"Precious, it says that it's going to rain today. Are you both still going to Spring Garden?" Her mother asked with great concern.

"I'm sure BaiQiao has a plan. Don't worry!" ChunHua reassured her family with an incredibly stiff smile.

"Well... If you say so my baby girl." Her mother kissed her on the cheek. "Enjoy your date with Bai Qiao."

"Have fun." Her father said while waving goodbye.

"Anytime you need big brother, just give me a call. Understand?" WeiSheng said with all seriousness.

ChunHua laughed and nodded. "I will, I will." She then nudged him along. "Hope you'll all have a good day at work!" She waved goodbye while watching them drive away in the family's black jaguar.

"Little Miss is skipping work to go on a date with Mr Qi?" There was slight hint of mockery in her tone.

ChunHua subtly gritted her teeth before breaking into a foolish smile. "Of course! Anything to meet BaiQiao!"

As. If.

"Mr Qi is really all that you think about, huh? Without my assistance, you'd really be a wreck, won't you?"

ChunHua scratched her head in a silly way and laughed it off. Not yet. Not yet. Let them think they win. In two years, I'll have my sweetest revenge. When they think they have everything, I'll tear them down and rip them into shreds.

While she pretended to play with Xiao Tang, she made sure to keep her back towards Ah Mei so that Ah Mei would not catch her ice cold expression. Xiao Tang cocked its head curiously then snuggled up closer to her. Having drawn her attention, it licked her face and wagged its tail. ChunHua stared at Xiao Tang and was slowly pulled out from her dark thoughts. Hee expression finally softened.

"Xiao Tang ah Xiao Tang~ What a good girl you are~" She praised while ruffling its fur.

A while later, the doorbell rang. ChunHua glanced at the clock. Even the time of his arrival was the same.

Ah Mei got to the door faster than ChunHua did. The door swung open and revealed a tall man with a smile so charming and friendly that no one would think he was capable of any evil.

"Mr Qi, welcome." Ah Mei greeted with a lilt in her voice.

ChunHua swallowed her pride and acted as she did before she travelled back in time. "BaiQiao! You're here, you're here!"

"Hello girls, it's a good day today, isn't it?" He asked with his pearly white teeth shining in the sun.

"Would you like to come in for tea before heading out?" Ah Mei asked. 

"It's okay. I'll come over for tea another day. For now I'd like to make it to the Spring garden while the weather's still good." He turned his gaze to ChunHua. "Are you ready?" 

"Mm!" ChunHua grabbed the crook of his arm and headed out together.

Knowing how BaiQiao never paid her close attention, she let her mask slip. She glared at the yellow BMW before them with downturned lips. What a waste of my money.

An oblivious BaiQiao headed for the driver's seat while she got into the front passenger seat by herself. 

It was a silent drive. ChunHua was usually the one who started conversations and kept them going. This time, she was supposed to be sick and weak. So, she had no energy to be her usual chatty and fawning self. Still, it did not raise BaiQiao's concern or suspicion at all. 

When they finally reached the Spring Garden, the sun still shone brightly. However, dark clouds loomed close by. 

"Everything's so pretty..." ChunHua smiled with dead eyes. 

"I know you like the things there. Come, I know what's your favourite." He held her hand and led her through a maze made of tall green shrubs. The shrubs were dotted with little white flowers and lined with tiny fairy lights. From its design, ChunHua knew that it would definitely look even more breathtaking at night.

ChunHua struggled to keep up with his long strides but the view in the middle of the maze was worth it. Or rather, that was what she remembered feeling last time.

A large majestic cream-coloured water fountain stood proudly in the middle of the maze. Brambles with large red roses in full bloom surrounded it. 

BaiQiao turned to gauge her reaction. So, ChunHua put on a perfect display of speechlessness and swooning for him. "BaiQiao... You really know me the best..." 

"Let's have our picnic here." He said gently while placing the rectangular picnic basket on one of the long cream-coloured benches that lined the perimeter of the square.

"Ohh... Dumplings, chicken cutlet, potato salad... You prepared all these by yourself?" ChunHha asked with her eyes almost sparkling.

He nodded.

Hah, riiiight. "So sweet of you! They look so delicious!" She squealed.

"Anything for my ChunHua." He said while he fed her the first piece of dumpling.

Knowing from experience that the trap did not lie in the food, ChunHua played along beautifully. She uses the silence to quietly judge his flawless display of a perfect boyfriend. She really had to be critical to catch inconsistencies, something that she lacked before she died once.

Their meal had barely started when a loud thunder crashed overhead.

BaiQiao looked up in shock. "Oh man, I had hoped the weather would hold out a little longer. I guess we should go?"

"Mm!" ChunHua scrambled to help with the packing.

However, rain poured down within minutes and they were still finding their way out of the maze.

"Are we lost?" ChunHua asked weakly. However, her gaze was sharp and cold.

"Shit!" BaiQiao cursed under his breath. He took one wrong turn after another. It was only because ChunHua was of clear mind now that she noticed how fake his mistakes were, at least for a man of his intelligence.

Only after they were thoroughly drenched did they finally make their way out. ChunHua's fancy lolita dress became heavy and weighed her down. She glanced at the small nook created by an uneven step on the ground, then at BaiQiao's back.

I won't fall alone this time.

The tip of her pumps got caught in the gap and her body lunged forward. Even though she felt BaiQiao's grip on her hand loosen, she stubbornly held on tight to his hand, dragging him down with her.

The couple laid in the grass, frozen shock. BaiQiao recovered first and slowly looked down at his clothes. His white cotton shirt and beige pants were completely ruined.

"ChunHua!" He shouted angrily.

ChunHua shoulders jumped in reflex. She did not remember him losing his cool in front of her before.

She weakly pushed herself up off the grass and looked at him with a sorry expression. He stared at her covered in mud more than he was. Seeing that she was clearly in a worse state helped him regain his gentle facade.

"Are you hurt?"

So the events do change when I do things differently. ChunHua concluded from this one instance. ChunHua nodded her head but struggled to get up. As if out of spite, BaiQiao turned a blind eye to it and looked around like he was still finding his way out of the garden. 

Without warning, he grabbed her hand and pulled her forward roughly. "Come on, let's get out the rain."

As soon as they got back in the car, BaiQiao turned the heater on full blast. "We can't have you falling sick again." He said with a sweet smile. ChunHua returned a half-hearted smile.

The car quickly became hot but also stuffy. ChunHua listlessly watched the road ahead, badly awaiting the breath of fresh air she would get upon reaching home.

In her irritation, she shot daggers at him from the corner of her eyes. His thin and light shirt was halfway opened down to his stomach. Any thirsty woman would have drunk him up like he was water in a desert. Meanwhile, ChunHua was only guessing how much he had schemed.

So he even planned for this part to happen. How can my illness not relapse with all these? How stupid I was.

The hand hidden behind her puffy skirt clenched tightly into a ball.

He seems awfully prepared for everything... I have to be more prepared than that to win.

She looked back out the windscreen with water slightly building up in her eyes. She could not help but feel scared about going up against someone so devious alone and with no experience to call her own.

"If you can't deal with something as simple as that, you can't make it in this world. Give it up and return to your castle. Princess."

A deep throaty voice dipped in arrogance suddenly sounded in her head. She remembered the scene clearly. Before she died once, she tried to attain revenge by becoming more famous than the wretched couple was, only to be met with a hard cruel rejection.

I will make it. I will. She started working through all the information she had. I have the advantage now. I know what will happen. I can't lose this advantage.

However, the thought of going through everything she did made her hair stand on its ends and sick to her stomach.

There must be a way hasten his line of action without serious repercussions... Make him feel as miserable as me? But how?

She wrecked her brain for ideas but nome came to her even after he turned into the driveway of her home.

"Will you be able to make it up yourself?"

She looked at him in a surprised daze. This is different.

"You can't, huh?" He said almost with a sigh.

She shook her head vigorously. "I can. I can."

"Really? I'm worried." Although his words conveyed worry, his tone revealed his relief.

"I'm fine." She smiled weakly to keep up the act. She left the car and slowly made her way to the door by herself. She had not even taken three steps before she heard him speeding off. She stared at the yellow car disappearing in the distance. He went off a lot earlier... So little inconveniences actually tick him off that much!

As quickly as she rejoiced, she went back down in the dumps. I would have known this if I wasn't so blind and spoiling him all the time.

She dragged her feet on the way to the door. Just as she grabbed the door knob, an idea popped up in her mind. Where did he go?

She whipped out her smartphone, sat down where she was, and rushed to find all the information she needed. Only after she made a phonecall did she rush into her house and up the stairs.

"Little Miss?!" Ah Mei cried out in surprise to see a drenched and dirty running into her room. "Shouldn't you-"

BANG!

The door slamming shut cut Ah Mei's words off. ChunHua remembered to lock the door before she got down to finding all the documents she needed.

"Little Miss? What's wrong?! Why did you lock the door?!" Ah Mei's voice travelled through the closed door along with her persistent knocks.

"I'm fine. I just want to be alone." ChunHua tried to sound as tearful as possible. In the meantime, she was snapping pictures and attaching it to an email.

Ah Mei instantly stopped trying. "Well, if you say so." Her nonchalance caused a slight pause in ChunHua's actions. Her gaze turned colder and her expression turned even more solemn. She decisively hit the "send" button.

The game's on.