Chapter 56 - Memories (1)

It took them hours to see Long Mei.

The physicians did various tests, from physical ones to speech and language, and what they knew was that she was responding well.​​

The relief Shao Lin saw in the eyes of Long Yat-sen and Long Xia told her that they've been strong, living day-to-day life without ever knowing if they were going to see their sister again. She was glad that their waiting game was over.

Long Jie and Song Luli were smothering their youngest daughter when her gaze collided with Shao Lin. "Who's she?"

"That is your sister-in-law, Lin. Yat-sen's wife," Song Luli answered.

Long Mei's ice-blue eyes flashed before she revealed a small grin. She looked at Shao Lin pointedly. "Hmm. Yat-sen must like you if he married you. It's nice to meet you, Lin," she said and sighed. "I can't believe I missed big brother's wedding while I was unconscious. What else did I miss?"

"Xia's engaged," Long Ken said casually.

His twin hit his arm.

"What was that for?" Long Ken continued, rubbing his arm in pain.

"You can't just blurt something out like that," Long Kun replied. "Xia should be the one to tell her."

Long Xia smiled slightly at the twins. "It's all right."

"Oh, to whom?" Long Mei questioned curiously.

Long Xia took a sharp breath. "His name is Jin Qing."

Long Mei's eyes widened, and her mouth gaped. Her expression then changed as she narrowed her eyes sharply, closing her mouth. She feigned a smile. "Congratulations on your engagement, sister."

Long Xia muttered, "thank you."

"Enough about us," Long Yat-sen interrupted, getting straight to the point. "Do you remember anything about your accident?"

Long Mei thought about it carefully, trying to search her memory. "No," she answered. "I don't even know how I ended up here."

"So you don't remember where you were going? What you were doing?"

She shook her head. "No…what happened to me?"

Long Yat-sen took a deep breath. "You were on your way to elope with your boyfriend. He was killed, and then the car went off course before it crashed with you in it. Do you recall none of this?"

Shao Lin can always count on her husband to rip off the bandaid and tell it how it is.

"I had a boyfriend?" Long Mei questioned. Long Yat-sen's eyes widened then narrowed. "Mei. How old do you think you are?"

"20," she answered.

"Mei. You are 22."

"Oh...?" She replied.

Her parents exchanged worried glances at each other.

"Don't worry, honey. You will get your memory back in no time," her mother said.

Long Mei grinned. "Yeah," she replied. "Does that mean I finished school?"

Her mother chuckled. "You missed half a semester, but you're almost done."

Long Mei smiled. "All right, then. For now, I want to go back home."

Her mother, Song Luli, brushed a strand of her daughter's auburn hair behind her ear. "You will soon, sweetie."

Song Luli hugged Long Mei and held her.

Long Yat-sen then turned to Shao Lin. "She doesn't remember the last two years."

Shao Lin gave him a wary glance. "I can't tell if this is a good or bad thing."

Long Yat-sen nodded. "Me neither. On the one hand, she doesn't remember her fiancé. Therefore, she doesn't grieve him, and she can recuperate well without having to remember. On the other hand, we may never know what happened to her."

Shao Lin sucked in a sharp breath. "For now, we will help her recover step by step, and she can take her time."

Long Yat-sen gathered Shao Lin in his arms. "I'm glad you're here with me."

She held onto him tightly. "We will do what we can for her. I promise."

Shao Lin glanced at Long Mei while hugging her husband. Long Mei was staring at them with a curious gaze, almost quite puzzled by their display of affection.

…

Two days later:

Shao Lin took a break from work to visit the Long family's estate.

She brought two pairs of fresh flowers, one for Long Mei and her mother-in-law, Song Luli.

Song Luli kissed her cheek to express her gratitude before taking Shao Lin to the sitting room to meet with Long Mei.

Long Mei was sitting elegantly on a velvet-green sofa, smiling as she accepted the flowers. "Thank you for these. I love them, and thank you for coming," she said.

"I wanted to see how you were adjusting," Shao Lin replied.

Long Mei sighed. "I'm adjusting well, actually. But—"

Long Mei stopped speaking when she realized another visitor had entered the room. Her eyes narrowed cautiously as she glanced at the beautiful blond man that stalked in.

Jin Qing wore a wary expression as he strolled toward them.

"Ah, Mrs. Long. It's nice to see you again so soon," he said to Shao Lin, shaking her hand.

"Nice to see you too," Shao Lin replied.

Long Mei then straightened, lifting her chin, as Jin Qing approached her. "Miss Long," he began. "I am the one working on your case, but your father had informed me that you have no recollection of what happened during your accident, nor the two years prior?"

She faked a smile, pointing at her head and said, "Not everything. My memories are jumbled, and I can't remember if some things happened before or after I turned 20."

His expression looked saddened. "Then I would like to introduce myself. My name is Jin Qing. I am Head of the Police force, and I work as a top investigator."

Long Mei scowled. "I don't like cops."

He smiled. "Me neither."

Her eyes flashed with amusement. "A cop that doesn't like cops, and you work for my father?" she began. "I think I know exactly what you are."

"Believe what you want of me, Miss Long, but know that I want to help you."

Long Mei shuddered. "Then I will be seeing you around, Mr. Jin."

Jin Qing smiled. "You will," he breathed.

Long Mei and Jin Qing stared at each other for what felt like an eternity until he spoke again, "I took a break to see how you were doing, but I'm a busy man, and I must be on my way."

"Goodbye, Mr. Jin," Long Mei said with a sultry voice.

At that, he smiled and left.

Shao Lin then looked at Long Mei, whose expression tossed between cautiousness, hatred, and desire…

Shao Lin wondered what she had just witnessed.