I Deserve A Second Chance - Chapter 278

In front of her, the appetizer was already placed on a small plate, along with a small card that was describing their menu for tonight.

“Quail salad – shredded barbecued quail meat with Indonesian spices served over a bed of fresh green salad, oranges, walnuts and cheese,” She placed the card back to the side and then looked up at him, “Interesting! Shall we start now?”

He nodded while placing a napkin over his lap, “Sure, let’s eat.”

The couple started to enjoy their meal with small chats. Every now and then, Li Xiqing would point outside the glass and tell her the name of the places that they had visited the past two weeks.

After the appetizer was done, Marco inconspicuously came to their table to clean the plates. A moment later, he came over with another two plates in his hands to serve the starter.

“Kataifi king prawn served with a side of Singapore chili crab dipping sauce. Please enjoy!”

“Oh! My favorite food, the chili crab!” Shao Yan was really impressed with the dish ever since she first tried it last week. She could not stop talking about it with Qi Ling and she vowed to learn how to cook the dish when they were back in Shanghai.

Looking at her excited face, Li Xiqing pursed his lips before he said while chuckling, “That was what you said when you had the Hainanese Chicken Rice last time.”

“Make up your mind, so which one is your favorite food?” He teased her.

Shao Yan stuck out her tongue before she jabbed her fork onto the prawn, “I love all good food, no discrimination! They all deserve equal treatments.”

———-

After they were done with the starter, Li Xiqing glanced at his wrist, “We still have about five minutes before the main course is served.”

He looked up and with his chin, he motioned to the side, “Do you want to go over there and look at the scenery outside?”

“En,” Shao Yan picked up the napkin on her lap and wiped her lips, “Sure,” before she placed it on the table and rose up. Li Xiqing followed closely behind her.

From their standing point, Shao Yan could see clearly the whole view from above. They were facing the famous Merlion statue and Shao Yan could see floating lanterns that were released on the water.

She pointed towards a building with a roof that shaped like a huge ship and the huge garden in front of it.

“Isn’t that Gardens by the Bay, Xiqing?” Shao Yan glanced at him, “The lanterns looked so pretty from up here. Can we go there tomorrow night? It looks like a magical forest now.”

“Sure. Of course,” And then he pointed to the ship, “We can go there to have dinner after that. I heard that there is a famous Indonesian restaurant on the rooftop. I know you have been curious to try Indonesian food ever since our appetizer just now.”

Li Xiqing then suggested taking a couple of pictures with the night sky as the background.

They were having so much fun, when they felt the capsule was slowing down and then the door was opened.

Marco had stood in front of the door with his service cart, and as the door opened, the person on the other side took over the cart from him, and handed him a new cart.

The exchange time took a few minutes only before the door was closed again, and the capsule was moving its slow rotation again.

“I guess it’s the main course now,” Shao Yan tugged on his sleeve, “Let’s go back to our table.”

After they were seated down, Marco came over with a camera on his hand.

“The second picture is now. Would you like to take a picture here with the food on your table, or would you prefer the window view?”

Shao Yan exchanged glances with Li Xiqing who nodded at her and let her decide. Shao Yan opted for the table, and after a few pictures, Marco stepped away again.

———

“How’s your duck confit?”

“Hmm,” Shao Yan set her cutleries to the side before she replied to him, “Very soft and tender. Spices were well seasoned, too. How was your lamb?” Shao Yan had opted for slow braised duck with pear walnut sauce, while Li Xiqing had ordered the Morroccan style rack of lamb.

Li Xiqing put his cutleries aside before dabbing his lips with his napkin, “The mint dip on the side was a tad too strong. That was why I did not put too much into it, but the whole meat was tender, and cooked beautifully.”

“I have not finished my story, by the way,” Li Xiqing said before getting up from his chair, and walked towards her and offered his hand.

“Hm? What story?” She placed her hand on his palm, and together they walked towards the window.

“I was telling you about Grandfather and Grandmother and the cherubs? Remember?” Li Xiqing stood next to her. Shao Yan gasped, “Oh! That’s right. Please continue.”

“So after two years, Grandfather finally completed his services and he was ready to go back home to see Grandmother again.”

“He was assigned to many different places and over the time, he had collected enough money from his salary and decided to buy a gift for Grandmother. So, on his final stop before going home, Grandfather decided to look for something, he wanted to buy her a jade bracelet or something similar in value.”

“But his money was not enough.”

———

“Grandfather searched for the whole day, and he almost gave up when he finally found the most perfect pair of earrings. It was a simple cherub that was sitting on a crescent moon while trying to grasp for a star. And Grandfather knew right away that those pairs of earrings were hers.”

“Oh!” Shao Yan exclaimed excitedly, “They were a pair because they were earrings. I understand now. That is why Mandy jie also has the same cherub.”

Li Xiqing nodded, “Grandmother treasured them so much, she received the gift from Grandfather, but never once she wore them.” Shao Yan looked confusedly at him, “But why? Grandfather must be disappointed.”

“The reason was simple,” He chuckled, “It was because Grandmother was not pierced.”

He continued, “During her time, ear piercing was believed to be done by the rich people to show off their wealth. Only to become a mere concubine, one must have at least three piercings to be deemed attractive. But Grandmother came from a poor family and her wish was to meet a good man and live a simple life happily.”

“So over time, when the era changed and they were finally married, Grandmother still did not wear those earrings. They earned more money and purchased more jewelry. And when my father had kids of their own, Grandmother decided to redesign all of her jewellery to be gifted to my mother.”

“And she redesigned these ones to be our own precious charms.”

“She called them Guardian Angels.”

———-

Li Xiqing grabbed her hands and turned her to face him.

His eyes were staring into the hollow of her neck, where the tiny cherub laid beautifully against her stunning skin.

He gently scooped the pendant and rested the cherub against his fingertips.

“This was Grandmother’s first gift from Grandfather,” Li Xiqing spoke so softly, so that only the two of them could hear what was said, “Her most treasured piece.”

“Grandfather told me that this cherub signified her, who had been so perfectly angelic and lovable her whole life until a star appeared in her life to guide her ways. The star was him.”

“But Grandmother told me otherwise,” Li Xiqing looked up and stared into her eyes, “She said, this cherub signified him, who had been so wild, oblivious and yet innocent, until a stunning star appeared in his life to point him the way home. She claimed that she was the star.”

He paused.

“But do you see the similarities here, Yan Yan?”

“Grandmother gave this to me, and told me to give it to someone who I think is so perfectly angelic and lovable.”

“Someone who disrupted my calm life. Someone who will be my guiding star. My home. My happiness. My whole heart.”

“Who I can’t live without.”

“And I have found you.”

Li Xiqing stared deep into her eyes for a few seconds. Before he released his hold off her hand, and knelt down on one knee.