Girl, You're Struggling

Kang Jun and Kang Mu had spent a lot of time in Kang Jun's office and just when Kang Mu was speaking about who-knowns-what, Mr. Long walked in.

The secretary had knocked beforehand and Kang Jun had allowed him inside despite the fact that Kang Mu was still mid-sentence.

When Kang Mu saw this, he couldn't help but frown and say, "I wasn't done speaking!"

But Kang Jun couldn't care less. He just looked at Mr. Long, allowing the man to speak without restraint.

Looking at Kang Mu's exasperated expression, Mr. Long wasn't sure whether or not he should speak but then, gazing back at Kang Jun, Mr. Long knew what he had to do.

He said, "Um... your grandfather just called. He needs some help..."

Hearing this, Kang Jun frowned.

Kang Jun was about to speak but Kang Mu, who seemed quite agitated, approached the secretary and asked, "What happened?"

Mr. Long looked between Kang Jun and Kang Mu and then hesitatingly said, "Well... It seems like he needs someone to pick him up."

Kang Jun's face twisted. "Why?"

Mr. Long touched the back of his head and said, "It seems like he went out with... a friend...when he wasn't supposed to..."

Kang Jun looked towards his father and Kang Mu looked back at him.

Kang Mu: "Since Rong Shen has been looking for your grandmother, we've requested that your grandfather doesn't go out too much..." Kang Mu scratched his head and then turned to Mr. Long, "But what happened that he wants Jun to pick him up?"

Mr. Long looked uncomfortable. "It seems like his friend drank a lot and little miss Mei Xue is with him..."

Hearing this, Kang Jun pushed himself up from his desk, "Long Rui, take care of the company matters."

Those were the last things Kang Jun said before he walked out the door. Behind him, Kang Mu followed.

***

As Mr. Long was giving Kang Jun and Kang Mu the news, Tang Bingyi And Lu AnLing arrived at a restaurant.

As they walked in, Lu AnLing didn't ask why they were there, she just followed behind Tang Bingyi who sighed many times before they had arrived.

"Sorry I'm dragging you all the way here... I have to pick up my grandfather. He's a real pain sometimes." Tang Bingyi said with a sigh. "Ever since my grandmother died, he's been drinking more and more. And while I can completely understand why... it's a bit much..."

The girl walked in front of Lu AnLing but she looked back every so often as she spoke. Almost as if to check if Lu AnLing hadn't run away, "I thought he would get better after uncle came back home but..."

Tang Bingyi shrugged and then she suddenly stopped. "I dunno... something is wrong."

Tang Bingyi nodded her head slightly as she reminisced a bit in her mind. "Uncle can't deal with grandpa much. They hang out a lot but they don't really speak."

Suddenly, Tang Bingyi stopped walking and looked back towards Lu AnLing. "Uncle prefers spending time with his daughter; my cousin, and she's..."

Tang Bingyi shook her head, "Let's not talk about it."

Tang Bingyi: "Anyways, he really cherishes her but I don't fully understand that. My dad's been dead for years and even when he was alive he liked Luoyi better than me," Her voice was low and sad when she said this but then she then shrugged again, "But whatever... what can you do. It's water under the bridge now."

Lu AnLing didn't say anything. She just listened as Tang Bingyi poured her heart out in a detached manner. If Lu AnLing didn't know better, she would have thought that the girl was telling a story of someone else's life. Though, while listening to the girl, Lu AnLing began to notice that she had no one to talk to about these things and she immediately began to feel a bit sorry for her.

Lu AnLing: "So your uncle called you to get your grandfather?"

"Uh huh." Tang Bingyi said monotonously.

Lu AnLing was going to ask a bit more questions, but once they arrived at a certain area, Tang Bingyi went to speak to a person who then led both her and Lu AnLing to a table at the side of the room, in its own little booth of sorts.

Lu AnLing wasn't expecting to see anyone she knew but as soon as they arrived in seeing distance of the table, Lu AnLing saw a tired looking Elder Kang and a completely confused Kang Mei Xue as an old man, who she assumed was Elder Tang, had his head down on the table as he cried.

His forehead was pressed hard against the tablecloth which was slightly stained with droplets of wine, but the Elder wasn't paying attention to it, his soul was disturbed.

"My darling Liane would hate me.... I drove my son away, why was I so stupid..." Elder Tang grumbled as tears fell from his eyes onto the table after slipping off his red cheeks. The man hit the table with his first which caused a wide-eyed Kang Mei Xue to jump slightly. Seeing this, Lu AnLing couldn't help but run up towards the girl.

Seeing Lu AnLing, Kang Mei Xue didn't recognize her at first but when Lu AnLing said, "Are you okay?"

Kang Mei Xue jumped off of her seat and ran into Lu AnLing's legs.

Seeing this, Elder Kang looked at the girl. Somehow, despite the fact that she didn't look the same at all, Elder Kang recognized Lu AnLing.

The old man immediately stood up and walked over to her.

Tang Bingyi saw this, but she needed to take care of her grandfather before she could pay attention to anything else.

Walking over to Elder Tang, Tang Bingyi felt her heart clench. She gazed upon the old withered man who was practically passed out on the table. His breathing irregular as he sobbed into the table.

If anyone else in her family had seen this scene, they would have most likely felt embarrassment, if not only a tinge but Tang Bingyi did not. She didn't even take in that they were in a public place, she just put her hand on her grandfathers back as she began to speak in French. "Grandfather, what happened to you? Did you drink too much again?"

Despite asking those questions, Tang Bingyi knew exactly what had happened. It had happened way too many times before so Tang Bingyi was used to it. But this didn't mean that she wasn't hurt and annoyed every time the man did this.

Hearing the girl speak in France, Elder Tang looked up to see Tang Bingyi. Seeing her face through blurry eyes, the old man cried a bit more. "Ah Liane, my darling..."

The elder reached for Tang Bingyi but she avoided his grasp.

Tang Bingyi was a not a germaphobe but she hated feeling the wetness of tears, spit or snot anywhere near her.

Realizing what she had unconsciously done, Tang Bingyi began to feel bad so she approached the man once more and then she said, "I'm sorry grandfather... I'm not granny. Come on and get up. I'll take you home..."

Hearing this, the elder looked at her as if he didn't understand a word she had said and then he reached to grab the bottle of wine located in the middle of the table.

Seeing the man's action, Tang Bingyi stopped the man's hand mid-air. She firmly held onto it and said, "I think you've had enough."

With that said, Elder Tang's head began to hurt and he became quite irritated but when he looked back up at Tang Bingyi he said, "Liane... yes. I'll stop...You're always right..."

Tang Bingyi did not correct the old man this time, she just allowed him to continue calling her Liane. Even as she tried to help him to stand on his own, the man continued to call his deceased wife's name.

Watching as Tang Bingyi slung her grandfather's arm around her shoulder, Lu AnLing felt extremely bad. She had never experienced anything such as this but Lu AnLing could see that no matter how uncomfortable Tang Bingyi was in this situation, she would not leave the old man's side. She would hold him and support him until the end.

Seeing the unwavering familial love that appeared in Tang Bingyi's eyes as she held her grandfather with difficulty, Lu AnLing felt something move within her heart. It was warm but bitter at the same time.

Gesturing for Kang Mei Xue to give her a second, Lu AnLing walked over to Tang Bingyi who struggled to keep herself and her grandfather stable and she took the other side of the old man.

Feeling more than half the weight disappear, Tang Bingyi turned to her side. Once she saw Lu AnLing holding the man, her face became slightly pale.

Tang Bingyi: "I'm so sorry for this shameful sight. You don't need to help me, I'll be fine on my own."

Hearing this, Lu AnLing shook her head. "Girl, you're struggling. It's okay accept another person's help, once in a while."