He was gorgeous, had a good job or at least money, and had a swanky apartment. Maybe he was even a trust fund kid or a second-generation conglomerate. He seemed confident, and this thoughtful gift suddenly seemed less sweet and more calculated. A guy who seemingly had it all. Why would he look twice at her? A plain, awkward girl who shoulder assaulted him in a grocery store.
She knew she was not an ugly girl, but she was not the type to spend time on her appearance. Many boys growing up found her boyish build and athletic body unfeminine. They criticized her lack of desire to dress up as a flaw and her inability to play cute and coy as weird. Her history with boys was that she was always the friend but never the focus of a crush, and any guy she had liked in school had rejected her. Her stamina and natural sports ability threatened many. Her straight-A grades made her stand out as even less attractive, given she put so many fellow students to shame.
She stared at it with less sentiment and started to view it as a pick-up ploy. Maybe he hit on every girl he met; a cute face and a pretty smile had just suckered her. Perhaps he had a whole string of women for whom he bought candy. Maybe she had overthought the interaction, and it was nothing to him.
“Why are you spaced out and looking forlorn?” Ling startled her, appearing from her left side, and Suying hastened to tuck her gift into her carrier bag, sudden embarrassment making her an awkward, shy teen. She would never dare share those thoughts with Ling, for she would flatten her.
Ling thought Suying and Meilei were the two most beautiful, attractive, and worthy women who walked the earth that no man was deserving of. If she heard Suying’s insecurities aloud, she would scold her. No one had more self-love than Ling when it came to her attractiveness in general. She never feared whether a man facing her thought she was hot or not. She made all the moves if she liked him and rarely got a knockback. She wouldn’t understand.
“Princess!!!!” She swooped down, picked up her favorite girl, and gave her a twirl and hug. “Aunt Soo missed you the mostest. You’re going to be a big, brave girl for me, right?” Suying stopped, seeing the wide-eyed mistrust on her face, and even though she nodded, Yue remained quiet and blank-faced. Suying eyed up Meilei, who was pale and equally mute, and then glanced to Ling with question.
Meilei watched Yue in Suying’s arms in silent dread.
Going over and over the last night’s scene and wondering if she was doing the right thing by not overwhelming her with too much. She finally broke it to Yue that her biological father had come looking for her and wanted to prove they were related with a test. He didn’t believe he had a child and Yue would meet him for the first time today. Yue was handling it in a scarily quiet way with little resistance yet no real emotional reaction either.
Meilei had thought truths growing up would be less damaging to her daughter’s self-worth, yet last night, her child had stared at her in confused silence. Blank at first and then tears. She had feared this stranger would want to take her. Other than that, she hadn’t been able to express her emotions or what she was thinking, and Meilei had no idea how Yue was taking this. She had asked if that meant she wouldn’t live with Mommy anymore, which had broken Meilei as most divorced kids at her kindergarten lived with their father’s families as per their culture’s laws geared toward men. Other than that, she had inherited Kai’s infuriating internalizing. Yue was a child who would carry her woe inside and try to be brave for her mommy. She had a highly effective poker face.
“Elevator. It’s the fourth floor.” Suying motioned them to follow and walked up behind a couple already standing waiting for it. Yue was blinking and observing the world and curled her hands around Suying’s neck for security.
She knew this test was pointless and knew what outcome it would have, but it was the only stall tactic they had to buy more time this past two weeks while they found a lawyer and got to grips with what was coming. The days seemed to pass quickly, though, and now she had run out of time. Midnight was the court-ordered deadline. She had to agree to this or else breach the order.
The elevator opened, and all moved inside. Turning to settle in as the doors slid closed, a hand abruptly stopped them and reopened them. They watched with little interest for the newcomer entering, and Meilei and Ling exchanged glances because of the familiar face. Tension rising between them.
Meilei, Ling, the little girl, and a doctor holding her were close by, almost shielding the child from him. He was there as a dampener to keep Kai in order, but he could sense the dislike being forcefully lasered his way. He nodded before sliding past others and stood at the side of Ling in the only available gap, given it was crowded. The last person he wanted to be beside.
“Miss Liu, Miss Huo.” He was gracious and met Ling’s cold and icy glare. Tian tried not to stare directly at the child, seeing her for the first time, but his heart rate hastened at what he saw with a glimpse. He faced forward and lowered his chin to process his surprise.
“Mr Wang.” Meilei was polite enough to greet him, knowing he would accompany Kai and the lawyer to ensure peace. Suying appraised him with interest, hearing the name and guessing who he might be. Putting a face to a name that Ling frequently demonized. The downside of being the one who didn’t work with her friends was that all the people they spoke about were only names to her, and she had never seen a single one.
“Go choke,” Ling muttered under her breath, avoiding his eyes on her, and they both seemed to straighten stiffly side by side into permanent war mode. Snorting at one another and exchanging mildly hateful glances and veiled daggers. Suying observed with amusement at her fierce friend standing up to the muscular and slightly intimidating taller guy. He had an air of command and seriousness, and it was funny to see him engage in a petty battle with her friend. It didn’t suit how he was presented.
The doors opened, and Ling made a point of flicking her hair his way aggressively, aiming it with precision and the right amount of sass before storming out first. She got him with the end of her long locks right in the mouth with a whiplash sting, and he glared in a fury, swiping a hand to his bottom lip to numb the assault away and muttered silently under his breath. Cursing her out.
That woman was so close to being strangled. He had never met anyone who could rile him up or was as immature as her at holding a petty grudge. For all his cool manner and ability to stay neutral and composed his entire life, this one brazen demon seemed to possess the access card to his red buttons. Tian followed the group, knowing they were heading the same way, but kept his distance. He didn’t trust himself not to corner her and wrap his hands around her neck.
“It’s okay, baby. Just hold mommy’s hand; it will be so quick you won’t even notice.” Yue hid behind Meilei’s legs as Suying put her down to let them into the ward where they had their appointment. She had arranged a neutral department to have a senior carry out what was to be witnessed. Xuchen’s lawyer was here already, and she assumed the man at the desk behind him and facing away was Kai. The Wang guy was following them in at a distance, and Suying motioned to the seating at the right beside the small room they would be using.
Meilei tried to avoid looking Kai’s way purposely and ushered Yue to the seats, seeing how she evaluated the area around them. Her eyes strayed to the obvious lawyer in the suit before leading to the tall, jean-clad, black jacket-wearing man signing something at the desk. Her tiny brow furrowed as she leaned out further to look around her mother and narrowed her gaze on his figure. Tugging the skirt of her mother’s dress and finger motioning her to lean down.
“What is it, baby?” She brushed back Yue’s hair, her little face still focused fully on Kai and only tilted her chin to make her mouth closer to her mom’s face.
“Is that him?” It was a breathy question, lacking the fear she had been displaying all morning, and instead, there was a weird calm about her. Yue seemed more like she was evaluating him with a ‘huh’ reaction rather than a scared one. Meilei was glad she was not openly afraid, but seeing her daughter’s keen interest in him didn’t calm her nerves.
Ling wandered to stand midway between Meilei and those gathering at the desk, leaving Suying to deal with them now that they were huddled. Purposefully keeping Tian away from her little family. Scowling his way even though he strolled by her to meet Kai and Chang. Another doctor appeared, someone older and male with salt-and-pepper gray hair and a kind expression. He seemed to engage in friendly conversation with Suying before they turned to Kai and asked him something.
Meilei watched in tense silence, picking up Yue and putting her on a chair to sit, aware Yue’s eyes seemed to be getting wider and her features more ‘oh’ like as she stared their way, watching every movement like a hawk. Something seemed to register on her face, and she smiled.
“It’s who? What do you mean?” Meilei took a second to register her daughter’s words, looking from Kai to her and back again and trying not to jump to conclusions. Her face icing over as her blood drained slowly, and she hoped she didn’t mean what it sounded like.
Meilei dropped it when they headed this way, and Suying skipped further in front to meet them first. Shielding them from view unintentionally.
“In there… door’s open. Mr. Xuchen and his lawyer need to be present to see her swabbed. We get it done and can go. He already had his sample taken.” Suying was in doctor mode even though seeing Kai for the first time had completely thrown her. He seemed oddly familiar. She knew he bore a resemblance to Yue, but it was a shock for her to see how a masculine, handsome face could be similar to a dainty, pretty princess without being able to pick out exactly why. She was sure she had seen him before too, but she couldn’t place where.