-Xin Villa-

"If you anything happens, call me," instructed Darren in a tight voice.

Xiu had been nodding her head like a hen pecking at grains for the past five minutes as he constantly filled her brain with instructions. 

"Baobei, who else can I call? If something really happens, I'll just run to you."

Darren knew she was serious so he calmed down a little before leaving for work while Xiu stood at the doorway to see him off. Now that she thought about it, having a house didn't seem that bad of an idea after all. Back at their apartment, she always said bye at the door but now, she could come out to stand beside his car and personally delivered him to the car.

This setting seemed a lot more pleasant now that she thought about it this way. If this was the case, she could really go for house hunting with him soon. In fact, sooner the better!

She went inside to collect her phone from the dining table and looked at Xiao Li who was still busy with his iPad. The wheels of her brain spun and her eyes widened. She ran over to his side and asked, "Li bro, you didn't ask Ying Jie to be your best man, did you?"

Xiao Li slowly looked up at her peering eyes and answered, "Why not?"

Xiu's eyes widened as she said, "Let me warn you... That's not acceptable!"

Xiao Li leaned his back against the chair as he said, "Isn't it common to ask your best friend to be your best man? I only have one best friend, why can't I ask her to become my best man?"

Xiu placed her hands on his shoulders and shook him with all her strength, "Li bro, my baseball bat is itching for another show. Don't give me a reason to bring it to your wedding!"

Her warning tone and her glaring eyes amused him as he went on, "Hmmm... Xiu with her infamous baseball bat... That combination might raise the worth of my wedding day."

Xiu's lips twitched at his reply, "I'm very serious right now. How can you even joke about this matter?" She took a deep breath and added, "If it was a normal wedding, I'd have loved to see Ying Jie as your best man but it isn't. Let's not forget that Ying Jie had spent years loving you. And now, you want her to stand there and be a witness of you happily taking another woman as your wife? Isn't it already cruel enough that she is invited to your wedding?"

Xiao Li pressed his lips together while nodding his head slowly, "But isn't she already embarking on a journey of new love?" He took a pause before adding, "Don't get so agitated."

"How can I not?" Xiu was feeling exasperated. "Even though Ying Jie is trying to step out of shadows of her old love, she still needs time to completely get over it."

Xiao Li smiled at her softly, "That's where you're wrong." Xiu frowned at him. "I know my best friend a lot more than you. Let me tell you an interesting thing about her, once she decides to break off from something, she'd never look back. She had always been very resilient. Not only that, you'd never find her crying over the same thing twice."

"I know she is strong. But do you plan on testing strength or are you trying to see how long would it take to break her apart?"

"I'd never want her to break. Never!" He closed his eyes to take a long breath before adding, "And don't worry, Ying is not my best man. Although she w.h.i.n.ed a lot about it, I'd never ask her to play that role."

Xiu suddenly didn't know what to say. If that was the case, why was she getting so worked up? Couldn't he say it earlier that Ying was not his best man? Why drag it for so long?!

Seeing her lips opening and closing, he shook his head before patting her head gently, "I know you're heart is very pure. But you really need to stop bringing so much stress to yourself. The more you'll care about others, the more you'll find yourself drowning in an emotional whirlpool that'd be unhealthy and would eventually harm only you."

Xiu was quiet in reply. He was about to leave when she spoke up again, "Li bro, don't you regret it?" Xiao Li looked back at her with a raised brow as she continued, "You've waited for years. And even though you finally got your love, is it worth it?"

"Are you expecting me to say that love is worth it all?" he retorted calmly.

"I honestly don't. I might look like a lovesick fool but trust me, I know that there is more to life than just love. And if a person makes love as the driving force, it consumes everything else in our life... Along with our life as well." Xiu's eyes lost the usual playfulness as she met his gaze unfazed. "So, for me, love is not really worth it."

Xiao Li's pupils shook a little as he tried to see through her. He wished to see the person hidden behind this smiling facade and he wanted to shook that real persona to know why it seemed so lonely? And why did it seem so cold?

But he couldn't do it. He couldn't even bring himself to ask her. Somehow, he felt like he won't like the answer. So, he sighed out, "Whether it's worth it or not, who cares? We have come too far now."

Xiu's pupils dilated, "Li bro, is it because you've come too far that you can't find a way back now?" He stayed quiet in reply. "Now I'm wondering whether this love has become your obsession or stubbornness." She looked at his expressions as she went on, "So, Li bro, are you marrying because of this obsession or stubbornness?"

He smiled bitterly as he answered, "There is an old saying... 'If you can't find the solution to the problem, make that problem your solution then.'" With that, he left her alone frowning by herself.