Little Miss Witch: Revenge of the Tainted Angel

To secretly fall in love with a married woman. How absurd to think that fate would play this trick on her Uncle Yuren. 

Knowing her Uncle, who upholds respect and reputation before anything else, of course he would refuse to seek a married woman no matter how strongly he felt for her. 

"Did the woman know about it?" She was curious to know. What was her Uncle's image to the said woman? 

Zheng Yue shook her head and smiled. Her fingers were busy tying Li Chuntao's long tresses into a loose braid. 

"Unfortunately, she doesn't. Even now, she had no idea your uncle held such feelings for her. They are acquainted, yes, but Yuren never tried to cross the line to win her heart because he could see how much she adores and loves her husband." She explained to her niece. 

How could Li Yuren break someone's relationship when he could see how happy that said woman was? He loved her so much that he was willing to keep his feelings to himself so that she wouldn't get confused by it. 

In the end, Li Yuren knew that she would never choose him over her husband. 

Li Chuntao then thought how hard it would have been for her uncle to fall in love again and how hard it was for her Auntie Yue to believe the love he was offering, when she was aware of the great love before her. 

Her uncle couldn't possibly move on easily and fell in love with Zheng Yue. There must be a lot of misunderstandings and issues along the way before they both finally found themselves on the same page. 

"Then how did Uncle manage to convince you that he loves you? Did he tell you?" She asked. 

"No," Zheng Yue laughed again, "but he did say he loves me in his own way. He didn't say 'I love you' directly to me. That was so out of character for someone like him," 

"His own way?" Now, Li Chuntao was really curious. 

Zheng Yue hummed and thought for a moment. 

"I supposed you've heard already about the five love languages, right, Chuntao?" 

Li Chuntao agreed. She'd already heard and read about it when she was younger, out of boredom. According to it, there were five kinds of love languages. Experts claimed that it held vital importance to make a relationship work and how people had different ways to express their love for another. 

Some like to hear words of affirmation. These are verbal expressions of care and affections. Then there were also people who felt appreciated when they received gifts. Some would like to do something helpful and spend quality time with their partners and those who crave intimacy through physical touches. 

"Since we know your uncle would rather bite a bullet and fight in a war than to say 'I love you', he expressed his feelings through his actions. Out of five languages, your Uncle Yuren practices two. He knew how much I appreciate the quality time he's giving me, especially when his work takes so much of it. He also made sure to remind me how he cared for me through his small actions. Your uncle doesn't even give me a reason to doubt his love for me." 

Li Chuntao pondered about this. It was easy for her to understand what her Auntie Yue said when she put it like that. Then how about her and Shen Zichen, how do they express their love to each other? 

"But Brother Zichen hurt me before." She said in a low voice. "He's different from Uncle Yuren," 

"Of course, he is," Zheng Yue easily agreed with her. "I know you love him and have been hurt for such a long time. It's normal to doubt his feelings for you but do you want him to also suffer such pain just to get even with him?" 

When Li Chuntao remained silent, Zheng Yue immediately knew the answer to her question. 

"Chuntao, I know you've been hurt, but to actually hope to see your loved one suffer the same pain as you did? Is that even love? If you love someone, you wouldn't want that person to experience the same pain you've overcome. It would only be feeding your bruised ego." 

Li Chuntao lowered her gaze, a little ashamed that her aunt was able to read her like a book. She admitted to herself that indeed, these thoughts had crossed her mind multiple times these past weeks. She thought that if Shen Zichen experienced the same pain she had before, her heart would finally be at ease. 

"Do you also want him to waste years of his life in pain and heartache, just so you could say you've gotten even with him, instead of working on your difficulties together and spending time with each other?"

"Chuntao, for a relationship to work, you need a lot of patience and forgiveness. It's not 50-50 between the two of you. There would be times your partner will struggle and you would need to stick it up and pick up that 70-30 because they need you. However, you must also remember to love yourself before anyone else." 

She could tell that Li Chuntao still has some reservations about her upcoming marriage and she wanted to help her face her fears and insecurities because if she kept doubting everything, she wouldn't be truly happy in her married life with Shen Zichen.

"Do you know why I easily agreed when Zichen asked for your hand in marriage?" Zheng Yue asked her. 

Li Chuntao shook her head. She just thought it was because her aunt and Zichen had a good relationship in the first place so it wasn't an issue for her aunt. 

"Because he was willing to go to the extent of asking me and your uncle for your hand. If he was another man who only cared about putting a ring on your finger, Zichen would have dragged you and registered your marriage in private, not giving anyone a chance to say a word on it."

"But Zichen knows that we are the only family you have right now. Like he said, he couldn't ask your parents for your hand. Can't you see, Chuntao?" Zheng Yue paused and slid her fingers to the side of her niece's face. "He loves you that much, that he was willing to extend that love to those who are close to your heart." 

"He wanted to give you a chance to become a proper bride on your wedding day. He wanted you to experience the special day that solely belongs to the both of you without dismissing our opinions on the matter." She explained. 

Li Chuntao didn't know what to say anymore. She'd never thought about Shen Zichen's action that way. She would be a liar if she said she wasn't moved by his efforts. 

It was one thing for him to ask her to marry him, but she hadn't given a thought that this was the reason why he sought her Uncle's approval. Shen Zichen knew how much she respected and loved her uncle and aunt. 

"Chuntao…" Zheng Yue smiled at her and sighed, "Can you hear it now? The 'I love you' that you've been waiting to hear from him for so long?" 

Li Chuntao felt her eyes stung with tears. 

Yes, now that she'd seen it from another perspective, she couldn't disagree with her aunt's observation.