Finale Part One
Cree gathered the information that Qiao Ruo, now as the Xias' goddaughter, had been last seen at City X. Immediately he caught the earliest flight there, but Cree was just moments too late. They had been at the same airport, and merely metres away from each other. It was just a matter of bad timing. His flight had been delayed due to unforeseen weather circumstances, and the very minute he disembarked, he was told her gate had closed ten minutes ago.
This failure only added to his pain. He had gone to the countryside to look for her and even attempted to connect with mutual contacts to seek her whereabouts. It all added up to one thing, the fact she didn't want to see him.
He wandered around the airport aimlessly, looking as dejected as ever. He wondered that if he could turn back time, he would have taken her elsewhere, and perhaps, they would have a better chance at being together. He knew Qiao Ruo didn't care for his wealth, or for worldly desires. She just desired happiness and someone to lessen her insecurities. Her biggest dream was to work towards her goal at becoming a full-fledged journalist. His fault had been in underestimating his enemies, and being overconfident that he could work with Qiao Ruo to be independent of his adoptive parents' control. It had just taken Li Yao a few moves to split them apart.
As months went by, Cree was reduced to an emotional mess and the management eventually called in his psychiatrist to treat him. He refused therapy. He didn't want to forget her, he said. With everything that was going on, he couldn't afford to take a break, and he still needed to take care of Qing Tian. Ye An observed how pressure built up in him, affecting his performance at work. Cree was exhausted, and he didn't know how to go on with his life without Qiao Ruo. He almost gave up on everything and was on the verge of losing himself. Finally, after acting like a zombie for some weeks, it was Ye An who had struck some sense in him. Ye An couldn't allow him to go on hurting himself, and attempted to persuade Cree. The number of talks he had with Cree was endless. However, nothing seemed to work.
"If you die, what will happen to Qiao Ruo?"
"Be strong, Cree! You have to get her back!"
"Will you be happy if someone takes her away and you would never ever get to see her again?"
While Ye An was shouting at Cree, he remained unmoved, silent as a rock, testing Ye An's patience. Day after day, Ye An struggled to convince him, but his attempts were in vain. Cree refused to step out of his room, and fortunately, a few trusted stakeholders took turn to run the businesses, ensuring its sustainability for the time being.
When all these words didn't work, he did what he could to strike some sense in the rock, even if it seemed overwhelmingly aggressive, and discourteous. Energy rampaged through the normally-composed Ye An, who was no longer able to see his friend and boss behaving like a coward and a corpse. He was tired of shouting and he decided that Cree needed to wake up from his trance now, before he regretted it in the future when he permanently lost Qiao Ruo.
He had to do something!
Cree was taken aback when Ye An went all physical on him, landing a few punches on him, and when that didn't work either, Ye An pushed him into the swimming pool!
The effects were simply magical. All of a sudden, Cree saw a multitude of lights flashing before him, and the unexplainable occurred. He didn't know how it happened, but images had popped out of him and Qiao Ruo, and they appeared to be fading away. Was he about to die?
From that day onwards, it was as if Cree had woken up from a dream. Cree had instantly realized what he needed to do to get Qiao Ruo back. He had to persevere, and recreate the possibility for them being 'forever'. In that split second of him drowning, he remembered why he had let go of their love in the first place, which was to ensure her safety. He couldn't die now, because he needed to give her that happily-ever-after ending she deserved! He struggled in the water, and swam all he could, to get out of the pool. He wasn't a very good swimmer, and the pool had been rather deep. But eventually he managed!
Anger flowed through him. Cree just wanted to get his hands on Ye An, and give him a good beating. Fortunately, he hadn't swallowed much water. Otherwise, if he died and became a wandering ghost, he would haunt the man for eternity!
From a safe distance, Ye An hid behind a mock bush and chuckled, as he knew Cree had returned.
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Part Two: One and a half years after their separation
Mengchen smiled, and Qiao Ruo clapped her hands in applause as she and her groom approached in their wedding attire. Everyone was happy for them on their big day, and Qiao Ruo was glad they had finally made it.
She remembered her happy moments with Cree, and she wondered how it would have turned out if she and Cree had tied the knot. Mengchen was not much older than Qiao Ruo, and she had been a lot more mature and stronger, having chosen to make her sacrifice.
Qiao Ruo didn't think she was capable of what Mengchen had done. But on the other hand, she had not known what it was like to have a mother. Still, it was thanks to her biological parents to have left her a birthright, although it was somewhat late for her to find out. She would often pray silently in her heart, to the parents she had never got to know. Because of what they had planned out for her, she had a new life.
She missed Cree a lot, and recently, the forum had no news of Cree. She looked up at the stars, and wondered what he was doing. Had he forgotten her?
Perhaps he was occupied with work, or he had a new girlfriend now that the rich girl had parted ways with him. She was happy for him, but she would continue to love him from a distance.
She told herself, if two people are fated, they would meet again. Maybe it wasn't the time yet, and if there was a god in the world, he or she answers prayers in a special manner. Whether it was a test, or the fruit of their love hadn't ripened yet, she didn't know.
Tonight, she would be joyful for two people who deserved happiness. Putting on her best smile, she catwalked up the stage and yelled, "I want to sing the newlyweds a song!"
The audience cheered, and a melodious tune filled the air. As she sang, tears filled her eyes. She felt both happiness and sadness at the same time. While her heart stung with pain, she knew she would be okay. Expectedly, the song she had chosen to sing was 'tomorrow would be a better day', ming tian hui geng hao. She wanted to dedicate this song to Cree, and pass the message to him that if today he wasn't successful in his endeavours, tomorrow would be a better day for him to try again.
Just how could she tell him, other than the 'message in a bottle' trick again?
Xinyuan watched her like a hawk, as if anticipating that she would be polluting the river with bottles again, and he knew he was going to have to secretly pick them up and dispose of them. He didn't know whether to laugh or to cry that the girl he liked was now going to be married, and soon, she would be far from them. But ever since knowing Mengchen, he had to be prepared for this day.
Nevertheless, he was also happy that he and his godsister Xinyue had got to meet Mengchen and befriended her. For the past one year or more that they were friends, she had been a loyal confidante and companion to Xia Xinyue. He owed her so much, that only if she knew that he liked her, perhaps he would have done his best to create some memorable times between them. But he was afraid. Short-term pain was always better than long-term pain.
Like his godsister had sung, tomorrow would be a better day.
That night, as the chaffeur drove them home, he silently watched his godsister, heavily intoxicated sing randomly in a craze, one moment crying for her lost love, the other moment wishing Mengchen happiness.
He had no intention of seeing his godsister miserable like that ever again. If only then, he could have hired all the help he could to allow Cree and Qiao Ruo to escape, would that be a better ending for them? He had done what he thought was best for her, to nurture her into becoming a successful young heiress, just as what Qiao Ruo's parents would have wanted for her.
But he felt instead that he had made the worst decision in his life, and he regretted.
