Chapter 107 - The Last Confession

Present Day:

Long Mei curled into Jin Qing's arms over their blanketed floor. She ran a finger over the soft fleece of his chest hair as she said, "I have one last confession." She swore it'd be the last one. 

Jin Qing gazed at her. "What is it?"

She propped herself on an elbow. Her eyes met his. "The first time we had sex. I wanted to run away with you, but something prevented me…"

Jin Qing widened his eyes, staring into her blue ones, trying to put the pieces. He remembered that night. He wished he made that time special—but it was something impulsive to both of them. They weren't thinking, and all that occupied their minds was to feel each other's skin and to feel their deepest depths. He did not care if people heard them. If they'd been caught. 

He tried to forget that night, but it was impossible as it ran through his mind—followed him everywhere. It also reminded him of his heartbreak. She told him to leave her and Jin Hu alone. 

He did.

He left them alone, but that did not stop him from keeping tabs on her, watching her from a distance.

She wanted to run away with him at the time? 

"I'm not following," he responded. 

Long Mei cleared her throat before she explained. "Jin Hu was intent with his threats against you. I overheard him speaking to your father about it. So, I pushed you away. I wanted you to get as far away as possible. If I had left with you, then that'd give them more reason to execute whatever they were planning." 

Jin Qing propped himself on both elbows. He did not know this. His father wanted to get rid of him? Jin Hu wanted to help. "When was this?" 

Long Mei thought about his question, searching the expanse of her memory far and wide. "Shortly before my accident." 

Jin Qing could not believe it. His memory tugged and pulled at him, placing all the pieces together. Thoughts swirled, and suddenly, the answer he was searching for had clicked into place. 

"What is it?" she questioned worryingly. She could see the distant, hollow expression in his eyes. 

"When Jin Hu was going to force you to elope. Do you remember anything he said before your impact?" 

Long Mei thought about it. She tried to forget, and she never spoke about it aloud. 

"You don't have to tell me," Jin Qing uttered. He was worried about her, and she wanted to kiss him for it. 

Her eyes spaced out as she said, "He said, 'Not me. Not me, you fucking idiots. Fuck.' And then he was shot. The car swerved, and that was it." 

Jin Qing's face grew dark. She had never seen him look like that. It was the same expression she had seen Long Xiatian make once before. 

He shot to his feet, heading over to the telephone, wearing nothing but his boxers around his waist. 

"What are you doing?"

"Making a phone call," he said. 

"Who are you calling?"

The person from the other line answered. "I know who killed my brother and the same person who also attempted to take your daughter's life." 

Oh, shit. Jin Qing called her father! Fuck!!! 

"Alek—" she called out to him. 

"Do what you have to do," he said to Long Jie and hung up the call. 

Long Mei stared at Jin Qing with wide eyes. "Listen. You're angry. I understand but think about this. You just sent a bounty on your father's head. Do you know what my father will do? He is going to fucking send Long Xiatian, and she will bring Yat-sen. Oh no!" 

She began to pace back and forth. Nothing was more frightening than facing them. She kept muttering to herself, "This is not good. This is not good." 

Jin Qing then grasped her by the hips, pulling her against him, breathing in her scent. She calmed down. "You have too much empathy. Even for the person who tried to kill you and tried to break us up many times over." 

"He's still your father."

"By blood," he corrected. "He never raised me. He never cared about me. He killed my brother, and blood calls to blood."

"What if you regret this? I can stop them—"

"It's too late," Jin Qing said. "Long Jie would have informed Long Xiatian and Long Yat-sen by now, and they'd be on their way. I've made my decision." 

Long Mei frowned. "I don't want you to live with this guilt." 

"That's a burden for me to bear," he told her. "He took Jin Hu from me. And even though he was the worst brother, it was because our father made him that way. Jin Yun tried to take my girl from me too. And what if he succeeded? When I heard you were in an accident, I thought my heart had stopped. I couldn't breathe. The medics took me and said I had a panic attack. They had to sedate me to calm me down. I thought I might die."

Long Mei did not know that. She hooked her arms around his shoulders and sat on his lap. "Is that why you kept visiting me while I was in the hospital?"

He nodded his head. "Only immediate family members were allowed to see you."

She smiled. "But you found a loophole." 

"Hm," he said. "My engagement to Xia granted me access. They considered me family." 

Long Mei kissed him. "You are," she told him. "You are to me." 

Jin Qing's smile reached his eyes. "Are you saying you want to be a family?"

Long Mei's eyes darted across his. "Yes," she answered. "We can be. Why wait?"

Jin Qing's eyes widened, not expecting that answer. The implication of her response meant…

"We could marry for real?"

She grabbed his face, kissing him gently on the lips, "Yes.." She then kept repeatedly saying "yes," until he pulled her legs around his waist and made love to her on the spot.