Please Forgive Me

"Are you serious?" After hearing James Lu's answer, Isaac Bai began shouting exaggeratedly. "So you're gonna marry her just because you f*cked her? Are we living in the same century?" "So what?" James swirled the wine in his glass. "What's wrong with that?" Benjamin Cheng was silent for a long time before he looked at James. "Are you really going to do this?" James nodded. "I made a chaste young lady sleep with me, it's not crazy to take responsibility for that, is it? And besides, her home situation is a little complicated..." He rubbed his eyebrows. "Look, she even made sure I saw her take an after pill, but then she was forced to ask me, a complete stranger who had slept with her under dubious circumstances, to marry her. She's going through something I don't think any of us understand." The room fell silent at his words. The silence was only broken when the phone rang. James walked over and answered the phone— "Hello..." "Hello, Mr. Lu. This is the receptionist of the Grand Dynasty Hotel." The receptionist's polite and pleasant voice spoke from the other end of the phone. "Yes." "Mr. Lu, a Miss Liang has left an item at the front desk to be passed onto you. Are you available for delivery at the moment?" "Miss Liang?" Elizabeth Liang? He didn't know any other Miss Liang. "Yes." "Where is she?" "Miss Liang has already left." James narrowed his eyes, he couldn't figure out what Elizabeth was up to. After thinking for a moment, he said to the other end, "Okay, I see. Bring it to me please." ...... Three grown men around their thirties gathered around a coffee table to look at and opened the lunch box placed in the middle. It was quite a bizarre sight. You guessed it! This was the lunch with a price that Elizabeth had prepared for James. Inside four exquisite and adorable lunch boxes were an array of different cuisines. There was a box of salmon sushi, a box of homemade pickles, another filled with carefully arranged fruits, and finally a box of rice. Between all of them, the box of rice was the most intriguing. On top of the perfectly cooked rice was a cute teddy bear Elizabeth had made using vegetables. There were also vegetable strips next to the bear arranged into the words "Eat me!" The usually plain and dispensable rice somehow looked incredibly appetizing with these decorations. There was also a post-it inside the lunch bag— Two little cartoon figures were drawn on the sticky note. One had an arrogant expression with his head wrapped in bandages; the other kneeled in front of the standing figure with tears falling from her face, and words were written on top of her head: "Please forgive me!" "Who knew she's this good? Bon, appétit to me!" Isaac rubbed his hands, ready to dig in. With lightning reflexes, James quickly gathered the lunchboxes to himself. "These are mine!" "Ben..." Isaac looked pitifully at Benjamin. Benjamin couldn't care less. "Why would you want to eat this silly sh*t?" When he said this, he couldn't have imagined that a long time later, he would also hold something silly like this as if it were his greatest treasure. James picked up the chopsticks and ate sushi, then grinned. Not bad at all! After giving everything a taste, he picked up the post-it and asked Benjamin and Isaac, "If... I can't marry her, what difference would anyone else make? Looking at this though, even if we get married, and even if we never fall in love, at least it won't be terrible. Right?" In the next five days, James received lunch boxes from Elizabeth with a different menu every day. On the second day, she brought a jar of fragrant chicken soup. The highlight was also an attached post-it—the little guy with a bandaged head sat on a sofa, with his legs crossed and looking away. The other one stood next to him with a steaming bowl in her hands, her head was slightly lowered, and the words above her head were: "Sir, you need chicken soup to heal!" On the third day, it was a pot of soft and delicious porridge with a dish of appetizing mixed vegetables. Depicted on the post-it was the little bandaged guy sitting at a table with his arms crossed, and the other one holding a plate. The words on top of her head were: "Tired of chicken soup? How about something light?" On the fourth day, there was a box of flavorful and colorful fried rice containing green peas, ham, carrots, shrimp, mushroom, and sea cucumber bits. On the post-it, a little figure with braided hair was busy with her pan and spatula, while the other little guy was laughing wildly with his hands on his hips. On the fifth day, she brought a box of handmade snacks. A little bunny, a small mouse, a tree, and several other dough balls in cute shapes were placed in a circle. In the middle was an adorable little dough man made to look like James. This time the figure with braided hair was kneeling in front of the other one and obediently massaging his legs, asking him----"Master, are you still mad at me?" On the sixth day, Elizabeth entered the Grand Dynasty hotel lobby with a newly-bought lunch box in her hand. Just as she was about to walk to the front desk, her wrist was suddenly grabbed by someone— "Elizabeth!" Elizabeth turned to see that the person who grabbed her was none other than Theodore Chao. He looked at her with a somewhat angered expression. Elizabeth looked at the man in front of her and remembered their past together. A faint pang of pain ran through her heart. He was the man she had loved for so many years, the man who hooked up with her cousin behind her back. "What do you want?" She asked coldly, trying to push away her heartache. "Why are you here?" He looked her over, then narrowed his eyes in frustration. "Are you stalking me?" Elizabeth was slightly amused. In fact, she smiled. With a smirk on her face, she said mockingly, "Why would I do that?" She forcefully jerked her arm, "Let go!" Theodore looked around the crowded lobby, dragged her to a corner, and finally let go of her. "Elizabeth..." Theodore looked at her, disgruntled. "We've cut our ties. Why are you doing this?" What the hell is he going on about? "Did we NOT cut ties? Did I pester you?" "You didn't? Then what's that in your hand?" He pointed to the lunch box in her hand and said, "You knew I was having a business dinner here so you came to look for me with this ridiculous thing, didn't you? Did you want to, what, remind me of our past? Elizabeth, I thought you weren't the obsessive type." He was meeting someone for business today in the Grand Dynasty Hotel, and when he unexpectedly saw her here, his first reaction was that she was looking for him. This ridiculous thing? Elizabeth looked at the lunch box in silence, an unbearably bitter feeling crept into her heart. Back then, when he was still her boyfriend, she would also make meals for him. He was busy and often didn't have time to eat. She didn't want him to go hungry, so she made the effort to go to cooking classes and bring him all kinds of meals. And what did he say back then? He said that it was the best food he's ever had. But now? Since betraying their relationship, even the food that had once brought him comfort has become but a ridiculous thing. Of course, it has! He doesn't even want you, why would he want something you made? She brushed away some hair from her forehead. The spot that was wounded a few days ago was still slightly pink. "Since you know that I'm not the obsessive type, then... why did you think I would make this for you?" She said with a soft chuckle, "After all, you're not worth hours of my time and effort anymore." "You..." He looked at her forehead and gritted his teeth, something shifted in his heart. "I didn't know how to cook, you know this. I took cooking lessons for you, and I'm sure you know why. Yes, these lunch boxes are worthless, but I put my heart and soul into them. Yet..." She looked into his eyes and enunciated every word, "When I knew you were with Josephine, I was devastated, I was miserable. You guys destroyed me, didn't even leave me a place to live. Even if you had never loved me in all these years, you could've at least spared a phone call, couldn't you? But you didn't! So, tell me again, why would I do anything for you?" "Theodore, don't... flatter yourself." It was hard to suddenly let go of a love that had lasted for years, but she didn't care for a betrayed relationship. Just as she didn't care for the man who had betrayed her. She looked deeply into him as if she wanted to remember, or perhaps to forget once and for all. "Goodbye!" "Elizabeth!" Seeing her turn around and leave, Theodore grabbed her to his own surprise. "Theodore! What are you doing? Are you obsessed with me? Let go!" Elizabeth was getting mad as she struggled. "You..." He didn't know what to say. His eyes darted over to the lunch box, so he blurted out in desperation, "Who are you giving the lunch box to?" Then he reached out to grab it. "It's none of your business! I told you to let go!" "You..." A loud clang. As they fought for it, the box fell to the floor. The glass box was broken, along with the handmade cake inside. Elizabeth looked at the mess on the ground in shock, stunned. She was going to use this to "bribe" James, but that plan's now ruined too. Theodore looked at the destroyed food on the ground and said spitefully, "And you say you didn't come for me?! You..." "Master Chao, aren't you worried that Chairman Liang and his daughter wouldn't be happy to see you making such a scene in public?" A cool voice spoke abruptly. This voice... Elizabeth turned around and saw James, whom she had not seen in days, leaning against a pillar beside him with his hands in his pockets. Why is he here? Is he angry?