Page 142 of He Is My Bride
Li Ying sat.
Wu Yiheng poured him tea and Li Ying felt more at ease, come what may.
“I’m sorry for calling you here on such short notice,” Wu Yiheng said, “but I had forgotten that your return flight is already today.”
“It’s alright. What did you want to discuss with me?” Li Ying accepted the tea and drank carefully. The oolong was just like how Hanjun brewed it.
“A couple of things.” Wu Yiheng poured for himself as well. “First, I wanted to let you know that Tang Xiuxiu has left Shanghai,seemingly for good—she has terminated her apartment lease. You won’t have to worry about her anymore.”
“How do you know that?”
“I have my sources. However, as Hanjun suspected, it does seem plausible that Wang Guosheng is the one behind the attack, andhehasn’t gone anywhere. You must still be careful. While you are in Shanghai, we will increase security measures around you.”
“Thank you, Mister Wu. I’m sorry for… overreacting at the reception.”
Wu Yiheng shook his head. “I saw the footage. Your behavior was not befitting of a woman who’s engaged to a Wu. You have a truly terrible temper, Li Ying. Overreaction indeed! However, you were attacked first, and it’s good you caught that Tang Xiuxiu.”
Me? Terrible temper? You should meet Mrs. Qian! But how come you don’t seem more mad at me, Uncle Yiheng?He’d even called him by his full name instead of patronizing him.
“The police didn’t get it out of her, but it’s likely Wang Guosheng employed her to scare you, which has little to do with you and everything to do with their rivalry with us Wus. Yet the fact that Xiuxiu got caught and questioned thanks to your actions, however overblown, should make Wang Guosheng think twice before insulting us for a second time; the Wus, nor our associates, are weak or easily scared.”
Li Ying had a newfound respect for Wu Yiheng: it seemed he did value personal integrity over appearances after all.
“But if you are going to associate with us in the future,” Wu Yiheng said, “make sure to act more like a normal, sane person! Even in abnormal situations, we must not lose face. What must Hanjun have thought, with his fiancée acting like that?”
Oh, don’t use your darling nephew against me, uncle, he’s much worse than you think!Li Ying almost managed to contain his sass: he simply tilted his head and smiled.
“He’s used to me being a little wild.”
Wu Yiheng sighed and rubbed his forehead, as if he were coming down with a headache. He sipped his tea and looked back at Li Ying.
“There is another matter I had to discuss with you.”
“Hm?” Li Ying held his cup to his lips to drink.
“The matter of your and Hanjun’s marriage.”
Li Ying froze. He lowered the cup without having drunk.Implying…?He didn’t dare hope. “What does Mister Wu mean?”
Wu Yiheng took a long and ponderous sip of his tea. The man put his cup down and looked Li Ying in the eyes with grave seriousness.
“The Wu family’s position as the head of the company hangs in the balance. How aware are you of what the attack against you means?”
Li Ying smiled wryly. “Dogs don’t bite without a reason. Unless they’re rabid, and Wang Guosheng isn’t rabid. He seems like a very intelligent and cunning man, and therefore I’d deduce he’s taken me for a threat and attempts to scare me away—I know he wants the company. But rather than him thinking he could scare me with such lousy tricks, I think this was just him making a petty little comeback.”
“Comeback to what?”
“Ask your nephew.” Li Ying sipped his tea. During their meeting with the lawyer yesterday, they hadn’t told Wu Yiheng of Wang Guosheng’s assault on Li Ying after the reunion dinner, nor of Hanjun’s threat. “Wang Guosheng tried to scare me away by attempting to make me think I would bring ruin upon Hanjun and the company if I married him. Hanjun didn’t appreciate that, and he can tell you the rest.”
“What did Wang Guosheng say? You must tell me exactly!”
“He said little but implied much: that by marrying me, Hanjun would basically be handing the company over to him. Wang Guosheng must have taken me for a fool to think I would believe it were so simple, and there he made a mistake. Also, why would he have said this to me? Out of his goodwill? Tch! Why not just let me marry Hanjunthen, if it would bring such ruin upon his rival? This is what baffles me more than his little stunt at the cocktail reception.”
Wu Yiheng seemed to think deeply about what he had just heard.
“You were correct when you said that Wang Guosheng is cunning.” Wu Yiheng broke the silence. “I can’t say for certain what his plan was when he implied those things to you, whether he truly has underestimated you. I will not make that mistake. Li Ying…”
Li Ying met his gaze.
