The retreat and isolation

As months passes by, Ray became more popular with his music creation - all were written and made with his feelings. Feelings of hurt, angry, disappointed, happy, excited and passionately in love once a upon a time. These songs came alive every time he played them in the orchestra, it sang to the audience, it made them cry and help them through the toughest time.

Yi Ren stayed away not wanting to hurt Ray anymore than he had, but it hurt himself to see Ray this way, drowned in his work, family business.

While he still maintains ownership in the collaboration they had, both of them no longer interacted as they had someone to manage it.

"Ray...you asleep?" Ray was over staying over at the family as usual on weekends, and lately his mother notice this change in character and Ah Ma was complaining Ray was not his usual self. "The music he plays these days makes people cry...so sad like in the funeral!" Ah Ma complain to Song Jie "something is not right with this boy, must send someone to talk to him"

And he would quietly not answer pretending to sleep when they try to approach him.

Yi Ren had read his latest book and he was surprise with this ending that Ray had written. And every page that he turn, he tried to relate the feelings Ray had when he was writing the book...was he writing about them? He tried to decipher...it.

It does have some similarities but the characters were describe and moulded slightly differently and he wanted to question Ray on it, through the pages if it was true that Ray indeed wrote this for them, he could now see clearer the true Ray, the dream path that he wanted, he nows understand what Ray was going through deep inside.

Yet as Yi Ren thought about it, he remembers what Rain spoke to him about to stay away from any of his family members and keep it purely business related. He could not ....the paragraphs and paragraphs of stories that he read open up the chapter that they once store away, he was desperate and eager to know how Ray is, about what he wrote and in that desperation, he decided to send a bouquet of white peony and red roses on a certain day every month to Ray's office anonymously with the words "I'll wait."

However, Yi Ren's messages were all left unattended and Kay's secretary would take the bunch of flowers home, made to be seen as it was for her to minimise any misunderstanding who this anonymous person is.

That night Ray stayed back late, he had just finish a board meeting when he was recollecting how he behave in that meeting. He wanted a few people removed for mismanagement of the companies funding but because they are his father's loyalist, they tried to work through the back door complaining to his father causing him to be summon to give an explanation.

"If we want what's best for the company we should remove them, they are using this father and son relationship to get away with their misdeeds. Just look at these accounts" Ray explained. And so his dad sided with his loyalist citing it was his direction to them. But Ray stood his grounds and threw them warning letters. Fending the embarrassent they resigned themselves causing further rift internally. And so this is the day to day affairs he had to deal with coming back to work for the family.

He stared at the bouquet of Red Roses and White Peony that was left on the table ... the same routine every month. He took it and smell it - the fresh flowers scent made him calm and he went over the piano room to destress.

He left to the usual bar place overlooking the hill as he sat quietly by the corner, just chilling for the day as the week came to an end. "Pick me up after and hour" he told he driver.

As he was sipping the night away. Er Ge came by and both of them chatted through the night.

"You've changed quite a bit..." Er Ge started.

"Everyone does...." Ray knew what Er Ge is talking about

"Ma is getting getting worried, you seem to isolate yourself from them, you no longer spend time chit chatting with Ah Ma and the household all had comments about you being ridiculously cold to them or rather just a surface level interaction."

"Leave your personal live aside... you need to be able to learn to work and mindfully be objective at work, treat your love ones fairly not be leashing out your frustration on them as if they know what is happening. If you have unresolved issues, face them and iron it out not fester and let misunderstanding grow. Your understanding from your perspective may only be what you see, talk to people to hear and see both sides" Er Ge was saying

"Er Ge why is it that I can't seem to make it out but you are trying to tell me about Yi Ren, is this about him? And weren't you the one to say not to mix work with personal side of things?" Ray getting frustrated as he down a few more glasses down.

"Ray .... while I told you back then that Yi Ren contracted with us. I didn't tell you how he negotiated for us with Uncle Li using his dad as a conduit to pressure Uncle Li to drop the claims on grandpa. He.... he seems to be genuinely concern for your well being while we thought we'd hire him to just watch over you back then, none of them know about this as I found out only later.

Ray, the painting that you sold off, he had it bought back after your book was launched. He had been asking me about you"

"He bought back the painting as he said he felt in the book you've written how much it meant for you that you drew it for them and you wanted it to be gifted as a token of your love." Er Ge explained

"Well I didn't read your book, but it seems to move him a lot" Er Ge added.

Ray wasn't listening or he chose not to. "It's just a book, nothing special, just a stupid book that I wanted to get it out.... that I wanted him to have, us to have a memory of the past an unattainable future that we can't have and only lives on as a memory and dream, the lively me back then and a reserved him...."

Ray had too much drinks, as he revealed more than he should to Er Ge, he quietly drank as he sob to his sorrow "sorry Er Ge I just feel very down at this moment so let's not talk anymore I just want a companion to drink with, so I don't go about spewing nonsense if I was with another person, so just drink with me, let me be for a bit like this. It would be worst if I'd drink with someone's else" With that he wipe his tears and sat there just sipping his glass down.