When she was finished with her conversation with Rong Xin, Lu AnLing and Rong Xin got out from backstage and back into the crowd. As they did this, a certain amount of people began to surround the girl, and so, Rong Xin was finally able to act like the bodyguard he was always paid to be.
Shooing away the crowd, Lu AnLing and Rong Xin made it towards the group of elders and great-grandkids.
Once Lu AnLing arrived most of the Elders, excluding Grandpa Lu, were going to partially console her and congratulate her but before they could, the children ran up to her.
"You were so pretty!" Lu Yuxi said to Lu AnLing.
"Mommy's always pretty, but you were also the best!" Kang Mei Xue said as she looked up to the woman.
Hearing this, Lu AnLing smiled and thanked the two. After this, Lu AnLing looked to Kang Mingyu who hadn't said a word so far. She was anticipating the cute words that would come out of his mouth but, at first, the boy seemed to be too mesmerized to speak.
"Mommy, are you an angel?" The boy said, simply as he looked her in the eyes. "Your beauty and voice are not of this world!"
Hearing this, Lu AnLing blushed and smiled at the same time. She then began to laugh. The boy was showing more and more signs that he would one day become a ladies man.
In the background, the Elders had heard this too and they couldn't help but laugh themselves. Suddenly, Elder Tang said, "The boy is right. Despite not winning, which, in my opinion, is very unfortunate with, all things considered, You have a very beautiful and well-controlled voice for someone so young. It was very angelic! If you hadn't already signed with Halo Stars, I would have surely taken you myself!"
Hearing the old man said that, Lu AnLing who patted Kang Mingyu's head and who slightly laughed, said, "Rather than an Angel, I'm more like a siren I guess," Lu AnLing laughed and then she touched her fringe. "At least that's what my father used to call me."
Understanding the connotation of the word 'siren', Elder Tang couldn't say that this wasn't true. Though rather than being a siren's who lured sailors to their deaths, she was just a woman with a mesmerizing effect.
As Elder Tang contemplated this, seeing that everyone else, with the exception of the 4 Elders and their great-grandchildren were gone, Lu AnLing frowned slightly and asked, "Where is everyone?"
This time, Elder Kang answered, "I'm not sure about everyone else, but Jun had an important phone call to attend to and Mu and Ruyi, are somewhere in the crowd."
After hearing this, Elder Tang tapped his cane on the floor and said, "Bingyi left to go prepare the house. Kang Liu Ran and Lu Xia went with her, meanwhile, Yian and Huian, along with your parents, had left after Yian began having a headache."
"Is he okay?" Lu AnLing asked with slight worry.
Elder Tang nodded. "He'll be fine. He just needs some rest. He'll still be joining us tonight, at dinner."
***
Outside, Kang Jun had been on the phone with Kang Liang.
"Do whatever you need to. I'll deal with this another day," Kang Jun said before he hung up.
When he was done he came to see his wife talking happily with the children. By then everyone had left but Kang Jun didn't care, since seeing his wife and children caused Kang Jun to smile softly and then, when he was close to her, the man wrapped his hand around her waist and brought her into an embrace.
Lu AnLing reciprocated this hug. It was nice to feel his touch envelop her. It was where she felt the happiest and the safest. And considering how her body slightly shook, it was also what she needed at the moment.
When he let her go, Lu AnLing kissed him on the cheek and said, "What was that for?"
"Do I need a reason to show love to my wife?" Kang Jun said simply.
Hearing this, Lu AnLing blushed and then she shook her head sheepishly.
Seeing this, the man smiled but since he had something to say to her, he turned to Rong Xin who was close, yet somewhat out of it, and he said, "Xin, take Mingyu, Mei Xue and Yuxi to the car, we'll join you shortly."
Nodding and walking over to the kids, Rong Xin said, "Right away, sir."
Lu AnLing found this order strange, but she didn't complain. Instead, she waited for the kids to be gone and then Lu AnLing said. "What happened? Is something wrong?"
Kang Jun shook his head.
"Liang and your sister have found her contact but his information was useless. The only saving grace is that he knows how the man who planned everything looks like. For now, we'll keep an eye on him, so I've reserved a room for him in Hotel Helios..." Kang Jun said. He was about to continue his sentence but then, Lu AnLing spoke instead.
"Then you'll torture him until he tells you what you want to know?" Lu AnLing said cutely.
Hearing her say such scary words without a shred of fear, sadness or mercy made Kang Jun want to laugh. His wife was truly a strange woman. Beautiful, cute, vengeful, merciless; she had many different sides.
"No. I won't torture him." Kang Jun said as he and Lu AnLing approached the car. Kang Jun was about to tell Lu AnLing that the person who Kang Liang and Lu Shuya had gone to find was her uncle, Lu Xing, but considering how the girl was still in the process of getting her father to remember her, Kang Jun decided to save the news for later.
Getting inside the car, the couple had to separate; while Lu AnLing went in the back with the children, Kang Jun took his seat beside Rong Xin and he helped Rong Xin find his way.
It didn't take long for Lu AnLing, Kang Jun and the kids to arrive at the Tang Mansion. The mansion was quite conservative compared to the Kang Manor but it was beautiful nonetheless.
Getting out of the car, the kids looked at it in awe and so, they ran up to the front door.
Meanwhile, their parents were close behind.
Since there was nothing for Rong Xin to do there, instead of making the man stay with them, the man, with Kang Jun's permission, went home in order to be with his grandmother.
Lu AnLing was so used to having Rong Xin by her side, or at least close by, that she found herself wanting to ask him to stay, but understanding that Rong Xin might need a little break, Lu AnLing didn't say anything. She just went with Kang Jun to ring the doorbell.
There were a lot of cars parked outside and so, Lu AnLing could already assume that everyone, or at least, almost everyone, was already there.
When the door of Tang Mansion finally opened, Lu AnLing felt her breath get caught in her throat. This was the beginning of the rest of her life.
This diner would reveal if she would live a life with her father or without him...
The thought was incredibly crippling but right when she felt her armour crack, she felt Kang Jun's hand intertwine with hers and the sounds of the kids' excitement.
Looking at the kids, and then to Kang Jun, Lu AnLing put on the most calming smile she could muster.
She was ready.