Chapter 568: Invitation
Xu Tingsheng supported Zhong Wusheng as they left the Ling family home and returned to the car.
During their journey, he described all that had transpired to Zhong Wusheng in detail.
Zhong Wusheng asked, "Are you really so confident?"
Xu Tingsheng said, "Half-half. I was mainly bluffing...earning more time to hurry back and think of a plan, make some preparations. If nothing else, while the Ling and Xiao families are feeling hesitant and doubtful, those who should run should run. Those who should hide should hide…"
"This is my first time seeing you so troubled on a matter," Zhong Wusheng said with some difficulty.
The two returned to the hospital. Xu Tingsheng found Jiang Wusheng and got him to bring Zhong Wusheng for treatment before going to the sick ward alone.
All was mournful within.
Xu Tingsheng thought at first that they already knew what had happened in America. Still, Fang Chen told him that no, an hour ago...old man Fang had fallen into a state of unconsciousness for good.
The doctor had let slip that it was impossible for the old man to wake again. Also, any breath might be his last.
He went in and narrated all that had happened to the old man, earnestly apologising to him.
Only when the branch relatives of the Fang family had all left did Xu Tingsheng leave the interior room.
In the exterior room, only Fang Chen, Fang Yuqing, as well as Fang Ruli and her mother remained.
"Are we returning to Yanzhou now?" Fang Ruli was still pulling her big suitcase," I thought about it. How about I just stay at that run-down school of yours to study. I am so smart anyway."
Xu Tingsheng reached out and stroked her head, saying, "Sorry, Little Carp. You have to go somewhere else."
"Where?" A frantic Fang Ruli very nearly cried, "Isn"t Yanzhou pretty good? If you find me troublesome, I can stay at the school by myself at most. Why must I go somewhere else?"
"Sorry, Little Carp," Xu Tingsheng refused to give her an explanation.
Fang Ruli sat at a corner of the room in a huff.
Facing away from her, Xu Tingsheng told the remaining three in a hushed tone, "Over in America, there"s been an accident."
He told them all that had transpired.
Relief.
Silence.
Tears.
Fear.
Hatred.
Panic.
"What do we do now then? What"s Ruli to do?" Fang Ruli"s mother asked, gripping her clothes tightly.
"You should go to Binzhou. Today," Xu Tingsheng said.
"I don"t want to go to this Binzhou place. I want to go to Yanzhou…" Sitting at a corner, the young girl interrupted loudly again.
"You must go," Xu Tingsheng hardened his expression as much as possible, "Not only you, your mother will go too. Also, you"ll study at the school there. Also, you must remember that there"s a boy called Jinshan there who"s six years younger than you...I want you to be his close childhood friend."
"...You, Xu Tingsheng?! You pervert. I don"t want that...I"m telling Big Sis Little Ning, I…"
"You have no choice on this matter."
Xu Tingsheng turned towards Fang Ruli"s mother, saying softly, "Sorry, Auntie. This is the only way at present. I"ll get Du Jiang to send you guys over today…"
Looking at him, the woman nodded in acceptance, "I know. It"s just that over here, the old man…"
"I"m here," Xu Tingsheng said.
"Relax, we"re here too," Fang Yuqing and Fang Chen said.
The woman nodded.
After Du Jiang had returned, Xu Tingsheng asked him to bring Fang Ruli and her mother back home to pack up their belongings, preparing to leave for Binzhou. He also contacted Old Jin and Huang Yaming whom he asked to be ready for them.
Fang Ruli was dragged along, crying and mumbling incoherently as she went, "Sick pervert, Xu Tingsheng...I don"t like you in the least...I"ll ask my big brother to beat you to death."
She also pleaded incoherently, "Xu Tingsheng, I beg you, let me go back with you to Yanzhou, okay? I won"t call you sick pervert again...I"ll be very obedient. Sob...I still want to be Big Sis Little Ning"s bridesmaid. I"ve seen others be bridesmaids before. Their clothes are also like wedding gowns...I don"t like boys younger than me. I don"t want to be his close childhood friend…"
……
After Fang Ruli and her mother had left.
Zhong Wusheng post-treatment, along with Fang Chen and Fang Yuqing remained.
"What should we do now?" Fang Yuqing asked.
"Actually, the two of you have to leave too," Xu Tingsheng said, "The reason you"re not going together with Little Carp is that you"re bigger targets and more troublesome...your destination is actually the same as theirs. It"s Binzhou too."
"We? Then, Grandpa…"
"He knew long ago that he wouldn"t have descendants to send him off."
"I"m not leaving," Fang Yuqing said.
Fang Chen hesitated for a while before venturing, "Do we have to leave right away?"
"Is there something else?" Xu Tingsheng asked.
Rather hesitantly, Fang Chen retrieved a stack of something from her bag. It was red.
"I got Tan Yao to drop off some of them in Yanzhou...this is yours," She pa.s.sed one to Xu Tingsheng.
Xu Tingsheng received it and took a look at it before closing it again.
"This is Bro Zhong"s."
"What is it? I have one too?" Zhong Wusheng was surprised as he took it and glanced at it, his expression turning bad all at once.
Holding the remaining two, Fang Chen hesitated for a while before ultimately still pa.s.sing one to Fang Yuqing, "Yuqing, this is yours. You…"
Having seen the reactions of Xu Tingsheng and Zhong Wusheng as well as how Fang Chen had looked at him, Fang Yuqing had already basically guessed it. He looked at it...sadly, he had guessed correctly.
It was a wedding invitation.
The person to be wed was called Yu Qing.
This was the first wedding in Xu Tingsheng"s environment. He had originally guessed that it might be Fang Yuqing and Yu Qing first, or maybe Fu Cheng and Miss Fang. In the end, unexpectedly, it turned out it was Yu Qing...but with someone other than Fang Yuqing.
Fang Yuqing tried very hard to smile as he was momentarily rendered speechless.
Then, he forced himself to speak, "Wow, crazy. That"s fast. She wouldn"t have randomly found someone to marry just because I didn"t want her, right? That would really be dumb. This dumb woman, this dumb woman...what a fool...lucky that I didn"t marry her, right, you guys?"
He smiled, cursed...slowly crouched on the floor with his hands over his head.
"I"m not going. Like I"d want to go see a fool like her get freaking fool married…" He was crying as he said this.
"I called Yu Qing. She said he was her cla.s.smate in senior high who liked her since before. He is pretty good too. They met on a blind date some time back. Since they were familiar with each other already, it didn"t take long," Fang Chen said.
"What"s that got to do with me?!" Fang Yuqing hollered.
"She said that she hopes you"ll be there. I looked at your invitation. Apparently, she has something that she wants to return to you in person…" Fang Chen said.
Xu Tingsheng knew that that was a ring. Once, Fang Yuqing had dashed a long way to propose to Yu Qing. While she had not agreed, she had accepted his ring, saying that she would keep it in safekeeping for him. At that time, everyone had felt that it was only a matter of time that they got together.
Afterwards…
Fang Yuqing fell silent.
In truth, however hysterical and determined he had acted earlier, Xu Tingsheng knew that he would go regardless. He would want to see Yu Qing in a wedding gown, would want to see the man she was marrying, would...not be able to set his heart at ease.
Some time was probably still needed before the Ling and Xiao families could react.
Yu Qing had sent the invitations to Fang Chen"s address at Yanzhou University. After lying on her desk for a while, she had finally received it. As quite a bit of time had pa.s.sed in between, the date of the wedding was actually just around the corner too. It was literally the day after tomorrow.
"We should be in time. If you want to go, Bro Zhong and I will accompany you," Xu Tingsheng pa.s.sed Fang Yuqing a cigarette.
Fang Yuqing asked, "Why do you think she"s in such a hurry?"
"Maybe because she was too heartbroken. After all, what you did at the time…" Xu Tingsheng said.
"Hey, do you think that she will rush over and give me a slap when the time comes? That would be interesting...ha," Fang Yuqing said, "Now that I think about it, I should go take a look, see if I can wreck things for her too."
"You won"t," Xu Tingsheng said.
"If you feel like you just have to go, just say it directly," Zhong Wusheng said.
"Then, if I"m drunk and kick up a ruckus at that time, you two had better stop me," Fang Yuqing smiled, "You know, with my skills, if Bro Zhong isn"t there, ordinary people are no match for me."
"What, you really want to s.n.a.t.c.h the bride?" Zhong Wusheng asked, "Need any help? If the two of us join forces, no one will be able to stop us."
Fang Yuqing leaned against the wall, lightly hitting his head against it, "If things were different, even if it were the emperor she"s going to marry in a few days, I would definitely go s.n.a.t.c.h her regardless...really, I definitely wouldn"t let Yu Qing marry anybody else. Still, considering how it is for me now...could I ask her to flee to the ends of the world with me? I daren"t even ask her to wait two years for me."
"Maybe I will quietly, peacefully have a gla.s.s of wine with her. I definitely can"t shrink back...can"t let her see through me."
Xu Tingsheng said, "In that case, pack up your things. I"ll get someone to look after the old man...we"ll go there together. Afterwards, we won"t be coming back anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"When there are many people, amidst the chaos...you and your sister go to Binzhou."