Freak Show

Lu AnLing and Chong Feng stood at a corner of the room near the stairwell. There weren't many people there but they had a great view of the rest of the area.

Standing beside Lu AnLing, Chong Feng could see a couple of people staring their way and whispering. Though he couldn't hear what they were saying, by the way their expressions twisted, Chong Feng understood that it was most likely not good.

"Is it okay that you're talking to me? Shouldn't you mingle with others?" Chong Feng asked Lu AnLing sincerely.

The girl averted her eyes.

"I think it'll be fine."

Lu AnLing had planned to spend the whole evening with her grandmother but the woman had not allowed that to happen but as she understood, Chong Feng wasn't a bad person.

"I'm pretty sure I'd get in trouble if I just left you." Lu AnLing gestured to the side.

Chong Feng followed her gesture.

At the other side of the room, Chong Feng could see Grandma Lu and Old Chong from the corner of his eye. The two elders were talking, but sometimes, they would take breaks to stare at the two of them.

Seeing the two elders, Chong Feng wanted to laugh.

Old people were strange to him, that's why he liked working with kids, instead.

Ignoring them, Lu AnLing and Chong Feng continued to talk.

"How's the country been treating you?" Chong Feng asked. Hearing his voice, Lu AnLing immediately raised her head to look at him but she didn't answer.

Believing that it was because he hadn't specified his question, he said. "I heard that you don't have many friends in the country. What have you been spending your time doing?"

'Or what have you been doing with who?' Chong Feng really wanted to ask.

Lu AnLing smiled.

She didn't take any offense in the man's question.

Unlike his father, who Lu AnLing had to investigate on, Chong Feng was a chill rich boy but because of his job, he wasn't completely detached from the problems of the less fortunate.

Chong Feng was specialized in pediatrics so Lu AnLing learned a lot about how he treated the children and the experiences he had encountered. One she found quite interesting was one about a child who had been adopted. The child had cancer and they needed to find a suitable bone marrow donor. To do this, the parents went on an extensive search for the child's biological parents.

"... I was really worried about the child's life, but thankfully they found her biological father and, thankfully the man wasn't scum. After the surgery, the girls adopted parents kept in contact with the man and he gets to see his child anytime he wants. It's really heartwarming." Chong Feng said happily.

Lu AnLing was really interested in the story. It was beautiful and painful, but, like a storybook ending, it had a happily ever after for everyone involved.

She smiled.

Chong Feng watched as the girls face brightened up and smiled himself. She had a childlike wonder in her eyes. It made the man wonder what thoughts crossed her mind, but the thought was completely erased from his own mind when he checked his phone.

Chong Feng: [Guess who I met?]

Chong Feng did not expect Kang Jun to answer him quickly, so instead, he sent a flurry of messages.

Chong Feng: [Your girlfriend.]

Secretly, Chong Feng took a picture of the girl who leaned on the rails of the stairs and sent it to Kang Jun.

Chong Feng was sure that Kang Jun would quite pleased by the girl's appearance. Though he wasn't sure what action he would take. Chong Feng had never seen Kang Jun in love before, so anything could happen. If he was the jealous type, he might come all the way there to get her away from the ogling eyes of men.

Chong Feng: [Why aren't here too? ]

When Chong Feng saw that Kang Jun had read the message, his whole body radiated his amusement.

Chong Feng believed he knew how Kang Jun would react to his text but after an hour without a reply, Chong Feng doubted himself.

The man knew that Kang Jun would most likely kill him and everyone involved if he found out that her grandmother and his father were trying to set them up so Chong Feng conveniently left that part out, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't try to conduct an experiment with the lives of the many eligible bachelors in the room.

In his opinion, Kang Jun was in love with this girl, but how much love did he feel for her? Chong Feng didn't know… but he wanted to.

Growing up with the Kang's, he had completely understood how their family worked. Marriage and successors were important, but love… not so much.

Turning back to Lu AnLing who stood beside him, Chong Feng continued to have small talk.

Their talk wasn't anything pertinent, they just spoke about whatever came to their minds. Chong Feng noticed that the girl was quite good at holding a conversation and unlike many of the women he had met she didn't stray from topics concerning his job and his boring day to day life. He was pretty shocked at how fun it was speaking to the girl.

No wonder his father had spoken highly of the girl.

But little did Chong Feng know that Old Chong hadn't actually met the girl before pimping her out to him. If the old man had known then he would have never come to the party, let alone brought Chong Feng.

They were both immersed in their conversation but they were also both distracted by their phones. Every small buzz or ring caused them to stare down.

Standing at the foot of the stairs as they faced each other, Lu AnLing and Chong Feng starred at their phones.

Chong Feng turned to look at Lu AnLing who still had her nose in her phone.

He was going to say something to her, but then suddenly, he noticed a group of people approaching them.

They were talking loudly about this and that. Chong Feng wasn't quite interested in them, but due to their horribly annoying voices, the man's attentions were naturally drawn towards them.

He was about to recommend to Lu AnLing that they leave but then, one girl spoke up.

"Do you know who I saw today? Lu AnLing. I thought she ran away to another country? What is she doing back!"

Chong Feng didn't recognize the girl's who said that or any of the girls and boys around. Whoever they were, Chong Feng found them annoying and a few other guests around thought the same.

Many people gave the group looks of disdain as they drank and spoke nonsense.

"Lu AnLing? The bumpkin?" a man laughed as his arm wrapped around a skinny girls waist. He turned to look at the girl at his side and said, "I don't know what your Grandmother is thinking."

Chong Feng turned his whole gaze towards the crowd as they spoke. Beside him, Lu AnLing was still distracted by her phone but she heard their words loud and clear.

The skinny girl wore a short black dress. Hearing the man beside her speak Lu AnLing's name, she put her hands on her hips and then she sneered.

"I know! why did she need to invite 'that'. Lu Xinya, Lu Shuya and I, Lu Jiayi, should be enough for her. I mean, I don't know about my sister and cousin, but I've done so much to make grandmother proud! It's really ridiculous that the old woman is being so... so... unreasonable. Our family pride is at stake!" The girl began to pout towards the man who held her. Seeing this, he took the opportunity to kiss the girl on the lips.

Lu Jiayi kissed back before she turned to her group and said, "6 years without 'that' was so amazing. The Lu family was able to show some face but now what will happen. I can't believe grandmother would take such a happy occasion and turning it into a freak show!"

Listening to them in silence, Lu AnLing and Chong Feng watched the group for a while, but when Lu Jiayi spoke her last sentence, Lu AnLing couldn't hold herself back.

Blazing past a few people like a goddess in white, Lu AnLing stopped right in front of the crowd and spoke.

"Lu Jiayi where do you get off insulting your own grandmother at her own birthday party?"