Nineteen
"Wha.. what are you doing here?" Mrs Cheng stammered and took a fearful step back, her face pale with shock.
Natzin was dead for years so why was there a woman who looked exactly like her standing before her? Before she could further react, just then Jie came back and seeing everyone staring at the door he went and with a glance understood what was going on.
"These are our investors, Mr and Mrs Xhi." He said and everyone's attention went to him and on searching his serious face and realizing that he was not joking their gaze swung back to Natzin who was looking smugly at them, reveling in their shocked expressions.
"Please forgive me, do come in and have a drink." Mrs Cheng snapped herself out of the shock induced stupor she had fallen into.
She led the way in and everyone sat while the maids went around with flutes of champagne then she pulled Jie out of the room urgently.
"Why did you not tell me that the investors wife looks exactly like Natzin?" She whispered furiously, upset to have been caught unawares.
"Everytime I tried to tell you something else caught your attention and that woman does not look like Natzin." He said and his mother scowled.
"Are you blind? The lady in that room is the spitting image of Natzin." She said and peered closely at her son to check his eyesight.
"That lady out there is Natzin." He said and her gaze widened. She looked from him to the door and back again.
"Yes." He shrugged, "not only is Natzin alive but apparently she is married to our newest investor and the savior of our drowning company." He smiled self deprecatingly.
"But he is so old." Mrs Cheng gasped in horror and Jie shrugged.
It should not bother him, whatever Natzin did in her personal life was her business as long as it did not affect him. Plus, if she was married to that man did that not mean she was no longer obsessed with him? Why then was he irritated by the fact that she did not seem to care about his presence?
As they both stood there collecting their thoughts, Jie heard some commotion coming from inside the room and he hurriedly opened the door to see his cousin Liling glaring at Natzin.
"What is this needy girl doing here, is she not supposed to be dead?" She said with an upturned nose and added mockingly. "Or did you rise from the dead simply to stalk my cousin again?"
They all knew of Natzin's desperation to be with Jie and no one had had a problem with it, in fact they had even tried to encourage him to be with her until the scandal about her broke and she became persona non grata.
"Liling, you need to stop immediately." Jie demanded and walked to Liling's side where he grabbed her arm and tried to pull her out but she resisted.
"What? Are you suddenly in love with her? Why are you fighting for her? You should let the useless whore leave before our important guests arrive."
"Liling! Enough!" Liling's father Wei Chang shouted and she stared in shock at him.
He never scolded her like that before, why would he do it in front of this shameless hussy?
Mr Xhi looked at the faces of the people assembled with unconcealed outrage and with a trembling voice he said.
"Is this how you treat your guests? I was of the opinion that this was an elite family but apparently i was wrong and if that is the case then my wife and I will not be dining with you tonight if you can't be courteous towards her."
"Wife?!" Liling's shocked voice rang through the room then she chortled in laughter, "she married this old man?"
Lost in her mirth she failed to see when her father crossed the room and the next thing that registered was a slap so hard that her ears rang and she saw stars.
"Go to your room immediately, I am going to deal with you later." Cheng Wei said coldly.
Grabbing a hold of her red hot cheek which was swollen with the imprint of fingers, Liling looked at her father in shock as tears ran down her cheeks before she fled the room.
Her mother turned to follow her daughter out and she was stopped by her husband's cold voice.
"I dare you to walk out of this room."
She clenched her fists angrily and looked down at her feet while gritting her teeth. She could not bear to look at Natzin's smug face because she feared that she might lose control so she just took deep breaths to calm herself down.
Clasping her hands together in a conciliatory manner, Mrs Cheng went before Mr Xhi and bowed low.
"My apologies for my family's rudeness, please forgive us."
Mr Xhi looked with displeasure at the tense faces of the people standing,
"I am not the one who was offended and insulted so your apology is lost on me." He said, his intention obvious.
Natzin continued to nonchalantly sip from her flute while Jie's brown eyes concentrated on her as his mother turned and bowed subserviently before her. He wanted so badly to drag Natzin and kick her out of the house for reducing him mother to this but when he took a step forward his mother glanced at him with a warning expression to stay away and he stood rigidly.
"My apologies Mrs Xhi, please don't let this poor mistake on our part ruin this blossoming friendship." Mrs Cheng said humbly while remaining bent.
"I figure when people have been on the top for too long they believe it is their birthright and refuse to let go of their pride even when they have fallen." She said with a sardonic twist of her lips and the Cheng family stiffened in humiliation.
They needed the influx of money from Mr Xhi's company and even though they hated it, they would have to bear the insults this cheap girl was throwing their way. Soon enough they would be back on top and no longer in need of his help, then they would be able to deal with her.
"Before I accept your apology I need reassurance that your daughter's poor treatment will receive punishment more strict that one given to a teenager suffering angst." Natzin added carelessly.
Sounding strained Cheng Wei nodded, "as her father, I will ensure that she has been adequately punished." He said and when his wife opened her mouth to protest he grabbed her hand and squeezed it tight to stop her from saying anything that would further plunge them into more trouble.