Hope

"You cannot go away. Don't go, Chen Kaori."

Chen Kaori was pretty sure she heard sniffles between the words, but she could not turn her body to see his face.

He tightened his hold on her when she tried to move.

"He Zifeng...will you be responsible if I get my hopes up with what you are doing?" Chen Kaori's voice started to crack.

All her resolve went down the drain with the hug that almost caused her whole body to go limp.

"I will...so don't you walk away from me." He Zifeng answered with a sincere voice.

They stayed in the awkward position for awhile until Chen Kaori shuddered.

"Still cold?" He Zifeng tightened his hug again.

"Uh...let's...go back inside. The...the wind is chilly."

Chen Kaori freed herself from his arms, this time in a much easier way.

He Zifeng took off his coat and draped it over her shoulders. Then he took her hand in his and supported her steps around the garden.

They sneaked back into the hall.

Chen Kaori loosened her hold on He Zifeng's hand, but he tightened his grip, not intending to let her go.

"Who are you looking for?" He Zifeng's voice sounded irritated.

"My date, of course." Chen Kaori moved her neck and head, looking for Su Lianghao.

"But you already got me!" He Zifeng said through gritted teeth. It was loud, but not loud enough to escape being drained by the music playing.

Chen Kaori turned her head to face him. "You, Sir, also have your own date!"

He furrowed his brows, not giving a rebuttal.

He turned his gaze around the hall. Then his face had a sly smile. "Found your date." he declared.

"Where?!" She followed his gaze and saw Su Lianghao sipping drinks with Wang Zihan.

"With mine." he smirked.

"Oh...then..." Chen Kaori was lost for words.

He Zifeng cleared his throat. "Let's go. It's stuffy in here."

He dragged her out to the veranda and they sat on the wooden bench.

He Zifeng leaned back and closed his eyes.

Chen Kaori smiled. She took out her phone and snapped a photo of them.

.

Meanwhile, in the hall, the two people who were not supposed to be with each other could not help but drink through their disappointments.

Wang Zihan had a sly smile as she looked at the tie she bought for her date around the neck of another guy.

An hour prior, in order to get Su Lianghao out of the hall, she 'accidentally' spilled her drink on him.

"Oh my...I'm...I'm so sorry!"

Su Lianghao is a gentleman, but his face showed that he was upset when the drink got on his tie minutes before the first dance.

"Uhm...hey, I...I got an extra tie. You could change in the restroom. Let's go!" Wang Zihan grabbed his wrist and dragged him away.

"Hey!" Su Lianghao did not have a choice. He would not dance with the girl he likes with a stained tie.

They did not actually reach the restrooms.

Wang Zihan grabbed his tie and undid it. Then she took out a blue tie from her bag.

"Wha- you! Why are you suddenly grabbing...and why do you have a tie?!" Su Lianghao, who felt a bit violated, thought it was too coincidental.

"Well, I wanted my date's tie to match my dress, so I had it in my bag, in case he would wear something off-color. However, he was too stubborn to wear it."

Wang Zihan expertly moved the tie around with her fingers.

"Hurry up. I can hear the music of the first dance." Su Lianghao would want to get back with his date as soon as possible.

Wang Zihan had a smirk as she gave a pat on his new tie. "All done!"

"Let's go!" He grabbed her by the wrist and made a run for the hall.

His eyes roamed over the sea of people dancing around. Then, he found his date turning towards another guy through the music.

Then, his thoughts were snapped out by a tap on his shoulder.

"It was false hope, my friend." Wang Zihan whispered to his ear.

Then she dragged him into the dance floor.