"Why would you do that?!" Ning Jie spoke with spite."Do what?" Lu AnLing furrowed her eyebrows before she spoke. She didn"t understand what she had done wrong.
"Why would you sing!" It was no longer a question. Ning Jie was burning with anger.
For a moment, Lu AnLing just looked at the girl. Then she sighed and pursed her lips before putting her hands on her hips."What was I suppose to do?"
"You were supposed to wait, or stall for me!" Ning Jie screamed.
Lu AnLing: "I—, no we, did!"
They had stalled for a small while. Kang Liang had warned them in the beginning that he could only stall for a certain amount of time and they were able to stall for 20 minutes longer. Lu AnLing didn"t know why Ning Jie had been late, but at this point in time, she didn"t want to be a matyr for Ning Jie"s explosive anger.
"She"s right —" Manager Hong interjected.
"Stop taking her side!"
Ning Jie"s glare pierced Manager Hong"s heart.
She could see the mix of anger and shame in her eyes. As her closes friend, Manager Hong knew that Ning Jie was not only angry because she hadn"t made it in time, but she was also angry at how good Lu AnLing"s voice had sounded.
What if her face expected her voice to be at Lu AnLing"s caliber? The thought affected not only Ning Jie and Manager Hong but Lin Li also. Ning Jie could never match Lu AnLing"s voice and because of this, she worried about the girl"s future as an artist.
"No one is taking anyone"s side." Manager Hong"s voice was shrill but she didn"t mean it to be. As much as Manager Hong understood Ning Jie"s pain, she couldn"t let Lu AnLing be hurt by Ning Jie"s temper. Mostly when gazing at the switched dresses.
Manager Hong had been informed by Kang Liang and Lu AnLing about certain things that had happened so she couldn"t understand why Ning Jie blamed Lu AnLing. The way the girl acted was too much…
Completely out of her mind, Ning Jie raised her hand and quickly threw a slap towards Lu AnLing"s face but it was stopped mid-air. Seeing this, Manager Hong let out a small yelp and the eyes of both Lin Li and Kang Liang widened.
Lu AnLing grasped onto Ning Jie"s hand gently but the struggling Ning Jie made is hard on herself.
In Ning Jie"s mind, Lu AnLing deserved the slap, but to Lu AnLing, she hadn"t done anything wrong so she wouldn"t allow herself to be belittled or slapped. She didn"t know where Ning Jie had been before the performance or that w.a.n.g Tingting had pushed her into a closet because she mistook the woman for Lu AnLing but even if she knew that she wouldn"t have blamed herself.
Lu AnLing was trying her best to do her job well. So no matter the outcome, she didn"t see it as being her fault and neither did Lin Li or Manager Hong but the two remained silent.
They"d known Ning Jie for much longer than Lu AnLing had. They knew how the girl acted when she felt like she was wronged. No matter who was really at fault she would put blame on anything and everything she saw as her enemy and through the whole Event, Lu AnLing had shined in one way or another.
The performance was just the last straw. And despite the fact that she understood that it was so she wouldn"t be embarra.s.sed for not showing up or being late, Ning Jie still put the blame on Lu AnLing.
Watching Lu AnLing from the sidelines, Kang Liang let out a sigh of relief. If Ning Jie had been able to lay a blow on Lu AnLing, he feared about what his brother would do to him, her and to anyone who had a hand in it. The girl was precious to him and so if a mark where to appear of her face, the devilish man would search to destroy.
Suddenly, Kang Liang felt a cold envelop him. He knew only one thing could cause this strange feeling.
Inside the hallway, Kang Jun stood at the door. Since Ning Jie had first spoken, Kang Jun had heard her loud and clear, though, because Lu AnLing had told him to wait until they were gone before stepping out, it is what he did.
He believed that she could handle it herself either way. However, he couldn"t stop himself from being angered.
By listening to the conversation, the man had gotten the gist of the situation and he couldn"t help himself from thinking that he didn"t understand the human race and it was about to get worse…
Ning Jie: "You"re fired! I never what to see you again. Get out of my sight."
Hearing that she was fired, Lu AnLing pursed her lips. She didn"t even question it like she had when she got fired from her previous job. This time, she understood fairly well why.
"Wait! Ning—" Manager Hong gave Lu AnLing and apologetic look as she spoke to Ning Jie.
"No. I won"t wait! She completely failed at her job—"
This time it was Lu AnLing that cut her off.
"No. I didn"t. If you want to fire me, fine. I don"t care. But I did, what was necessary." Lu AnLing undid the b.u.t.tons of the jacket she wore and revealed the wine-stained dress. Though Lu AnLing was insinuating much more.
Once the words she wanted to say left her lips, Lu AnLing walked away without a care. Lin Li, Manager Hong, and Ning Jie turned to look at her. The girl didn"t rush, she just walked as if she was royalty down the red-carpeted hallway.
Kang Liang who had been beside the girl the whole time ran after her.
Watching the two leave together, Ning Jie glared. In less than an hour, Lu AnLing had stolen everything that was supposed to be hers.
Still listening, Kang Jun began to feel bad but at the same time, he wasn"t. He didn"t think that being an a.s.sistant suited the girl and he had heard what Mo Yichen had said to the girl.
She could be a star if she wanted to. Not that Kang Jun wanted this, actually, if she wanted to, he would be satisfied if she came to his side. He could get her any job she wanted though he knew the girl would never go for that.
And he was right.
Meanwhile, Lu AnLing continued to walk down the hallway until she felt her feet stop. She hadn"t fully processed what had happened, just a moment ago, but now the memories flowed through her head violently.
"f.u.c.k!" She cursed before lowering herself to the floor. There she lay bent over. It made her look like a drunk, who was one moment away from vomiting.
Lu AnLing had lost her only stable source of income… what would she do now?
From behind, Kang Liang ran to her. When he saw her in a defeated state his whole body chilled. He wasn"t sure how long he stood there watching the girl, but once it got unbearable, the man approached her.
He leaned over her, about to put his hand on her shoulder.
Kang Liang: "Hey, if you want I—"
Despite trying his best to console her, he didn"t get a chance to finish his sentence before Lu AnLing"s phone rang. She looked at the screen and saw the words "King Kang is calling…"
Quickly, Lu AnLing pushed herself up from the floor and she picked up the call.
"Yes?"
Kang Jun: "Will you be out soon? I have a surprise for you."
Surprise?
Lu AnLing"s face twisted slightly and there was a tinge of confusion but also, amus.e.m.e.nt that danced across her eyes.
"What surprise?"
"If I told you want it was, would it still be considered a surprise?" There was a slight mockery in his voice. This caused Lu AnLing to purse her lips to Kang Jun"s childish att.i.tude.
Staring at her from the sidelines, Kang Liang couldn"t help but smirk, but there was a pain in his eyes. It wasn"t much, just a slight bit but it was noticeable nonetheless.
Kang Liang shook his head.
Once he had gathered his emotions he tapped the girl"s shoulder. "I"ll accompany you."
Lu AnLing was about to disagree, but then, a thought crossed her mind. "You"re coming with us too?"
Kang Liang paused, "Sure."
He wasn"t sure what the girl was talking about but he just went with the flow.
Walking side by side, the two made their way to the back exit. And there, to their surprise, they met with a small group of people.
Kang Liang knew them all, but Lu AnLing only recognized three of the four people. Though she had only had the pleasure to interact with one of them.
The presence of one of them, caused both Kang Liang and Lu AnLing to freeze.
The group was composed of Rong Yue Wan, Kang Mei Xue, Qiao Lan, and Qiao Jianhong.
"Lan Lan," Rong Yue Wan said, as she put her hands on both of Qiao Lan"s shoulders. "You should come and spend some time with us. We"ll be going back to City L for a while, but we"ll be back soon. When we come back, bring the kids and we"ll have diner."
Qiao Lan laughed.
"I will, and you should come and visit my mother. She misses you. She was really sad that your engagement with Kang Jun fell through, all those years ago, we really wanted you to be part of our family… but It seems like Kang Jun is ready to marry now, or at least that"s what father-in-law has been telling people. Maybe you have another chance."
Qiao Lan"s voice was slightly robotic. She was serious about how she felt about Rong Yue Wan but in truth, she didn"t want Kang Jun to get a wife. As soon as she had heard he was looking for one, Qiao Lan had wanted to break everything in the Kang old house, but she held back her anger to keep up her appearences as an elegant lady.
Listening to the two girls speak, Qiao Jianhong"s face turned dark before he looked at both women with sheer disgust in his eyes.
"My darling Little Lan, do you really want Yue Wan to marry that cruel man? It"s not worth it. If you and your mother want to be family with her then I"ll just adopt her as a granddaughter."
When Qiao Jianhong spoke ill of Kang Jun there was a momentary bit of anger in Kang Mei Xue"s eyes but she quickly forced it to disappear. Looking up at the old man, her expression was completely black but she slightly backed away from the three.
Seeing this, despite agreeing with her grandfather, Qiao Lan tried to stop the man from saying more.
"Grandfather!" Qiao Lan almost screamed before she gestured to Kang Mei Xue.
Realizing what he had done, the man didn"t apologize, instead, he lifted the girl up in his arms. Suddenly being lifted up caused Kang Mei Xue to turn green.
She hated heights.
The man didn"t notice this. He was just glad to carry the little girl. He really liked Kang Mei Xue. To him, she was recognized at his one and only great-great-grandchild despite not being related to him by blood.
"Grandfather…"
Hearing his granddaughters tone, the man looked towards Kang Mei Xue and then he frowned slightly.
Qiao Jianhong: "Isn"t she a bit too frail? Shouldn"t you bring her to the doctor?"
"She"s fine." Qiao Lan said while taking Kang Mei Xue out of her grandfather"s grasp and then laying her down gently on the floor.
Finally down, Kang Mei Xue breathed a sigh of relief.