"Just how did I ever start to entrust you to take care of her? Not the first time you drunk your life away yet you even taught her to do the same. There there, slow down." He nagged as she continued to laugh and giggle before pouring more white wine but it was all finished. So, she poured Qiu Yeh's share of red wine into her glass instead.
"So you knew about our drinking sessions. Each time I wondered will you ever find out about it or perhaps was it you who had been arranging to send us home safely? I couldn't recall being close to the bartenders at almost every bar we went." She explained as he cleared his throat and left them in momentary silence.
"Oh, I forgot. You own many bars too and now even a cruise. Just nothing could escape from you it seems…" She laughed from being extremely high as she drank her glass of red wine away.
Qiu Yeh sat monitoring her tipsy self as he embraced himself for the worst to come.
"Just why… Why does my best friend sent by you have such a good love life but mine…" She laughed hysterically before finishing up Qiu Yeh's glass of red wine this time which surprised him. He quickly kept away all liquor and only placed plain water on the table.
"You have drunk too much…" He said expecting her wild self to appear when she was drunk.
In fact, the first time they met in one of his potential bought-over bars back then was a close call he saved her from being brought home by random strangers after drinking alone and ended up drunk. She was much worse when she drank with Xue Ting.
As he tried to restrain her, he could feel she was loosening her fight.
"Jerks after jerks... I might as well love money for eternity!" She concluded before falling unconscious and Qiu Yeh stood closer to her in the nick of time to let her lean on him safely.
"Just stop drinking so much. You will have a better brain to make wiser choices." He nagged knowing she could not hear him but instead to his surprise, she opened her eyes.
Before he could apologise thinking she heard him, she stood to throw up into the sea. He sighed at the long night he was about to face.
Meanwhile back home at the youngest Tang brother's house, stirred a rare argument between the twins.
"Why did you have to reject Diane so badly? Didn't you know she had a crush on you all along!" Joy snapped when Matthew threw the invitation card to their school's year-end prom back at Joy who threw it at him first.
"That's exactly the reason I didn't want to invite her. I don't want her to dive in even deeper." Matthew explained solemnly.
"Then why must you invite that bitchy cheerleader?! Of all people! You should have known better! That's fine if you didn't want to go with Diane or me but you didn't have to ask that bitch out that way!" Joy yelled which made Qiu Wen panicked and run downstairs to find Joy storming off to her room furiously ignoring Qiu Wen. Matthew feeling upset with himself, went into his own room thereafter.
When Xue Ting, got home, Qiu Wen updated her as it was his first time with the siblings in such a major argument. Xue Ting knew she had to speak to Matthew who was lost and strayed as she assured Qiu Wen she could handle them.
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She stepped in lightly as she closed the door behind her and sat by the verandah on the bench with him. He seemed deep in his thoughts as though not noticing Xue Ting who was enjoying the bright moon.
Matthew was letting his mind think about all sorts of circumstances that had happened. His subconscious was hoping the moments of him watching the moon silently with his mother could stop and let him be at ease for a while.
He kept relating back to the story of the two princes Xue Ting always told them during bedtime. At first, he thought it was just a fairy tale but he could not find anyone who knew about it other than him and Joy while growing up.
He wondered whom the princess really wanted. The hot and cold prince or the windy and warm prince. They were on different paths with different outcomes. Having to give up on giving in to his messy mind, he decided to ask his mother directly.
"Mummy, if you had chosen another pathway, what would it be like?"
Xue Ting pondered long and hard on Matthew's question. She knew her son was in a dilemma with his love life. Hers was equally bad when her mind wandered to Qiu Wen and James.
She pulled her son to lay down on her lap as she looked out to the bright full moon again, beaming on them. She recalled the same moment she had with James when they used to go out on dates late at night. Unfortunately, the twins were never meant to be his.
If only, they were, what would it be like? She thought to herself.
"If I took another pathway, there wouldn't be you and Qiu Qiu, sweetie. But if there were the both of you in the other pathway, I was always afraid that both of you would grow to be ill-tempered. Unloved maybe… Now that I have walked another pathway, it's not so bad although I still fear a certain influence." She explained.
"So the two Princes' story was based on the truth?" Matthew could not help but question to confirm his suspicions.
Xue Ting was not surprised he could tell. Her twins were always quick-witted in figuring things out.
"Yes." She smiled as she caressed his hair.
"Who did you end up choosing?" Matthew asked.
She looked up to the moon wondering how much he figured out.
"Who do you think I chose?" She asked in return.
"From the story you told, you always said the princess left them both not choosing. But I have a strong feeling you would have chosen the Prince who created autumn and spring." Matthew's answer was spot on but she did not want to be defeated so easily.
"Why? I do love the Prince who created the other two, summer and winter too." She retaliated.
"Mum, no one can love unconditionally on people whom they had no blood relation with. Even those with blood relations can go to war. So, I doubt it. You definitely have your own favorite. The same with me and Qiu Qiu." He clarified in a sad tone.
"Boy, I love you both unconditionally. I may not love certain things 'bout you and Qiu Qiu. End up it will net off each other and balance out. That's how the world works. That's also the same for the two princes." She explained and Matthew began to realise he was in denial.
"But what if you figured the one you thought you loved so much was actually just a dust in disguise?" His question made her know he already had an answer in his heart. She hugged him tighter knowing the cheerleader must be a wrong choice for him.
"While another was a gem in disguise but being so precious once tarnished, its charm has left." He continued and she understood he meant Diane was precious but now he was afraid their friendship could not be salvaged.
"Left the gem or you?" She clarified carefully as she knew their conversation was bringing him to a breaking point.
"Me." He silently said while closing his eyes with his right hand to hide his tears.
She knew how stressed he was and how he felt stupid about himself as she gently patted his arm to comfort him.
"Were you prepared to have us?" He asked innocently after awhile as he tried to distract himself while wiping his tears away.
"You're both a blessing in disguise. I was never prepared. No one is, as parents." She kissed his forehead.
Xue Ting smiled a sad one as she recalled when she received the news of pregnancy with May and how confirmed she was of who is the father.
"Do you regret your choices back then?" His question made her smile.
"I just embrace the fact and watch you grow in my reflection. Hoping the both of you could grow to be happy and healthy individuals living under my warmth." She confirmed as he smiled.
"I never regretted not trading the other pathway or having both of you because I always knew that both of you are gifts of my love. How can I reject?" She continued.
How could I regret it? It was meant to be. She added silently in her mind.
"How did you ever get through all this chaos of love, mummy?" He groaned in frustration, dissatisfied with himself.
Xue Ting sighed as she held her baby boy in her arms and cuddled with him.
"Boy, I'm not trying to imply or side with anyone. Sometimes, the one we want is not necessarily the one we are meant to be with. The one we are meant to be could sometimes be right in front of us without us noticing them. It all takes us a moment to think through how worth it and how much we want to love the one we are meant to be with. It's not about anyone else…" She explained.
His quiet sobs which turned heavy caught her attention from the moon as she smiled sadly watching her baby boy grow to embrace the difficult paths of life as she hugged him tighter.
"It's alright... Mummy loves you... It's just a tough decision to make, that's all... Take your time..." Xue Ting rocked him a little while he sobbed, hugging the only refuge he always readily had and was grateful for it.