Is there something I need to know?

"Where are you coming back from at this time of the night?" Rong asked Lijuan with her hands crossed against her chest. She was very angry and didn't want to blow up at her. She still couldn't believe Yun had actually left the party because of her. 

Lijuan who wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone walked past both Rong and Jiaying without saying a word and entered the house. 

"Are you deaf or just trying to be disrespectful as usual?" Rong asked following closely behind her. 

Lijuan stopped short in the living room when she noticed her parents were seated on the couch. She could guess they were waiting for her and was very thankful Jinhai had called earlier on to inform her about his conversation with her father and how he had  pretended to be her. 

"Where were you?" Chairman Mei asked in a very calm voice. 

"I told you already when we spoke on the phone earlier on. I was with Shan at the hospital. She is suffering from food poisoning. I'm sorry I returned this late." Lijuan said bowing her politely. 

Chairman Mei looked at her and then at his wife. He knew Lijuan was lying. How could he not know his own daughter's voice? He also knew his wife knew she was lying, but he let it slide for now.

"Why are you dressed in this manner?" Chairman Mei asked with a frown as he assessed her outfit. 

"I was scared to leave the house properly dressed since I wasn't driving. I didn't want to risk being harassed." She explained as she tried to avoid her mother's gaze.  

"You're very sure about that? And why was Wang Jinhai at the hospital?" He asked.

"He has something going with Shan." Lijuan said shooting a look at Jiaying. 

"I heard a car stop outside the house. Who dropped you off?" Chairman Mei asked again.

"That was Vice president Wang Yun. He had to bring me home since it's so late in the night." Lijuan explained without looking at her father. 

"Okay then, I guess we can all go to bed. We were all worried about you." Chairman Mei said rising up, and his wife along with him. 

Lijuan didn't need anyone to tell her both her sisters were responsible for this. She eyed them disdainfully before climbing the stairs. 

"Do you think she is telling the truth?" Jiaying asked Rong with a frown. 

"We will find out sooner or later." Rong said with an indifferent shrug. But deep down, she knew Lijuan was lying about something even though she couldn't guess what it was now.

Immediately Lijuan entered her room, she collapsed on her bed as she thought of Yun's words. 

Almost immediately, her mother pushed open the door without knocking and entered inside.

She had known her mother was going to check on her before going to bed so she wasn't surprised to see her. 

"Is there something I need to know?" Mother Mei asked sitting on the edge of the bed. 

"Like?" Lijuan asked innocently. 

"Anything. Is there something I should know?" Mother Mei asked again. 

"Yes. I want you to know I love you so much." Lijuan said moving in to give her mother a hug. 

The hug was quite longer than their usual hug. It was as if she was trying to gain emotional support and strength from her. 

"How was the anniversary?" She asked changing the topic as she pulled away from the hug.

"It was boring to say the least, especially without you and your drama." Mother Mei said making Lijuan giggle. 

"We had to leave because I had a little issue with Madam Wang." Mother Mei said with a shrug. 

"Why? What happened?" Lijuan asked in alarm.

"Don't worry about it. How's Shan?" Mother Mei asked. 

"I guess she's feeling better. Jinhai is still with her." Lijuan said with a small smile. 

"Are you okay?" Mother Mei asked with a concerned frown. She could tell something was up with her. She didn't need someone to tell her that.

"Do you think I'm ungrateful and ill mannered?" Lijuan asked her mother with questioning eyes. 

"Why are you asking? Did Vice president Yun say so?" Mother Mei asked with mild annoyance. 

"I'm just trying to work on myself. It's nothing serious." Lijuan said shrugging it off. For reasons she didn't understand her heart was aching because of Yun's words. 

"If you think there's something you need to work on then go ahead and work on it. You should go to bed now. I love you." Mother Mei said before leaving the room.  

She had a lot to ask but she thought it was best to let her sleep.

   ***********

Yun parked the car in his driveway and turned to pick up his suit jacket which he had thrown on the backseat of the car, he frowned when he realized Lijuan had left her backpack. 

Was it a deliberate action or had she genuinely forgotten to take it with her? It seemed to him like they were both leaving their things with each other too much for people who weren't even in a real relationship. 

Yun took off his tie immediately he walked into his house and threw it on the couch. He wasn't usually messy or disorganized but he just didn't have the strength for anything else.

He dropped onto one of the couch, took off his shoes after which he just lay down there thinking about the whole day's drama.

He hadn't realized how much Lijuan's attitude had anooyed him until he had opened his mouth to talk about it. He realized that he who was usually indifferent to things and people was getting more worked up over little things since he crossed paths with Lijuan. 

He liked her and even cared about her but that didn't mean he was willing to keep tolerating the bad attitude she kept giving him. 

It seemed to him like she had two sets of people in her life. The first set of persons didn't like her because of her condition and just didn't care about her while the second set of persons loved her too much probably because they were trying to give her support because of her condition and so neglected teaching her how to behave properly. He could guess it was the reason she behaved that way. She was used to people either loving her wholeheartedly or not loving her at all.

He quickly shook his head to get rid of her thoughts. He had other important things to think about, especially his proposal for the production of cars which the average citizens could afford.

Even though he had his grandfather's support he still needed to garner the support of other members of the board of directors and shareholders. 

He thought something was strange with the atmosphere and quickly got the answer.

The house was kind of very quiet without Jinhai around to pest him with irrelevant issues.

Speaking of Jinhai, he blamed him for telling him about the auction. If he hadn't known and had stayed back at the party minding his own business he wouldn't have gotten so angry.

He thought of Lijuan's apology and the sad look he had seen on her face. He wasn't going to feel sorry for telling her exactly how he felt. He wanted her out of his life and that was it.

   *************

Yang Lei smiled in satisfaction the moment he entered his hotel room. This was going to be his last night under this damn hotel. He would return to his house and life. 

He particularly liked how he had managed the event. Maybe it was time for him to get serious with his life and with the company business. He had taken the first step in the right direction by exchanging contacts with Vice President Wang Yun. Next, he would introduce his girlfriend to his grandfather and maintain a low profile. He didn't want any unnecessary attention from the press anymore. 

He drifted off to sleep with a smile on his lips as he thought of his plans. He would chat up his girlfriend first thing in the morning to set up a meeting with her.