In this whole wide world, there was only one person who called him a brother in law. That person was Bo Mingmei from the Shentu family.
Indeed, Bo Mingmei had appeared at the venue.
Her message for Xia Lei was clear and loud which effectively silenced everyone else.
The Tang and Xia family were busy matchmaking Xia Lei and Tang Yuyan together. The marriage was so close to becoming a reality. However, Bo Mingmei’s sudden appearance along with her exclamation to Xia Lei as her brother in law threw them off. Was she here to sabotage the union?!
It was also due to the sudden intervention that Xia Lei’s response was interrupted. The man was perplexed as to why Bo Mingmei was here.
Tang Yuyan’s expression took an abrupt change, now filled with resentment and disdain.
Bo Mingmei strode across the hall to Xia Lei.
Zhang Yumei raised her brow. “Who is she?”
“She…” Xia Lei tensed. “She’s Shentu Tianyin’s sister. Uh, adopted sister.”
Hearing that, Zhang Yumei’s expression darkened.
Everyone seated at the table knew who Shentu Tianyin was.
The unwelcomed presence of Shentu Tianyin’s adopted sister at a crucial time like this was already unspeakable. The woman had committed a taboo by calling him a brother in law in public.
The atmosphere took a great s.h.i.+ft from its prior liveliness to an awkward silence.
“Brother in law!” Bo Mingmei finally made it to Xia Lei’s side. She looked extremely anxious. “My sister… My sister…”
“What’s happened to Tianyin?” Seeing her like this, Xia Lei couldn’t help but feel nervous too.
A day as husband and wife meant endless devotion for life. Xia Lei and Shentu Tianyin were married for some time. He was once deeply in love with her. Xia Lei had always been concerned for her, so seeing Bo Mingmei nervous made him panic too.
“My sister pa.s.sed out suddenly at work! We’ve already admitted her to the hospital. You must visit her, I don’t think she… She…” Bo Mingmei was on the verge of tears.
The display set off alarms blaring in Xia Lei. He quickly stood from his seat. “Which hospital is she admitted to? Bring me there!”
“Wait!” Tang Yuyan hurriedly pulled on Xia Lei’s arm. “I need to ask this Miss Bo something.” Without giving a chance for Xia Lei to reply, Tang Yuyan asked, “Miss Bo, how did you find out that we were here?”
“I…” Bo Mingmei was at a loss for words.
“Answer me, how did you find us?” Tang Yuyan pressed on.
Preoccupied with his anxiety, Xia Lei hadn’t noticed that. Now that Tang Yuyan had mentioned it, the man started to find it weird too. How on earth did Bo Mingmei know that he was here?
“Why should I answer you?” Bo Mingmei was irritated. She quickly looked at Xia Lei. “Let me make this clear. This might be the last time you’re ever going to see her again. Come with me if you wish.”
Xia Lei glared at Bo Mingmei. “That was uncalled for. I’m coming with you.”
Tang Yuyan was starting to get anxious. “Wait, she hasn’t answered me yet!”
Bo Mingmei turned around to leave.
Xia Lei quickly uttered, “Please excuse me.” And with that, he was off.
Tang Yuyan had wanted to follow along but her legs felt as if they were chained to the floor. Her ‘fiancé’ was rus.h.i.+ng over to check on his ex-wife and that was not a place for a ‘fiancée’ to be. The daughter of the Tang Family wouldn’t spare her dignity for this!
“That woman really doesn’t know when to…” Zhang Yumei wanted to cuss but ultimately decided against it. Instead, she huffed. “She must have sent that woman over to come in between our Tang Yuyan and Xia Lei. She can’t stand them being happy.”
Obviously, Zhang Yumei was referring to Shentu Tianyin.
Tang Tianlong looked at Tang Yuyan. “Why are you not going with them?”
Tang Yuyan fumed. “No! I refuse!”
Zhang Yumei supported her daughter. “Why does she need to tag along? Our Yuyan is a girl with principles, she knows when to give men s.p.a.ce.” As the mother spoke, she stepped on Tang Tianlong’s feet.
Tang Tianlong seemed to have understood her hint and took the cue to shut up.
One reason was for the sake of the Tang family’s respect. Another was Xia Lei’s personality. With a man like Xia Lei, if Tang Yuyan had attached herself tightly to him, would he be delighted? Of course not.
Tang Yunhai finally spoke, but his tone was disgruntled. “I’ve heard about Shentu Tianyin. Xia Lei was her scapegoat yet she was extremely ungrateful and had even divorced him. Now that Xia Lei has made a name for himself, she’s trying to leech off his favour. What the h.e.l.l is she thinking? Did she seriously think that she could fool us?” At this moment, he turned to look at Xia Changhe. “Isn’t that right, Changhe?”
Xia Changhe answered, “I’ve never thought well of their marriage. I’ve even advised him against it but my son paid me no mind.”
“Clearly, she’s playing with fire.” Tang Tianlong sneered. “All the things she had done are not easy to forgive.”
“This woman is cunning but she’s messing with the wrong family now.” Zhang Yumei’s tone was even more vicious than Tang Tianlong.
If the Tang family could retain its pride after hundreds of years, surely their members were nothing to sneeze at.
“Never mind, let’s not talk about that woman anymore. It leaves such a bad taste in our mouth.” s.h.i.+ Boren continued, “Old Xia, I think the adults should just proceed with the planning. Yuyan likes Xia Lei and I can tell that your son likes her too. However… Uh, how do I say this…? Xia Lei is just too excellent of a man, he’s great with women and likes a lot of people…”
Tang Yunhai cleared his throat.
s.h.i.+ Boren was stunned and quickly changed his words. “Well, we should quickly decide on the particulars and have Xia Lei settle down. It’d be great for him to settle down in the family department to ease his heart. That way he’ll be able to focus on work and contribute to the country. Since both parties are here, let’s just all agree on the union and pick a date to book for the banquet? What do you think?”
“Sounds good, I agree.” Tang Tianlong’s answer was direct.
“Father!” Tang Yuyan rolled her eyes violently at Tang Tianlong but there was a hint of a smile at the edge of her lips.
“Oh, you…” Zhang Yumei teased, “I’m sure you’re eager to pack your things and follow Uncle Xia home now.”
This was a prominent hint directed to Xia Changhe. The Tang family was not here to look for a potential husband. They were serious in marrying her off.
“Mom!” Tang Yuyan whined and glared at Zhang Yumei like a spoiled child, but her glee was now plastered on her face.
All members of the Tang family placed their attention on Xia Changhe.
s.h.i.+ Boren stared intently at Xia Changhe. “Old Xia, what do you think?”
“Mm.” Xia Changhe pondered before he answered. “Alright, that’s a deal. Let’s set the date to be on… Uh…”
Tang Yunhai chuckled. “Oh, Changhe, I’ll take care of the dates. I’ll go consult a master to pick out a good date to join our families together. One auspicious day will bring years of happiness.”
“Father, what are you saying?” Zhang Yumei beamed. “You should say that one auspicious day will bring a life of happiness.”
“Yeah, you’re right. One good day, one good life! Hahaha!” Tang Yunhai was very happy.
Xia Changhe was smiling but his heart was sighing. “Son, please don’t blame me for this. Your time has come. I know that you’re not too keen on this but marrying Tang Yuyan is the best choice now…”
On another table.
Long Bing stopped staring at Tang Yuyan. Then, she tapped on Liang Siyao’s thigh discreetly. “Say, were you the one who phoned Shentu Tianyin?”
“What are you saying?” Liang Siyao lowered her voice further. “Don’t accuse me without evidence. I’m not keen on getting involved with a bunch of hornets like the Tangs.”
“I saw you phoning someone earlier outside. Surely, it won’t be difficult for me to go through your phone, right? Would you like me to display the evidence now?” Long Bing calmly threatened.
Liang Siyao whispered, “Fine. Yes, it was me who called Shentu Tianyin. I swear I only told her that Xia Lei was about to get engaged to Tang Yuyan and gave her the venue and time. I said nothing else. I have absolutely no idea that Shentu Tianyin would send someone over to disturb them.”
“Shentu Tianyin is such a smart woman. She would know what to do to stop Xia Lei and Tang Yuyan’s marriage. Unfortunately…”
“Unfortunately what?”
“Unfortunately, all her efforts are futile. No one can stop their engagement from happening.”
“What do you mean?”
“You couldn’t bear to observe their table but I did. Xia Changhe had agreed to it and Tang Yunhai will soon pick a date for the ceremony. Xia Lei would definitely not want to trouble his father and not to mention, disappoint him. Most importantly, Tang Yuyan is the most suitable match for Xia Lei.”
“Do you really think so?” Liang Siyao looked at Long Bing weirdly.
Long Bing flashed her a wry smile. “Here’s my advice, try not to get in their way. You were no match for Shentu Tianyin back then and you’re no match for Tang Yuyan now. Don’t do the same thing twice. The Tang family is much more powerful than you can imagine. With your status, it’ll be easy for them to get rid of you.”
Liang Siyao fell silent.
However, Long Bing suddenly blurted, “Say, how many green hats you think Tang Yuyan has now?”
[Note: Green hat is modern slang for affairs/cheating.]
“…”
Meanwhile, in a raging Rolls-Royce Phantom, “Mingmei, now that there’s no one else here, tell me, how did you find out where I was?” Xia Lei broke the silence.
“Is that really important to you?” Bo Mingmei glared daggers at Xia Lei.
“Not really but I just wanted to understand the situation better.” Xia Lei smiled bitterly. “It’s alright if you don’t want to tell me.”
“I…” Bo Mingmei hesitated. “I called your secretary and she told me where you were.”
“I see.” Xia Lei didn’t think much about it. “Say, is Tianyin really in a grave situation?”
“She’s… still unconscious. They moved her to the ICU. I think you’ll find out when you see her soon,” answered Bo Mingmei.
“Then you should speed up!” The reply fuelled Xia Lei’s anxiety.
“Got it!” Bo Mingmei slammed on the oil pedal harshly. Already travelling at one hundred miles, the Rolls-Royce Phantom accelerated to one hundred and fifty miles in a flurry.
At another location…
Qing Caiyue finally managed to locate the two security guards. They weren’t picking up her calls at all.
The two security guards were loitering around Bailu’s entrance while Zhu Xuanyue was nowhere to be seen.
“What the h.e.l.l is wrong with you?! I instructed you to escort her to get some toys but you both ignored all my phone calls and even lost her!” Qing Caiyue was furious. Before she was in their proximity, her yells had echoed around the streets.
Weirdly, the two guards were unresponsive to her voice. They continued to walk soullessly along the street, they looked as if they were sleepwalking.
“h.e.l.lo? Do you not hear me?” Qing Caiyue enraged.
But they both continued to ignore her.
Qing Caiyue stormed over to tug on one of their arms.
Abruptly, a woman’s voice rang from the sugarcane fields by the road. “Good boy, come here.”
Hearing that voice relieved Qing Caiyue. Thank goodness Zhu Xuanyue hadn’t ventured far.
“You two, go lie in the field,” instructed Zhu Xuanyue.
Heeding her order, the two security guards left the path and laid themselves well in the sugarcane field.
Qing Caiyue could feel her jaw drop as she watched the scene unfold. However, in a whole sudden, her mind went blank. She soon followed them into the field.
Among the sugarcanes stood a Zhu Xuanyue with a k.u.mamoto bear in one arm. In another arm, she carried a large bag of snacks. She smiled innocently. “I’m so hungry, can you please bring me somewhere to eat? Oh yeah, let’s go somewhere that Uncle Xia will not find out!”
Qing Caiyue nodded.
“Drive me there.” With a grin, Zhu Xuanyue also added, “Remember to turn off your phone.”
Qing Caiyue turned around blankly. She left the field and travelled towards the Thunder Horse Military Factory while she turned off her phone.
Zhu Xuanyue began to mumble to herself. “Uncle Xia, I don’t want to make you angry but I’m so so so hungry! I want to eat something…”