Chapter 313 - Lonely night

Liam walked into the apartment from work with a tired sigh, his hand lifting to rub at his eyes as he shut the door behind him. Today had been a long day with meetings and discussions about upcoming projects, but he was just happy to be home. He could relax and talk to Ying Sheng , which was what he had been looking forward to the most.

Things had been great between them lately. The chemistry was off the charts, and he even started getting bold enough to flirt right back to her. He could see things developing even more between them soon, and he couldn't be happier with how things were going so far.

"Ying Sheng ! Are you hungry? We could order a pizza," Liam called out as he walked into the kitchen that was connected to the foyer and living room. As he poured himself a glass of water from the filter pitcher in the fridge, he listened for her response, a confused look gradually crossing his face when she didn't respond.

Liam had seen her car outside, so he knew that she was home from school. He downed the cold water before placing his cup in the sink and then heading to her room. He quieted his steps as he approached her door, wondering if she was asleep or not. It was only seven, so that had to be unlikely. The earliest he had ever seen her go to bed was nine, and that was only because she had to wake up super early the next morning for a business conference for one of her classes.

"Ying Sheng , you awake?" He asked as he lightly knocked on her closed door. There was a brief pause before he heard her voice.

"You can come in."

Liam was surprised to hear that. She typically didn't invite him to come into her room nowadays, which he didn't mind. He was sure there were things in there or girly products she didn't want him seeing.

"Are you sure?" He asked her, making sure that was what she wanted. He didn't want to cross a line, especially now since she sounded so quiet. He could only suspect that something was wrong, which worried him. What was going on?

"Yes."

Liam opened the door to a dark room. He stepped inside, only able to make out a few features from the hallway light. He saw her backpack on the floor, a few granola bar wrappers on her nightstand, some clothes on the floor, and Ying Sheng wrapped up in a blanket on her bed. He frowned, already sensing her sadness from across the room.

"Hey, you okay?" Liam murmured softly as he crossed through the room to reach the side of her bed.

Ying Sheng turned onto her side to face him, the blanket bunching up to her chin as she gazed at him. She looked conflicted.

"Not really," she admitted.

"Did something happen with your parents?" Liam asked her. He knew about the fallout and how it had hurt her when she fought with her parents. She didn't speak on it much, so he guessed that the thought of her falling out with her parents struck her when she least expected it.

"Nothing. That's the thing. Nothing ever happens. They don't reach out. They don't check in. They don't care," Ying Sheng whispered into the darkness, pain sounding in her voice.

Liam nodded quietly as he listened to her talk. He was grateful for his family and how they always cared enough to check in on him. He just wished that Ying Sheng had the same experience with her own. She deserved that. Her parents needed to harp on their daughter for how smart and creative she was instead of not saying anything at all to her.

"I'm sorry,Ying Sheng . I'm sure you've crossed their minds. Maybe they just don't know what to say," Liam murmured, trying to think of what to say to make her feel at least a little better about the situation with her parents. It was a tough one all around, so it was hard to draw comfort from anywhere.

Ying Sheng shifted her eyes to look up at him.

"I just wish I had a normal relationship with them like everyone else has with their parents. I actually want them to care about my grades and get onto me if I'm slacking. I want them to check and make sure I'm okay and have enough money to get by. Isn't that what they're supposed to do?" Ying Sheng asked with a shake of her head.

"It is. Just know that they've failed you, not the other way around," Liam told her, not wanting her to put any blame on herself. He could tell that she was beating herself up for some reason when she didn't need to. Her parents chose to ruin their relationship. It was down to them to fix it.

Ying Sheng took his words in and nodded after a moment.

"I just wonder if they've even thought about saying sorry for what they said to me. They basically told me that I'm a failure in their eyes… that nothing will come from all this hard work that I'm doing," Ying Sheng sighed as she reached out to grab her phone. 

She checked her messages to not see any new ones from her parents, as well as no new or missed calls from them. She then switched to Facebook and scrolled through her father's page. Suddenly, she shot up in bed, nearly knocking Liam off from her sharp movement.

"What is it?" Liam asked her, wondering what she had seen to make her demeanor change so quickly.

Ying Sheng clicked on her screen before speaking, the light illuminating her face with a soft glow.