Imperfect Desires

537 Mourning Clothes

"Self-healing?" repeated Han Yiheng in an odd way. "If I didn\'t call to tell you that your niece is on a date with my nephew, you\'d still be buried in work on a Sunday!"

Su Feifei coughed awkwardly. "Stop exposing me so blatantly!"

"That\'s what friends are for," replied Han Yiheng while giving her a sidelong glance.

Seeing their interaction Cali was again reminded of Ying as she told, "I believe Ying is heavily influenced by her aunt."

Although her voice was low, Su Feifei heard it clearly. She even smiled at Cali saying, "Yes, she is. After all, my Yingying spent most of her time around me."

"No wonder, I see an image of you in hers," said Cali honestly.

"I agree with that statement," Francesca also chimed in. Even though she had met Su Feifei only a handful of times but right now even she couldn\'t help agreeing that Ying seemed to have a strong resemblance with her aunt\'s personality.

"I\'m gonna go order," Dylan silently stood up and even pulled Cali with him.

Meanwhile, Su Feifei gave her friend a meaningful glance before excusing herself.

Noticing Han Yiheng\'s gaze on herself, Francesca raised her head and asked, "Is something wrong?"

He shook his head, "You... Looks like you haven\'t aged at all."

Francesca laughed softly in reply, "Of course, I aged. I\'m even getting grey hair. How can anyone stay young forever? That\'s just wishful thinking."

"That\'s indeed wishful thinking," he sighed out heavily.

Not liking the silence, she asked, "So, how have you been?"

"I think I\'ve been doing great," he replied plainly.

"That\'s good," said Francesca and somehow felt weird about the way he talked. Now that she could recall where they had met before, she clearly could remember how friendly and talkative he used to be. In fact, she used to get really annoyed with his chatterbox habits. But now, he looked different.

Then again, she wasn\'t that shocked since it had been such a long time. Perhaps, over a dozen or so years? Now, he didn\'t just look mature, he acted mature as well. Even his eyes and face gave off a different vibe than before.

"I didn\'t really expect you to be acquainted with Su Feifei," she remarked out of nowhere.

"Do you know Feifei?"

Francesca shook her head, "Not really but I\'ve heard enough from people around me. She has a reputation."

Han Yiheng laughed knowingly, "I assume it\'s not a good reputation?"

Francesca pressed her lips together not really knowing how to answer but she still said, "Actually, to elders she is considered a curse because of how rebellious she had been all her life. And to everyone from our generation, she is too carefree. As if she doesn\'t like taking life seriously. For younger ones, she is an idol!"

"You really know her well," said Francesca thoughtlessly.

"As it was earlier mentioned, we have known each other since high school. It\'s inevitable that I won\'t know a thing or two about her."

Francesca nodded her head.

"Daddy!"

Han Yiheng instantly stood up while Francesca looked over to find where that soft voice came from. Her eyes locked on a pretty teenager with two pigtails. The young girl had a small face that held a striking semblance to Han Yiheng.

"Are you done with the movie?" Han Yiheng asked the young girl as she came close and hugged him.

"No, I got bored so I came out to find you," said the young girl in her soft voice before her doe eyes locked on Francesca\'s face.

"Oh, that\'s daddy\'s old co-worker, Francesca Salvay," said Han Yiheng before continuing, "And this is my daughter, Han Yirou."

"Daughter?" Francesca was surprised a little but didn\'t let it show on her face as she smiled with her usual gentleness while greeting the young girl. "Hello, young lady! You look absolutely adorable."

"Hi!" Han Yirou didn\'t shy away either. Although she still was clinging to her father, she politely and gently greeted Francesca like a very well mannered kid. It really warmed Francesca\'s heart to find such a sweet young girl.

"Looks like you met the pearl of Xiao Heng\'s eyes," came Su Feifei\'s voice who came back with a drink in her hand. As she sipped on her drink, she ruffled Han Yirou\'s hair saying, "How come you grow taller each time I see you?"

"Perhaps because Feifei only sees me once in a blue moon," replied Han Yirou in a gentle voice but her underlying point was delivered with a blow.

"I\'m busy," stated Su Feifei as always.

"As always," replied Han Yirou.

"Young lady, your mother was such a gentle and soft-spoken person. Where did you get the habit of sarcasm from?"

"From my dad," answered Han Yirou.

"I agree with that. Only this kind of a father can teach such bad habits."

"You really can\'t leave a single chance of bashing me, can\'t you?" questioned Han Yiheng seriously.

"Where else will I get my fun from?" While Han Yiheng was glaring at her, she turned her attention to Francesca and asked, "I\'m assuming that you haven\'t decided what to wear on Qiu Meihui\'s wedding as well?" Francesca nodded her head. "Great! How about we go together. You see, I\'m very bad at this. I really need some company or else I\'ll again wear a white dress at the wedding."

"What\'s wrong with wearing white?" asked Francesca.

"Exactly my question, sister!" Su Feifei held Francesca\'s hand as she went on, "Last time I wore that white dress to someone\'s wedding and people bashed me for it. They said I was wearing mourning clothes. As if!"

"It actually makes sense though," said Francesca. "Anyways, you\'re also coming to the wedding?"

"I\'m invited," pointed out Su Feifei as if it was necessary to get that across. "Besides, now even he will also come." She pointed at Han Yiheng and added, "After all, he is also becoming our relative!"

Francesca couldn\'t tell why Su Feifei sounded so bitter whenever she called Han Yiheng a \'relative\' but she wasn\'t gonna question either. Instead, she silently agreed to help Su Feifei for two reasons. One, Han Yiheng\'s gaze was really making her feel guilty. Second, Su Feifei seemed like a very interesting person and she wanted to learn just how much she matched with Ying.