Milady's Fine Gentleman 353 THE JOKE IS ON ME 2

The seating arrangement at the round table during the party was as follows: Chen Linyun sat beside Xue Jinxu, and at her other side sat Mother Chen, followed by Father Chen, Aunty Mo, Hwang Meilin, Kang Sola, Mo Wenbin, who sat at the other side of Chen Linyun, closing the circle.

Currently, both sides of Mo Wenbin went empty with Kang Sola and Chen Linyun gone. He moved one seat closer towards Hwang Meilin. As he did so, the lady looked at him for a tad second before returning at paying him no mind.

Not that he was observing her closely, but he noticed that the girl had become a little more reserved lately than how she usually behaves. He found it odd and got him thinking of whether it was related to him or not.

If it was, then he had to do something about it – settle the score between them through open discussion or something. After all, this girl had been a family friend for the longest time. Whatever prank he played on her by making her believe that he bent the other way would be too much if he let it drag on for longer. In every sense, any prank played for too long would become nothing less than a mere, bad lie.

Anyhow, he only did so to draw some distance between them as the lady sometimes becomes too overbearing and suffocating.

As for the lady, Hwang Meilin did not even know that Mo Wenbin had been thinking about her at all. On the other hand, her mind was preoccupied with something else, or rather, someone else.

Her eyes landed on the Xue young master earlier in the night. He wore his usual gentle visage accompanied by his refreshing smile and majestic aura. He was regal in every sense of the word. Especially now that he was wearing a formal suit.

Yes, she admired him.

…But she never once had forgotten the single fact that he's married. Not when his wife, Teng Man Rui, always stood beside him, sat beside him, just near him almost all the time.

Teng Man Rui, her friend, was his wife. And soon, their family would welcome another cute little addition.

Rather than hate her friend, she felt a sting of sadness inside her. Too late. She was always too late. At least her friend and the apple of her eyes were leading a happy, prosperous, peaceful life.

It was enough. She would not enter the picture and ruin anything picturesque for her selfish intentions. She bit her lips as she continued to watch them from afar.

'Just an infatuation.' She told herself several times. The first time she met him her heart fluttered when he saved them. It might be no more than the suspension bridge effect [1], but she did not know any better.

For her, the main reason for attending the party was to see him up close. Just one more glance, one more look. That's the only thing she could do for herself, until maybe… until she got tired of him and her feelings fade into oblivion.

That man had successfully piqued her interest. He was to her a pleasant adventure, a colorful variation to her routinary, mundane lifestyle, he added texture and shadings to it just like how spices overhaul an originally bland dish. She found that that specific brand of a hero was extremely enticing to look at. Then she remembered an occurrence that happened two weeks ago which drew her into a daze.

Two weeks before Xue Guangxi's extravagant party, Hwang Meilin went malling with her other girlfriends from her own circle, more related to the government sectors. Her lady friends were, just like her, daughters of high-ranking military officers, and holders of office in various respectable agencies.

They were loitering around listlessly when her eyes caught in its periphery a silhouette of a man that had invaded her dreams as of late, and of a woman who was her close friend.

It was easy to spot either of them, and it was even easier to do so when they were together.

Instantly, she bid her girl-friends goodbye, throwing whatever excuse she could think of. Then, she hesitantly followed the couple at a safe distance, walking slowly as if she was simply there for malling and nothing else.

The couple went straight to the section where baby items were sold and checked on some strollers and baby stuff.

'They both look excited.' She thought sadly as she bit her lower lip. 'When will be my turn to experience such luxuries?'

From a safe distance, she continued to follow their saunter as the couple found their way through circuitous jungle and aisles of pastel colors and tiny, tiny items for infants.

They went at a slow pace to give the pregnant lady some leeway. Since Teng Man Rui's family owned the mall, they need not go through the usual procedure of lining up and paying at the cashier. Few of the higher positioned managers went with them taking down notes and jotting down their preferences and what caught their eyes. Some lady staff even assisted them and generously explained the details of the items. They were more then VVIP's.

Though she had not been a great fan of shopping, at that instance, Teng Man Rui seemingly enjoyed the whole exercise. Most probably because it was not solely for her, but her baby.

Hwang Meilin stayed for hours and hours lingering and lurking in the shadows, pretending to be interested in the random stuff lying around, inspecting yet buying nothing. She loitered seemingly listless, yet in reality, she knew where she was headed.

In the middle of her stalking, she paused, not because of tiredness, but because her role models had stopped in their tracks. She wore a questioning look, though no one would be enough to satisfy her inquisitiveness.

Yet she noticed that the reason of their actions was because the adorable pair, a man and his wife both beautiful in their respective species, had met a match who shared the same league as theirs – a man of equal wealth and stature, and who imposed the same level of authority, yet who somewhat infinitesimally cowered ever so slightly in front of the Xue young master. He somewhat masked it under layers and thick layers of angst and anger and arrogance.

But however he looked, the lady tensed, and as a spectator without the context of the situation, she could sense the taut atmosphere, threatening to brew a brawl any moment.

Hwang Meilin crouched safely behind shelves of plushes and swallowed her saliva as she peeped. She held her breath as she waited for the unfolding of the succeeding events.

She went closer, close enough to hear the Xue young master greet the man. "Long time no see, my friend! How have you been? …Han Fengyu."

[1] suspension bridge effect is when a person mistook the feelings induced by situations linked to fear or heightened anxiety as signals of romantic emotions i.e. heart beating fast due to a dangerous situation might be mistaken as falling in love for someone who coincidentally is present at the scene

Chapter end

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