"Yes, yes, I'm okay." Zhou Jiayin waved his left hand as he tried to assure the woman holding him that he was alright, "Thank you." He said, shaking his head as he took a deep breath. He moved his head and looked straight into the eyes of the woman who held his hand.
She looked up into his eyes, and something shifted inside him. The wounded look lurked in her eyes made him feel anxious. It somehow bothered him which was new to him. He saw how the expression in her eyes changed from forlorn look to the calm air she exuded as she smiled sweetly at him.
He didn't even blink when he looked at her, the wounded expression was now gone. It was replaced by something else, something he couldn't quite name but he knew was admirable. It might be the determination or the burning will to pursue, whichever it was, he admired her.
The strength of character this woman exudes made him almost smile, realizing that he had seen that look before. He saw her put back the wine glass on the tray carried by the server. Her elegance was one of a kind, she reminded him of his dear wife, Ye Lingling.
He tilted his head, and asked, "Have we met before?"
Xu Jia Li dropped her gaze ever so slightly, covering the hatred brewing in her autumn coloured eyes before she gazed at him and answered, "I don't think so. I would have remembered if we had."
Zhou Jiayin nodded and felt a different feeling with his hand being touched by her. It was nothing intimate but it was somehow comforting and relaxing. The touch made him feel calm and at ease. He couldn't explain the feeling but a part of his heart felt warm upon gazing at the woman in front of him.
The feeling was something a father would give to his daughter. The feeling he felt when he was with Zhou Bingbing.
'Why does she look so familiar, eh? Did we meet before?' He thought to himself, wondering why he felt a light feeling towards her. He straightened his back as he gazed at her.
Her answer was somehow true. He knew that this was the first time he had seen her but he couldn't quite point out but there was a voice inside him telling him that he knew her even before.
He stared intently at her beautiful face, trying his hardest to remember where he had seen her. However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't tell. He knew that his memory was still as sharp as when he was younger. So, it was most likely that he was just mistaking her to someone else.
He was even moved when he heard her melodious voice asking him, "Are you sure you're alright?"
He nodded and patted the woman's hand as he said, "Thank you, dear but I'm okay now."
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Xu Jia Li hated the touch of his hand on hers. She despised him with all of her heart. She hid all her true feelings, doing her best to remain calm. However, she couldn't take how he pretended to not know a thing and still gaze at the painting of her mother like he had done nothing wrong.
'How dare you still have the courage to even gaze at mom's image? You are shameless! Every fibre of my being abhors you!'
She moved quietly as she tried to get closer to the painting. She missed her mother, she longed for her yet all those longing would never be satiated. All she wanted now was to get her revenge.
She waited for this time, the time where she could finally see Zhou Jiayin's reaction. And to her amazement, he didn't disappoint. She saw how agitated he was. She clearly saw how he almost lost consciousness when he saw the name written at the bottom part of the painting.
She intentionally put her mother's initial in it – YYF. She wanted to make him suffer. Her plan was to get his trust, destroyed his family until they all die.
She must see those things to happen...
She must see them all have the same fate as her mother...
No matter what...
She smiled at Zhou Jiayin when she heard him asked, "What is your name, dear?"
The soothing tone of his voice made her cringe. She castigated herself and feigned a smile as she answered, "Oh, how rude of me!" She bowed her head a little as she continued,
"I'm Xu Jia Li." She raised her head and observed his reaction.
Instead of recognizing the Xu in her name which she liked him to do, he only gazed back at the painting before he looked at her again and said, "That's a very nice name." He nodded and continued, "I'm Zhou Jiayin. You can call me, Uncle Zhou."
She saw the smile plastered on his face – those eyes, those happy eyes that looked so innocent. She knew differently, those were acts put by him to disguise his guilt and sins. She put her hands at her back as she curled them into a ball.
"Hello, Uncle Zhou. It's my pleasure to meet you."
"It's mine as well. Can I call you, Xiao Li?"
"Whatever you see fit, Uncle Zhou."
"Are you a friend of the painter, Xiao Li?"
She was caught off guard with the question thrown by him, so she said instead, "Paul Mcmillan?"
"Oh, yes. Yes, are you his friend?"
"Just a mere acquaintance, Uncle Zhou." She smiled meekly at him as she focused her gaze on the painting, "I noticed that you've been staring at this painting for quite some time. You seemed to love it."
"Yes. I thought, I've known the woman but I think I was just mistaken."
"Mistaken?"
"Yes, just mistaken. Just admiring the way the painter produced this painting, but it seems this is just another random subject."
"Another random subject... Yes, it might be." A seething pain stabbed her directly in her heart. She prepared herself for this. However bad she thought of him, it was more painful to hear those words from his lips. Hence, the hate she had for him tripled.
"I think this painting shouldn't even be here, it doesn't even fit." A woman's voice made Xu Jia Li turned her head in an instant.