she couldn't stand the sight Lu yao yin but she was going to endure her for today only because she wanted to uphold a gentle figure
The dinner continued with Master Zi and Madam Zi occasionally throwing questions at Lu yao yin and Lu yao yin too graciously answered everything with a smile
"pss!"
"pss!" Zi jiayi kept signalling to Zi yichen in whispers trying to talk to him
"what?" Zi yichen asked
"brother, is she your girlfriend?" He whispered to Zi yichen underneath his breath
Zi yichen kept quite for a second then whispered back to the young man "your future sister-in-law"
"what?! brother you finally got a girlfriend!" the young man couldn't believe his ear, he remembered how much his parents wanted to nag his brother for staying single all this while but none of them dare to that was why they never brought of the topic of his bachelorhood.
"brother say, do you by chance need any help in wooing her? I'm a very good love expert"
"no need" Zi yichen replied bluntly.
"Lu yao yin it must be hard running such a huge company by yourself" Jia Lin said
"Sister Yan is quite perfect at what she does, running such a company is definitely not a big deal for her" frosty replied madam Zi
She looked surprised by how he addressed Lu yao yin "fengju you guys know each other?"
"yes we've known for a while now" He replied then continued "surprisingly we met eachother a long time ago but only found out of recent"
"wow really?" she turned and asked Lu yao yin
"yes" Lu yao yin gave a simple reply.
Jia Lin was a natural conversationalist so she kept bringing up different topic that kept the table lively with everyone contributing in the discussions, Soon they finished eating but before anyone could take their leave, it suddenly began raining heavily
"miss Lu yao yin, you should wait for a little while I'm sure the rain would stop any minute from now" Jia Lin said to Lu yao yin
Lui shenhui frowned when she saw how His Lin was mindful of Lu yao yin, she has known Jia Lin for years but has never shown her any real concern, most of her affection towards her was usually superfluous and packed credibility.
She was deeply offended but still held herself from showing any reaction
"Miss Yan would you be interested in playing a round of video games with me as you wait?" Zi jiayi asked with glittering eyes
"what video games? jiayi don't you disturb miss Lu yao yin with your nonsense!" madam Zi hollered at the expectant Zi jiayi
"it's okay, I could whirl away time as I wait for the rain to stop"
She had looked around for Zi yichen but he had suddenly disappeared after dinner ended, not only him but Jin fengju too. She could already smell the gunpowder in their midst from where she was, so she could as well keep herself busy while she waited for him
Madam Zi was surprised that Lu yao yin had readily agreed plus she could tell she agreed willingly not because she was trying to impress them. She didn't know why but as she interacted more with this young lady, she grew fond of her the more.
Lui shenhui took the opportunity of Lu yao yin leaving to play games with the boys to engage Jia Lin in a discussion, although Jia Lin was reluctant to she couldn't possibly cut her off and leave her seated alone in the sitting room.
while Lui shenhui conversed with madam Zi and Lu yao yin beat Zi jiayi mercilessly at video game, the two jolly enemies also communed harmoniously at the glass house in the courtyard behind the house.
just like Lu yao yin thought there really was gunpowder flying through the air as they both stared at eachother silently
"hehe" Jin fengju chuckled
"Zi yichen I've always thought you were wicked but it seems I was wrong all along cause you are the most heartless person I've ever seen" His eyes spat anger and fury as he spoke
"if you called me out just to compliment me then I'm sorry cause I don't have time for this"
Zi yichen couldn't bare to waste his time on Jin fengju when he could be admiring his precious girlfriend now, so he turned around to leave.
"To what extent would you go to punish me?!" frosty yelled at him making him halt in his place
"just because you wish to see me suffer you heartlessly hid your sister's whereabouts from even your family, Do you think you're only hurting me?! you should have seen the heartache in everyone eyes when her name was mentioned earlier"
Zi yichen clenched his fist but didn't turn back to refute his words, he didn't need anyone to tell him how much heartache his parents felt each day because of his sister's sudden departure. although they tried to hide their worries he could still see through the facade they were putting on, that was the reason he stopped coming home cause he didn't want to see them pretend to be nonchalant when they asked his sister's wellbeing from him. It ached his heart that he couldn't share the grief of her death with his parents and had to keep lying to them
"I hope you're happy that you've ruined everyone while trying to prove your point"
"you think you're suffering?" Zi yichen asked chuckling, as he asked he dug out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it casually
"well I'm glad you are suffering cause I watched my sister suffer for a whole year so you're only getting what you deserve" He took a step forward but stopped again
"and if there's anyone who has ruined everyone...it's you. because of you, neither you nor I or anyone else would ever get to see Liling again, I hope you're satisfied?" He flicked the cigarette away and left leaving a bewildered Jin fengju
'because of you, neither you nor I or anyone else would ever get to see Liling again'
how was that possible?
wh_what did he mean by that?
Confusion and bewilderment shrouded Jin fengju race, he couldn't understand why Zi yichen would say something like that.
'was Liling very heartbroken that she decided to shut the whole world out?'
'was she really never going to appear before him again?'
As he asked himself numerous questions, the image of a smiling girl appeared in his mind, her eyes busting with happiness and liveliness. she looked young and her gentleness clearly emanated from her bones, suddenly the image of her smiling face disappeared and was replaced with an image of her crying and looking disheartened, the heartbreak she felt could be seen from her eyes as she looked like her soul was stolen from her.
"I'm sorry...I'm sorry" he muttered and crumbled to the floor, crying like a kid that had lost the world.
****
The rain had refused to stop so Madam Zi had offered Lu yao yin a guest room and a change of cloth for the night as they couldn't leave that night
she was almost asleep when she heard a knock on her door. She stood up and opened it
"can I come in?" Zi yichen asked when she opened the door.
She could tell that He was not himself as he looked sad and sober so she stepped aside and let him in.
when she locked the door she turned around and asked "what's wrong? you don't look yourself"
He chuckled wryly "I had an argument with Jin fengju, it's nothing"
although he said it was nothing she could tell that whatever they had argued over had really affected his mood.
She opened her mouth to console him and unexpectedly she was drawn into a tight hug
She sat still on his lap and allowed him to freely hug her.
Zi yichen was in a sad mood from his discussion with Jin fengju, but as his stayed buried in Lu yao yin neck he felt like his sadness was being washed away by a pool of water, ever since since he was born he had lacked human emotions but his sister was always the one to bring back a sense of humanity to his mind but then she died and he was thrown back into the Dark abyss. He thought there was no longer going to be a redemption for him and that his whole life was going to be a mirage of bloodshed but then she came...
He doesn't know how it came to be but Lu yao yin had turned to be his miraculous antidote that could take the bloodthirsty demon that he was.
and this antidote he would never let go, not in this lifetime or the next to come.