Chapter 24: The Date

Lijuan was still standing in the middle of the room with a surprised look on her face long after he left. What was that? She wondered. Or rather... how did he know it was her birthday?

She still stood there looking like a statue with the bouquet of flower he had given her.

He had simply handed it to her with a smile on his face as he told her he was going to come pick her up later.

His smile had looked suspicious to her. She cringed when she remembered the funny look on his face seeing her on her bathrobe and oversized house slippers.

"You both must really be dating for him to remember your birthday." Jiaying asked, trying to get information from her.

Lijuan whipped her head back to look at her family who were still sitting on the breakfast table. Her father had left immediately after Yun so it was just her two sisters and mother.

She looked pointedly at Rong who was still eating like she hadn't just witnessed the whole thing.

Lijuan smirked. She was still winning after all.

"I wonder why he keeps doing cheesy things like this." Lijuan said to herself but loud enough for all of them to hear as she handed the flowers to the maid to take to her room and returned to her seat to finish her food.

"He came bye so early just to wish you a happy birthday?" Mother Mei asked but Lijuan could hear the unspoken remaining part of the question... she knew her mother was actually saying "He came by so early just to wish you a happy birthday even though you aren't really dating?"

"I guess it's one of those things we do for love." She said giving her mother a wink.

***********

"Oh my God!" Shan exclaimed into the phone.

"He really did that? He really asked you out on a date in front of your entire family!!!???"

"He did. I was so shocked I couldn't find my voice."

"How did he know it was your birthday?" Shan asked.

"I have absolutely no idea... We haven't even talked since the last time he came over and he looked really pissed then. Do you think he has other plans?" Lijuan asked as she bit her nail nervously.

She always found it difficult understanding other people and Wang Yun was definitely one person she could not read. One time he was cold, next he was warm.

"What if he truly likes you!?" Shan asked dreamily.

"Stop saying that. I don't like him neither do I intend to go out with him so wake up from your fantasy."

"No darling, you are going with him!" She said in finality. "You are going to show your sisters who the boss is. This is Wang Yun for goodness sake!"

"He always makes me nervous. How am I supposed to sit with him for long. What are we going to talk about?"

"It doesn't matter. Just make sure you show up. He's probably going to forget about the whole pen issue. And about the pen... did you find it yet?"

"No...." She said in a low voice before slumping on the bed.

"Everything's going to be fine love. Trust me... so what did your parents say? Are you freely coming out or do I have to smuggle you out?"

Lijuan giggled. "No need for smuggling. See you tonight."

"Yes!" She exclaimed in an excited tone. "Have fun on your date. I love you!"

"Ya. Love you too. Bye."

*************

Madam Wang noticed Wang Yun's impatience during the board meeting. She knew her son to be a very meticulous and detailed person but during the meeting, he just kept taking everything hook, line and sinker.

"What is wrong with you?" She asked immediately they left the boardroom.

"What is wrong with me?" He asked taken aback by her question while giving her a confused look.

She looked at him suspiciously wondering whether he didn't know what she was talking about or whether he was feigning ignorance.

"Are you going somewhere?" She asked.

"Yes" He said as he opened his office door.

"Where?" She pressed as she followed him inside his office.

"Mother, you know I do not appreciate this." He said with a small frown.

"So I can't know where you are going to?" She asked with a displeased frown.

"You are my employee."

"I hate it when you say that." She said while throwing a note from his desk at him.

He laughed before moving closer to plant a kiss on her cheek. "I know. And I'll keep reminding you if you keep acting like my mother at work." He said to her before leaving the office.

"I'll be back in 2 hours tops. Keep me updated." He told his secretary whose office was just outside his before leaving. He knew his mother was going to leave his office eventually. She was the only one permitted to enter inside even when he wasn't around. But he was going to fix that soon. For now he had to go pick up the pen thi— Mei Lijuan. For reasons he didn't quite understand he was looking forward to the date.

****************

"You really need to stop fussing! It's just a date." Lijuan told her mother who brought in a make-up artist and an hairstylist to dress her up.

"How can you call it 'just a date'? This is your first date for crying out loud. I'm going to fuss all I want! I won that right the day I..."

"Yea, yea. If you're going to start telling me how you were pregnant and how you managed to push me out of your system... don't. I've heard that story so much I can literally recite it." Lijuan said giggling.

The make-up artist and hairstylist joined in her laughter as they both tried to beautify her.

They all knew she actually enjoyed having her mother fuss over her even though she wasn't going to admit it.

"So how do I look?" She asked her mother few minutes laters after the hairstylist and make-up artist stood back to appreciate their work.

"You look like something out of a fairytale movie and I can only hope you'll have your happily ever after." Mother Mei whispered with tears glistening in her eyes.

It took a light knock on the door and a polite "He's here." to set the butterflies in her tummy free. Her palms were suddenly moist and she cleaned her hands on her gown nervously.

"Don't do that. You're going to rumple it." Mother Mei chided her gently.

"Let's not keep the gentleman waiting. You should leave now." She added before leading a very nervous Lijuan down the stairs.

~~~

Yun couldn't believe his eyes when he saw her. He had always known she was beautiful but whatever they had done with her hair and applied on her face made her look like a goddess.

She wore a blue high-neck sleeveless short flair gown that revealed her beautiful long legs... he could guess by now that she loved to show off her legs and he wouldn't blame her for it. It was the first time he was seeing her in real make up and her hair was slightly wavy and side parted.. whatever they called it.

'Watch it! It's not a real date.' A voice in his head told him as he moved forward to meet her halfway. He couldn't decide whether or not to say anything so he simply bowed to Mother Mei before leading her to his car.

"You.. look... different." He finally said when they were settled in the car and away from the estate.

"Is that a compliment?" She asked without looking at him. One may think she was nervous because of the date but she was actually nervous because she didn't know when he may blow up at her again.

"I guess." He said.

He didn't want to give her any unnecessary impressions. He didn't know exactly what he was doing with her yet but he was certainly not looking for a relationship with her or anyone else especially not with a member of the crazy family.

"I didn't mean to dress up, my mother was just really excited and went out of her way to get a make-up artist and a stylist.. she was just very happy I was going out on a date for the fir.." She mentally ordered herself to stop when she realized she was blabbing and giving him too much unnecessary information about herself.

Yun glanced at her and saw the way she was gripping her gown tightly. She was definitely nervous, no wonder she was blabbing. What was that about a first date? Was this possibly her first date? He wondered turning to look at her again.

"You look beautiful. That's what I meant." Yun said after a while.

"Thanks." She said with a nod relaxing a bit.

"About your pen... I'm sorry I've not been able to find it. Is it possible I get you a new one? Maybe something similar?" She asked risking a glance at him.

"Let's talk about the pen later." He said as the car pulled up in front of a luxury Five Star restaurant.