Love is not cheap.

It’s the most expensive thing in this world. One might have to pay with everything they got but they still can’t afford it.

Love is actually really demanding.

It takes your heart.

It takes your soul.

And then,

It asks for more...

Xu Mey was one of the people who couldn’t afford this luxury in her life. And the reason was not the fact that she didn’t have anything to offer, it was just that she wasn’t aware of what love felt like or what it meant. The only kind of love she knew about was which she shared with her best friends.

Looking at that happy couple getting married, a sudden question popped up in her mind. ’Is it love that led the bride and groom to this stage?’ Laughing at her own ridiculous thought, she shook her head lightly.

The thing that led them to marriage was definitely not loving instead it was mutual benefits for their respective families. Wu Xia, the bride was actually her best friend, Wu Wang’s younger sister and Xu Mey knew that Wang’s chose Ming Qu as her life partner because it was beneficial for business.

Owing to the fact that humans look for their own benefit these days. A mere marriage is also a form of convenience for both parties. No one loves without a rationale.

Xu Mey sighed closing her raven colored eyes for a moment. There was a metaphor she remembered, ’Good medicine tastes bitter.’

But for her, relationships and love were always like, ’Bitter medicine tastes good.’

"My poor sister is happily walking towards a prison," Wu Wang who was sitting beside Xu Mey said in a low murmur. Understanding his meaning, she laughed.

She knew only a brother like Wu Wang would say that his sister’s married life is like a prison.

"Wang boy, keep your voice down before your parents hear it," She said in a calm voice. "It’s her own choice, anyway." Wu Wang nodded his head in agreeing with her.

"Oh dear, this boy is too clean. I can’t find a speck of dirt on him," Li Qiao joined the conversation as he stared at his tablet with a look of loss.

"You found nothing about him?" Xu Mey asked as she pointed towards the man of the night, the groom.

"Nope. He doesn’t even have a speeding ticket record." Li Qiao was feeling discouraged. Xu Mey pressed on the frown between his brows with her finger.

"The cleaner one looks, the more he’s trying to hide something," Her reply made not only Li Qiao and Wu Wang stare at her, it even attracted the attention of her other two best friends, Lin Shen, and He Jian.

Xu Mey met Li Qiao and Wu Wang at her school while the other two were introduced to her by them. Wu Wang was involved in his family business but not many people knew that he was also a painter.

Li Qiao was the CEO of an entertainment agency while Lin Shen was chief of surgery at Lin Hospital in City D. He Jian had his own architecture firm. But together, they were just a bunch of bantering kids.

When all of them looked at her calm face, an involuntary sigh escaped from their mouth. She picked up her phone and sent a simple text. They knew nothing could stay hidden from Xu Mey as long as she was willing to find out herself.

-------

Ye Jie came to City D for his best friend’s wedding. His long-term girlfriend, Lu Yuhan was not tagging with him this time around. Her absence disturbed Ming Qu but Ye Jie didn’t explain anything to him.

Ye Jie didn’t want his best friend to know about his break-up, at the very least, not on his wedding day. Ye Jie was actually planning on proposing to Lu Yuhan but the night he planned to take action was the night she talked about a break-up.

He still remembered her black watery eyes looking back at him with a sad expression when she said, "Let’s end it now Ye Jie. You’re amazing but after spending so much time with you, I realized that we are not meant to be."

Coming back to the wedding...

He was clad in a beautiful royal blue colored suit with a black shirt underneath. His dark brown chopped hair was perfectly gelled.

He was already tired from the long journey and now the long traditional wedding was making him impatient. His gaze was wandering around in the hall and finally, it made contact with a smiling face.

She was wearing a light peach colored gown with a sequin pattern. Her pitch black hair was tied in a side braid. The light make-up made her porcelain white skin seem more enthralling. But the smile made her squint her eyes and her cherry lips to turn upward. A small deep dimple appeared at the side of her right cheek was something that beguiled him.

After a moment, the smile was gone as if it was just his own imagination playing with him. A serene expression took its place and she seemed like a fascinating fairy with those clear bright eyes.

"When are you planning on getting married?" Mr. Ming asked while tapping on his shoulder which broke his contact with her.

He knew it was an avoidable question but that was the question which scared him. He still hadn’t told his parents about his break-up because he knew it will hurt them. He wasn’t young anymore, he was turning 30 this year and everyone in his family was expecting him to marry this year.

"I’ll invite you to my wedding soon, Uncle Ming," He replied while trying hard to stay calm and hide his hurt expression. Uncle Ming laughed heartily seemingly happy with his answer and patted his back.

For Mr. Ming, Ye Jie was just like Ming Qu and Ye Jie also gave him the same respect as his own father. Ming’s and Ye’s had a close family relationship which also became the reason for Ye Jie and Ming Qu’s friendship.

He wasn’t lying to Uncle Ming, he concocted in his mind to meet Lu Yuhan again. He wasn’t planning on giving up. Neither on her Nor on their relationship.

After Uncle Ming turned towards another guest, Ye Jie looked behind but to his dismay, she wasn’t there anymore. He darted his eyes around the hall but didn’t find her.