Ten Years of Yearning. My Love, Let Me Protect You.

At the back garden, Madam Sheng aka Wei Airan was sitting on a couch comfortably while four other ladies were accompanying her. There were many snacks and refreshments placed in front of them.

"Airan, don't worry. Your husband has gone there. Ruming will definitely call you." said one of her friends named Chi Baining while she was drinking coffee. Her daughter Feng Ahnian was eating the delicious pastries made by the chef.

"Obviously. He didn't talk to you due to his anger. I'm sure Mr. Sheng will do what he has promised." added the second one named Su Mengsi. She was sitting upright in her place as she elegantly sipped her tea. 

"Sigh...I know but I'm very anxious about himself. He doesn't even care about his health when he makes himself busy in the company. I don't know what to do." Wei Airan sighed as she talked. Remorse was apparent in her face.

Chi Baining and Su Mengsi exchanged side glances as they thought something. Su Mengsi held her hand and gently squeezed it.

"Don't worry. When he comes, don't talk about the dates we have arranged. Just take care of his mood first. When his mood clams down we can discuss the matter then." Su Mengsi said with a pleasant smile.

"Hmm."Wei Airan looked at the phone in front of her. She was waiting for the call since morning but it didn't show any sign of ringing. Suddenly it lit up and rang. She immediately received it without looking at the screen.

"Hello, Xiao Ru, you..." she didn't get to finish her line when she heard a woman's robotic voice. She looked at the phone screen and as expected it was a call from the customer service centre. She cut the phone and placed it angrily at the tea table in front of her.

Chi Baining asked her when she noticed her angry look. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She replied nonchalantly as she was pissed off by the call now.

As she rested her head upon her hand on the armrest, she looked at the phone griefly.

Su Mengsi signaled her daughter. Yan Ruomin nodded as she poured a cup with tea and served it to Wei Airan. 

Su Mengsi told her friend, "Calm down, soothe your throat a little with tea." While her daughter handed the cup to her. Wei Airan took the cup and drank it slowly as she thought about various matters.

Suddenly her phone rang again. This time it was her another friend who called her to invite her to a gathering. She accepted the invitation right away and cut the line not giving that person any face.

Her mood just ruined by these consecutive calls. Su Mengsi patted her back and told her to wait for his call. The third time it rang, she wasn't in a hurry.

Su Mengsi took the phone as she thought if it was another useless call, Wei Airan would be very upset. Wei Airan didn't stop her as Su Mengsi took it from the table and glanced at it, she saw  'Xiao Ru' written on the display, she smiled while passing it to her. "It's from Ruming."

Wei Airan put down the teacup from her hand and took the phone hastily. She took deep breaths as she received it.

"Hello, son..."

"Ma, It's me."

Wei Airan became very emotional as she listened to her son's after so many days. Hot tears flowed by her eyes. The sadness of not seeing her son for so long washed away as she listened.

"Are you okay, son? They said..."

"Don't worry, I'm fine. Tonight I'll come to the villa to meet you."

"OK, Then, I'll make some favourite dishes for you by myself. Don't eat outside." She became happy when she heard the news of his coming.

"Hmm. Tell father to return home now. I've got a lot of work to do. If I can't finish them I won't be able to come home early."

"Oh! Give the phone to him."

Sheng Ruming passed the phone to his father.

"You can come back now." She said calmly to Sheng Haotin. Sheng Haotin acknowledged as he returned the phone to his son.

"Let's meet tonight." Sheng Ruming said.

"Yes, come early." Wei Airan replied happily as the line disconnected.

Su Mengsi and Chi Baining asked her about Sheng Ruming even if they could guess from the conversation. When they heard he was coming today they smiled happily.

Chi Baining put down her mug as she stood up.  Feng Ahnian followed suit.

"Now that he is coming, you will be busy for making dinner yourself. We won't disturb you any longer." Chi Baining said as she took her leave with her daughter. When she left, Su Mengsi turned to Wei Airan and held her hands softly.

"I will leave too. Let's talk after you are free." She said to her.

"Aunt, we'll leave now." Yan Ruomin said elegantly as she bowed slightly.

"Let me accompany you to the door." Wei Airan happily said.

"No need for that." Su Mengsi replied as she went out of the villa.

There was designated space at the southern side of the villa for parking cars. Now there were five cars on that space. They went to their own cars and drove away.

"Aunt Lin, Xiao Ru is coming tonight. I'll make his favourite dumplings. Please help me to gather the ingredients." Wei Airan said happily to the old housekeeper. 

"Yes, madam. I'll do it immediately." Aunt Lin went to gather the ingredients from the shelves while Wei Airan made herself busy in the kitchen.

... ...

Back to the office...

After Sheng Haotin talked with his wife, he departed from the company. Sheng Ruming made himself busy in the company meetings. There were many unfinished tasks in the company. The three of them covered as many as they could.

It was already past seven when they finished their job. Sheng Ruming was drained out fully by then. When he finished his work at the company, there were only Ji Yanli and Wang Haixiao with him.

When he exited the room, Ji Yanli approached him.

"Boss, I've made some sweets. Will you have some?" she asked him expectantly.

"No, another time. I need to go home now." he replied as he was walking towards the lift.

"Wait a minute." He stopped when he heard. Ji Yanli went to her working desk and took out a transparent box which was full of different kinds of sweets. She passed it to him while saying, "Give it to aunty. She likes these. I've made a lot yesterday." She smiled as she passed the box in a shopping bag to him. 

He took the bag and looked into it. "Is there also any peach flower sweets in it?" He asked.

"Yes! How do you know?" She asked in surprise.

"Just knew from the colour. If you have extra, give me another box. Also, Ma won't eat so many. Take out some of them from it and place them in another." He told her.

Ji Yanli was overjoyed as she took back the shopping bag and went to her desk. She did as she was told to.

Sheng Ruming took the bag and went to the lift. After he went to the ground floor, it was very quiet as the office hours finished a long time ago.

A black car went up to him when he exited the company entrance. Sheng Haotin sent it to fetch him. The chauffeur opened the car door for him. He didn't say anything as he sat in the passenger seat.

After forty minutes, the car entered the vicinity of " The Sheng Villa". Two security guards opened the entrance for him. As it took another ten minutes to reach to the main villa, he enjoyed the scenery outside. Rows and rows of flowers could be seen.  When he reached to the villa's entrance, the already waiting Wei Airan came to his car hurriedly. 

When he came out of the car, Wei Airan gave him a big hug. 

"Oh! my baby, I missed you so much." she said happily. He also smiled in return.

"Ma, let's go inside."

"Yes, yes. Let's go." she dragged him inside. She brought him in and made him sit on a coach. Aunt Lin brought water for him. After drinking some he put the glass down.

"Ma, there are two boxes of sweets in this bag. You take one. I'll take the other." He passed the bag to her. 

"Is it a gift for me?" She took the bag and excitedly looked inside.

"No. Yanli gave me to give you."

"Oh! That girl is so considerate. Wait, you'll take the other one?! Won't you stay here tonight?" She asked him in a depressed tone.

 "No, I've some matters. I'll come to stay for another day. Left the blue box for me." He replied as he stood up. "I'll take a quick shower first." After finishing, he went to his room on the second floor. 

Wei Airan was slightly upset but shook the gloomy mood away. She took the white box and went to the kitchen.

... ...

Sheng Ruming went to his room. He opened the door. It was neat and clean as it was cleaned every day even if he was absent. After closing the door, he went to the closet and took out a set of clothes randomly. Afterwards, he went to the bathroom. He took off all his clothes and threw them aside.

Under the shower, the tiredness of the whole day eased a lot. He placed both of his hands at the wall in front of him as the cold water was dripping above him. 

The whole bathroom turned misty. He looked at the mirror. His well-built body was so charming that whoever saw him, it will make them aroused. His white skin turned a little pink under the water. The vapour made everything hazy around him. It was such a mesmerising sight only if there wasn't a cut mark at his lower back.