Chapter 125: Epilogue: You're my strength, I'm your comfort

Xue Ting had been giggling and laughing along the way to Qiu Wen's car cause he knew Xue Ting was going to be a tough pea to coax when she was drunk. 

"Go in… Be good… Hurry. We need to keep you warm…" He persuaded her before pushing her into the back seat, and he quickly hopped in and locked the door. 

"You! Why did you push me?!" She snapped as she pouted. "Painful!" She whined as Qiu Wen smiled and helped to rub her arm which had a slight hit earlier. 

"How dare you drink so much when I'm not around? Do you want to get punished?!" Qiu Wen reprimanded her as she squinted her eyes at him and scoffed.

"Who are you?! Why should I care?!" Her words slurred as Qiu Wen quickly took wet tissues to wipe her face but she shoved his arms away.

"Cold! Don't disturb me!" She grumbled as she sat up and saw it was Qiu Wen's face and began to giggle.

"Oh, Wen Wen… Hmm… everyone's pregnant. I want another baby…" She tried seducing him as he rolled his eyes. 

"Stop!" He held both arms back as she laughed while lying in the back seat. 

"Baby…" She kept mumbling as QIu Wen went near her face with his video recording prepared over his phone. 

"You have to promise me you will go somewhere with me…" He said as she was fast to nod. 

"Alright! My husband wants to take me somewhere!" She cheered and giggled as Qiu Wen put away his recording as proof of his surprise for her before coaxing her to sleep. 

The next morning, he went back to the homestay wanting to prepare several toiletries for Xue Ting only to realise it was Alfred's and Francesca's homestay. Qiu Yeh was fussing over May at breakfast with Grandma Tang while Mr. Tang was about to reach the breakfast table when Mrs. Tang rushed down with a heavy head and whine.

"Oh dear, how much had I drank last night? Where is Ting Ting? Oh, my head…" Mrs. Tang whined before she was supported by Mr. Tang and her eyes widened as she rubbed her eyes to have a good look at him.

"What are you doing here?!" She asked surprised before they were greeted by a loud slam on the front door by Xue Ting.

"May! Why did you let me drink so much?! Oh, my head! Water!" Xue Ting demanded before Qiu Wen rushed over with water for her passed by Francesca awkwardly. 

Xue Ting quickly drank and wanted to open her eyes but she still had trouble while being led to the dining table by Qiu Wen. She could feel the touch was Qiu Wen's as her eyes flew open by force only to finally realise who was in the vicinity. May laughed out loud as Grandma Tang and Qiu Yeh were amused.

"Just what… where… how? May!" Xue Ting scolded her for continuing to laugh as Mrs. Tang took a seat at the dining table with Mr. Tang. 

"Why don't you start by telling me what are you all doing on their premise?" Qiu Wen demanded Xue Ting as she glared at May for not saving her. 

"Ask her…" Xue Ting pointed while holding her head before May briefly explained their situation and the events last night leaving Xue Ting and Mrs. Tang embarrassed.

"So, as compensation… You need to head somewhere with me…" Qiu Wen teased her. "I have proof you agreed…" He played the recording as Xue Ting felt like she wanted to dig a hole and hide herself as she glared at May while Mrs. Tang laughed only to be reprimanded by Mr. Tang.

"Someone should not drink this much at this age especially when I'm not around." Mr. Tang said while passing her a butter spread toast which she wanted to reject but still took to eat.

"Why do you care? Mind your own business…" Mrs. Tang rolled her eyes but could not help to secretly smile from being smitten by his thoughtfulness as everyone at the table knew it was her way of approval which would never change. 

As all of them were preparing to pack and leave, Qiu Wen was forced to help them all to check out. "Could you give the bill for all of them?" He said awkwardly to Francesca as she nodded and handed him the receipt before accepting his card for payment.

"Thank you." She said when passing back his card. 

"I'm sorry…" She finally apologised as Qiu Wen was dumbfounded. He did not expect her to apologise. 

"I could only thank Xue Ting for giving me a wake-up call back then. I don't need your forgiveness but I hope you could treat her well and live on well." Francesca said with a sincere smile as his gaze met hers as Alfred watched them from the kitchen, feeling glad for their reconciliation. 

Qiu Wen nodded with a smile before they were greeted by Mrs. Tang fussing over Xue Ting for being a workaholic while coming down from the stairs with Mr. Tang. 

As they all bid their farewell, Qiu Wen instantly drove Xue Ting to her surprise. When they arrived at the foot of the hill in Xue Ting's hometown, Qiu Wen alighted and led Xue Ting who was nervous. 

"Ting Ting, I want to bring you to a place."

"Where?" She asked skeptically as her eyes darted away trying to not show her excitement as he walked a little further down the road and reached the foot of the hill she had bad memories of. 

"It's a beautiful place where you and I went before." He coaxed her. 

"But…" She pouted as Qiu Wen watched her disappointed face appear when she saw the foothill. 

"I'll be there with you. Just like how you help me recover from my anxiety. I want to help you overcome your fear here. I want you to remember the memories of us trailing through the hill to the top to replace all the bad memories in the past. You're the strongest woman I ever could have. I believe in you and I will always be here to protect you. We can get through this together and build new good memories to replace the old ones." He encouraged her but she was still doubtful.

"No... This is different…" She began to tear up as the terrifying childhood memories flooded her mind but it was mingled with the memories of how pretty the sunsets can be there and she had always wanted to visit again. 

"Yes, you can Ting Ting. There's a reward up there. You need to get up there to collect it." He teased. 

She snarled at him. "You did this on purpose. I... Dont…" She began to become haywire. 

"You can't refuse 'cause you promised me last night…" He lifted his phone and she recalled the video as she rolled her eyes. "You scammed me…" She protested as he chuckled.

"I know you always wanted to visit there again. Come, sweetie…" He held his palm out for her to grab. 

She hesitated a little as she shuddered and was shaken while reaching out for his palm. He gripped it tightly when she held his palm as he led her forward. 

They were slow at first but he encouraged her to go faster by thinking that the bad memories would leave them. As they were closer to the incident place, she could feel the trauma returning as he hugged her and gently pushed her to move forward. That was when she noticed the environment had changed so much. 

The memories may stay in her mind but the environment changes so much over time that it does not have any marking of the past remaining. She recalled the steep slope down which she used to race down with the Tang brothers. The slope was also where she fell and escaped from the kidnapper. However, the same spot brought her different feelings at different times. 

A smile finally curved from her lips at the spot where she once feared and wanted to stay away from which now brought her good memories of the past with the two brothers. 

With that, he led her to continue the climb and they were faster than before. By the time they reached the hilltop, it was just nice to watch the sunset for the day. 

Xue Ting was overwhelmed as she cried tears of joy while smiling towards the sun. She knew she had overcome one of the toughest fears in her life and fulfilled her dream of seeing the glorious view of the hilltop sunset she had always painted. 

All thanks to Qiu Wen, she had never felt so relieved and blessed standing in front of the setting sun as though she had conquered the highest mountain in the world.

Qiu Wen was proud of her and he knew she was capable of overcoming anything. That was also the reason he had set his heart to choose her from the very beginning. 

"Wen Wen…" She called out while enjoying the breathtaking view in front of her as he held her in his arms.

"Despite all that we have been through, over and over again, I want you to remember this moment. The moment you helped me to overcome this fear together with me…" She said while meeting with his gentle gaze.

"Thank you for all that you have given me." She held his hand in hers. 

"I cherish every moment we share all this while…" Her eyes twinkled at his smile. 

"I love you, Wen Wen." She whispered while he held her in his arms as they enjoyed the stunning view which was the gift Qiu Wen mentioned. 

"And, I will never let you go, Ting Ting…" He said before kissing her to seal their promise for eternity.

The End.