Lei Yong obviously did not find Tung Mei in the palace crowd, he met her aunt but the old woman simply said that she must have gone ahead and that there was nothing to worry about. Regardless, Lei Yong still glanced about for her as he left the palace.

In the end, he did not find her and went home with a sigh. Tung Mei always came and went as she pleased and giving everything that had just happened, everyone had a lot more important things on their minds than her whereabouts.

But when the Lei family walked into their manor, they were met with a pouting Tung Mei, who was sitting just in front of the entrance, waiting.

Xiao Ting immediately bounced over to Tung Mei, "Ying jie~ how did you get here?" The other family members were also somewhat curious about this.

Tung Mei ignored the question, got up and looked right at Lei Yong, and seriously said, "Yong ge, we need to talk.. Now." And without waiting for him or acknowledging anyone else she solemnly walked off to the side.

The Lei family members knit their brows and glanced at each other with concern. They could tell there was something wrong.

"Go on...It seems to be something serious. If there is anything we can do to help, let us know." Defense minister Lei said to Lei Yong. Lei Yong nodded and swiftly followed after her.

"What is wrong?" Lei Yong promptly asked when Tung Mei finally stopped in a corner.

Tung Mei frowned, took a deep breath, looked directly at him, and asked, "Do you have feelings for me?"

Lei Yong's eyes went wide and he blinked, taken aback by the sudden question.

Lei Yong knit his brows, "Xiao Ying...I...care for you, you know that." He tentatively said.

"That's not what I asked!" Tung Mei irritatedly responded, then she took another deep breath and calmly said, "Okay, I'll rephrase....do you have romantic feelings for me?"

Lei Yong knit his brows even more tightly and remained silent.

"I need an answer." Tung Mei said with a deepening frown.

Lei Yong looked at Tung Mei's resolute expression. She had never asked him so directly before and he had been somewhat dreading this moment, he did not want to hurt her...but now that she asked, he was obliged to respond.

Lei Yong let out a breath and then responded, "I care for you...but not like that. To me you're li-"

"A sister?" Tung Mei interjected with a scoff, "I am NOT your sister, never was, never will be! Look at Xing jie and that stupid demon, they grew up around each other and actually lived together for a long time but yet he obviously doesn't see her as a sister! We've never even been together nearly half the time they've spent together so on what basis am I your sister?!'" Tung Mei asked with exasperation.

Lei Yong blinked in confusion, "What are you -"

"Nevermind, forget it. I'm tired and going home. Goodbye." Tung Mei swiftly and irritatedly went and then went to storm off but then swayed.

Lei Yong promptly caught her, "Are you alright?" He asked just realizing how pale she was.

Tung Mei swiftly brushed him off, "I'm fine, I'm going home...Leave me alone!" She said pushing him away. She had come here to get her final clarity on the subject of his feelings. But she could not stay here.

With how weak her powers were now, she could no longer maintain this body which meant it will soon fall back into the rapidly declining state of health she had found it in. If she became terribly ill while at the Lei manor, it would cause problems for the Lei family so she had to quickly return to her relative's.

Lei Yong did not reach for her again, so as not to further aggravate her. But she clearly did not seem well so he followed closely behind her waiting to catch her again.

When they reached the front courtyard, Tung Mei seemed ready to walk straight out the doors, but Lei Yong grabbed her arm and said, "Wait for a carriage...please."

Tung Mei frowned but she nodded. Lei Yong saw Xiao Ting awkwardly hovering in the corner and motioned for her to come forward. Xiao Ting quickly bounced over and seeing Tung Mei's suddenly pale face, she asked "Ying jie, are you okay?"

Tung Mei nodded but did not say anything.

Lei Yong inwardly sighed and then said to Xiao Ting, "Sit with her while I arrange for a carriage and escort to send her to her aunt's...Be sure to look after h-"

"I'm not going to run away." Tung Mei irritatedly interjected as she wobbled over to the side and sat down. Of course, she wanted a carriage and would have eventually asked for one. She could not teleport the body at the moment and walking in her current state was rather foolish. It was already taking all she could for the body to remain functional. She honestly did not expect this stupid phoenix show to drain that much energy from her...and then there was her aunt too.

Xiao Ting looked at Lei Yong questioningly and he simply motioned for her to follow, so Xiao Ting quietly went to over sit by Tung Mei.

Lei Yong then narrowed his eyes at the guards at the door warning them not to let her leave and they promptly nodded in acknowledgment and after that, he left.

If he could not talk her into staying to rest, he would at least have her safely escorted home. He would prefer to escort her himself but since she did not seem to want to be around him, he would respect her wishes.

He felt horrible about rejecting her but he could not lie to her... He liked having her around as did his family, they all wished he would marry her and truly make her one of them. He honestly did try to imagine a future with her, but no matter how he thought about it he could never picture it.

He truly only felt a fondness for her, the same kind of fondness he had towards Lei Xing and Xiao Ting. Since he could not do as her heart desired, it was best for her to return home if that was what she required for her heart to truly move on from him.

Xiao Ting sat next to Tung Mei silently scrutinizing her, while Tung Mei looked down at the ground with a frown.

After a long while, Xiao Ting quietly asked, "Ying jie...are you really leaving?" While she was young, she was not stupid. The atmosphere around her brother and Tung Mei were different today...and Tung Mei seemed too serious. What's more for her brother to allow Tung Mei to leave while she looked so ill was not normal.

Xiao Ting got the sense that if Tung Mei left today, she might really end up returning to Xia province tomorrow and that she would never see her again.

"En...I'm leaving." Tung Mei responded without even glancing up at Xiao Ting.

"Leaving the city?" Xiao Ting tentatively asked.

"Probably..."

"To Xia province?"

"Probably...much farther..." Tung Mei added with a weary sigh.

Tears welled up in Xiao Ting's eyes but she held them back and then asked, "Will you come back?" She quietly asked lowering her head with a pout as she tried her best to stop herself from crying. Her tears would only make Tung Mei angry and if she made Tung Mei angry, then she would definitely not want to come back to see her.

Tung Mei turned to Xiao Ting and then let out a sigh and pat Xiao Ting's head. Xiao Ting looked up at her and tears started rolling down, "Ying jie..." She said as she went to hug Tung Mei and started crying.

Tung Mei pat her back and showed a wry smile, "You little crybaby...Don't worry you'll be perfectly fine even if I'm not here...You still have Xing jie, although that stupid demon is currently hogging her all to himself, but if you want to see her she'll promptly toss him aside for you, trust me~ Xing jie is the best..."

"En..." Xiao Ting responded in between sniffs.

Tung Mei then held Xiao Ting back and ordered, "Now stop crying, clean those tears and buck up! You're already fifteen now, not a baby anymore, no more tears!"

Xiao Ting wiped the tears with her sleeve as she sniffed and tried to stop the tears. She was an "a.d.u.l.t" now and could not keep crying like this.

Tung Mei smiled at her and Xiao Ting tried to smile back, but it ended up just looking like a weird ugly pout that made Tung Mei lightly chuckled.

Tung Mei sighed and then released Xiao Ting and looked up at the sky, "You know I never had a younger sibling before you and my father was most indulgent...I always had everything I could ever want. It was quite fun~..." She said with a little chuckle and then sighed again, "But I guess Yong ge was the one thing I just couldn't get...Even working hard didn't help...but I promised myself and Xing jie that this will be last time...and I meant it...Now that it's come to this, I should rightly leave..."

Xiao Ting quietly listened with a pout, not sure what to say. She honestly blamed her brother right now for being so stupid as to let go Tung Mei like this.

Tung Mei turned back to Xiao Ting and said, "As annoying as you sometimes were, it was very nice having you as a younger sibling. I'm sorry we could not have had as much fun as I would have normally liked. I was unfortunately under very strict instructions and I couldn't make Xing jie look bad...It was quite trying but fun. It also made me realize how annoying I probably was to a certain demon...but I regret nothing, he deserved it all." She finished with a snicker but then stopped when she saw Lei Yong coming towards them.

Lei Yong noticed Tung Mei looking at him and so he stopped at a distance from them, not wanting to interrupt their talk. He truly hoped that Xiao Ting would at least be able to ease whatever hurt his rejection had caused Tung Mei's heart.

Tung Mei inwardly sighed as she looked at him. She had made up her mind but still, it hurt. It was not easy to let go of the dream she had been working so hard to achieve for so long.

Tung Mei took a deep breath, braced herself, and then got up to leave while Xiao Ting remained sitting down with a fierce pout fighting back her tears.

But then Tung Mei stopped and glanced down at Xiao Ting, who had pitifully had her head lowered. As she looked at Xiao Ting, a thought cropped up in her mind and so she said, "...Even though he's a brat...That An Hao truly likes you...a lot. You should consider him."

"Huh?" Xiao Ting went blinking up at her in shock, "Ying jie what are yo-"

"It's not good to drag it out for too long..." Tung Mei advised and then smiled and added, "Be sure to happily live well~" Then she swiftly marched out the doors to the waiting carriage without even sparing a glance at Lei Yong.

She was truly going to let go this time....No turning back.

{...This is truly the end...}