Miss Tang Xin
The rest of the dinner proceeded without anything notable, aside from the fact that Li Dun had spent most of the dinner trying to start a conversation with Tang Xin. However, most of their conversations ended with Tang Xin giving one-word replies. Needless to say, this made her clan members unhappy.
But Li Dun seemed unaffected by the lack of affection as he frequently stared at her with an affectionate glow in his eyes.
Meanwhile the star of this appreciation dinner Yang Chen was mostly left to his own vices as he chowed down on the dishes in front of him, occasionally having short conversations with the mother-daughter pair Tang Wan and Tang Tang.
When it was time for the banquet dinner to come to a close, Tang Xin was about to go over to attend to Tang Zhechen before Li Dun abruptly proclaimed, “Miss Tang Xin, do you mind following me to a quiet place? There are things that I want to say to you.”
Li Dun unsurprisingly was as frank as usual when he publicly announced his request for Tang Xin.
Tang Xin might be uninterested by the man next to her, but she could guess his intentions from a mile away. She was slightly embarra.s.sed by his sudden announcement.
She had already made up her mind to bluntly reject his request, but subsequently noticed the uncompromising faces of her family members. Even Tang Zhechen and Tang Wan had their expressions br.i.m.m.i.n.g with expectations.
With the mounting pressure from all directions she knew she wasn’t given a choice to turn him down on the spot. So she convinced herself that she was just going to hear him out and get this over with. She nodded and replied, “Let’s go to the garden.”
“Hah, anywhere is fine. Lead the way Miss Tang.” Li Dun was thrilled as he trailed behind her.
The rest of the Tang clan were keen to know what he had to say, but they were aware that as one of Beijing’s best combatants, Li Dun would instantly discover if any of them decided to eavesdrop. This might ruin whatever budding relations.h.i.+p they were about to start. So in response, all the maids were ordered to avoid the garden during that time for the two of them to have the entire s.p.a.ce for themselves.
Yang Chen rubbed his belly and burped before making his way to Tang Zhechen. “Master Tang, I think it’s time for me to make my move. Thank you for the dinner.”
Yang Chen took an entire dinner to realise he had not decided on his accommodation in Beijing. He still had matters to attend to before he was free to go back to Zhonghai. Not to mention when Cai Yan finally returns to the Cai residence, they would still need to deal with Cai Ning’s situation. Furthermore, his encounter with Yang Lie and Mei Feng prompted him to stay by Hui Lin’s side, at least until her alb.u.m release and her concert was completed.
Even though he was still worried about Mo Qianni back in Zhonghai, he couldn’t just up and leave when his matters here were not yet settled with. All he could hope for now was for Ma Guifang to be a little more open-minded.
For now, he would need to find a place to stay. He considered calling Zhuang Feng from the branch office to arrange a hotel for him to stay in.
Tang Zhechen left Yang Chen hanging while he persuaded Tang Wan. “Wan’er, since you just recently recovered I suggest you stay in Beijing for the time being. After all, you’re not in a rush to leave for Zhonghai just yet.”
The brilliant Tang Wan immediately understood the deeper meaning in his words, and with a tinge of redness on the cheeks, she gently agreed.
Tang Zhechen eventually turned back to Yang Chen with his reply. “Yang Chen, my guess is you haven’t got yourself a place to stay just yet. Why don’t you take this time to tour the city together with Wan’er? It’d be extremely boring for her to only have me as company for the duration of her stay.”
Tang Tang was eavesdropping on the sidelines as she giggled. “Great Grandpa you really are excellent at arranging things. I’m sure Mom would love to take Uncle along to have fun.”
Tang Zhechen gently pinched Tang Tang on the nose and laughed uncontrollably from her cheeky remarks.
Everyone present naturally was the faction that sided with Tang Wan, and was more than pleased that Tang Zhechen treasured her presence. As for her relations.h.i.+p with Yang Chen, they were undoubtedly behind it.
If Yang Chen was just any other married man, it went without saying that every family member would oppose their relations.h.i.+p, owing to the fact that Tang Wan was among the direct candidates of succession.
But Yang Chen’s background was not like most. As a son of the Yang clan, as long as the relations.h.i.+p was genuine and truthful, the Tang clan would be willing to sacrifice Tang Wan’s reputation in exchange for a bond between two of the biggest clans in Beijing.
“I’ll take you to our mansion on the other side. It’s big enough that we have rooms to spare.” Tang Wan was not a shy and innocent girl anymore, as she quickly adjusted her emotions and playfully pointed out.
Yang Chen got chills from her flirty expressions and couldn’t wait to escape from being the centre of attention. Which led to his prompt reply to Tang Wan, “Alright, lead the way.”
Meanwhile, at the backyard garden, the pavements gleamed of soft white lights from the lamp posts of dazzling gold. It resembled the likes of European bohemian artistry.
Pebbles encrusted the entire pavement. The flowers bloomed under the night sky, adding a sense of mystery surrounding it.
Tang Xin, in a daffodil yellow one piece pouted throughout her entire journey to the centre of a wooden pavilion. But as she walked through the beautiful garden, her face was filled with frustration and agony, contrasting the gardens beautiful state.
As they reached their venue, she abruptly turned around and looked at Li Dun who had been tailing her thus far, trying to comprehend the man famously known as part of the ‘Beijing King Duo’, and the eldest grandson of the Li clan.
He was wearing a simple combination of a short-sleeved s.h.i.+rt and a pair of jeans. His build was muscular but in the eyes of Tang Xin, he looked more like a construction worker than a bodybuilder!
Topped up with that idiotic smile and thick eyebags clouding the rim of his eyes, he looked just like what she akin to a r.e.t.a.r.ded bear!
A person like this to be her lover? She would rather die!
“Say it,” Tang Xin coldly said as she s.h.i.+fted her gaze away from Li Dun to the bushes.
Li Dun might be awkward, but he was never shy.
“Miss Tang Xin, I like you.”
Without any sweet talk, Li Dun confessed his feelings just like that!
Tang Xin turned her head back and glared at him. I know that he likes me, but isn’t that just too straightforward?!
“You think this is some sort of game? Is that what this is to you?” Tang Xin raged at him.
Li Dun gulped as he shook his head in dismay. “Miss Tang Xin, since the first time I met you at the hospital today, I’ve been thinking about you all day. The reason I came over for dinner tonight was because I wanted to make sure you were clear about my feelings for you.”
But I can’t wait to murder you right here right now! Thoughts of hatred flashed through Tang Xin’s mind before she sneered. “You like me? So you’re saying it was a love at first sight? You honestly believe that I am some three year old who still believes in that sort of thing?”
Li Dun earnestly replied, “Miss Tang Xin, what if it were true? What if I say, that it was really a love at first sight for me?”
“I don’t have time for these stupid jokes of yours, you dumb pig!” Tang Xin furiously lashed out at him.
Li Dun however was hardly concerned as he continued with a smile, “Miss Tang Xin, I’m sure you know about me. I’m Li Dun, the direct descendant of the Li clan. In other words, the future of China’s security bureau and a large portion of China’s elite forces are under these hands of mine.”
“Oh really? Well good for you Young Master Li. I’m just another insignificant girl that n.o.body cares about, so can you please stop with this nonsense?” Tang Xin sarcastically replied.
Li Dun kept his cool as he explained, “You see, you too are clear about the difference between our social positions. But that’s exactly why I like you.”
“What?” Tang Xin was confused.
“Miss Tang Xin, every girl that has knowledge of my background and status would experiment on every possible way to make me fall for them. They want to be the future coheir to the Li clan. But our family with our specific role in this country has only allowed one coheir, which means I’m only allowed to marry one woman. Anything more may pose unimaginable danger.”
As the coheir of the security bureau, whoever Li Dun married would undoubtedly be exposed to high-ranking private and confidential intelligence, so his explanation was naturally not hard to comprehend.
Li Dun abruptly switched his topic as he continued, “But Miss Tang Xin, you’re special. I swear I have never met anyone in my life that knew about my family background and somehow still despised and detested me. The point is, I know you hate me to your guts, you wish you could kill me here and now. But still, I have to make sure that I came tonight to make myself clear. ”
Tang Xin was caught off-guard. Never would she imagine that Li Dun knew what was in her mind all along!