Chapter 265 - I'm Outside (Qing Lok x Liu Meilien. Can skip.)

With a new lead in the horizon, Qing Lok had managed to get a few hours of sleep. When he got up, it was almost midnight. He washed up and got into some nice clothes. When he went down to the other living room, he found that everyone was quiet. Wuming was curled into a ball on one sofa, sleeping. Feng Xuan was leaning her head on his second brother's shoulder, also sleeping.

"Everybody okay?" he asked in a hushed tone.

Qing Chen was typing away on his laptop. He looked up and saw how dressed Qing Lok was. "Yeah, everything's good. I already ordered men to look at all the pings. We should hear word in two to three days."

Qing Lok knew he didn't have to ask but it came out of his mouth anyway. "Can I leave for a second?"

Even Qing Chen looked surprised but he didn't miss a beat. "Sure. Just be back home, okay? Don't stay out too late."

Qing Lok nodded his head slowly. "I'll be back in a couple of hours. I'm just going to pay a visit to Liu Meilien."

"Yeah. Okay, take care."

Qing Lok already turned away when Qing Chen called him back. "Yes?" he asked, palming the doorway.

"What Wuming said… he was right. You should let her know. It's not fair for her. You have to let her decide while her feelings are not yet ruling her decision-making."

Qing Lok looked at his feet. He raised his head and saw how peacefully Feng Xuan was sleeping and how comfortable she was. Qing Lok wished he had that kind of ease. There was nothing else left to say other than, "You're a lucky bastard, you know? You got the easy way out."

Qing Chen smiled at him. "I sure did. Now go to your girl. You're a smart boy. You'll figure things out."

With that Qing Lok rushed to the door, not wanting anything to stop him from leaving the house.

**

It was not that much of a long drive from their house to the Feng's residence. The road was already almost empty and the only thing that held him back were the stoplights. When he finally reached the neighborhood, his heart flew to his throat.

Honestly, he didn't want to follow his brothers' advice. He wanted to make this last longer—as much as possible. Wuming already tried doing this and he failed, what more him? He was almost out of his mind by the time that he stopped the car three houses down from the property.

He finally took his phone and dialed Liu Meilien's number. He knew that there was a huge possibility that she was still up at this time. The last they texted was this morning and she told him that she was watching a new drama and it didn't require rocket science to compute the hours of the show. Liu Meilien had a habit of finishing the dramas in one-sitting.

The phone rang for a few times before it was answered.

**

Liu Meilien was at the last three episodes of the drama that she was engrossed with. The story was about an actress that got reincarnated as a princess. It was a sappy thing but she could not help but enjoy it. Lately, she had been staying in bed and just watching TV. At least, while she was watching, she forgot her own problems because she was too busy thinking about the character's problems.

Then out of nowhere, her phone started ringing. A bolt of energy struck her when she was Qing Lok's face at the screen. Her heart started pounding in her chest and she felt nervous all over. She wiped her fingers—she had been eating cheesy ch.i.p.s and cleared her throat.

"Hello?" she practiced and she was at the right tone that she wanted.

She pressed the answer button. "Hey," she greeted with a fake tired voice.

"Hey, Meilien…"

Just by hearing voice made her ear tickle. Goosebumps raise on her arms and her stomach turned into knots. "What's up?"

"Uh, can I talk to you?"

She got up the bed. He sounded serious and that only added a pile of nervousness to her. "Sure. What about?"

"No, I can't talk to you about it on the phone. Can we talk, like, in person?"

"Yeah sure," she answered. "I got some time to spare tomorrow." It was a lie. She was not going to do anything else tomorrow. She just didn't want to sound too available for him—not when he was busy nowadays.

"No, not tomorrow. Now."

Her heart stopped beating. "What do you mean now?"

"Can you get out of your house? I'm outside."

Her heart dropped to the floor. "You're kidding, right?"

"I'm not. You can look out the window if you like, but I don't think the car will be visible as the walls surrounding the house are too high."

"Right. I-I'll be down in a minute."

"Okay."

The call ended and Liu Meilien was in a state of panic. For ten whole seconds she just bunched her hair in her fists, thinking of what she should do first. Her face was bear aside from the skincare products. She was wearing night clothes!

What was she going to wear now?!

She wanted to do outfits but she was afraid that if she took too long, Qing Lok would leave. What if he only had limited time to spare?

Liu Meilien shook her head. She shouldn't be even thinking about it this way. She should act like she was unbothered. Like she didn't care if he was there. Like she wasn't exerting that much effort because it wasn't that important that he visited her.

It was a risk to take but she was still a little annoyed with him. She took a silk robe and wrapped it around her body and tiptoed out of the property, not knowing that the next words she would hear might change her life.