Chapter 43 (1/2)
Deliberately Finding Fault
Xia Lei went out to greet her with a smile on his face, “Big Sister Ning, what brings you here today?”
Ning Jing’s little mouth quirked slightly, “What, I can’t come here unless I have something to ask you?”
Xia Lei smiled, “Of course you can come! I’ll always welcome you.” After a pause, he added, “I’m sorry about yesterday. I messed up.”
“I don’t blame you - I didn’t know Ren Wen-Qiang would turn up either. We haven’t seen each other in years,” said Ning Jing.
“Your parents seem to like him a lot,” said Xia Lei.
“I’m here to apologise. My mother was rude last night, and Ren Wen-Qiang, he was too arrogant…” She looked at Xia Lei, and was not sure how to continue.
Xia Lei behaved as though it didn’t matter, “It’s fine. It’s normal for someone of his status to look down on someone like me. This society is like that - lacking trust and respect.” He laughed, “And, your mother was doing it for your own good. Ren Wen-Qiang is indeed outstanding. I think most mothers would want a son-in-law like him for their daughters.”
“Oh, stop talking about that,” Ning Jing cut Xia Lei off, “Not every woman wants to marry a man of status and not every woman wants to marry for a big house or nice car. You’re not me. How would you know what sort of man I like?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it that way,” said Xia Lei.
“I know you don’t mean it that way. What I’m trying to say is that I, myself, am most sure about what sort of person I like and what sort of person I would spend the rest of my life with. My mother is not the one who will make important decisions for me,” said Ning Jing.
Xia Lei did not want to speak further on this topic. He said, “Please, come in and have a seat. I’ll make some tea for you and we can chat.”
Ning Jing looked at Xia Lei, her gaze seeming rather sharp, “Won’t I be in the way of your work?”
Xia Lei laughed and said, “No, no. There isn’t much work to do today.”
A sweet smile appeared on Ning Jing’s face, “Can you introduce your two employees? I don’t have many friends so I’d be happy to have more.”
“No problem. They’ll be glad to get to know a friend like you,” said Xia Lei.
Ning Jing followed Xia Lei into the workshop and he introduced Ma Xiao-An and Zhou Xiao-Hong to her. The four of them chatted and laughed, and Ning Jing taught Zhou Xiao-Hong how to use the computer and the Office software. The atmosphere in the workshop was harmoniously friendly.
Looking at Ning Jing and Zhou Xiao-Hong get along, Xia Lei had a small suspicious thought, ‘Why would a doctorate holder such as Ning Jing want to make friends with Ma Xiao-An and Zhou Xiao-Hong? Strange.’
Those who were cultured and those who weren’t actually had few topics in common when they interacted. The chance of them becoming friends were even smaller.
Before Xia Lei could think of a reason, a black BMW stopped by the side of the road. It was a multi-million-yuan BMW 7 series. The sunlight bouncing off the car’s body wax made it look extraordinarily impressive.
The door opened and a suit-clad Ren Wen-Qiang got out from the driver’s side. He removed his sunglasses, looked at Thunder Horse Workshop, and walked straight over.
“Big Sister Ning, someone’s looking for you,” said Xia Lei. He didn’t think Ren Wen-Qiang would come here looking for him. If Ning Jing were not here, a person such as Ren Wen-Qiang would probably never give a small roadside establishment like Thunder Horse Workshop more than a passing glance.
Ning Jing looked up at Xia Lei’s words. When she saw Ren Wen-Qiang, she froze and the smile on her face disappeared.
Ren Wen-Qiang walked into Thunder Horse Workshop and his line of sight swept past Xia Lei, Ma Xiao-An and Zhou Xiao-Hong’s faces, then stopped on Ning Jing’s face and a nice smile appeared on his face, “Jing, why did you switch your phone off when I called you? I went to your home to look for you and Auntie said you’d gone out. I only knew you didn’t go to work today when I went to your workplace. I asked around and heard of this place. It wasn’t easy to find; I had some trouble locating it.”
Ning Jing forced a stiff smile on her face, “What are you looking for me for?”
“I’ve been away from this city for many years and there has been some great changes. I’d like to see how it had changed but I lack a guide who can take me around. Would you like to accompany me on a round of the city?” Without waiting for Ning Jing’s agreement, he continued, “I’ve booked us a table at Golden Beach. We can have Western cuisine at noon.”
An expensive car, romantic Western meal and a handsome man - these held great attraction for women and it was hard to say no to it but Ning Jing seemed to be an exception. She shook her head, “I don’t like Western cuisine.”
“Then let’s go for Chinese cuisine. I know a restaurant which specialises in Cantonese cuisine and they have good food.”
“I…” Ning Jing did not expect Ren Wen-Qiang to be so persistent. She did not want to reject him directly so she’s said she didn’t like Western but he’d changed it to Cantonese cuisine right away. She wasn’t sure what excuse to use to refuse him anymore.
At that moment, Zhou Xiao-Hong got up and walked to the water dispenser to get Ren Wen-Qiang a cup of water and brought it to him with both hands, “Have some water, sir.”
Ren Wen-Qiang did not stretch out his hand; he did not even respond nor look at Zhou Xiao-Hong.
Zhou Xiao-Hong froze awkwardly and was at a loss as to what to do.
Xia Lei spoke, “Xiao-Hong, this gentleman here is too much of a noble. You won’t be able to get him to respond so just go about your work and ignore him.”