Meanwhile, on the other side of town in a private room, in a restaurant, two people who hated Kang Jun to the bone we're having dinner.
Kang Nianxi sat at one side of the table with Wang Tingting by his side and Qiao Lan on the other.
The room was quiet as they began to eat.
Suddenly, the door opened revealing the small figure of Rong Yue Wan. "I'm sorry I'm late!"
Qiao Lan: "It's not a big deal, how is grandfather doing?"
Before she answered this, Rong Yue Wan took a seat beside Qiao Lan. Once she was well seated she said, "Elder Qiao seems to be doing well. Everything seems fine so the doctors are confident that he'll wake up soon."
Hearing this, Kang Nianxi smiled like an idiot,
"I'm happy for you!" He said sincerely.
At his side, Wang Tingting said the same but with a lot less sincerity.
Rong Yue Wan: "Hopefully he wakes up soon... I know Elder Kang wants to adopt you but I doubt he would ever be able to replace your real Grandfather."
Hearing this, Kang Nianxi frowned. "Yeye doesn't want to replace anyone. He just wants to bring peace of mind to Elder Qiao and Lan." After saying this, Kang Nianxi looked at Qiao Lan with admiration and said, "No matter what we will always be family."
To his words, Wang Tingting couldn't help but feel a shiver go down her spine.
Meanwhile, Qiao Lan laughed. "You're very sweet... Grandfather Kang is still in the process and it should be completed soon, but we will see what happens... now, let's talk about why you guys are all gathered here."
They all turned to Qiao Lan with curiosity with the exception of Kang Nianxi who said, "Is this about elder brother's engagement?"
Qiao Lan smiled.
"Yes... I visited mother and father. They told me that they want to introduce us to Kang Jun's future bride." She then took a bite of her steak and said, "They've already booked a small hall for all our closest family and friends. I even heard that Liang is coming."
Kang Nianxi frowned. "Liang? Then is that Lu girl coming too, as his plus one?"
Qiao Lan shrugged and then she looked towards Wang Tingting. "Tingting told me that those two are close, so there is a possibility."
"I doubt Liang will bring her. She's probably just a fuck buddy, anyway." Kang Nianxi said relaxing into the chair.
At his nonchalance, Qiao Lan frowned. "I wouldn't be so sure... when Kang Jun appeared at Tingting's reunion, rumors began to spread that the two work together. If she's a business partner and Liang's girlfriend then that would make her a powerful adversary."
Kang Nianxi: "A business partner? Who cares. Kang Jun doesn't care about anyone."
Qiao Lan clicked her tongue. "You know Liang is Kang Jun's favorite brother. If this girl gets Kang Jun's stamp of approval, then that means Liang could be next in line to succeed. Or what if she's trying to seduce Kang Jun?"
"I doubt Kang Jun would get too close to this girl." Rong Yue Wan said with a scoff. She then folded her arms across her chest and said, "If she's trying to seduce Kang Jun, she's going to fail and die."
There was a fire in Rong Yue Wan's dark eyes and Qiao Lan easily caught sight of it.
She internally smiled.
"Don't worry, Yue Wan. I'll make sure to get rid of the girl if she becomes too much of a threat." Qiao Lan said.
Wang Tingting shuddered at the thought of what could happen to Lu AnLing.
This is the first time that Wang Tingting understood. There were three types of people in this world; the good, the medium and the truly evil.
No matter her relationship with Lu AnLing, Wang Tingting did not believe the girl deserved what was coming to her.
Back in high school, Wang Tingting liked to bully Lu AnLing but she never wanted to harm her in too much of a harsh way. No one could chose what family they were born too, and no matter how unfair Wang Tingting felt Lu AnLing's luck was, Lu AnLing probably had her own problems too.
Thinking back she actually felt bad about what she had done but she would never admit it.
Out of the corner of his eye, Kang Nianxi saw Wang Tingting's discomfort. He didn't know why she was uncomfortable but he assumed that she was afraid of Kang Jun because of when the two had met at the Starlight event.
Feeling an intense pang of anger, Kang Nianxi reached for Wang Tingting's hand from under the table and gave it a light squeeze.
***
While Wang Tingting continued to have an uncomfortable dinner, Lu AnLing and Kang Jun were still in the living room.
After such a hectic day, Rong Lihua had been completely drained and so, Kang Jun and Rong Xin accompanied the woman back to her room.
Lu AnLing felt a bit awkward going with them because every time Rong Lihua looked at her a strange expression passed through her eyes.
Sitting downstairs, Lu AnLing hummed a tuned as the two kids, who had come down right before Elder Kang had left, snuggled up on her lap and slept.
As she watched them, her eyes welled up with tears. She finally felt close to being at peace but when she thought of her past, she felt a bit pained.
Their innocence and ignorance of all that was going on around them was astounding. It almost made Lu AnLing jealous. She wished that she could see life simply...
After seeing her grandmother and Rong Lihua interact Lu AnLing was once again reminded of the problems that could occur in life and the darkness of some peoples souls.
Though she was able to endure the thought of it when Kang Jun came back down the stairs.
Once down, Kang Jun wrapped his arms warmly around her neck and kissed her shoulder.
"What a day..." Lu AnLing muttered as she looked up to him. "Where's Rong Xin?"
"He wants to take care of his grandmother tonight." Kang Jun said in a low voice so he could make sure not to wake the children.
Lu AnLing: "I see..."
Seeing her tired demeanor, Kang Jun smiled sadly and kissed her on the back of the head but he didn't say a word at first.
He didn't want to make her stressed or nervous about what Elder Kang had said, but withholding the information from her didn't feel right so he began to recount her the story of what the old man had told her.
Hearing all of this, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "What is this? A drama?"
Kang Jun didn't say a word at first but then he sighed. "I'm not completely sure what's going on..."
"But you sense foul play? I do too." Lu AnLing said completing the man's sentence as she touched her pouty lips. She then turned to look at Kang Jun and said, "You don't seriously think it's your grandmother though, do you?"
Kang Jun shrugged.
Kang Jun: "She's capable of anything she sets her mind to... but frankly, for now, this isn't something I care about..."
"Oh really? Why is that?" Lu AnLing asked with sincere curiosity as she bit her lip.
Kang Jun looked at her softly and then he shifted his eyes to Kang Mingyu and finally Kang Mei Xue. On Kang Mei Xue; that was where his gaze lingered for a while as he said,
"I need to focus on more important things."
Looking at him intently, Lu AnLing felt her heart squeeze as she looked away into the distance.
Lu AnLing: "Only a couple of days and then I'll meet your whole family..."
"Mmm..." Kang Jun said as he brushed her fringe behind her ear.
"You scared?" He said in a low whispered; his lips close to her ear.
Feeling his hot breath, Lu AnLing didn't answer. Instead, she touched Kang Mei Xue and Kang Mingyu's little faces. Both kids flinched when they felt the girl's touch but they did not wake up.
"Will they even like me..." Lu AnLing said.
"No." Hearing this, Lu AnLing's face instantly paled. She wanted his family to like her not as a requirement but as a hope. She hoped that his family could be harmonious and not a destructive force like her own family was. She wanted her daughter and Anna's son to have all the happiness in the world. There were so many worries circling her head that she almost didn't hear Kang Jun say,
"If they have any intelligence whatsoever, they'll love you." As he said this, Kang Jun nuzzled his cheek on her head.
This caused Lu AnLing to smile but truthfully, she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Her emotions were fairly jumbled at the moment.
Looking at her in such a state, Kang Jun felt his whole body on edge. He wanted her to be happy, but in the end, he knew that a person needed to experience nervousness and fear. That was the life of a human.
Without a second thought, Kang Jun said, "Let's go to bed."
He then went to pick up Kang Mingyu and gestured for Lu AnLing to pick up Kang Mei Xue.
She did as told and then they both went to their bed and cradled their children in their warm embrace until the morning sun arose.
I haven't had a lot of time to interact on the comment section or even answer reviews and I'm so sorry about that! I have an essay due soon which I needed to complete one week earlier because I wont be able to go to class on the day it's due but whatever, c'est la vie...
I hope to be back to my usual interactiveness soon!