Li Xiuying waited by the guard house.One of the security guards in the guard house stepped to the window; he had a clip board in his hand as he addressed Li Xiuying: "h.e.l.lo can I help you?"
Ren Daiyu leaned over to the driver side window so the security guard could see her: "h.e.l.lo Jun Tai, could you open the gates please?"
Security guard: "Oh it"s you Miss Ren. I"ll let you in right away." He signaled to the other guard inside that it was safe to open the gates.
The gates slowly opened and Li Xiuying drove leisurely enjoying the picturesque views.
Yao Changying: "I feel like I"ve entered some enchanted forest for the rich." They pa.s.sed various mansions that looked grand and imposing. There were expanses of green separating each building. Trees were placed strategically to not only optimize the ambiance but also the privacy of the residents.
Ren Daiyu: "It"s pretty idyllic. During the summer most residents plant an array of different plants ranging from wild and exotic looking flowers to delicate and common varieties of plants in their gardens. It looks truly magically when everything is in full bloom."
Li Xiuying eventually found a road named Ren Avenue and turned to Ren Daiyu. She spoke with humor in her voice: "I think it"s this one?" It was quite ostentatious to have a road named after you.
Li Xiuying drove through the gates which were surprisingly already open.
As they drew closer to the mansion Yao Changying caught sight of a large golden plaque on the front of the house which read "Ren Residence": "Well if there was any doubt before about where Yu lived, there clearly isn"t any now."
Ren Daiyu rolled her eyes and ignored the comments: "YingYing you can just park in front of my house don"t worry."
Once Li Xiuying parked, everyone exited the car.
Li Xiuying suddenly felt a s.h.i.+ver down her spine. She looked towards the front door of the mansion There was currently a jubilant elder who was drawing nearer to Li Xiuying. "Ren s.h.i.+rong! I had completely forgotten to ask about his whereabouts!"
Ren s.h.i.+rong: "Xiuying! You"ve finally come to visit uncle." He quickly rushed to Li Xiuying"s side.
Ren s.h.i.+rong he gave Yao Changying the briefest glance before turning back to Li Xiuying: "This young lady must be your friend. Any friend of yours is most certainly welcome. Come come now, quickly come in and have some refreshments. Uncle has been preparing all morning. Your aunt can"t wait to meet you again." He completely ignored Ren Daiyu"s existence; she was someone he could see any time there"s was no point making a fuss about her.
Yao Changying didn"t even have a chance to properly introduce herself before Ren s.h.i.+rong was guiding Li Xiuying up the steps and through the doors.
Yao Changying gave Ren Daiyu an astonished looked: "Yu what was that?"
Ren Daiyu sighed: "Don"t take it personally. Let"s head in, I"ll explain on the way."
Ren Daiyu led Yao Changying to Living room. Ren Daiyu had only taken a step inside when she froze in shock.
Yao Changying who was a step behind didn"t realize Ren Daiyu had stopped and b.u.mped into her. She looked at Daiyu"s face: "Daiyu what"s..." She trailed off as she looked into the living room.
The room contained at least 12 people; men, women and children.
Yao Changying: "Why didn"t you tell us your family were having a party?" She looked down at her clothes and felt under-dressed. Everyone in the room looked dressy. She was currently wearing a long over-sized grey jumper, ripped black jeans and black knee high heeled boots.
Ren Daiyu: "I didn"t know about this." She knew the culprit behind this had to be her uncle. She looked around the room and spotted Li Xiuying sitting uncomfortably on a sofa wedged between her uncle and aunt.
Ren Daiyu: "Let"s go and rescue our mini-mastermind."
...
Ren s.h.i.+rong: "Xiuying you"ve met my son Longwei, this is my daughter Ruolan and my precious princess Xiao Nuo." He gestured to a young woman holding a little girl of three years old. The little princess was currently chewing on her fists like it was the most delicious treat in the world.
Li Xiuying nodded.
Senior Madame Ren: "Shouldn"t you introduce me as well?"
Ren s.h.i.+rong: "You"ve already met Xiuying before."
Senior Madame Ren: "Xiuying you may not remember me; I"m this old man"s wife. Please call me auntie. I haven"t seen you in a while and you"ve already became such a beautiful young woman."
Li Xiuying saw the sincerity in Senior Madame Ren"s eyes and a touch of pink could be seen creeping up her cheeks: "Thank you." She was embarra.s.sed by the compliment she knew that even with makeup and changing her wardrobe she still couldn"t be described as a beauty. How could years of neglect suddenly be undone in a week?
Senior Madame Ren: "Oh and so shy and bashful. There must be men lining up to court you."
Li Xiuying frowned slightly; the only men lining up to see her were her male patients.
Ren Daiyu: "My dearest aunt and uncle sorry to interrupt your conversation but I have two things to say to both of you. Firstly, let me introduce my friend Dr Yao Changying she works as an anesthetist at Unity hospital. Secondly, the three of us have an appointment to see father for some business. If you"ll please excuse us."
Senior Madame Ren and Ren s.h.i.+rong didn"t protest, whenever Ren Daiyu called Ren Guiton Father it meant it was serious.
Senior Madame Ren: "I apologize for not welcoming you sooner Dr. Yao. Welcomes to our home please make yourself comfortable. I look forward to chatting with you after your meeting."
Yao Changying responded politely: "Thank you Senior Madame."
Ren s.h.i.+rong: "Your father is in his study."
Ren Daiyu inquired tentatively: "Is anyone else with him?"
Ren s.h.i.+rong: "No, he should be alone."
Li Xiuying quickly escaped the sofa and was already halfway to the door. Ren Daiyu and Yao Changying followed Li Xiuying"s footsteps and rushed out of the living room.
Li Xiuying: "Daiyu lead the way."
Ren Daiyu led her friends up the stairs and towards the east wing of the mansion. Her father"s study was the second to last room.
She knocked on the walnut door.
Ren Guiton: "Come in."
The trio entered the room and stood in front of a large dark mahogany desk that Ren Guiton was currently sitting at.
Ren Guiton: "Daiyu, Dr Li, Dr Yao why don"t you all sit down." No-one was shocked that he knew Yao Changying ident.i.ty that was easy information for anyone to find let alone a prominent lawyer.
Ren Daiyu sat that there was three armchairs conveniently placed just behind them. "This feels like an interrogation already, he"s even arranged the furniture to control as much of the situation as possible."
Li Xiuying and Yao Changying sat down leaving the middle armchair free for Daiyu to sit in.
Ren Guiton: "Daiyu, Honghui came by this morning with brother Chong. Honghui was very distraught about the date you both had yesterday night."
Ren Daiyu: "It was the most awful date I"ve ever been on. He was such a chauvinist caveman the whole night. Actually before we even met he sent me the most arrogant message possible. He actually told me to dress appropriately and that I should show him up. Who does that?"
Ren Guiton: "Daiyu, asking you to dress appropriately for a particular event doesn"t seem like a bad thing. You said the whole night? He said you arrived 20-30 minutes late and had only sat down with him for 20 minutes before you and Dr Li moved to another table you had reserved. You even invited Dr Yao to join you. Did you plan to humiliate him from the moment I suggested you go on this date?"
Ren Daiyu: "Dad I never wanted to go on a date with Chong Honghui, I told you repeatedly we"re two very different people with different values. The only reason I went on this date was because I could see you really wanted me to. So yes we did reserve another table but if he wasn"t such a jerk we would have sat with him the whole evening."
Ren Guiton: "You and both your friends?"
Ren Daiyu was exasperated: "Dad I wasn"t the only one who brought a friend along; he had some Zhou guy too. Besides, I may have brought two friends but he"s the one who invited his girlfriend Jia Kuai Hua."
Ren Guiton frowned: "Daiyu even though you didn"t like him and your actions were wrong. You should still take responsibility and not accused others of wrongdoings. I investigated his background, even the time he spent in the US and I didn"t find anything to suggest he was in a relations.h.i.+p. I wouldn"t have suggested the date otherwise. Furthermore, Jia Kuai Hua is only a young girl of 19. How could Jia Kuai Hua meet someone when her actions are constantly being monitored by her father? "
Ren Daiyu was getting agitated: "Why would I need to lie? I left the table of a man who was arrogant and disrespectful. He invited his girlfriend to insult me and my friends. She even recounted my past with Sying in front of the whole restaurant. She not only called me a broken old shoe, but questioned my abilities as a lawyer. I only defended myself. Who would you rather believe the words of a stranger than your own daughter?"
Ren Guiton frowned at Ren Daiyu: "Daiyu I"m just trying to get all the facts straight concerning the events from yesterday. So far you"ve told me you disliked him even before yesterday, you arrived late, prearranged a table and invited two friends with you. These are things that Chong Honghui has also recounted."
Ren Daiyu was frustrated with her father: "Stop cross-examining me and actually listen to what I"m saying!"
Li Xiuying put her gloved hand on Ren Daiyu"s arm rea.s.suringly.
Li Xiuying smiled at Ren Guiton: "May I interject Mr Ren?"