Chapter 163 - City S - Part 3
Xiu Mei frowned at the glaring chocolate stain on her blouse. Then she s.h.i.+fted it to the reflection of herself in the mirror. After getting her blouse dirtied with ice cream, she changed into the plain dress she bought just now.
Silent, she sighed. She stepped out of the changing room and saw Wan Wan waiting for her. She immediately stood up as soon as she saw her.
"Sister Meimei, I would like to apologize again. I really didn"t mean to do that." She approached her and apologized insistently. She reached out to touch her arm but Xiu Mei discreetly avoided her.
Grabbing the rest of her stuff, she turned towards her.
"It"s fine. You don"t have to worry about it anymore." Without waiting for her response, she walked over to the cas.h.i.+er to pay for her clothes. She stepped out of the store but stopped on her tracks when Wan Wan blocked her way.
She frowned at her insistence.
"Ms.Ying, I believe we don"t have any business with each other."
"Sister Meimei, can"t you really remember me? Or can"t we just at least have a cup of coffee?" Wan Wan looked at her as if she was going to cry any moment right now but Xiu Mei steeled her resolve.
"Ms.Ying, I am very busy so if you could please excuse me." She tried to go around her but Wan Wan"s arm appeared in front of her to block her way again. She heaved in frustration as she tried to suppress herself from getting angry. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Ms.Ying, can you promise me that you"ll leave me alone if I grant you your request to have a cup of coffee?"
Wan Wan never stopped following behind her ever since she spotted her. Xiu Mei was worried that this girl would even dare to follow her to her hotel if she didn"t give in to her request.
In the end, they ended up in a nearby coffee shop with a steaming hot latte served in front of her. On the opposite end of her table was Wan Wan, smiling from ear to ear like a child that was finally given with her long time wished toy.
Xiu Mei stared at the latte in front of her and swallowed.
"Sister Meimei, can you really not remember me?" Wan Wan pouted, tilting her head as she looked at her with puppy eyes. Xiu Mei didn"t get easily affected by her cute act as she took a sip of her drink with a deadpan expression.
"Apologies, but no." She perfunctory replied.
Wan Wan looked at her in shock as if she couldn"t believe her response. Xiu Mei saw her lower her head and her shoulders shocked so she thought she was crying. She suddenly felt guilty.
Was her response too cold and heartless?
For a moment, she felt like she should apologize but steeled her heart again after remembering why she was being cold to her in the first place.
Because right now, she is Mrs.Ying"s daughter.
And she didn"t want to provoke Mrs.Ying"s anger if she knew that she was interacting with her adopted daughter. She already sinned her enough.
"Then we"ll just start all over!" Wan Wan declared her resolve as she heavily slammed her hand on the table causing it to shake.
Xiu Mei almost jumped in surprise at her sudden declaration.
Xiu Mei:...this doesn"t feel good.
Ignoring the looks of the other customers, Wan Wan leaned over on the table as she looked at her with glittering eyes.
"Sister Meimei, what"s your itinerary tomorrow?"
"..."
Back at the hotel, Xiu Mei dropped her stuff on the nearby sofa and threw herself on the bed.
She stared at the ceiling thinking about all her decisions in life. Recalling Wan Wan"s never-ending chatter in the cafe, she barely stopped herself from pulling out her hair in front of her.
"All I just wanted was peace...but it seems so far away." She murmured to herself.
The more she wanted to stay away from her, the more Wan Wan wanted to stick with her. She barely escaped from her clutches if it weren"t for the help of her second brother"s bodyguard that helped her shrug Wan Wan off her tracks.
After staying like that for almost half an hour, she finally found the energy to change into more comfortable clothes. After showering and doing her usual routine, she picked up her phone and read the messages from her friends and her family.
Seeing her son"s messages, her expression softened. Remembering her promise with Lu Qiang, her finger slid to the video call b.u.t.ton on her phone.
She sat on the edge of the bed and after two rings, her call was immediately accepted.
"Mom!!" Lu Qiang"s close up face appeared on the screen. Seeing his energetic and warm greeting, she couldn"t help but giggle.
"Hi, darling. How was your day?" She asked him the usual question she would often ask as soon as she got home from work. Lu Qiang eagerly answered her question as he went on telling about his academic lessons and violin practice while Xiu Mei listened to him earnestly.
"Lu Qiang, it"s time for bed." She heard someone say on the other line.
Lu Qiang paused to look over his phone and saw his Dad going down the stairs. Lu Chen saw the little kid sitting on the sofa while holding his tablet up in his other hand. Seeing his son"s thrilled expression and the gadget on his hand, he quickly realized that he must have been talking to someone on the tablet. And who could it be that can make Lu Qiang so happy?
Of course, that could only be Xiu Mei.
Ignoring his son"s annoyed expression, he walked over to sit beside him.
"Is that your Mom?"
Lu Qiang"s eyes s.h.i.+fted from his Mom"s video on the screen and to his Dad. Seeing that his Dad was going to sit beside him, he quickly hugged the tablet into his arms refusing to show Xiu Mei to him.
Xiu Mei:...why did the screen suddenly turn dark?
On the other side of the phone, Lu Chen looked at the childish act of his son speechlessly.
"Lu Qiang." His voice subconsciously raised thinking that he hung up on Xiu Mei so carelessly because of his childishness.
Lu Qiang flinched at the tone of his voice but held his ground. He hugged his tablet into his arms firmly as he shook his head.
"No."
He bravely glared at his Dad as if he was saying that "I won"t let Mom talk to you."
"It"s your fault why Mom had to leave in the first place! Hmph!"
"..."
What"s his son grumbling about?
The two were in the middle of a glaring contest when a female voice came out of Lu Qiang"s tablet.
"Darling?" Xiu Mei uttered in confusion staring at the black screen.
Did their call suddenly disconnect? But she could still hear their conversation a few seconds ago ah.
Her phone"s not in low battery too. Was the hotel"s Wi-Fi terrible?
While wondering whether it was a connection problem on her side, her phone screen finally brightened and Lu Qiang"s face appeared again.
Before Xiu Mei could even react, she saw Lu Qiang"s sulking expression. Then she remembered what Lu Qiang roared at Lu Chen seconds ago and understood why he was getting sulky.
"Baby, it"s not Dad"s fault that Mom had to go here."
More like, it was partially her fault of not handling things properly in the first place. So she couldn"t let Lu Chen get blamed by his son because of this even though it"s just one of his seldom childish tantrums.
"But Mom is working for Dad. Dad should have been there instead."
Xiu Mei who was on City S:...
Lu Chen who was being scorned by his son:....
"Mom, can you stop working for Dad?" Lu Qiang asked while sulking. Both Lu Chen and Xiu Mei didn"t see his question coming.
"Baby…" Xiu Mei was at a loss on how to respond to her son.
If she wasn"t careful with her words, Lu Qiang might throw tantrum even more.
Thankfully, Lu Chen was the one who spoke first.
Lu Chen reached out to his son and embraced him by his shoulders. Cradling him in his arms, he asked.
"Why do you suddenly want Mom to stop working?"
He thought it was more important to know his son"s line of thoughts first before they answer his question. It wasn"t normal for Lu Qiang to suddenly request Xiu Mei to stop working under him.
He pondered whether it was because of his short burst in the morning that was related to his biological parents.
Lu Qiang lowered his head as if realizing that he was being so stubborn in front of his parents. He hesitated answering his Dad.
Wouldn"t they think he was being selfish?
Seeing the little kid unresponsive, Lu Chen, and Xiu Mei looked at each other before sighing.