For the next hour, both Shui Koshing and Raelle looked through every nook and cranny of the room but wasn't able to find any videotapes at all. This really depressed Shui Koshing. He could recall that when he left the Xiang Manor in Taileng, he had packed all the videotapes in a cardboard box. But now he couldn't find anything. Where did it all go?
"No way!" he suddenly gasped. "Don't tell me Xian burned it all with his stuff."
Raelle looked at him and questioned, "What do you mean Bà?"
Shui Koshing's lips parted but he couldn't bring himself to tell her the details. He remembered how Shui Xian had burned everything related to his ex-wife. But he couldn't tell that to Raelle. Not that he didn't want to but he just didn't want to bring up the name of Shui Xian's ex-wife.
He waved his hand offhandedly saying, "Xian burned all of his useless stuff when we left Taileng. I'm worried if the box of videotapes was one of those things he burned."
"Well, you don't know that for certain," said Raelle. "It's just your assumption for now. Perhaps, Xian placed those videotapes somewhere else. Don't stress yourself over it."
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtShui Koshing felt a little better with her comforting words even though in Raelle's opinion, she was merely looking at the situation objectively since she never learned to jump to conclusions unless there was enough evidence. And currently, the evidence wasn't enough to come to a conclusion that Xian actually burned the videotapes.
"But I'm feeling really guilty," said Shui Koshing. "I'm the one who lit up the flame of hope in Yue Fai's heart and now, if I didn't find the videotapes, he'd be really disappointed."
"You don't have to worry about Hyson either," said Raelle. "He'll be disappointed but he won't blame you at all for it." Then she took out her phone and texted Shui Xian to inquire whether he knew anything about the videotapes. Surprisingly, Shui Xian's reply came instantly and Raelle read it out to Shui Koshing, "Xian says he has kept them all at a safe place. When he'll come back, he'll take them out for you."
Shui Koshing's heart eased up when he learned this. He'd feel really bad if he failed to accomplish this task. And just imagining Hyson's downhearted expressions scared him a lot.
Now, that he was reassured, he happily took out a photo album and started showing it to Raelle. "Look at your husband crying over a broken toy." Raelle also looked at the photo of a young Xian sitting on the grass crying with a broken toy in his hand. Her expression didn't change but if one noticed her eyes, they'd be able to see that she was quite absorbed in this photo.
Shui Koshing happily showed her several photos from Shui Xian's childhood and even found a wedding album. He was surprised to see it, "Huh? What is this doing here? I always keep our wedding albums in my bedroom, how did this one come here?" He opened it and looked through it. Soon, he realized that this album only contained photos of the guests. That's why he must have left it here. "Raelle, guess who is this?"
Raelle looked at the young girl clad in a qipao. She looked elegant and beautiful. The way she smiled could enchant anyone easily. However, even though she looked really young, Raelle could recognize her easily.
"That's Yue," she answered and Shui Koshing smiled widely.
"That's right!" agreed Shui Koshing. "She was the maid of honor back then. She even read out a speech she had spent months writing for Qian Yin. It was my first time seeing her speaking so confidently in front of so many people. In fact, it was really surprising for anyone who was already familiar with her."
"Why?" asked Raelle.
"Because Yue was known as a gentle flower. She was a quiet and shy girl. Also, anti-social. But it was nothing like that in reality. She just avoided those socializing activities."
"She didn't like meeting people?"
Shui Koshing shook his head at her. It was nothing like that. How was he supposed to tell her that the reason why Yue had closed off herself was that whenever she joined a party, her sister and her clique would cause trouble for her everywhere. With time, she was fed up with it all and avoided those parties and activities altogether. That's why only people close to her knew how many charms Yue had including her chatterbox personality.
"Let me tell you a secret," Shui Koshing spoke in a soft voice almost like a whisper. "Yue was the one who made my wife's wedding dress for her. With her own hands. She spent three months working on her dress. All the embroidery and stitching, everything was done by herself."
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"It seems she was always talented," said Raelle not surprised by this news.
"That's for sure,'' agreed Shui Koshing. "But it's a secret because no one else knows who made that dress. Several ladies tried to probe Yin about the designer's details but Yin chose to keep her lips sealed." He took a pause and added, "If you want, I'll show you the dress."
"You're still keeping it?"
"I am," said Shui Koshing. "Yin and crazy ideas. She wanted to pass down the wedding dress as a family heirloom. I don't even know where she came up with that."
"Even though you found her idea crazy, you're still trying to achieve what she wished for," Raelle pointed out.
Shui Koshing smiled sheepishly, "I can't help it. The least I can do in her absence is to keep her dreams alive. Even if she is no longer here to see those dreams come true."
"Don't you think you're keeping a lot of random stuff here?" asked Raelle as she swept her eyes around the room. She pointed in a corner saying, "What's the point of keeping that?"
When Shui Koshing looked at what she was pointing at, his eyes softened.