come to this stage where the person he marries would not be me and the person I marry would not be him.  We were fated not to marry each other. 

          He had turned away too fast and when I waited for him to change his mind, he had already fallen in love with someone else. 

          So I hated him.

          I laughed coldly.  In a voice tone that was even strange to me, I greeted him.  "Yo…….isn't this my cousin brother-in-law?"

          I broke away from Kang Zixian's hands that were placed around my waist and I knew he was looking at me.   So I deliberately avoided his eyes and with unsteady footsteps, I went up to Fu Chen's side, smiling sweetly at him.  "Cousin brother-in-law is so considerate.  You and Weiyi are not married yet and you are concerned about her family members.  No wonder every day my aunt is smiling like she had won a 5-million dollar lottery since she has you as her future son-in-law.”

          Fu Chen still looked at me with that kind of undying-love expression in his eyes.  The more he looked at me like that, the more I hate him, so much so that I bared my fangs and brandished my claws like a hedgehog.  

          My smile became more and more dazzling and I used my greatest effort to smile, desperately smiled.  "Thank you, cousin brother-in-law, for your concern.  But in reality, I am not young any longer and should look for a man.  Ai…..Weiyi's life is so good, a man who is as devoted as cousin brother-in-law is difficult to find.  As an elder cousin sister, it is difficult not to feel envious and this world is full of hypocritical men.  But luckily for me, I met a man who is willing to give me true love so I will just marry him.  As he is also a wealthy man, I didn’t fare that badly as compared to Weiyi.  Since she can have a good marriage, so I was thinking, why can't I marry better than her?"

          I smiled and looked at Fu Chen then said slowly.  "As to my wedding dinner……Cousin brother-in-law must attend."

          Standing at the door, Fu Chen looked at Kang Zixian at the side and without looking at me, he asked.  "Is it him?"

          With a guilty conscience, I looked behind me at the silent, pursed-lipped Kang Zixian and my heart sank without any reason.  If revenge on Fu Chen could bring me a hundred times pleasure, then Kang Zixian's one deep look at me was enough to give me a thousand times remorse.

          Alcohol had paralyzed all my reasoning ability, so I did not know what I was doing nor what I was saying.  The night wind rustled and blew on my face.  I remembered that night when I had a stroll with him, opening up my inner heart and talked to him.  Suddenly I woke up. 

          He had given me a deep love and I behaved selfishly.  In order to revenge, I had hurt him and maybe I should be the one to receive retribution. 

          I could not face Kang Zixian and also could not face Fu Chen, even though in the past we had pledged our undying love for each other. 

          Everything that had happened was all because of 'love'.  It had made me cruel and made me into a coward.

          I did not want to stay in this place any longer, so I blurted out.  "I'll leave first."  I paused in my footsteps and said.  "The Bridge Noodle here is very nice.  Next time bring Weiyi along to try."

          We brushed shoulders as I quietly walked passed him.  The past was like cherry blossoms that fluttered down with the wind, dropping all over the ground and one day it would become part of the soil on the ground.

          This night, Kang Zixian sent me and Stone home.  We did not speak all the way.  Later when we reached his home, I felt nervous and apprehensive.  I followed behind him with the intention to talk to him but unexpectedly, with a solemn face, he walked upstairs to his room and closed the door with a thud, leaving me to face his closed bedroom door.

          I leaned against the wall outside his bedroom and thought for a while.  I realized why he reacted the way he did. 

          Some people were born to be proud as a king and they disdained to be compared with other people.

          He probably felt unhappy.

          In the dark, I slowly walked downstairs with my heart pounding, waiting for a pair of arms to encircle me from behind, letting me hear his heartbeat then I want to say to him.  "I'm sorry."

          My heart sank.  His hands did not appear.  Maybe now, he finally realized the type of person I am and felt so disappointed that he had decided to give up on me.

          But sadly when he decided to let go, I had unwittingly been attracted to his eyes and had fallen for him.

          I slowly walked to the window, looked at the moonlight lighting up the whole place and I sighed.  Tomorrow, Fei Ge would be back and it was time I moved out.  It was also time to wake up from the dream that he gave me.