He shook his head, closed his eyes for a bit. When he opened it again, at the first turn of his head, he saw the figure again.His eyes nearly popped out.
"Indeed."
"It"s Man Rui."
Zhu Li Qiang decided to approach the lady who looked like Teng Man Rui from afar. The lady was looking in the opposite direction so he could only see her back. Before he could reach her, a tall, dark guy appeared and stopped beside the lady. He then placed one arm around her protectively.
Zhu Li Qiang stopped in his tracks.
"No. I don"t think it"s her."
The tall dark guy and the lady turned around, now facing Zhu Li Qiang. The lady"s eyes met with his gaze.
He swallowed his words.
Zhu Li Qiang stood there with gooseb.u.mps on his skin. He clenched his fists as his face contorted with anguish.
The lady reflected the same painful expression albeit for such a short while only. After a few seconds, her visage became unreadable. She tugged the arm of the man beside him and seemed to urge him for them to go.
The two walked away together towards the front where most of the guests huddled.
The first who saw them was Xue Guangxi. He abruptly stood up and as he did, his chair flipped backward. His countenance paled as if he just saw a ghost. He pointed his index finger at them, but could not make out the words. He could only make gibberish sounds.
"!!!!"
Kang Sola, who was seated beside him, asked, "Who is it, Guangxi? Oh, isn"t it Man Rui-Jie? Who?" She recognized Teng Man Rui but she couldn"t tell who the guy was.
Beside Kang Sola, Hw.a.n.g Meilin tilted her head and mumbled, "I think I saw him before. Where could I have seen him? Do I know him?"
The last pair of guests to arrive went to Chen Linyun at the head of the table. Upon spotting them, the master of the house stood up and extended his head for a handshake. "You made it. Make yourselves comfortable. You must be tired from your trip. When did you arrive?"
"Today."
"So you made up your mind to return for good."
"Yep."
"All your preparations are done?"
"Yes."
At this point, Xue Guangxi recovered from his shock. He ran towards the man, grabbed his arm and stuttered, "Are you my brother? Minhe-ge? You"re alive!"
All the other guests turned their heads towards the commotion.
Xue Mingli and Zhao Feiyan bolted upright and flocked around the men.
"Are you?" Xue Guangxi reiterated. He wanted to hear the man"s answer. He was expecting a positive response.
The man was overwhelmed when he saw the teenage boy. His brows arched and gaped at him. The last time he saw him, he was just a cute, tiny boy. Now, he"s almost as tall as him. Before he could answer, Xue Jinxu had already thrown herself onto him.
"Oh, I"m glad to see you at my party, brother." She wrapped her arms around his waist tightly. The man tapped her head dotingly.
"!!!"
"!!!!"
Wasn"t that enough confirmation? The twin sister had spoken.
"Wait, you knew?" Xue Guangxi probed in bewilderment. It was mind-blowing to know that his older brother is alive, but it"s all the more stupefying that his older sister wasn"t surprised at all. "What connivance is this?" He felt left out.
"Is it true? Are you my long lost son?" Zhao Feiyan asked tentatively. She started shaking tremendously. Tears started to form in her eyes.
Chen Linyun supported his mother-in-law by the elbow. "We can all go inside the house for a while and have a little discussion there if it"s fine with you. The other guests are already looking. I mean, they don"t know about the family secret. The young master…"
"Yes, that"s right." Master Xue caught up to where Chen Linyun was coming from. He guided Zhao Feiyan inside the Chen house.
Xue Jinxu did not leave the man"s side. Instead, they went to the house together. Chen Linyun a.s.sisted and prodded the shocked Xue Guangxi instead.
Teng Man Rui followed silently behind.
Chen Linyun nodded at her in acknowledgment.
Inside the living room, the Xue family gathered. Grampa Xue followed in and had joined them as well. The maid served some food and refreshments from the buffet onto the table near the late guests.
However, the food was left untouched, unnoticed.
The air was too tense for any disruption, even for food interruptions. The food could wait, but this impending discussion couldn"t. It was seven years overdue.
Zhao Feiyan continued to shake terribly.
"Mother…" The man called. "Please calm down."
"You called me "Mother." *sobs* *sobs* *sobs* Are you really my son?"
"Yes, Mother. I"m sorry I made you worry. I have hurt you all these years. Father… I apologize…"
Xue Mingli had been silent for the past minutes not because there wasn"t anything to be said, but because he was emotional too, and he felt that speaking might be a bad decision. Yet, he retorted in a gruff, raspy voice, "At least you"re safe."
The young master went to his mother and hugged her. "I"m sorry, Mother. I"m home now."
Mother Xue wept and returned his hug, but occasionally hit his chest with her fist ever so lightly. "You brat."
Father Xue who was just beside Mother Xue tapped his long lost son on the shoulder with his left hand. His right hand found its way towards his face which he rubbed with it. He pinched his nose bridge just between his eyes. He was so near to tears. It looked like some of the tears he was controlling had escaped and had rolled down his cheeks. He wouldn"t admit it, though.
Xue Guangxi was still speechless from shock. His mind and face were blank.
When the initial emotional blow subsided, Xue Minhe returned to his seat and prompted Man Rui to eat. "Have a few bites. You must be hungry."
The elders noticed Man Rui for the first time. Or perhaps they had seen her at the scene but paid no attention.
"Xiao Rui, why are you here too? Did you come together? Why are you together?" Mother Chen bombarded her with questions.
Teng Man Rui nervously opened her mouth to speak but no words came out so she closed her mouth and pursed her lips. She turned to look at Xue Minhe, and as she did so, he spoke.
"Father, Mother, I want to officially introduce to you and the whole family", he swept his gaze at everyone, "Teng Man Rui, my wife."