Jia Li whirled around with relief etched on her face, "where were you all this while . We have been in a frenzy looking all over for you", she said .
With a marked edge in his voice, he replied, "yeah, that is clearly visible . "
He addressed the stranger, "hi, I am Xie Tang . "
Ethan shook hands with him with an easy smile though he could sense the undercurrents between the two of them .
Mei Zhen arrived at the spot right that moment and pounced upon him, "where the hell have you been? I was told you were sleeping off your hangover from last night but now I see you strolling in from somewhere . All our relatives and friends have been asking about you . "
He didn't utter a word but closed the distance between them and kissed her full on the lips, "I am sorry . It was remiss of me and I promise it won't happen again . "
Although his words were directed at Mei Zhen, his eyes kept straying to Jia Li . She got up from the chair and murmured polite excuses to Ethan before moving away from the blatant display .
"Your family is extremely interesting, no less than a soap opera", commented Ethan when he saw Chu .
At her questioning look, he explained all that had transpired a while ago between her brother and Jia Li .
"They are the eternal star crossed lovers . My father is the one mainly responsible for their agony but their obstinate behaviour also contributed to this heartbreak," she told him briefly sketching the background .
"This was a bad idea . I should have realised that Jia Li's presence would make brother Tang troubled and frustrated . I am not sure if I should talk to him about us at this stage . I think we should stick to you being a good friend and no more, for now," she mused .
Ethan gave her a mock surprised look, "I don't recall seeing you this nervous ever . You are scared of your brother… I can't believe it . "
Chu was shaking her head even before he finished speaking, "no, you are wrong on both counts . I am not nervous but crazily worried about taking even a single wrong step because you are too precious to me . Secondly, it's not scare that you are reading in my eyes but immense respect for him . He has been my hero for as long as I can remember and I don't want to do anything that displeases him . I really want him to like you and the timing sucks under the current circumstances . That's all . "
Ethan was about to comfort her when Tang walked up to them and raised his eyes at the apparent proximity between the two of them .
"Brother Tang, this is Ethan Hunt . He works with me at the news channel and has come for the wedding especially . He is fascinated with our country and its culture, people, things," she explained in a rush .
"We just met . So you like everything about China, huh? Just a word of caution – not everything you like, can belong to you . I sincerely hope you enjoy your stay," Tang said ominously and walked away .
Ethan gave a short bark of laugh and said, "are you sure he wants to get married? If I read between the lines correctly, he just told me to back off from Jia Li . I don't think he is even thinking about the bride-to-be . "
She had similar suspicions but played the devil's advocate, "you told me about his sizzling kiss with Mei Zhen just a little while ago . How do you explain that?"
Ethan gave her a mischievous smile and said, "you have doubt about my instincts, love? That kiss was to cause heartburn somewhere else . You should have seen his face the minute Jia Li walked away without giving him any sort of reaction . He stopped the kiss mid-way and made a lame excuse to his lovely fiancée about some urgent work . "
Chapter end
Report
|
Donate
Oh o, this user has not set a donation button.
|