LEGEND OF THE GOLDEN TIGRESS

"Your boyfriend?" he tried to ask casually with a smirk trying to hide his aching heart.

Xueman who was sending an e-mail to one of her subordinates paused for a second. She thought she saw him in the cemetery this morning and she a.s.sumed she might have been mistaken.

But was he there? Could he have mistaken my a.s.sistant as my boyfriend? Also what"s with that ugly smile in his face?

"No," she replied calmly, "My son, " she added with a playful smile in her perfect lips.

"Ah, that"s what I thought! Who"d even date...."

Screech!

The car came to a halt at the middle of the road. Thankfully, since it was late in the evening there weren"t much vehicles in the road.

"SON?" his hands clenched the steering wheel so hard that his veins popped up.

"Yeah, he is such a curious child and so I left him with my in-laws to attend the dinner in your house. He is missing me and so he is texting me, " she maintained her farce, pursing her lips so that she wouldn"t laugh out loud. The man by her side was deadly pale and she couldn"t understand his reaction.

He is probably feeling bad that I got married first. He wouldn"t be jealous, would he?
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" Not only she is married, she already has a son? That too old enough to write?" Yuanjun felt like he was falling into an endless abyss although he couldn"t say why her having a child would changing any relations.h.i.+p between them. According to him, he hates her, right?

The image of that man holding her came to his mind. He did treat her gently...

"Wait... There was no child with her. She wouldn"t have left her son home to visit her father"s grave on his death anniversary, would she?"

"Liar! Why didn"t you bring your son to visit your father then?" he asked not realising he has outed himself.

"So.... I didn"t see wrong. You were there this morning" she raised her eyebrows and looked at him, confirming her suspicion.

"Did you come to pay respects to my father?" she snorted as her eyebrows twitched and her expression became solemn, "After you..." "abandoned me", she couldn"t finish the sentence as her throat closed.

She turned her face to look out of the window not willing to look at his face. He could see her reflection through the window gla.s.s and her eyes were filled with tears.

"As expected, she is blaming me for her father"s death!" he thought.

Her thoughts were different. Everything she went through in the past few years flashed thorough her memory.

Her father was her everything as she grew up. She loved her father the best and he was her hero and best friend. His last days weren"t peaceful and her mother... She was indifferent towards her father and there were fights everyday in her home back then and most of it was her mother"s fault. She only realised the fights were about her mother"s affair only later.

Then her father fell sick and the stock prices of their company fell and most left with whatever they can get and their company went to dire states. Luckily her father had a few loyal people who tried their best to save the company from bankruptcy. They had to sell their house and move to a really small apartment with only two bedrooms and her mother wasn"t pleased and would blame her father for getting sick. She didn"t try to find a job either but wanted money to spend and sold all the valuables left to live her usual luxurious life.

Her mother wouldn"t even take care of her father in the hospital and that responsibility fell on her too. Her sister was Little back then and Xueman had to cook and clean the house too since they could no longer afford maids.

Those days she found out who her real friends are. Seeing the Li family in ruin, many who fawned over her frowned at her and she who strutted along like a princess, in that private school where only the elites studied, suddenly felt like she didn"t belong there.

But she needed to continue her studies. What will she do if not she finis.h.i.+ng her studies? If it was the past, even if she dropped out, her father would have still accepted her and made sure she has enough money to spend. But now, she needed to finish her studies and get a job to run their family.

He was there, at school... Teasing and mocking her as usual. He didn"t pity her. She grew up a princess and the last thing she"d need is pity. It is worse than mocking her for suddenly being poor. He was by her side, his friends too.

He didn"t just mock her, he"d help her too. He"d bring lunch from his home and would give his lunchbox to her and would eat her lunch which would be usually plain rice and pickles. She always left the good food for her sister and mother.

If she fell asleep due to tiredness since she suddenly started to do work, he"d take notes for her. He taught her patiently when there were things she couldn"t understand. For her who suddenly felt like the ground left her feet, he was the anchor who kept her stable and sane.

Combined with his actions and the raging harmonies at their age, her love for him only deepened.

She found a part-time job and it paid a lot and she was happy and was oblivious to the fact that it was due to the interference of the Lu Family. Also, her father"s ginormous hospital bills had been paid by the Lu Family too. If not, her father wouldn"t have gotten the best care and also they"d still be in debt.

She knows how much she owes the Lu family.

Her father died apologising to her for putting her through this trouble but she never blamed anyone but fate.

And then the fateful day, her father died. And the funeral was arranged by her uncle Lu too. She was heartbroken and she who never cried in front of others till then, wept that day.

She thought it would get better with him by her side. He was there at the funeral and just the feeling that he was there, gave her confidence that she could face the world.

But... For some reason, after that, he disappeared. She changed schools since she couldn"t pay the tuition for that Ultra Elite private school and went to public school for the final year of high school.

She waited for him but he never came to her. Her sister looked at her pitiful state and told her that she contacted him but he refused to talk about her. She didn"t believe her and wondered what she did wrong.

So one day she went to see him in his Manor and she learnt that he went to school to some other city. At the same time, their company"s loyal partner pa.s.sed away pa.s.sing his stocks to his son who wasn"t like his father and she had to take the reins of the company. Everyone asked her to sell her shares and leave with whatever she gets and marry a decent guy and settle in life. But she didn"t want to. The Li Enterprises is her father"s legacy and she didn"t want to lose it. Going to night college, studying business, she worked in her company during the day.

Uncle Lu offered help knowing she struggled a lot but she refused. She already owes a lot to him and she didn"t want to accept more from him. Especially when... Yuanjun is angry at her for some reason.

Her mother married Gao Zhaomin who already had a son, older than her and that"s when she started hearing rumours that Weiye is this uncle Gao"s daughter. She confronted her mother and that"s when her mother blamed Yuanjun for playing a prank with her father and causing the problems between her father and mother which led to her father"s death.

Xueman who was already confused by his sudden abandonment, believed her mother. She knew his character. He"d do reckless things often. But willfully spoiling the harmony between a husband and wife for laughs... Is he really that cruel? She didn"t want to doubt her mother but still she couldn"t hate him and she only hated herself for it.

After that, she concentrated on her work and studies and her company stood afloat somehow. She knew it was uncle Lu helping from behind the scenes and she was in no position to refuse his help either and so she pretended she didn"t know.

She now holds a master degree in business. She worked and paid for her own college and she pays for her sister"s and mother"s expenses too. Her company is still not doing well but she has the confidence that she"d make it better.

A couple years back, Gao Lin, her step-brother tried to a.s.sault her and her mother pleaded with her not to out him and so she obliged and didn"t file a complaint. Seeing his deeds aren"t punished, he got the audacity to touch her little sister too.

That day when she reached the Gao home after a day"s hard work, all she could hear from inside was her mother"s cry. Slapping Gao Lin she screamed, "How could you do this to your father"s daughter?"

Xueman felt like dying that day. Everything she had believed had turned out to be false. And she felt like she has nothing and no one. The only person who loved her is dead and the other one...the one she loved... Disappeared.

He didn"t lie and he told the truth! Her mother is the one in the wrong! She tried to hate him for no reason.

She left the Gao house and is now living in a small apartment in the other part of the city now. She still couldn"t hate her sister because she cannot be blamed for the mistakes of the adults. Even if she is not her father"s blood, her father raised both as his daughters and she would treat her as her blood sister always.

"Why? Why did you come there as soon as you landed here then?" she asked, wiping her face in the tissue she had in her purse.

She still had a little hope that he wanted to meet her. And she wanted to know why he left her suddenly.

He started the car and parked the car in the side of the road, turning on the parking lights. He knew this was going to be a long talk.

"I came to see you," he turned to look at her and he could see her freezing up, "to apologise."

He knew the nagging feeling in his heart to tell her something must be for apologising to her for what happened during her father"s funeral.

"For what?" she looked at him and she could feel her heart thumping heavily.

"For what my friends talked about you and your mother that day," he looked at her apologetically and was surprised to see her furrowing her brows as if she was confused.

"That day... My friends made fun of your mum and they even said that she"d even sell you if she gets money for the latest Chanel. And they talked bad about you too. And I didn"t defend you... I regret it and I apologise. I know you heard it and hated me for not defending you and also you think I have responsibility for your father"s death... Although I don"t regret speaking the truth about your mother"s... Aff... She said she was wrestling with Gao Zhaomin, but I knew ... " he paused seeing her looking at him unblinkingly.

Is she mad?

Xueman was flabbergasted by what he said. He hid from me because he thought I was angry at him for some stupid words spoken by some teenagers, who obviously didn"t mean what they said? She didn"t even remember that. Only after he brought it up she could vaguely remember the sneering laughter. But it was nothing compared to what she suffered afterwards. Those guys were all talks and none of them even looked at her in a perverted way afterwards. Most of them are married now.

But there are some guys who act all n.o.ble but are filled with lechery. Like the one she thought as her brother. Even now there are some men who expect something more each time she tries to get contracts. But she would blatantly refuse and that"s why her company is in the brink of bankruptcy all the time, losing many contracts.

But what is he saying?

"Yuanjun, why did you leave the city after my father"s death without even talking to me?" she held his sleeves and asked.

" Why..? Didn"t you want to stay away from me?" he asked confused.

Why is she looking pale?

He opened a water bottle and pa.s.sed it to her and she got it from his hands and looked at him for answers.

" I came to meet you the next day. But... One of your friends... What was her name... Lee... Leena, yes, Leena. She met me outside and told me that you were so mad at me for not defending you and laughing with others and also you blamed me for your father"s death. She also said that you swore that you will kill yourself if I come in front of you. I tried to get inside... But I knew how stubborn you are and feared you might...., "he took a deep breath. He always wanted to apologise. But now that he did, why does it still feel like he has something else to say to her?

" No one visited me after my father"s funeral, " she said. She was sitting on the floor and cried the entire day and she didn"t talk to a single person. How could she have said all that and threatened to take her own life?

Unless.... Weiye....

Xueman shook her head to not let that thought take root in her mind. No way her sister would do something like that to ruin her.

She looked at Yuanjun looking to the front and tears started streaming from her eyes.

So he didn"t abandon me. He was forced to leave me by someone! Who could that be?

Yuanjun"s eyes darkened as he could guess what might have happened.

Gao Weiye... What did you do? I will never forgive you.

"So," he wiped her tears with his hands. He didn"t like to see her tears. It hurt him.

"You forgive me for not defending you?" he asked. She looked like a wreck. He wanted to kiss her.

" I didn"t hear a single thing you guys said. And I will never take my own life. I thought you hated me for some reason and abandoned me. And I was angry at you before for acting like nothing happened," she held his hand.

"So, it was all a misunderstanding? I even left this city and studied history since I didn"t want to come in front of you, accidentally triggering you," he pouted. "Now that"s cleared, shall we become friends again?" he smiled and she sighed, deeply.

Friends? That"s all we are?

"Who wants to be friends with you?" she pouted and turned to the window and he started the car.

I want to be your wife! I used to be....

He was relieved that this misunderstanding is cleared but he couldn"t shake off this weird feeling in his chest. He wanted to tell her something. But what is it?

"No, no... Turn left..." she showed him the way to her home. He had turned at the corner for the apartment her family used to live. Her lips curved up.

He did come to see me! But who stopped him? Leena didn"t come to see me that day.