Chapter 87 - Second Chance

Long Mei dressed in a light blue shimmery dress, finishing with silver heels and light makeup. 

She then left to follow the directions Luo Nuying sent her to an extravagant club only invited guests could enter. 

When she stepped inside, it was loud, vibrant, and alive. Luo Nuying found her immediately. "Mei!" she said excitedly, pulling her in. "I'm glad you came!"

Long Mei followed her, and Luo Nuying introduced her to some of her friends, giving her a glass of champagne. "Drink with us." 

Long Mei smiled as she said, "Okay!" 

She needed to let loose and forget about her problems for a night. 

…

Jin Qing sat by the bar of a nightclub with his long-time acquaintance, Nikolai. He was Jin Qing's childhood friend since Niko knew both Mandarin and Russian. His father arranged for them to be friends so that Jin Qing could learn the common tongue and fit in Shanghai. 

Jin Qing and Niko initially did not get along. They often got into fights and wanted nothing to do with each other, but eventually, they found out to have more things in common than they thought, so they became friends and stayed connected throughout their lives. Niko knew everything about him, just as Jin Qing knew everything about Niko.

"Avoiding your wife, Aleksei?" Niko teased him, his smile widening over the rim of the glass he drank from. He also used Jin Qing's birth name often. 

Jin Qing rolled his eyes. "She's my fiancée." 

"Same difference," Niko replied. 

Jin Qing did not answer. 

"I know your father is not pleased with your relationship with Mei." 

"I don't give a shit about what he thinks," Jin Qing answered. 

Niko smiled. "Because you like her?"

Jin Qing narrowed his eyes. 

"Don't look at me like that, Alek," Niko began. "You've been pining after your brother's girlfriend for years, and now you have her living in your home. I bet you are jumping with joy inwardly." 

Jin Qing shook his head. "The contrary," he replied. "Since she hates me." 

Niko chuckled. "You are holding onto the past. She does not remember what happened before the incident. This is your chance—"

"I won't manipulate her into liking me, even as a friend," Jin Qing interrupted. "It feels…" He could not say it aloud, even as he spoke to Niko in Russian, even when no one around them would understand what they were saying.

It feels suffocating. Like Jin Qing had something he's always wanted in the palm of his hands, but he could not touch it, go near it. 

If Long Mei remembered their history, she'd only go back to hating him, and he did not want to experience that again. So, he'd avoid her and remain distant until it's been long enough to call off their engagement. 

"I'm not saying to manipulate her," Niko explained. "I'm saying to use this an opportunity to make amends. Have you looked at it from her perspective? You tried to break her up with Hu while she was in love with him. You tried to come after—who would have been her in-laws—and you kept antagonizing her. You were hurting her as much as she was hurting you." 

"I wasn't trying to hurt her. I was trying to…" Save her. Because Jin Qing knew what the Jin family was like. What Jin Hu was like. But Long Mei did not see it. In her perspective, Jin Qing was the antagonist. He was the one trying to interfere with her relationship; he was the one who came after her boyfriend, trying to cause pain and stress and discomfort. But in the end, Jin Hu had still won and was still going to marry the girl. 

Initially, Jin Qing had a nefarious plot to solely take Long Mei from Jin Hu to hurt him, but that had changed since they met. Long Mei was a wild spirit. She was smiley, free, and in a desperate search for something, like she had been missing out. 

Jin Qing could not help but be drawn to her. All he could think about was how consumed she was by her hobbies, how she could befriend anyone and act as if they had known each other for years, how beautiful she was that many in the room had to do a double-take as they looked at her. 

Jin Qing only had himself to blame for why Long Mei hated him. He never explained his situation, his past, why he was after the Jin family in the first place, so Long Mei only saw him for what his "family" saw him: a villain. 

But, he was not ready to tell someone everything he's been through. It's too raw, too vulnerable and soul-wrenching to share. It was not until he blurted out the summarized part of it to her the other night when she had expressed concern for him because he did not know how to react. 

Jin Qing did not say anything else, but Niko suddenly said, "Alek, is that your wife?" 

Jin Qing turned in the direction he was facing. He thought Niko was pranking him, but no, in the center platform of the club, Long Mei was dancing with Luo Nuying on stage. 

Jin Qing rose from his seat, walking toward the stage, squeezing between the crowds. Long Mei was dancing in sync with Luo Nuying. 

Luo Nuying had removed her dress and threw it in the crowd, and Long Mei smiled as she did the same. 

Jin Qing's eyes widened as Niko stepped to his side. "Are you going to do something?" he asked. 

Jin Qing shook his head, looking at Long Mei fondly from the stage. "I'm not," he said. "Look at her. She's having fun." 

Long Mei and Luo Nuying were in nothing but their bralette and underwear, but they were confident in their skin. They were used to exposing themselves to catalogues, magazines, runways, so to them, this was no different. 

Jin Qing watched as she danced with pure joy and excitement, but when Long Mei's gaze collided with his, she was so stunned that she stumbled, tripping on her heel. 

Long Mei lost her balance, toppling over the stage, but Jin Qing quickly caught her in his arms.