Crossing the Clouds and Sky to Fall in Love with You - Chapter 9

On Friday’s birthday dinner, Yi-Ting and I arrived at Tao Yi-An’s house at the time we had previously agreed upon.

Although the location was a bit remote, the property itself was quite large! The house was a little old, but still very beautiful from the outside, and the interior decoration was also very exquisite.

Besides us, he had also invited a few of his buddies from when he studied law, but out of nearly ten guests, only Yi-Ting and I were girls, and we were his only classmates from his current university—and from a different department, at that.

We cut the big cake, and his family’s butler and servants had prepared many dishes for us, definitely the level of a party; Yi-Ting loves desserts, so she was practically burying herself in the cake, which was absolutely going to make her slightly round figure even worse!

“Xiao-Ning.” Tao Yi-An appeared beside me at some point. “Are you happy?”

His friends who had been surrounding him were nowhere to be seen; they probably all went to eat.

“I’m very happy! I didn’t expect your family to have such a big house; you don’t have to worry about disturbing the neighbors no matter how much you party.” He really is a “rich guy”… I noticed a small, unnatural patch of white on his face and couldn’t help but chuckle. “Hey! You have whipped cream on your face!”

I pulled out a tissue and wiped it off for him. His expression was a little shy, and he politely nodded and said “Thanks.”

He cleared his throat. “How about I give you a tour of the house?”

“Okay… Yi-Ting! Tao Yi-An is going to take us…” Ugh, seriously! Not only was she eating, but she also snagged a handsome guy for a chat and didn’t hear me call her at all!

Since she found out that Han-Jun and I were dating, she’s been nagging me constantly for not playing matchmaker for her, completely treating me like the Matchmaker God. Now it’s great, she took the initiative and went fishing for a rich bachelor herself!

“Just let her have fun. That classmate of mine is quite a decent person; he won’t take advantage of Yi-Ting.” He smiled and said, “Please follow me.”

He showed me a few rooms, including his father’s office. I learned that his family started in the publishing industry and was once very wealthy during the era of flourishing publishing and best-selling newspapers. This house must be the result of the wealth accumulated in the past, right?

“So your parents aren’t around you right now?”

“That sounds a bit scary!” He chuckled. “They are just busy with work. My dad is trying to transition the company, and my mom is in charge of running the auction website… They were originally very active in cultivating us, both in foreign language skills and business management… and these buddies are the connections.”

Indeed, every one of them looked different from typical university students… “Wait a minute, ‘us’? Do you have siblings?” Why had I never heard him mention it, and… why didn’t they show up today?

His face suddenly became stiff, and his electric wheelchair stopped. “Never mind what I said. Come, let’s go this way.” He immediately decided to drop the topic, not even giving me a chance to ask a question.

We went through a long corridor and arrived at a room at the end; the lighting in that room was excellent because one wall was a large window, from which you could directly see the fountain in the courtyard below.

“This room was originally my mom’s, and now it’s mine.”

It was obvious that the objects and furnishings in the room, whether in height or placement, were suitable for him to use now, clearly specially designed.

“It’s only in this room that I can be completely self-reliant. I brought you here just to let you know that I can still do things, and I’m not just a guy who sits in a wheelchair waiting to be served.” He shrugged, moved the electric wheelchair next to the computer, and with a push of his arms, laboriously shifted himself onto the computer chair.

“Tao Yi-An…” I didn’t like him speaking in such a self-deprecating tone. “You are very talented, and I don’t feel that you can do any less than the rest of us.”

“But it’s also a fact that my legs can’t walk.” He moved the mouse, and the screen lit up; he turned his head to me and asked: “Xiao-Ning… are you happy being with your boyfriend?”

I was stunned, and my mind recalled his caresses, kisses, and those warm, passionate hugs from last night.

Smiling, I nodded. “I’m very happy.”

I thought my answer was firm enough, but upon seeing his slightly lost smile, a certain corner of my heart seemed to loosen a bit.

“I admire you, Xiao-Ning… regardless of whether you’re dating someone else, I must say, I admire you. You are a beautiful and gentle girl with an understanding heart, like a breeze blowing over everyone around you, bringing warmth to everyone.” Tao Yi-An spoke those words as if he were reciting poetry. “You deserve… better.” He looked away when he said the last three words. I guessed he might be referring to himself—or maybe not.

“Thank you, Tao Yi-An, I’m very happy to hear you say that.” I walked towards him, feeling a bit familiar with the page displayed on his computer screen when I glanced at it; he looked at me, and I took a deep breath and continued: “I’m sorry, you’re a great person, really. I really enjoy chatting with you, you know so much outside of my field of knowledge, and you’ve always shown your gentlemanly demeanor, and I admire that side of you.

“But I love my boyfriend very much.” Our eyes met, and I read a hint of hurt and unwillingness in his eyes. “I really love him… You said I’m a breeze?” He nodded. “Then, he is the sunshine, air, and water that nourish me. Without him, I would feel that a part of my life is missing, becoming incomplete… He is very important to me.”

His smile was very desolate, and the way he nodded seemed blank and despairing. I thought for a moment he might shed a tear, but he didn’t. He just took a few deep breaths, and then quietly said, “I understand.”

“I also know that I don’t have the ability to pursue you at all, but I still wanted to be honest with myself; at least I could tell you how I feel.” He held out his right hand to me. “I’m very happy, thank you for coming.”

I shook his hand, and I heard him say again: “I wish you two a long and happy life together.”

“Thank you, truly thank you.” It was as if a great weight had been lifted from my heart, and I was deeply impressed by his grace. It’s just a pity that I met Han-Jun first; otherwise, I think I would truly have been captivated by the charm he showed…

“Huh? What is this…” I had been very curious about the screen displayed on his computer. I took a closer look and found it was his social networking page, and Chu’s update had popped up on the feed! So he joined too!

Tao Yi-An turned his head, and his face turned pale when he saw the message on the screen. “Oh… this…”

“I was wondering why! You seemed to know so much about Chu’s news. Did you join too? Did you join after I told you about it?” I leaned in closer. Chu’s update was half an hour ago. The picture showed a snowy landscape, and the text message was quite intriguing: ‘The snow on the Roof of the World symbolizes the person closest yet farthest from my heart; I use this snowy scene to wish him a happy birthday.’ So this was taken in Tibet? He’s on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau!

“Happy birthday… What a coincidence! Chu also has an important person whose birthday is today! The same day as yours.”

Tao Yi-An stared at the message on the screen. He seemed to be frozen, unable to speak.

“What’s wrong?”

Finally, he showed an expression that looked like a smile yet also a cry. He turned off the screen and shifted himself back into the wheelchair. I thought he was going to leave the room, but he just maneuvered the wheelchair to the large glass window.

I stood behind him. I don’t know when it started raining outside; darn it, leaving later will be very inconvenient…

He tilted his head back. “Xiao-Ning, do you still remember my reaction the first time you mentioned Chu to me?”

“Of course, I remember! You were very angry and said he was irresponsible and all that…” I said with a light chuckle, which earned me a cold look from him.

“He really is irresponsible; he dumped all the family’s business and left, just hiding in his own little circle to take his photos! He won’t even come back to visit for New Year’s or holidays! What’s worse is that even after I’ve become like this, he’s still selfishly wandering outside… Is this his way of showing he cares? Wishing me a happy birthday with a photo? What good is that!”

I instantly understood what he was trying to say— “Wait! You mean… Chu is wishing you a happy birthday…”

“He doesn’t have a friend whose birthday is the same day as mine! At least, as far as I know.”

“So…” I felt a wave of dizziness. Suddenly, all of it—my mention of Chu, his abnormal reaction, and the fact that despite his criticisms, his social media was still following Chu’s updates—seemed to have the best explanation. “Chu… is he your older brother?”

“Xiao-Ning, she has just never appeared in front of the camera, but… Chu is a girl.” Tao Yi-An took a deep breath and gave me the shocking answer.

“She is my older sister.”