Chapter 365 - Son, I'm Your Father (19)
Chapter 365: Son, I’m Your Father (19)
Mo Li exited from the washroom and found that the gentlemen had yet to return from upstairs. She sat down beside An Xiaoning and said, “What’s taking them so long?”
“They must be discussing about something important. Let’s not interfere in their matters.”
Mo Li nodded in agreement. Seemingly reminded of something, she asked An Xiaoning, “Do you and Brother Qingyan talk about business matters?”
Shaking her head, An Xiaoning answered, “Not at the moment. I have my own matters to handle, and so does he. He doesn’t discuss work-related issues with me. He’s a very decisive man who’s capable of handling his own matters well.”
“Yes, Brother Qingyan does have that capability. He’s always been running the company smoothly. Ever since we were young, he has always done well in school. We’re a mischievous bunch and he would join us to play and have fun. Yet, he never failed to excel in his academics.”
“What was he like when he was younger? Was his personality the same as now?” An Xiaoning asked curiously.
“Hmm… he’s about the same. But he’s always been popular with the girls at school because of his dashing good looks. While we were in school, he, Tianze, and Brother Ciye would often receive love letters from their secret admirers. Those who knew that I was close to them would get me to help deliver the love letters. Now that I think about it, we were truly so young and inexperienced.”
Flashbacks of the past began to pop up in Mo Li’s head as she continued to recount the various events, “However, Brother Qingyan has never been in a relationship, probably because of his family. His half-sister had a great influence on him. I used to think that it would cause him to become cynical towards marriage, but to my surprise, he actually married you. To be honest, I didn’t know who you were at all before you two got married. All I knew was that you were Shi Shaochuan’s wife.”
“Were you bewildered when you found out back then? Did you wonder why he would marry a divorced woman?” An Xiaoning asked.
“Those thoughts did cross my mind. Well, because I’ve known him for so many years and I didn’t think he would be the type to get married casually.”
An Xiaoning chuckled and said, “You don’t say, it was really rather casual. We got married right after we just met. We didn’t even know each other well then.”
“You two were really brave then.”
“Yeah. Love is all about going through a great deal of hardship together but still choosing to believe in the power of love and brave through all odds to be with each other,” said An Xiaoning, suddenly overwhelmed with emotions at the thought of the ups and downs they’d been through since they were married.
Mo Li agreed, “That’s right. By the way, do you feel like you’ve seen Ms. Xu somewhere before?”
“I find her rather familiar too, but I just can’t recall where I’ve seen her before.”
“They’re here,” said Mo Li, standing up quickly.
An Xiaoning looked up to find that it was indeed so and quickly rose from her seat.
“What did you guys talk about upstairs?” An Xiaoning asked Jin Qingyan softly.
“Some frivolous talk. Were you getting impatient?” Jin Qingyan asked.
“No, I was just a little bored.”
“Well, such events are indeed boring.” Jin Qingyan turned around to look at Ling Ciye and said, “We’re taking our leave soon. When are you guys leaving?”
“You’re leaving right after you just came down? You’re being too willful. Wait a little longer,” said Ling Ciye as he shot him a glance.
An Xiaoning agreed, for it was indeed a little inappropriate to leave Military Commander Xu’s house so quickly.
“We’ll wait a while more then.”
“Did you guys reconcile your marriage? I didn’t see it on the news though,” Ye Xiaotian asked curiously.
“Why? Are you trying to dig for exclusive news and then leak it to the media?” Jin Qingyan answered.
“Psht… Do I seem like such a person?” Ye Xiaotian scoffed with a look of disdain.
“You never know.”
“I was merely being curious.”
“Not yet,” An Xiaoning answered.
“That’s puzzling. Why haven’t you done so? You two seem to be very in love with each other,” said Ye Xiaotian as he took a sip of his drink.
“It’s our freedom to decide. We’re very happy with the way we’re living now. Maybe we’ll decide to register our marriage spontaneously one day,” Jin Qingyan said bluntly to brush him off.
“Oh… I see.”
Gu Beicheng remained silent while leaning against the high table, appearing to be deep in his thoughts.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, please make your way to the dance floor,” the butler called out from a short distance away.
Jin Qingyan put on a faint smile and began walking forward while taking An Xiaoning by her hand.
The guests began to dance to the melodious music with their companions under the dazzling, colorful lights.
After the first dance, An Xiaoning began to feel a nagging ache in her soles again. Clearly, heels were not for her.
Just as they stopped dancing, Xu Yang and Xu Cai approached them to say hi.
“Long time no see, Xiaoning,” Xu Yang greeted.
“Head-of-Office Xu, forgive my ignorance, but I really didn’t know you two were brothers.”
“Well, you know now. There’ll be an exciting show later. We rarely get to see each other. Don’t leave so soon,” Xu Yang said smilingly.
“What program is it?”
“A magic show,” Xu Cai answered.
“Is that so? I’m looking forward to it then.”
After the brothers left to greet the other guests, An Xiaoning tugged on Jin Qingyan’s sleeve and asked, “What kind of a person is Xu Cai?”
“There’s nothing special about him. If it weren’t because of his father’s authority and status, no one would bother turning up today,” Jin Qingyan said calmly.
“This is so boring. I would rather practise yoga at home. But, he mentioned that there’ll be a magic show. It should be interesting. I’ve never watched magic tricks being performed live, I’ve only ever seen them on television,” said An Xiaoning as she placed both arms around his bicep and rested her head against his shoulder.
“Since you enjoy magic shows, I shall hire the best magician in the country to perform for you especially in the future.”
“There’s no need for that. Let’s just go out to watch magic shows together next time. That’s practical and wallet-friendly.”
“Sure.”
Gu Beicheng would occasionally steal a glance at them while dancing gracefully on the dancefloor. He began to realize that some things were truly fated and they were indeed destined to meet but never fated to be a couple.
All the guests stayed put in their positions.
The magician then began performing his tricks for the guests on the dancefloor.
The music came to a halt and a renowned magician of the country began walking towards the stage slowly.
The crowd began clapping their hands profusely in awe.
He stood beside a large trunk and announced to the guests, “I’ll be performing a trick called ‘The Conjuring of a Human’ tonight.”
He then pushed the trunk and rotated it to prove that there was nothing behind it.
Afterwards, he opened the trunk to show that it was empty.
In order to prove that the trunk could not be dismantled from the back, the magician even invited a guest onstage to verify it.
Once the trunk was closed, he proclaimed smilingly, “A miracle is going to happen at this very moment.”
The audience kept their eyes peeled on the trunk.
Less than a minute later, the door opened slowly and a woman popped out of the trunk all of a sudden.
The crowd began clapping their hands profusely in awe.
The door closed and opened again quickly.
This time, it was not a woman but a man who appeared.
The door was shut yet again.
An elderly lady was seen in the trunk when it opened once more.
The crowd gasped in amazement as they marvelled at the incredible act happening before them.
At last, the magician proposed, “May I now invite one of you here to come on stage and have a go at it? This beautiful lady here, would you like to have a try?”
He was referring to An Xiaoning.