Chen Jing entered the elevator, barely holding back the tears threatening to fall as she waited, painfully aware of every passing second for the elevator to bring her up to the topmost floor. This was supposed to be a surprise…
The elevator stopped as she stumbled out, nearly falling. She turned her head to stare at her sorry looking figure in the mirror. In front of her was a banner in red: Riverside Restaurant-where food meets love.
Chen Jing smiled at the irony. After all, she had chosen this place.
Riverside Restaurant was indeed where food met love. She came here countless times before, her arms locked into Yang Chen’s. Their favorite spot was Table No. 10. Today was no different, except… this time, she was alone and she wasn't able to reserve their favorite spot either. Some rich brat had used his connections to hog it.
“Ma’am, are you alone?” asked the host.
“Mm.”
“Please follow me. The space we booked for you is no different from that space. Plus it has additional benefits. No one will disturb your date,” he rambled on, trying hard not to lose his almost regular customer.
"Then why didn't you explain the benefits of that spot to the person who hogged my favorite spot, eh?" Chen Jing side eyed the host.
With a rather embarrassed smile, the host murmured, "He's a VIP customer. We cannot offend him."
Chen Jing did not make things difficult for him as she took a deep breath and followed him.
She glanced at their favorite spot. A man sat there, his arm resting on the back of the chair. Chen Jing could only see his back view as he tilted his head back and drank the red wine.
Even though she was angry, she couldn't help but admire his back profile as she walked to the garden and sat down at her reserved spot, deep in thought. The server brought her a glass of red wine. A bouquet of red roses lay on the table. Chen Jing sighed. All of these were meaningless.
“Lu Man, come meet me at the Riverside Restaurant,” Chen Jing called her best friend.
Chen Jing poured the drink in her throat, without glancing at it. The wine burnt her throat but still failed to suppress the bitter feeling that choked her all the way to this place.
She dialed another number. It rang. No one picked up. She hung up right before it went to voicemail.
"Ma'am, do you want me to bring the cake or do you want to wait?" asked the waiter.
"No need," Chen Jing replied.
Chen Jing rubbed her forehead to ease the pain. Too many things happened today. She just wanted some peace right now.
“Jingjing!” Chen Jing heard her best friend exclaim. She turned around to see Lu Man waving at her.
Chen Jing forced a smile as Lu Man sauntered towards her, sending a glass of Table 10 tumbling towards the floor. She hurriedly offered an apology and rushed towards her best friend.
“So romantic! Why are you alone though?” Lu Man laid her purse beside herself as she took the seat opposite Chen Jing.
Chen Jing said nothing.
“Jingjing, what’s wrong my dear?” Lu Man finally caught up with her best friend’s state of mind. “Did that bastard make you unhappy again?”
Unbeknownst to them, the man sitting at Table No. 10 was actually listening to them intently out of sheer boredom.
He too, had a bad day and came here to relax. Usually he would relax with his friends, but they were busy today. So he had come here alone.
The cell phone on his table was constantly ringing, probably bearing more bad news. He put it on silent mode and turned the screen away to save himself from staring at it.
His attention went back to the girls once more. They were discussing men. He was especially interested when he heard a name he had long forgotten—Yang Chen.
On the other table, Chen Jing tried her best to hold back her tears.
"He denied being in a relationship with me in front of his father. He told me that there would be no problems. It has been ten years, Manman. I just…"
"That bastard! Didn't he say his father already knows about you?"
"Exactly. He even said his father will not meddle in our relationship. When I went to his company today, I saw him denying it in front of another girl whom his father introduced and asked him to take to lunch, show around the city and have dinner with. After that, he sent me this." Chen Jing handed Lu Man her phone.
On it was Yang Chen's message—"Jingjing, sorry but I have an emergency meeting at work. I'll meet you at night, alright?"
Lu Man understood that there was more to it. She waited for Chen Jing to continue.
"Still I waited for him. But guess what he did? He went to meet his friends. I waited the entire day. The entire day. Dude even had the audacity to call me to the Nanping Restaurant, knowing full well it was him who wanted me to take a leave from work to be with him. And this is what he rewards me with."
Not only Lu Man but also the man eavesdropping on their conversation was shocked.
"What?! Calling you to such a place at night? Is he even your boyfriend?" Lu Man screamed, startling the waiter. She hurriedly muttered an apology, and turned her eyes to focus on Chen Jing.
"Manman, I suddenly feel like I don't know him at all. Do you know what the irony is?"
Lu Man said nothing. In a mocking tone, Chen Jing continued, "He told me that I should be thinking about marriage."
Chen Jing drank the orange juice in one go, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and continued to say, "Worst of all, my father is also trying to matchmake me with someone. Even though he's doing it behind my back, I know him well enough to see through his intentions. Plus, something is odd with Mom as well."
"What will you do now?" Lu Man asked seriously.
"Honestly, my brain is in a mush right now. I just want to run away from home and not deal with these problems anymore. Aaaaaa."
"What about your job? Did you find a new one? Does Yang Chen know about the problems you're facing there?"
"What's the use of telling him? Either he'll keep yelling at me or bother me for choosing such a job. Back then, I used to share a lot with him. Now I feel it's best to keep my mouth shut regarding these things."
The man sitting at Table No. 10 couldn't bear to hear more. It was making him dizzy. He wasn't better than Yang Chen either. Maybe he had his reasons as well.
He got up to go to the washroom. Their conversation reminded him of something, rather someone.
As he got up, he almost stumbled, causing Chen Jing to suddenly giggle. Composing herself, she stared at the table as she continued listening to Lu Man.
As soon as the man left, a lady made way to the table unaware that her movements were already being noticed by Chen Jing.
Subtly, she poured something into the man's drink and as she picked up her purse from the ground which she had pretended to drop earlier.
YOU ARE READING
Love - A Second Chance
RomanceChen Jing, an independent girl, was in love with Yang Chen for 10 whole years. But the spark was gone. She tried to hold onto the relationship, making an effort to live upto his expectations, but along the way, she realized she had lost herself in t...
