Strings Attached (Sequel)

Surprises

March 10th

Huaze Lei

My arms wrapped tightly around her and my one hand reached for her head. Holding her seemed to ease my mind knowing she was here with me.Her arms wrapped around my neck and she buried her face to my chest. When she came over to me, I could see from her expression she was distracted about something on her mind. I looked towards Meizuo and Cha with a small frown wondering why she was distraught right now.

"Hey," I spoke gently to her, knowing something was wrong. The moment she came into my sight I immediately knew something troubled her. "Are you alright?" I asked her gently, in hopes she was not too upset for what reason distracted her. I knew her parents were nearby and did not want her to be upset when she met with them. I had to make sure she was alright before taking her to them.

"No," her voice quivered and my heart ached for her. "I'm tired and frustrated with him." My arms around her tightened slightly and I leaned forward to kiss the top of her head. Ximen brought this on himself knowing Faye would eventually find out what was going on. "He is being ridiculous."

"I'm sorry Faye," I sighed stressfully for her knowing I wanted her to be happy. "Ximen will eventually cool down. I'm sorry he hasn't been completely accepting."

"There won't be a Ximen anymore," Faye mumbled. I frowned slightly unsure if I heard Faye correctly and looked towards Meizuo wanting to know what happened, but I knew not to push the topic.

"Wh-what?" I asked quietly and had to slowly pull away so I could take a look at her facial expression. From her expression currently, I could tell she was tired. Her eyes lowered as she let out a sigh. She folded her arms and shook her head thinking about something that troubled her before making eye contact.

"I no longer want to be a part of Ximen's life. I'm sick and tired of the games he is playing and don't want to take part in any of it." I looked towards Cha and he had a worried expression and mouthed to me he'd talk with me later about it.

"Are you sure?" I asked gently since I knew this was a sensitive topic. I never would have thought I would hear this from Faye. This will always be sensitive to her. I knew eventually later I would have to have a serious conversation about this. "I don't want you to force yours-"

"No more Ximen." She shook her head and I saw the frustration she was feeling. Feeling myself ache for her pain I wanted to lessen it for her. I hope her decision won't cause too much stress and emotional damage to her friendship with Ximen. After finding out she was always close to Ximen, it was difficult to hear her say she no longer wanted to be a part of Ximen's life. "I don't want him at our baby shower or even at our recital." My mouth parts slightly. I knew I was mad with him, but it also concerned me if this was what she really wanted. I quickly remained a neutral expression trying to comprehend her words.

"Okay," I nod lightly to her. I tightened my arm around her and stared at her for a moment ."I'll make sure of that." She nodded slightly and a yawn escaped her lips knowing she must be tired from a long day. I smiled lightly in hopes to change her mood now. "You're tired, let's go home."

"Your parents?" She asked confusingly.

"Right," I smiled and pretended to look around knowing her parents were nearby. "I have a surprise for you."

"Me?" She pointed to herself and I chuckled lightly at her before I nod. I reached for her hand and began walking in the direction her parents were. "Where are we going?" She asked and I continued to walk to the cafe her parents and I had decided on.

"You must be hungry," I spoke calmly. "Have you eaten dinner?"

"No, I had a snack. I'm quite hungry now."

"I have the perfect restaurant for us to eat."

"Okay," She smiled sheepishly. Meizuo and Cha followed behind. "Food sounds amazing right now."

"When doesn't food sound good?" I chuckled towards her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"When we're having sex," she said lightly. I coughed surprised of her sudden response and turned towards her with my eyes wide wondering if I just imagined that she said that. She glanced towards me and smiled shyly, giving my hand a small squeeze.

"Faye," I said slowly so they wouldn't hear us from behind.

"I'm being honest," she shrugged.

"You can only be that honest when we're alone."

"I want to have twins next," she spoke a little loudly and I immediately stopped turning to her continuing to be amazed and surprised by her behavior at this moment. I could hear Meizuo choke and I saw he was surprised to hear this. Cha looked shocked wondering if he was hearing her right. I looked at her now and she seemed to have a calm expression. 

"Twins?" I choked out. I wasn't expecting her to do this in front of our friends. I gently placed my free hand to her arm wondering what was going through her mind. "What happened to focusing on our first child first?"

"We are," She smiled. "I want to make sure they're close in age."

"Why the sudden talk about our future?"

"I wanted to point it out." I nodded and felt a bit nervous of our talk of future children all of a sudden. I wanted to make sure our first born was here before thinking about more kids. We had yet to discuss plans for the fall semester and living situation. I looked in the direction of the restaurant we would be eating at. "After you give birth to our first one, we can talk about if you want to have twins or maybe one at a time. We should be thinking about housing arrangements for New York."

"Right," she nods. I smiled at her, wanting her to feel comfortable around everyone. I wonder if this conversation was for her sake to keep herself distracted from Ximen. "Is that where we are eating?" She pointed out and I looked in the direction of where she physically pointed.

"Yes." She smiled and gently pulled me in that direction. I heard light laughs from Meizuo and Cha as we made our way over to the restaurant. Once the waitress spotted me from the front counter, she welcomed us before leading the way. Looking towards where we would be seated, I saw Mr. and Mrs.Calinao ready to surprise their daughter.

"Here we are," the waitress stopped in front of the doorway leading to the secluded area. I thanked her before urging Faye to walk forward. Once she reached the doorway, she came to a complete stop and her eyes widened in shock. I couldn't help myself but smile.

"What...?" Meizuo said from behind me and I used my finger to quiet him.

"M-mom?" Her gentle voice asked, then her head shifted slightly. "D-dad?" I watched as she walked over to them and hugged them both. The excitement in her expression was worth the planning. All thoughts and distractions to what she had with Ximen were nonexistent for the time being.

"Are they her parents?" Meizuo said from behind and I hummed watching as she started asking questions. I could tell she really missed them. "This is great you're doing this for her," Meizuo smiled. Meizuo excused himself so he could go into the room. "Hello Mr and Mrs Calinao!" I slowly walked in with Cha following behind. Her mother was beaming about the engagement ring Faye was wearing and they started talking about possibilities and thoughts of the wedding.

"Lei," Mr.Calinao nodded and I smiled as I introduced Meizuo to Mr.Calinao. After introductions we took a seat. Faye sat beside her mother. I went around the table so I could take a seat beside her. Once we were all seated the waitress came over and took our order. It wasn't long after we were all doing introductions and exchanging stories.

I looked down towards my lap and noticed Faye reach over for my hand. As soon as she found my hand she intertwined her fingers with mine. Smiling, I gently squeezed her hand content to be here with her, friends and her parents.

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I hope everyone is doing well! With final exams and graduation approaching, I do plan to take a break from writing and working on all stories as of now. Bear with me until then! The stress level for this one course has been driving me insane and have preparations for my graduation day (: 

I will be seeing you guys in the next update in a few weeks! 

Next update: May 19th, 2022