I Deserve A Second Chance - Chapter 270

“Xiao Yan Yan?”

The house was quiet.

She dragged her luggage inside the foyer and closed the door behind her. Qi Ling looked around the house. The curtains had been drawn to let some sunlight inside the house, and the house smelled like fresh flowers. She knew Shao Yan was home. But where was she?

All of a sudden, she heard a soft patter coming out of the bedroom. She saw her head was peeking out from the door frame before she heard a squeal.

“Qi Lingggg!”

Shao Yan quickly ran towards her and bumped her soft body onto her; immediately enveloping Qi Ling into a bear hug. Her sudden movement jerked Qi Ling to take a step back. Qi Ling laughed out loud before she rounded her arms and returned Shao Yan another hug.

“Whoa! Xiao Yan Yan, how come you became heavier now?” She said while touching all over her back. Qi Ling placed both hands on her upper arm and distanced her slightly away from her, “Let me take a good look at you.”

Her eyes went all over the petite face in front of her. Shao Yan was grinning happily upon the return of her long lost housemate.

“Wow!” Qi Ling exclaimed, “You have chubby cheeks now, and a healthy glow too! Very good!” She patted Shao Yan’s cheek gently.

“Chubby your head!” Shao Yan feigned an upset tone, she raised her hand and pinched Qi Ling on her cheek, “You have the guts to say that, when you have been disappearing on me for months!”

“I did not disappear, I called you a lot, you know!” Qi Ling giggled and let go off her hold from Yan Yan, “I am enjoying my seclusion with my baby.”

Shao Yan stepped aside when she saw Qi Ling bent down to take off her shoes, “He did not come back with you? I thought I finally got to meet this mysterious boyfriend of yours.”

Qi Ling shook her head while grabbing the handle of her luggage and dragged it inside the living room, “Not yet, I came back first because I needed to go back to my hometown, he has to go somewhere first and then meet me here in Shanghai.”

———-

“So, you have been accompanying them these two weeks?”

After lunch, the two women spent their time in Shao Yan’s bedroom, talking. Qi Ling had been asking her to recount her days, and they had been talking for hours.

“En,” Shao Yan nodded, “After the trip to Beijing, we went back to Shanghai right away.”

“Somehow, during that trip, his mother and Grandma became so close,” Her eyes went big and round in surprise while looking at Qi Ling, “And you know what? They even started to talk about traveling together.”

Qi Ling struggled not to let the biscuits inside her mouth crumble all over Yan Yan’s bedsheet. But she really needed to laugh, “Instant bestie, huh?”

Shao Yan playfully slapped Qi Ling’s arm when she teased her.

“Well.. This was not Auntie Li’s first time in Shanghai, but they were having a lot of fun spending their time together after that. Because a few days ago, Grandma and Risa had to go to the Tea Plantation for a short break somehow both of them became melancholic over the short meeting.”

Qi Ling nodded while watching Shao Yan rummage through the stuff that she had brought for her, “You can always bring Mother Li and Father Li to Taiwan to visit them then. So, where did you guys go these past few days?”

Because of her job, Qi Ling got the chance to travel to some countries for Fashion Shows, and over the time, she would collect some trinkets for Shao Yan. She was having fun looking through the items while Qi Ling interrogated her on their days with The Li’s.

“Grandma seems to enjoy nature and history, so Xiqing brought them around to the suburb villages and some museums,” Shao Yan picked up a Swarovski hairpin, and tried it on her hair, “Auntie Li likes to eat, so we also tried some traditional Shanghainese dishes.”

“This one is a matching set with the hairpin, try them on together,” Qi Ling reached over the open bag and took out a bracelet, “So his parents already left Shanghai?”

Shao Yan received the bracelet and put it on, “En, we sent them to the airport yesterday. They will spend a few days traveling around Australia and New Zealand.”

Qi Ling hummed along, “Good choice, they won’t regret it. Oh! Yan Yan, remember the white woven summer hat that you bought last year? Put that on, too. They will look great together.”

Shao Yan walked to her closet and started to search for it, “How long will you be staying in town this time, Ling Ling?”

Qi Ling crumpled the biscuit wrapper, and got up from the bed and walked to the dustbin by the bedroom door, “Until summer. All my jobs are already lined up here, so no more travelling until summer comes.”

Shao Yan nodded; she stretched out her arm, and with the other hand, she touched the side of her jaw, posing like the iconic superstar, “How do I look?”

Qi Ling clapped both of her hands enthusiastically, “Perfect!” And then she performed a theatrical bow. She circled her left arm to her back and raised her right hand palm side-up like a perfect gentleman, “My princess, you look amazing!”

Shao Yan nodded and lifted her chin as she placed her palm over Qi Ling’s, “Of course, my prince,” baiting both ladies to burst into laughter.

The two best friends then spent the whole afternoon just like that; chatting on casual stuff and trying on many accessories.

———-

“Are you eating dinner at home, Xiao Yan? Shall I order food for both of us?”

Qi Ling was holding onto her phone as she scrolled through the food delivery application.

“En,” Shao Yan nodded as she took out her suitcase, “Our trip to Singapore is in two days, and Xiqing has been busy working overtime. Since you are back home now, I told him I wanted to spend some days with you before the trip, so I am going to stay here until then.”

Qi Ling, who was sprawled on the sofa peeked at Shao Yan who was dragging the suitcase into her room, “Have you been to Singapore before?”

Shao Yan shook her head, “Anything I need to know?”

Qi Ling brought her gaze back to the phone in her hands, “Yeah, pack clothing with light materials, it is very hot and humid there. How long will you be there for?”

Shao Yan kept walking to her bedroom as they continued their chats, “Two weeks for me, maybe longer for Xiqing. Hopefully his work doesn’t have to take longer than a month.”

“Hmm, I see.”

After a few seconds, all of a sudden Qi Ling stopped typing, and then she abruptly got up to a sitting position, “Wait a minute.”

She crossed her long legs while sitting on the soft grey couch and opened her calendar application to confirm her suspicion, and then she started to walk to Shao Yan’s bedroom.

“So you won’t be in town for your birthday?”