The dinner at the Xue Mansion started at half-past seven in the evening.All three siblings were present, together with the spouses of the twins. Xue Guangxi came with the Chen couple.
The elders were complete in attendance, too. Grampa Xue just came home two days ago from his business trip from Greece which took him almost a quarter of stay there, only going home to Beijing for such a short while in between during this period. Father Xue, on the other hand, came back only last week from j.a.pan, the second-largest s.h.i.+p-owning country next to Greece, where they also had an international office.
Initially, the atmosphere was lively. The elders led the vibrant ambiance. Being not home for a long time, they yearned for the third-generation children"s company. All were delighted as well that the fourth generation of Xue"s are on its way, plus all the family members are complete and present – including the young master Xue who had been absent in such gatherings for seven years.
Nowadays, the mainstay of the house had been none other than Xue Minhe and his lovely wife, Teng Man Rui, always present, as if catching up for the years of his long absence.
However, the jovial mood was dragged down a bit by the uneasiness between the ladies. Xue Jinxu refused to greet Teng Man Rui with a hug when they arrived. She didn"t even look at her direction. At this point, Teng Man Rui"s status came second to the madame of the house, being the wife of the Xue Young master. Therefore, greeting the "guests"– the Chen couple and Guangxi who came to visit, became one of her tasks, among others.
Xue Jinxu greeted her mother, Zhao Feiyan pleasantly who was standing beside Teng Man Rui by the front porch, with hugs on her arm and kisses on her cheeks. Afterward, she entered straight inside the house, pa.s.sing by Teng Man Rui, unheeded.
To compensate, Chen Linyun who came in next did the greeting to both women. For the younger madame, he just gave a simple call out of her name, "Teng Man Rui" and a nod for the acknowledgment. The lady returned the favor. They both knew how to decipher the coded message behind the simple gestures. Chen Linyun meant, "Please excuse and be more understanding of Xue Jinxu" which Teng Man Rui nodded in concurrence.
However, Xue Guangxi seemed to be not his usual goofy, bubbly self. He did the expected greetings to the residents of the Xue Mansion, as was customary, but not exceedingly so. He had put his earphones on, and minded his business on his mobile phone, playing games, and minded no one else. He secluded himself in the middle of the gathering. He appeared more arrogant as ever but neither did he respond to any of their scoldings or compliments.
Grampa Xue had complimented him earlier that night for winning the Annual Sportfest at Xue s.h.i.+pping. His team, the yellow team, had been awarded that year"s champions. To Grampa"s generous compliments, Xue Guangxi only smiled a little.
The elders felt there and then that there could be something wrong with the boy.
"Maybe he"s sick? He"s still okay this morning. I"ll check on him later." Xue Jinxu whispered to her mother. "Alright. I"ll check on him, too." Zhao Feiyan retorted worriedly.
At the dinner table, since the Second Young Master who was the life of the party kept silent all night, n.o.body else successfully stirred the boat. A few attempts were made by the twins, but with their characteristic elegance and seriousness, the discussion usually did not last, and silence resumed its place.
At times, the men – Chen Linyun, Xue Minhe, Master Xue and the old master discussed business at the table, but Mother Xue reprimanded them lightly for talking too seriously in front of the meal. "We might lose appet.i.te if you continue your discussion."
"Is it that boring, Mother?" Xue Minhe asked curiously with a smile plastered on his princely handsome face, even with a white horizontal scar across his nose.
"It is unappetizing." Mother Xue chided jokingly, laughing lightly too.
Xue Guangxi did not seem to pick up the mood. He wasn"t even been paying attention to the dinner nor was he eating his food. He toyed his food with his fork.
In the middle of the blithe atmosphere, Xue Guangxi uttered, "Right… I just remembered… Jie-Jie used to be betrothed to… the Young Master s.h.i.+, right? s.h.i.+ Fan Hai."
All the on-going discussions at the table were put to a halt.
"Guangxi, I don"t think it"s an appropriate topic to bring up." Xue Minhe pointed out bluntly. Suddenly, the atmosphere became taut.
"I just thought that you and Man Rui-Jie look good together. It"s like a fairy tale come true for you whose betrothal materialized just fine."
"And so, I thought, what if Jie-Jie ended up with that Young Master s.h.i.+ instead of brother-in-law. I just had gooseb.u.mps."
At the corner of his eye, Chen Linyun could sense Xue Jinxu tightening her grip on her chopsticks. He laid a gentle hand atop her thigh under the table.
Xue Guangxi did not seem finished yet.
"And then, as I remember, just before you came back, brother, Man Rui-Jie"s parents agreed to an arranged marriage with the same guy. He must be marketable enough for parents to choose him for their daughters." He smirked.
"Guangxi!" Father Xue rebuked coldly. "What is your point exactly?"
"My point?" Xue Guangxi scoffed. "Nothing. I don"t think I have a point. Just running through some history."
"Did I ruin the mood? Oh, so sorry. I don"t have an appet.i.te, to begin with. So, if you"ll excuse me... you can continue having fun without me." He wiped his mouth with his table napkin, threw it onto the table, pushed back his chair, then walked out of the dining hall.
"What"s his problem?" Father Xue furiously asked. "What happened to his manners? It"s gone! Gone! How dare he disrupt this occasion! How dare he act that way in front of his elders?!"
"You"re getting too worked up, honey." Mother Xue rubbed his arm soothingly. "Jinxu, does he behave that way in your house? Would you know anything that would cause such behavior?"
Still tense, Xue Jinxu shook her head. "He doesn"t act that way at home. If anything, he"s lively and cheerful but never disrespectful. He seldom threw fits like that, Mother. I don"t understand at all. I"ll go talk to him later."
Even Teng Man Rui was still shocked by how the conversation went. It was the very topic she hoped that would never be brought up ever. She did not see that one coming, and at the very least, not from the youngest Xue member. She was bewildered as she seated there, still trembling.
Xue Minhe wrapped one arm around her shoulders and whispered, "It"s alright. It"s just harmless talk from a boy. You should relax." He squeezed her arm.
"En." She responded absent-mindedly.
The dinner ended prematurely. After that little glitch caused by the Second Young Master, no one seemed to garner enough appet.i.te to go on eating. The elders retired for the night. Mother Xue went straight to Xue Guangxi"s room as soon as she could. Xue Jinxu followed.
At the veranda, Xue Minhe and Chen Linyun were left to chill as the night plunged into deeper darkness. They resorted to drinking beer in cans. Each seated on either side of the round table across each other and slouched comfortably.
"s.h.i.+ Fan Hai…" The Xue Young Master uttered after a long silence.
"Huh, what?" Startled, Chen Linyun sharply turned his attention to the man who just spoke.
"Is he somehow causing trouble again?"
"Is it about Guangxi earlier?"
"Could be related to that. I don"t know so you tell me."
"I don"t think he"s done anything to anyone of us. I haven"t heard anything from Guangxi."
"How about from that girl – Sola, right? Did she somehow tell you anything?"
Chen Linyun squinted his eyes. "What do you mean?"
"Oh, nothing. I"m just curious about what"s happening to my brother. What happened earlier is not usual, that"s all." Somewhat gauging the other man, he added, "She"s my brother"s close friend, is she not? She might know a thing or two."
"I"ll tell you if there"s anything I"ll find out about it."
"Yeah, please do. And soon. And before telling me, you might want to share it with your wife first. Xue Jinxu definitely and most certainly would not want to be by-pa.s.sed at all, even on my account and sake." Xue Minhe caught Chen Linyun"s eyes probing him. He shrugged his shoulders, then gulped his beer.
"Of course." Chen Linyun took in the Xue Young Master"s cryptic message, not only at its face value but how it was intrinsically packaged. "Does he know anything? How much? To what extent?" He wondered.