I Deserve A Second Chance - Chapter 277

“I should say, Grandmother was a very wise woman.”

He glanced to the side, unable to hide his smile, “Why did you say that?”

“Well, because flowers will not make you full, but bread will,” Shao Yan said confidently and finished her words with a firm nod.

Li Xiqing burst into laughter, “Of course, how could I forget? Knowing how much you love food, both of you are actually similar in that aspect.”

“And that’s why I said ‘wise’, Mister,” She grinned back at him.

Li Xiqing tapped her little nose with his index finger, and then he raised his hand and flagged down an incoming taxi. He opened the door for her, before walking around the car and entered from the other side.

“Where are we going now?”

After they were settled inside the taxi, Shao Yan could not hold in her curiosity.

“Tonight is a lantern festival, I will take you to see how to enjoy the whole festival to the fullest.”

———-

“And so, what happened next?”

He cocked his head to the side, trying to collect his thoughts and remember where he left off.

“Hmmm.. Oh!”

Li Xiqing continued looking upfront. She linked her arms around his as they sat comfortably. Uncle taxi driver was silent the whole journey, only smiling politely every now and then when Shao Yan met his eyes through the mirror.

“So, Grandfather went for his military assignment, and Grandmother stayed back, still living her life like normal.”

“He would send letters every now and then, and she would write back her replies.”

“But the olden times were not like how we are today. Each letter took months to arrive and to send over. But they stayed loyal to each other.”

“On each letter, Grandmother would send along a handkerchief that she embroidered herself. And to let her know that he was safe, Grandfather would send a stalk of any wild flower that he could find. And if he could not find any flower, he would send any wild grass.”

He glanced at her, “Father had all the handkerchiefs framed like precious treasures and displayed all twenty four of them in our house, I will show them to you when we visit next time.”

The taxi slowed down to its stop, and Shao Yan noticed they had arrived in their destination.

She opened the door and stepped out.

In front of her, stood tall a giant ferris wheel lighted up beautifully in the middle of the night sky.

———-

“Reservation for Daniel Li, this way please.”

The host attendant in black and white attire had her hand stretched to the side to show them which way to walk.

“Thank you,” Li Xiqing grabbed her hand and they started to walk together.

Shao Yan noticed that they were walking towards two lanes. One lane was assigned for people who purchased the standard viewing capsule, and the other lane was for private or dining capsules.

Some people were already lining up for the standard viewing capsule, but Li Xiqing walked to the right side, towards the private lane.

She glanced to the side at the man who was still holding her hands, but she did not say anything. She decided to let the surprise reveal itself.

The attendee who walked in front of them started to slow down before stopping in front of a huge display board, “Since you have purchased the private sky dining option, you will receive two complimentary pictures that we will frame for you.”

“The first picture will be here, prior to your boarding,” She signaled the photographer to get ready, “Please stand over here on the foot sign.” Shao Yan looked at the huge board and noticed that the top section was a green screen.

Both of them positioned themselves to stand in front of the green screen. Li Xiqing stood behind her before circling his arms around her waist.

The photographer took a few pictures and instructed the couple to give several poses before nodding at the attendant. She smiled at Shao Yan and Li Xiqing before saying, “Please step over here, you may select your picture and which background to be printed.”

“Which one do you like?”

“Hmm..” She scanned the options in front of her before she pointed to the one in the middle, “This one.”

Li Xiqing was hugging her from behind, he slightly leaned his cheek on her head, and looked at the camera with his warm eyes. She placed her arms over his and leaned back trustingly.

“Yes, this one is perfect.”

The attendant nodded her head and processed their photo, “We will deliver this to you at the end of your journey tonight,” and then she ushered them to another door, “Your capsule will be here shortly.”

———-

What the attendant called a capsule was literally a huge capsule, that was as big as a bus, that can fit about 25 people in it. The whole surrounding wall was transparent glass, making the capsule a mobile observation deck that was open to the night view of Singapore.

A small table for two people was set in the middle of the capsule. Next to it, stood a man in white suit welcoming them to their table. Behind him was a serving cart.

Shao Yan was amazed at the night view that was surrounding the capsule, she was distracted and did not pay attention to what the man was doing.

“Welcome, my name is Marco and I will be at your service tonight,” The man slightly bowed before he extended a bouquet of red roses to Shao Yan.

“Oh!” She was surprised to see the huge flower bouquet in front of her, Shao Yan glanced at Li Xiqing whose lips slowly curved into a smile.

“Happy birthday, my dear,” He leaned closer and planted a soft kiss on her forehead.

Marco stepped to the side to give the couple a little privacy. He noticed the pleasant surprise in her eyes and she was looking speechless.

When the couple was already seated, Marco opened a bottle of champagne that was already placed inside a bucket of ice on their table.

“Our first course will be drinks, appetizer and starter,” He filled each glasses with the golden sparkling liquid, “The main course will be served in thirty minutes,” after he finished saying that, Marco stepped to the side. He went back to the servicing counter that was already set in the corner of the capsule.

Shao Yan scanned the table and her surroundings, still feeling in disbelief.

“Wh- What? Why?”

She did not know what to say, “I thought we are celebrating this weekend?”

“Well,” Li Xiqing chuckled before he raised his glass, “I lied.”

And Shao Yan was reminded of his first chuckle that she heard over the phone when the man sent her a text message for his dirty laundry the first time they met.

Shao Yan clumsily raised her own glass, “Well, don’t get used to it,” before she clinked her glass with his and took a little sip.

“But, thank you for the surprise,”She finished before placing her glass down again.

“I am really happy tonight.”

He smiled, “And I promise, it is just getting started.”