thin line; daoming si

Chapter 22 {Epilogue}

"Meilin, come back here!" You whisper-yell at your toddler who begins to crawl away in the middle of Zhuang's wedding ceremony. The venue is outdoors and you left her playing on the grass in front of you since she was preoccupied. But now you watch in horror as your daughter crawls right into the aisle, where Zhuang is supposed to be walking down any second now.

Luckily, Si is sitting next to the aisle and he is able to swoop her up before she can get too far. He places her on his lap before covering her face with kisses, making her giggle. You breathe a sigh of relief.

Finally, the music starts and you smile. You turn your head, watching as your sister in law walks down the aisle. She looks absolutely stunning in her dress and the look on her face tells you that she's never been happier.

As she recites her vows, you notice how Si watches on proudly. If you didn't know any better, you would say that there are tears welling up in his eyes. You know that he's glad his sister has finally met the one for her and will spend the rest of her life with him. You've met her soulmate a few times now and you have no doubt that he will treat her well.

After the 'I do's', it's time to party. Everyone heads inside the venue, where food and drinks are served. You carry Meilin on your hip as you serve yourself, putting enough on your plate for the both of you. When you get back to the table, you see Si's mother sitting across from you.

Startled, you pause slightly before sitting down in your seat. Meilin gurgles as you start picking at your food awkwardly. Si had gone to the bathroom so you have no one to back you up here.

"Y/n." She says suddenly and you look up at her. Surprisingly, there is a look of sincerity in her eyes instead of the usual malice when she looks at you. "I want to apologize."

You nearly choke on your food. "Excuse me, w-what?" You splutter.

"I know we had a very rough start to our relationship. That's all my fault. I blamed you for something you had absolutely no control over. But over these years, I have realized something."

"And what is that?" You encourage her to go on, curious about what she has to say.

"You make my son very happy. That's all a mother wants for her children in life. I've also realized that I've judged you too harshly. You seem to be a hardworking and independent young woman and I'm sorry that it took me so long to realize it."

"I.." You trail off, your eyes wide. "I don't even know what to say right now."

"Y/n, I just want to be a part of your life, as well as my granddaughter's life. I hope that's not too much to ask." She smiles softly.

You're about to smile back when Si approaches the table. He sighs, looking at his mother. "Mom, please don't pester her. It's supposed to be Zhuang's big day."

"No, it's quite the opposite actually." You smile at Si and he looks at you, confused. "She was apologizing to me. For everything."

"Really?" You watch as his eyes light up. All these years, you know he's been hoping for his soulmate and his mother to get along. You bet he never thought it would happen, you certainly didn't. But clearly, you have been proven wrong.

"Y/n, if you'll forgive me, I hope that we can put all of this behind us." She says.

You look at her for a moment. Through her words and actions, you can tell that she is being genuine. "I..I forgive you."

She smiles widely. "I'm glad." You notice her eyes lingering on Meilin. The last time she held the child was shortly after her birth. Si's mother didn't come to the hospital to support either of you. No, she came to see her grandchild. And out of the kindness of your heart, you let her hold your little Mei. But since then, Si's mother has spent little to no time with the child, mostly because of your strained relationship.

"Would you..like to hold her?" You ask reluctantly.

"I would love to." She nearly beams.

You stand up with Mei, walking around the table to hand her to Si's mother. The woman puts the child on her lap, talking softly to her. As soon as you see Meilin giggle at the woman, you know that she likes her.

You sit back down, beginning to eat your food as Si's mother plays with Mei. Si sits down next to you, grinning softly. "I've been waiting for this day to come for, what, almost five years now? I'm just so happy."

"I'm really happy too." You grin at him.

Later that night, after the couple has their first dance together, another slow song comes on. You watch as people get up from their seats, pairing off as they reach the dance floor. Smiling, Si stands up and offers you his hand. "Will you have this dance with me, milady?"

You roll your eyes, grabbing his hand and standing up. As you step into the middle of the room, where the designated dance floor is, Si wraps an arm around your waist and pulls you close. You rest your cheek on his shoulder as the two of you sway slowly to the music.

"This is nice." You say softly, contently.

He hums in agreement. "We should have my mother babysit more often."

"I agree." You say with a small chuckle.

"Then maybe we can have time to work on baby number two-"

"Si, don't even think about it." You lift your head from his shoulder, narrowing your eyes at your husband.

"But I want a boy." He pouts.

"Dealing with one boy is enough work for me." You peck his cheek softly, to which he rolls his eyes.

"Fine.." He sighs dramatically, as if he is troubled by something.

"I'm kidding." You giggle. "I'll think about it, okay?" You tell him in a more serious tone.

He nods, smiling warmly at you.

Out of curiosity, you glance back at Si's mother who is watching Mei. You're shocked to see that Meilin is giggling as she pulls roughly at the woman's hair. "Oh god." You pull away from Si, running over to the table.

You gently remove your daughter's chubby hands from her hair. "I'm so sorry!" You apologize profusely.

She insists that it's fine but you take Meilin anyway to prevent her from causing any more trouble. Well, at least your peaceful moment was nice while it lasted.

"Mei, you want to go dance with daddy?" At the mention of her father, the toddler's eyes light up.

"Daddy!" She exclaims excitedly, waving her arms up and down.

"I'll take that as a yes." You giggle. "Let's go!"

As a more upbeat song plays, you bring Meilin back over to the dance floor. You bounce her on your hip along with the beat and wave her hands in the air to make it look like she's dancing. She laughs and so does Si.

You suddenly think back to that day you ran into Si in the hallway all those years ago, the day you found out that he was your soulmate. You remember just how much anger, confusion and resentment you felt that day.

Never in a million years would you have thought that your life would turn out this way. The man you once thought was heartless and cold has turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to you. And now you can't thank fate more for putting the two of you together, because the universe has never been more right.