"Yo, Ryan! What wind brought you to my mobile?" Dan chuckled over his hands-free while driving as he answered Qiu Wen's unexpected call. Among friends, Qiu Wen is better known as Ryan as he only used his Chinese name among his family members.

"I'm back in Wai Tao." Qiu Wen briefly said.

"Welcome back to town!" Dan cheered happily.

"And where are you, my man? Wanna grab a beer together?" Qiu Wen asked casually while driving hands-free too.

Dan growled in annoyance.

"You caught me at the wrong time. I am heading to my countryside house at Hai Jing. Just needed a break for a bit. Well, you're back for good. We could always catch up anytime?" Dan said as Qiu Wen growled in return as both men finally burst into laughter over their pretense.

"You're wrong. I am leaving for Cravine tonight." Qiu Wen said as Dan frowned.

"You gotta be kidding me, bro! No way!" Dan whined.

"I am! Alright got to go. Chat later! Catch up soon Dan!" Qiu Wen said as he hang up, ready to park at his family house.

"Alright, bro! Take care!" Dan chuckled as he too reached his house.

Dan Pang Xiao Zhi, Qiu Wen's best friend at university, met Qiu Wen during his college days when they were pursuing art and learned about Qiu Wen's past with James as well as his search for Xue Ting. They grew closer together as he too encountered a similar situation as Qiu Wen which he had finally let go of his past.

Dan was dating his ex-girlfriend, Lilian in college over a misunderstanding. Dan had always had a crush on Lillian's best friend, Pam who never knew about it because Pam though humble and low profile, was a popular lady and was dating another guy back then. However, Dan didn't want to regret not letting her know at least and decided to confess to her at their college masquerade prom.

Earlier when the girls were talking about what they were wearing in the college hallway on the day of the prom, Dan had caught hold of Pam's dress features. He was confident he would be able to remember that Pam would be in a midi maroon dress while Lilian will be in a maxi ocean blue dress.

What he didn't know later was that Pam and Lilian had swapped dresses during their fitting as they looked better in the other dress instead. During the dance, Dan confidently confessed his love to the lady in a maroon dress thinking it was Pam only to be surprised by Lilian who took off her mask and instantly agreed to be his girlfriend.

It was one of the greatest mistakes of his life but to not break Lilian's heart and embarrassed her after a convincing and touching confession, he had been courting her over the five years. Their relationship had always been long distance as Lilian had never left Oslie, the town where they met in college, and was an art teacher while Dan had been expanding his business to Wai Tao.

He had never truly loved her over the years although he tried to when he heard about the news of Pam marrying. However, his heart had always longed for Pam even if she was no longer available.

In the earlier years while dating Dan, considering they only met once in a long while and rarely chatted over the phone due to their busy schedules, Lilian had not noticed Dan was not into her. In recent years when she finally realised the distance between them, she decided to ask if Dan was willing to settle down. Soon, she noticed Dan would often evade or avoided the question.

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As time passed, they spoke even less, and that's when she decided they both shouldn't have ever started. They ended the relationship with a simple message amicably as both parties knew it was the best solution for them.

With that, Dan decided to take a break from the bakery business he ran. He owned a stable growing bakery business in Wai Tao, the same block as Qiu Yeh's office. On this trip, he had brought along Dolly his seven months beagle who had been accompanying him all along to keep his mind occupied from being lonely.

To his surprise, when he opened the gate to his new home, he saw a cheerful young girl in his yard with her retriever puppy instead. He could hear her happy chirpy cheers and giggles while playing with her puppy.

He approached her gently from behind as he let his beagle down on the ground who instantly ran towards her retriever.

"Hello?" He greeted as he made sure his voice sounded cute. The little girl instantly turned around with a startled look.

For a moment, Dan was wondering if he didn't sound cute enough judging from her reaction. Instead, the next moment, he found himself being interrogated by the little girl.

"Hello… Who are you?" She asked boldly with a hint of friendliness.

"I'm Dan. I live here. And you're?" He asked politely noting in mind how fast kids could change their reaction.

"I'm Brisbane. That is Autumn, my puppy." Dan watched where she pointed and realised her retriever was warming up and getting along well with his Dolly.

"Autumn!" She screamed as both dogs went further down the yard.

"Where do you live?" Dan asked curiously.

"There." She pointed to the next-door house.

"Can I visit you?" He thought about doing a courtesy visit as a neighbor. She hesitated a while probably afraid he would make a complaint.

"I just want to say hello to your parents," Dan explained as he squatted to pat her on her head. As though she understood instantly that she was out of trouble, she nodded happily and skipped around him.

"Oh, I live with my mother. My father is a bad person." She spoke innocently as though she had it recited in her mind. Dan stood finding the facts she spoke surprised him to hear from a very young girl like her.

As she ran out to the gate, she turned around to see Dan still standing where he was and zoning out. She ran back to him and pulled him to trail behind her to her house.

"Come, let's go visit my house!" She cheered happily as Dan let her lead her with a smile.

Later, in front of his neighbor's house, a tall slender lady appeared at the door, ready to greet her daughter.

That's when Dan realised in a shocking state who his new neighbor was; Pam.

He was mesmerized by her beauty and her slender features as he stood in front of her while she meddled with Brisbane who was sweaty from running in the yard that she had not noticed Dan yet.

"Mummy, meet Dan! He lives there next door." Pam was still smiling sweetly at her daughter's chirping till she looked up and saw that her best friend's ex-boyfriend was who her daughter was referring to.

"Hello, Pam." Dan broke the ice first with a smile.

"It's been a while," Pam whispered to herself as she straightened her standing position. After a while, she gave a bright smile while her eyes twinkled at the familiar face.

Pam recalled her heartbreak when she witnessed his confession to her friend. Back then, she knew love could exist in many ways, and watching the man he had a crush on taking good care of her best friend was also a blessing she was willing to give to her loved ones.

"Hello, Dan." She greeted solemnly remembering the news she received from Lilian from afar about their break up and their entire long-distance relationship story.

She wondered if she had judged him wrongly previously as a good guy as his actions with Lilian were quite the contrary. She shook away that thought as she lamented on her poor judgment of her own husband whom she was going to divorce soon too.

"How long have you moved in?" He asked knowing his next-door house used to be empty although he knew it was bought a long time ago at a very low price.

"A few weeks," Pam answered solemnly as she felt it was better if she kept a distance from him.

"Mummy, I want to go back there. Autumn is there with his puppy too!" She pointed to Dan's yard before running away.

"No, Brisbane! You need to ask for permission first!" Before Pam could stop Brisbane, she was already at the gate when Dan stopped Pam.

"It's alright. Let her. Besides, my beagle needs company." Dan smiled as Pam smiled apologetically.

"How old is she?" Dan asked casually.

"Five," Pam answered while looking over their fence to ensure Brisbane was alright.

"I see. Well, you're always welcome to my yard anytime. I won't mind her there. I'm sure it had been keeping her company." Dan teased sending Pam's cheek glowing redder from the embarrassment.

"Sorry, we really didn't know it was occupied since no one had tended it for a while." Pam was apologetic.

"It's alright. I am always away in town on business. I am occasionally here only. No worries, please feel free to roam in there." Dan offered and they both smiled in a polite gesture.

He could not take his eyes off her pretty face which beamed in glow whenever she smiles so sweetly. He recalled Brisbane mentioning her father was a bad person as he curiously wondered whom she had married.

"Where is your husband?" He asked to break the awkward silence out of curiosity.

"He doesn't live with us." Her smile broke away as she looked up at his questioning face with an eyebrow raised.

"I'm getting a divorce," Pam added which surprised Dan who stood dumbfoundedly watching Pam looking over the fence at her daughter.

"After all these years I thought of your happiness and here you are suffering instead." Dan thought to himself.

"This time I wouldn't make the mistake of letting you go," Dan said in his mind with conviction.