NOVPUB"Zhang Caishen," In a colder voice absent of coquettishness, Lai Yanfang called him.
Caishen’s wheelchair came to a stop. Now he had a reason to turn back and look at Yanfang. She was finally revealing her true self, exposing the icy interior underneath the sweet façade of pretense.
He had always known that Yanfang wasn’t as sweet as she pretended to be because once in a while when they were in school, he had seen her do something questionable.
One time he had seen her sabotage the art project of her best friend. Of course, back then he didn’t think much of it because sabotage in elite international schools was not uncommon. He had confronted her back then and she had cried and claimed her friend copied her work so she had acted out of anger. He had assumed it was just an impulse, a one time thing.
But now, he knew that there was more to her cruelty than she showed the world.
He turned around and stared her, his gaze as icy as the tone she had used.
"Yes, miss Lai." he answered slowly.
She smiled and changed as if she had flipped a switch. "Brother, i still need to talk to you. There is something important that we must discuss."
"If you have business with me miss Lai then you should make an appointment like every other person and then i will see you." he answered.
Lai Yanfang was angry and that anger slipped momentarily in her eyes before quickly vanishing. She was offended because he wanted her to make an appointment like every other common person.
She had always known that it would not be easy to get to him again. He had not forgiven her for the past and he was not a man that forgave easily.
On top of that, he was bound by his unquestioning loyalty and duty to his family. He would not go anywhere near her as long as the old woman of his family continued to badmouth her.
She wondered too how much influence Alix had over him. Taking all these things into equation, she decided not to push and instead, move on to something else.
"Brother, you found your father, congratulations." she said.
"Goodbye miss Lai." he answered.
He turned around and left. This time, he didn’t stop for any reason and he just kept going. Bi Cang was the last bodyguard to leave with two cats in his arms. One licking it’s fur and another staring at Lai Yanfang with sharp teeth bared out.
Majesty hissed at Yanfang over Bi Cang’s shoulder and copied a move that he had seen Alix make many times when she was playing the game. He made a throat slicing gesture.
He was so quick that Lai Yanfang blinked twice and thought she imagined it. It was impossible for a cat to do what it had done.
Caishen returned to the venue of the party and his eyes searched for his wife immediately. He noticed her sitting between Chairman Tai and his wife, with an animated expression on her face. Somehow, he felt as if he could breathe easier just by glancing at her face. He turned his wheelchair in her direction, intending to go to her.
Majesty was faster, he jumped out of Bi Cang’s arms and made a beeline for Alix. He had gossip to share and his little furry mouth was burning to tell her all about it so that they could plan another attack soon.
Caishen meanwhile was blocked off by his many brothers-in-law before he could reach his wife. They were led by the oldest of the branch, Tai Change and made a circle around him.
"Brother-in-law, we haven’t had the chance to speak to you yet." he said.
Caishen looked at the Tai brothers, six of them that had made it. He couldn’t fathom what they wanted with him. They certainly didn’t look like they had come over to simply say hi and run along.
"Hello, brothers-in-law." he offered a general greeting. "Thank you all for coming."
"We wouldn’t miss an event as important as this. We have to come out and support our sister when she calls upon us." Tai Fong answered.
Caishen bit his tongue to avoid reminding them that the invitation was sent by him and not his wife. Then again, who cared?
Tai Haoyu put a hand on he wheelchair and said, "We have heard that you and some cousins and friends will be going out to celebrate privately after this. We were thinking that we haven’t had a chance to get to know you better. It’s high time we remedy that, don’t you think so?"
"Let’s go out for drinks, what do you say?" Tai Ho Sun asked him.
Tai Dalian shook his head. He knew that Tai Fong and Haoyu were simply looking for an opportunity to get Caishen drunk. Their grandfather had gone on an on about their sister being innocent and gullible. So as her brothers they needed to test her husband and see if his character was good.
He smiled at them slyly and said, "My wife doesn’t like it when i drink."
"You can drink water." Tai Change replied.
Caishen scoffed and tried to peek around them so that he could see Alix but they were like a solid wall of concrete that he couldn’t see through. 𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝙤𝒎
"It will be fun, and Alix will be happy to see you bonding with us." Tai Ho Sun told him.
He leaned back and sighed. The Tai’s were a part of his world now, there was no avoiding them. He nodded and assented to their request.
"I will have to inform my wife about this first." He shrugged and said, "You know, just in case you keep me out late."
Since they had received the answer they desired, they parted and gave way to him. He was free to go but they would be coming for him as soon as the party ended.
"She has him wrapped around her little finger." Tai Change said.
Only a man that was besotted by his wife would utter such a statement in public in a tone that declared he intended to go through with it.
"Just like you and your wife." Tai Fong told him.
"But, is our sister really as gullible as grandfather says?" Tai Ho Sun asked them.
During the course of their interactions, he had discovered that she was not as gullible as she seemed. In fact, her present self conflicted with the information he had found about her old self.
"So which one of you plans to trick him into drinking?" Tai Dalian asked them. "And which one of you plans to whine to Alix next about not being gifted an oil painting?"
"I hear she prefers to give out live animals as gifts." Ho Sun told them.
They all looked at the cat which was laying lazily in her arms. They also knew about the black cat she gave Caishen and the two dogs which her sister-in-law Zhang An was showing off all over weibo.
"Tai Wong likes cats." Tai Dalian shared.
"I like dogs, i will ask her to give me one." Tai Fong said.
"Me too." Tai Ho Sun raised his hand and looked at the others to see who else shared his love for dogs.
Change meanwhile was eyeing his brothers with a light sneer on his face. Did none of them know the way to a pet shop? Why did they want animals from her as if she could magically produce them out of thin air?
