In a daze, Jianjun walked down the street as he headed towards the Chu's house.

He stopped walking when he heard the constant chirp of a bird lying on the ground.

He looked at the pitiful bird and gently lifted it from the ground to check what was wrong. After taking a closer look, he realised that the little bird had a broken wing.

"You must be in pain" He said gently like he could really feel what the bird was going through.

"You must be lonely also. Where are your parents?" He asked the bird as if the bird could answer him.

The little bird gradually stopped chirping and relaxed in his palm when he noticed the big man was not going to hurt him but only speaking to him gently and nicely.

With his big hand, Jianjun stroked the bird's head as if to put him to sleep.

"Will you hear her out?" He suddenly asked the little bird out of the blue as he began to walk down the nearly empty street. "You must wonder why this man is wandering about by this time right?"

"I don't know why I still care about her. Cixi must hate me now." He sighed. "I'm sure Sara would probably hate me also if she was aware about all of these"

To the Wangs, family was everything.

"If it were you, will you want to see her? Your family was destroyed because of her even if she really wasn't aware. It was still her family who ruined yours. You were beaten several times because you wanted to see her. Your mother was beaten. Your father was framed and jailed. Your entire family....." He let the words trail off in sadness.

"Even your child, she didn't want it. She said she hated you and you were a stain in her life. So tell me.... Would you want to listen to that kind of person if you were in my shoes?"

He raised his head to look at the sky and blinked back tears. He was glad he had a good company to pour his heart out to. A company who listened quuetly and didn't judge him or say he was overreacting because to him, he wasn't.

"So what if she wasn't aware? Her parents did it. It must have been what she wanted.

So what if she cut ties with her family? She is still living well. She is a powerful woman who had the world at her feet. But what about me? What about my family? We have nothing but ourselves"

The little bird raised its little head to look at him pitifully which caused Jianjun to laugh throatily with a tear gliding down from his eyes. "You even think I am pitiful, don't you?"

The bird closed its eyes and continued to enjoy Jianjun's strokes on its body.

"I don't want to say anything to her. Neither do I want to listen to her. Because if I do... I am afraid I'll look for an excuse to forgive her.

I don't ever want to stop hating her. Because if I do....then I don't know how I'll be able to face my parents when I die." He paused.

"The only crime I committed was loving...a woman like that. It was really my fault"

He had been living guiltily with that thought for years. If it had not been him, his family would have still been alive by now. Everyone would have been happy.

How sad!

***

On the taxi home, Minde dozed off. When his head hit the window, he jolted awake and spoke in a loud and annoyed voice, totally startling the driver.

"Jesus! Do people work for such long hours? I am Li Minde! How could they ask me to serve them coffee?" He scoffed loudly while he angrily took off the round-framed unmedicated glasses he was wearing as part of his disguise.

In summary, his day was terrible. Totally terrible! He had to run errands for everyone like a slave and when he slacked off or didn't know what to do, they complained and said annoying things like 'Handsome for nothing' or 'Such a waste of good looks' blah blah blah.

Who did they think they were to treat him like a scum? He was a prince!

In annoyance, he used a hand to ruffle his hair. He hated the way it was styled like he was a highschool kid.

Was all of this really necessary?

He so badly wanted to see the look on all their faces the moment he announces to them that he was CEO Li's beloved cousin.

A quick image of the team leader suddenly flashed in his mind. "Kim Eva" He said her name out.

She was pretty no doubt. But she looked cold. He remembered her gentle and lovely voice when she said "Eric Wu. Glad to have you here"

At that point, he realised the value his real name held but he had been taking it for granted. He believed if they all knew he was Li Minde, especially her, she would have tried to get closer to him.

But because he was Eric Wu, she kept reminding him to abide by the rules and regulations. Oh... He was also told not to ever go to the top floor where the CEO was residing.

'He is my cousin. I am his beloved cousin' He screamed in his mind the entire day.

"Arghh" He pulled his hair in frustration.

When he remembered he was still wearing a tie, he widened his eyes like he couldn't believe that he had not taken that off ever since. He quickly undid the knot and tossed it on the other side of the vehicle.

The driver looked at him through the rearview mirror, wondering why he had to carry this crazy man of all the men and women on the street.

"You all just watch. I'll show you all that I am still me. That even as Li Minde, Eric Wu or any other scumbag's identity I have to live by, you'll all still fall for my charm. Even you Kim Eva" He spoke with resolve.