A Billion Dollar Exchange

''I would have killed myself if you had listened to me and died in that crash! I would never be able to live with the guilt, thank you for not keeping your promise.''

Liling concluded as a tear escaped her eyes; Liu Wei wiped it immediately with his thumb, his eyes not leaving hers for a moment.

''I love you, so much, Liling. I feel I'm not good enough for you and all I do is tell you that I love you, but still the thought of you leaving me sends millions of needles piercing through my heart, it hurt so much.''

''You don't need to prove it, okay. Just be alive and stay with me. That's enough.''

Liling cut in with a smile on her lips. Her eyes were still a bit teary but she was not weeping anymore. Liu Wei smiled at this point and pulled her in for a tight hug.

They stayed like that for a few minutes before Liling broke the silence,

''Hmm, I missed your scent.'' She murmured snuggling her head into the crook of his neck. Liu Wei chuckled and kissed her temples lightly,

''I missed all of you.''

…

''Finally! We've waited a century, what were you guys doing upstairs?''

Xin Yong asked when she sighted Liu Wei and Liling coming down the stairs. Liling was walking in front while Liu Wei followed behind. Liling had a red patch on her cheeks and Liu Wei was looking 'strangely' cool. No frown was on his face and he was not glaring, that was new!

Jin Yue's eyes met with his friend's for a split second, but that was enough to tell him what had been going up there.

''Well, Liling's face is quite too flushed for this cold day, so it means that someone was…''

The remaining words stuck to his throat as his eyes met Liu Wei's frosty ones.

'Tsk tsk; such a bully! We've been waiting for so long and we're so famished, what are we getting for dinner?''

He asked, changing the topic immediately.

''Let's eat out?''

Xin Yong opted immediately; she was not sure if there was an already cooked meal in the fridge and she was so famished to wait for a meal to be prepared, so that was the best option.

''Sweet, you know I love homemade food best; you can prepare something for us all, right? Liling can help, Liu Wei what do you say?''

Jin Yue asked, looking over at his friend who was sitting beside Liling for his opinion. Liu Wei turned to look at Liling who had not spoken a word since they got down.

''What do you want?''

He asked, ignoring Jin Yue. Liling pouted her lips as she glanced at Liu Wei.

''Let's eat out, I don't really have the strength to cook.''

''Alright, we eat out then.''

Liu Wei concluded as a matter of finality. His voice was soft and tender as he spoke to her; Jin Yue spent some seconds wondering if it was really his friend who had ignored him as though he did not exist.

''Bro, you could have just supported me, how could you leave your brother and side with the women? It's not fair! ''

He grumbled.

''Okay, you want to eat homemade food, right?''

''Yes! ''

Jin Yue replied happily, he thought Liu Wei was about changing his mind, but the next statement threw him off guard.

''You can eat homemade food then, but you have to prepare it yourself, while we eat out, you can stay in the kitchen and prepare your delicate meal!''

The two women burst into a hysterical laughter; they were not expecting that kind of reply from the apathetic faced Liu Wei.

Jin Yue's face was flushed red at this point. He feigned a sad expression and Xin Yong seeing this, immediately stopped laughing.

''It's not fair! Alright we'll all eat out this time but next time, we'll eat homemade food, okay?''

Xin Yong opted, she did not want to be against Jin Yue but at the same time, she did not want to cook any meal, so she decided to remain neutral.

''Alright, let's get going, I'm really hungry!''

Liling remarked and stood up from the couch, she stretched her limbs as she waited for the rest to get ready.

She drove with Liu Wei in his car while Xin Yong and Jin Yue rode in theirs. They reached a famous restaurant located in the outskirts of the city. They walked into the restaurant in pairs and sat on one of the family tables, waiting for the waiter to bring the menu.

''Liu Wei, Liling nearly killed herself yesterday while she was crying for you, she called you over a hundred times and slept on the stairs soaked in her tears! I didn't know she was that madly in love…''

''XIN YONG! '' 

Liling interrupted her before she could complete her sentence. Xin Yong's gaze shifted from Liu Wei to her friend, whose face was already red from embarrassment and she immediately covered her mouth with her hands.

She mouthed a 'sorry' to Liling who was already glaring daggers at her. Liling knew her friend so well; she was not good at keeping secrets but she never thought that she would be so quick in spilling the beans!

She wanted to be angry but the pouted lips and puppy eyes of her friend could not let her, her anger melted away instantly. She felt Liu Wei's eyes on her body and that made her blush deepen, she prayed for the waiter to arrive soon as she could not contain her embarrassment any longer.

Alas, the long awaited waiter arrived with the menus and handed each of them a piece. Liling stared at the menu for a moment, deeply confused. She looked over at Liu Wei to find him watching her unfalteringly.

The blush which was about disappearing returned in full, up on till now, she had not gotten used to his mesmerizing gaze. Each time he stared, she found herself blushing. Seeing that he was not retracting his gaze, she cleared her throat and tried to ease the tension between them.

'' Have you made a choice?''

''Not yet, I'm waiting for you, we'll eat whatever you choose.''