Because I simply love you

Driver Mu then recounted how they went to look for Nana.

"Cemetery?", he frowned.

"Yes. Young master went inside. Then after thirty minutes, Miss Nana left the cemetery and young master also returned."

A thin line of sweat formed on his forehead. Please don't ask any further than this.

"And?", Liu Hai asked emphasizing on it like there was still something left to tell.

Damn it!

"Nothing. Young master told me to drive back home.", he tried to compose himself.

He smiled, "You see, I'm glad that you are trying to protect your young master. You are so loyal. I'm impressed. But I'm his father, right? You are not talking to any stranger."

He hurriedly said, "No-no sir. I didn't mean it that way."

"That's good or else you would have hurt my fragile heart.", he looked pitifully.

Fragile heart my ass!, He thought. Right now I'm the most fragile being here.

"So, go ahead."

I'm sorry young master, he cried.

He confessed what he saw that shook the living daylights out of him.

Liu Hai didn't say anything.

Silence.

"…I see.", he looked away seemingly lost in a grave thought.

He was dumbfounded. That's it?

"You can go."

He hesitated.

"Don't worry. I know your concerns. And don't tell this to anybody else."

He nodded and left.

Liu Hai sat quietly with not even a single emotion on his face that could tell what he was thinking.

---

The next day at the breakfast table, everybody was silent. Grandma Liu and Mother Liu came to know what happened and both were in a dilemma. Not that much for Grandma Liu because she was biased to Huian, so she didn't care much. Yes, she felt sad for Nana but that was pretty much it.

On the other hand, Mother Liu for the first time found Huian's behavior disappointing. Liu Chunhua was not from any influential background. She was the daughter of a middle-class white-collar worker who had gained a scholarship in the university where Liu Hai went to and where they met.

So, she had her same fair share of problems when they got in a relationship. She could see herself in Nana. She understood how terrible she must have felt. Every word Huian said must have felt like thorns poking her.

But Huian was her daughter-in-law and Nana a nobody to her. She didn't know if it was right to reprimand her. So, in the end, she neither spoke for Nana nor consoled Huian.

Huian looked like a ghost. Last night Jinhai never came back to their room. He was in the study the whole night.

Jinhai came down and had a quick breakfast.

Huian tried to talk to him but he didn't say a word. He turned to leave when Father Liu asked, "Son, what is that scar? There, on your neck?"

Everybody turned to see.

He stopped and furrowed his brows in confusion. He felt the back of his neck to find a scratch mark. He stared ahead at empty space. He knew when that happened.

"…Nothing."

"It must be something.", he smirked.

Jinhai silently glared.

"I scratched myself hard. It was itching."

"Oohhh~~, I see", he smiled, "Take care from next time. Don't get so wild that it hurts you…at least not in such obvious places where you know, people can see."

Nobody could understand what he meant.

Jinhai ignored him and left.

---

At eleven, Jianyu came to pick up Nana and they decided to go to the new coffee house that opened a week back.

Unknown to them, Suyin was following them in her car. She wore sunglasses and covered her face with a scarf, and also changed her hairstyle a little so that Jianyu doesn't recognize her.

They went inside and Suyin too sat on a table from where she could hear their conversation.

Nana asked, "So, what is it you wanted to talk about?"

Alright, it's time now.

At first, Jianyu thought that his mother will really leave the house knowing he didn't ask out again. But when she got to know how she came late all soaked in rain and tired, she wasn't angry anymore.

"Okay. But let me tell you first. There is no pressure on you. You are free to decide what you want."

"Okay."

"Well…okay, I won't go around in circles. I was thinking we have become such good friends now and we are so comfortable with each other. We like each other's company."

Suyin froze.

"And I think we can try being more than friends."

What…? No…no-no. Don't Jianyu!

"So, I wanted to ask if you don't mind…will you go out with me?"

Her entire world collapsed. She couldn't believe he asked her out. The girl she hates the most, the girl she wants out of their lives. He proposed her. She clutched the glass so tightly that it could break any moment.

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

Nana looked at him as if trying to make an important decision. Actually, she already had made her decision.

Last night when Jianyu came back to tell her he wanted to say something important, she had an inkling that it may be related to their relationship. He was a little hesitant and apart from their dating topic, there was no other thing that could make him that nervous and unsure.

So, she thought a lot about it last night. She was almost sure that he would ask her out. Probably because Mother Chen told him to do, or he must have felt it on his own. Nevertheless, she thought about it carefully.

She smiled, "Yes, I will go out with you. I will be your girlfriend."