Mu Lan looked at the bowl and twisted her mouth. "What's this green thingy?"

"It's a broccoli soup. I put something to make you more energetic."

"Oh." She took the bowl without further question.

Pedro looked at her carefully. Then, he put his right hand on her chin and made her look at him. He frowned. "Your eyes are swollen. Did you cry?"

Mu Lan shook her head. "It's nothing." She wanted to leave but Pedro caught her by her left ear and pulled her. She complained, "Ow! It hurts!"

He made sure that she sat down and then said, "You can drink the soup and at the same time, share your worries." He made tea for himself and put the warm kettle on the wooden table.

Mu Lan pouted and afterward sighed deeply. She said, "I asked Carl to alter Li Shen's memory. He will forget that he ever met me in Beijing and he liked me."

Pedro poured tea and added cinnamon, honey, and mint. "Is that why you cried?"

"No!" Mu Lan looked at him as though she tasted something bitter.

Pedro sipped on the tea and asked, "Then why didn't you want to alter his memory?"

"I didn't want him to bother Liang Liang." She huffed. "The way he pesters me think I'm going to accept me no matter what irritates me. I don't want Liang Liang to see him pestering me. It will only make him inferior."

"Then why did you cry?" Pedro looked at her.

Mu Lan looked down. She didn't answer. She touched the spoon and stirred the warm soup. He gave her time. Finally, she said, "I feel bad."

Pedro raised his left eyebrow. He didn't seem to understand her meaning.

Mu Lan rubbed her temples. "I wish I would never meet Li Shen and Liang Liang would be my first love. After fighting against Li Shen's mother and finding out the truth, I regret that I ever met Li Shen. How stupid I could have been to fall for a guy like her and trapping myself in their plan? What did I sacrifice for? Why did I lose my memory and why was I in a coma? Everything I did in the past for nothing. If I weren't infatuated, I could fall in love with Liang Liang and knowing him, he would never hurt me. I feel so guilty that I'm his first love but he is not my first love. But do you know? I even dreamed on my wedding night that Liang Liang was first love and I never had to suffer. I never hurt Liang Liang and we were happily ever after."

Pedro knocked on the wooden table with his finger. "So, you told him that he was your first love based on what you dreamed."

She slowly nodded. "Yeah, I wish my dream was true… hold on, how do you know that I told him that? How come both you and Juan know about it?"

"I heard from him." Pedro bluntly lied.

Mu Lan blinked. "Is he spreading rumors?"

Pedro coughed. "That's the truth. Back to the topic, so you cried because the Mu boy wasn't your first love, is that it?"

Mu Lan pursed her lip and put her head down on the table. Her left cheek touched the cool table. "That's true."

Pedro understood. "And you felt bad and so you lied."

"…Yes…" Her eyes welled up.

"And now you are feeling more guilty that you lied." Pedro sighed. "You don't have to cry over things like that. Whatever you did in the past, you had no control over it. You didn't know back then that there was a Mu boy who loved you deeply. I know that if you knew back then, judging by his look, money, attitude, you would throw away that Li boy and would choose the Mu boy."

"That's given." She slapped the table with her right hand.

Pedro didn't know why he was doing such silly talk about the past. He rubbed his forehead before saying, "Then, it's the Mu boy's fault that you didn't know. He should have proposed to you the moment he realized that he liked you. And kid, you can't change the past no matter how regretful you are."

"I know. But I still feel like crying." Mu Lan closed her eyes.

Pedro narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure you aren't crying because I let you eat this soup?"

She sat up straight and protested, "No! Look, I'm going to drink it." She took one spoon of soup and put it in her mouth with her trembling hand. After tasting the soup, her face turned pale. She never thought that broccoli soup would taste so bad.

Pedro pretended not to notice her expression. He continued, "I'm glad that you don't feel anything for that Li boy."

Mu Lan twisted her mouth. "Who will feel for that mental maniac? He should be grateful that I spared his life."

Pedro sipped on the tea again. "Oh please, you altered his memory. That's the cruelest punishment he can ever get. To him, death would be a better choice."

She nodded. "That's why I didn't give him any choice. Ah! Why did I have to meet a guy like him at such a young age? It's not fair for Liang Liang!"

He asked, "Do you want to alter your memory as well?"

Mu Lan shook her head. "No, I have to keep an eye on Li Shen and his brother. Don't you know I always keep my enemies closer?"

Pedro put down the cup and said, "Then you forget that you had a first love and live 'happily ever after' with Liang Liang just like a dream."

"Yeah, I will pretend that my dream is the reality." She sighed. She looked at Pedro and asked, "Can I not drink this soup?"

"No." Pedro was crueler than her, that's what Mu Lan thought while finishing the bowl of soup. She couldn't shed tears in case he would force her to drink some more.