Gao Zhi Ting arrived home to laughter.
And that was good.
He and Dong Xin love each other so much but like every couple, they are going through strains during their wedding preparations. No matter how much he had already arranged for it prior to his girlfriend saying yes, when family gets involved (and they both have quite big families), tensions can really run high.
The amount of stress lately made him consider why he didn't just ask her to marry him in a simple ceremony in London.
Still, whenever he manages to step back from all of it, he is reminded that he did all of this because she deserves THIS wedding – THEY deserve this wedding.
He is getting married to the most beautiful woman in the world and there is nothing else he would ask for. Maybe the only reason the past days have been a struggle is because this woman he would be spending his life with is worth every challenge.
"You both look happy!"
"Babe!" Xin exclaims and stands up to hug him.
He inhales her scent in, knowing he would never get tired of it.
"Welcome home Mr. Gao Zhi Ting! You arrived earlier than we expected. Now, we won't have the chance to talk about you", Yue told him.
"Is that the reason why the two of you are laughing so loud the neighbors can hear it?"
"Yes", Xin confirmed, smiling mischievously at him.
He laughed. He hadn't seen mischief in his wife-to-be's eyes for days now. Thank God Yue has decided to stay with them to help ease off a little of the pressure Xin has been feeling.
Truly, there are things that sometimes, it is only a best friend who can work on.
"Wang He Di came by to apologize", the "angel" best friend now added, "and your wife has been planning how to poison him during your reception. I am worried that another person might fall victim."
His eyes widened like saucers. That is good news! "Wang He Di apologized?"
Zhi Ting knows about the man and Yue just as well as Dong Xin.
Their friend nodded. "He came by this morning –"
A phone rang, cutting the rest of the sentence, and they all looked at their sides. Xin lifted her phone. "Oh! This is from the London Officer. I will just step out and you two continue talking."
He held his hand up. "Babe, take that call here. Yue and I will talk outside so you can have quiet in the background."
"Ok."
He and Yue headed for the veranda.
"So you were saying?", he prodded, not losing his beat.
Shen Yue smiled and picked it up. "He arrived around 30 minutes after you left, I think."
"I'm amazed he managed to get inside the house or... did he apologize outside?"
The woman laughed. "He managed to get inside although Xin warmed me to not come out of the kitchen and let her talk to him."
"And????"
"I really didn't have any plans to talk to him, you know. But then I heard him say he wanted to apologize."
"So you caved?"
Yue punched him in the shoulder. "Gao Zhi Ting stop smirking at me like that!"
"WHAT?!?!?!?!"
She raised a brow. "Drop whatever you are thinking Zhi Ting. I wanted to talk to him because I really felt he wanted to say sorry."
"I just wanted to know if your heart softened after hearing he wants to apologize, and you really pulled that punch on me."
"We've known each other for so long you think that I wouldn't know what you're talking about."
He smiled. "I really just want to know because from what I remember, we were trying to cook up ways on how you could kill him including possibly hitting him with a car when you arrived here, remember?"
"Well I was really angry at that time."
"But you're not angry anymore?"
Yue looked like she didn't want to admit anything to him but the truth is the truth. "Yes."
"WEAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!", he screamed.
"I KNEW IT!" Her fist found his arm again in probably one of the strongest wallops he has ever received from her.
However, he found himself laughing as he realized that this is the very first time he would be able to tease her over a guy she actually likes.
They haven't been in a situation like this EVER and Zhi Ting feels happy that finally, they could be friends this way – him acting like the big brother and she the little sister.
She knows and he knows that they haven't been friends – like this – in a long time because she continued to care for him romantically while he continued to try to keep her at arm's length in fear of being misinterpreted.
It isn't that he doesn't love her for he truly does but it would be unfair to Yue if he allowed himself to be misunderstood in the kind of love he felt for her. She's always been a beautiful woman both inside and out and even back in college, he knew she deserved someone who could love her in the way she should be loved.
They found themselves in such chaos because he wasn't that man – couldn't be that man.
And even when everything seemed to settle down, he knows that it's only because Yue did her best in hiding what she felt for him.
Still, there are two things in the world that can never be hidden. One is hatred and the other is love.
Zhi Ting is aware there was even a point in time that she felt both things for him.
But he never said it to her face.
He couldn't find it in himself to hurt her because he knows that all on her own, she has been doing her best to "unlove" him. Was he right or was he wrong in never facing Yue's feelings for him? Was he right or was he wrong in continuing to love her best friend even when he knew it hurt her?
He had so many questions before and every now and then, he would feel a twinge of pain in thinking of her getting hurt.
He isn't a religious man but he often prayed to God to bring the man who deserved her and after so long, it made his heart happy when he was finally introduced to Wang He Di.
He had never even heard of the guy before and Dong Xin realized that when his fiancée told him everything and he sat stunned at all of the revelations and how Yue and probably the most eligible bachelor in the country have known each other for quite some time.
Of course, he knows Wang He Di (Who doesn't?) but as someone who could potentially date one of his best friends, he had no backgrounder on him at all.
And like any "brother", he did his research on the guy.
"Yue, you know I'm just teasing you. Although, I would like to point out that your whole aura has changed from this morning when I left", he told her now, "And I like you better smiling and happy, especially for our wedding."
"I'm not happy!"
"OF COURSE YOU'RE NOT SHEN!"
She burst out laughing. "OK! OK! I'm happy!"
He bumped her shoulder. "You really thought you could deny that to me?"
"I just don't want you guys teasing me about it."
"What's so bad about teasing you? All of your friends will do that especially when you are in love!"
"I AM NOT YET IN LOVE!"
He lifted a brow. "AHHHHH!!!! But you're close?"
"OI!!!!!" she chided him.
"Shen Yue, there is nothing wrong if you are in love or if you are falling in love. I know what you guys have been fighting about and from what you say, he seems like a guy who is very proud. But he apologized to you and he even faced up against my "wifey". That makes him a good man doesn't it?"
"Well... to be fair to him, I think he IS a good man. He was just put in a very difficult situation and when he was finally breaking free from that situation, I came barging in and reminded him of his pain."
"And you two fought about it but he eventually had enough sense to say sorry. So.... he's good. He's handsome. He's rich. And he seems to like you... what else are you looking for?"
She made a face. "Zhi Ting stop! I already said I like the guy, ok? Don't make me think he likes me too because it's definitely ok if he doesn't. DiDi and I being friends – true friends – is enough for me. It gives me peace of mind already."
He made a face.
Out of all the things he said, the only thing she reacted to is him saying that Wang He Di likes her. And she contradicted it as fiercely as a lioness would defend her cub.
He had not spoken about it when his fiancée and best friend told him the whole story, but something had nagged at his brain about the other guy. If he was just pretending about being in love with Yue, how the hell was he so convincing during their engagement dinner?
And there had been two times that stood out to him that night.
When Wang He Di and Yue left the parking area, he had seen them arriving from a window.
There wasn't anyone else then. There were just two of them and if DiDi was acting for the benefit of other people, he didn't need to take her hand and walk with her towards the entrance without any other soul within their immediate vicinity.
It was even him who initiated taking Yue's hand.
The second time was when he and Xin were receiving the toast of their friends. Everyone's focus was on them and it was a moment that Zhi Ting is sure, he was not supposed to see.
But he had seen DiDi look intensely at Yue and squeeze her hand.
He had wondered then whether the other man was aware of Yue's feelings for him and if he was, did that squeeze mean to provide her comfort about what she was to witness?
He wished then that they could be together because here must be the man he has been praying to God for... the guy that could be for Shen Yue.
"You really think he doesn't like you?"
"Zhi Ting... it's the truth."
"Why?"
"He is still in love with his ex", she answered, "That's why we fought."
"What if you become the reason he forgets his ex?"
Yue shrugged. "I don't think so", she answered matter-of-factly, "I mean... I know who his ex is and she's such a wonderful person. She's beautiful. She's sweet. Just... I can't compare to someone like that."
Zhi Ting grabbed her and ruffled her hair. "SHEN YUE WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!?! You are one of the most wonderful people I know. You ARE beautiful. You are sweet – probably the sweetest. Any man will be lucky to have you."
She punched his leg, annoyed at being treated like a child. "You are just saying that because you are my friend."
"Wrong!", he clarified, "I said that because it's true and you, more than anyone, know that I don't say things lightly. I am far more savage with the people I know."
"Well, anyway...", she smiled weakly, "It's ok that he doesn't like me, Zhi Ting. It really is."
"Why? Because you have always been in a one-sided love?"
The shock in Yue's eyes is proof enough of how bold his statement is.
But Zhi Ting felt that in the years they have known each other, he had the first real opportunity to let her know how much he did love her.
"You did not just go there!"
"Yue, please do not measure your worth by what happened before."
Her eyes further widened at his serious turn.
"I may not have loved you the way you loved me before but I still loved you as a friend – a sister. And I know how wonderful you really are and how much you deserve to have someone who would be worthy of that. Do not think even for a second that a guy won't fall over his knees trying to win you over. He will be very lucky. He's gonna look at you and know it."
Her eyes misted and she wiped at them. "Ok. I didn't expect that at all."
"I just want to be sure that you know that. Because you should. And I don't want you to ever have any doubts or to question how Wang He Di could like you."
"GAO ZHI TING!!!"
"It's true", he pushed, "Do you want us to bet on it?"
"You had to ruin a beautiful moment..."
"I think I'm actually making it more beautiful. That man likes you. I'm a guy too. I know."
She rolled her eyes. "That is such a "supremist" statement. What do you guys have? A brotherhood pact? You just immediately know when one guy likes someone because you are both men?"
"I am confident that he likes you. That's why I'm telling you we should bet on it. I am very sure I'd win", he smiled sheepishly.
"Why – Why – Why can't you just be like Xin and be angry with him too???"
He shook his head. "It's hard to be angry with a guy who likes my best friend."
Yue shook her head at him and stood up from where they were seated in the veranda. "Stop it..."
"If I'm right, you are buying me the special edition playstation they are coming out with next month", he confidently announced.
"WOAH!!!!!"
"So save up, Wang He Di's future girlfriend", Zhi Ting answered smugly, "I'M GOING TO WIN THIS ONE."