The Steps to Love You

Chapter 5. The Date.

***

Her friends had been surprised that Bai Lu was a friend of the owner to the point he'd invite drinks to all of them, but as he was already gone and didn't come to greet her either, they didn't ask many questions and were satisfied with her short answers and the free drinks they got.

Bai Lu congratulated herself for her acting skills, as she managed to look much more calm than she actually was. She'd only seen Long Wei for a second, he'd barely looked at her, but it affected her so much that it was embarrassing.

Tao's upcoming wedding was still the main topic of their conversation for another half-an-hour before they moved on to complain about school paperwork...

When she got home, Bai Lu's mind betrayed her and she took out her phone to look for his contact number.

[ Thank you for the drinks. How was your trip?]

She wrote it but then erased the message.

[ Thank you for inviting me tonight. I was surprised to see you...]

No, that wasn't it either. She erased her words and tried again.

[ Thank you for the drinks. How have you been?]

It was just normal to have some curiosity, she told herself after sending the message, and they hadn't parted on bad terms, it wasn't wrong to ask. Bai Lu waited for some minutes, but there was no reply, so she silenced as she always did on weekends, and went to take a shower before going to bed.

That night, she dreamed of Peter.

" I'm sorry it took me so long to come back." He told her, holding her into an embrace. It should have been comforting, and for a moment it was, but soon it wasn't enough anymore.

" What happened, Peter?"

" My mom was sick, I stayed around for her, but then it was more work after work." It sounded like a weak explanation, but in her dream she only nodded and accepted the ring he put on her finger.

Why did she say yes? She didn't want to marry him anymore. He talked about children, and a house they would buy, but Bai Lu felt it was difficult to give every step down the aisle.

" I can't do it. I can't do it anymore."

She woke up with a pressing pain in her chest, but it was just a dream. It had felt so real, but as she realized she was still alone in her bedroom, she actually felt relief that Peter wasn't there. Her life was good the way it was, without him in it, and she didn't want to change anything.

Her arm reached out for her phone on the night table, and she blinked when there was a reply from Long Wei last night.

[ I had some difficult times, so I was glad to see you well.]

Difficult times? What kind of difficult times? She wanted to ask, but wondered if it was correct or she would be crossing the boundaries. Since he was the one to say it, instead of just telling her it had all been good, then it was possible he was allowing her to ask.

[ What happened? Is your family doing well? Is there anything I can do?]

***

The other night, when they went out, Zhing Yi and Li Min didn't pry more about Bai Lu's relationship because it seemed to make her upset. It didn't mean they wouldn't ask Tao for more details later. How could they have guessed she actually had such a big disillusion in love?

It was a pity for such a good girl to be single and waste her best years just because of a rotten man, at least that was the opinion of Zhing Yi, who was older and knew the struggles of trying to marry later in life, and Li Min who was a romantic at heart also couldn't accept it.