Is This Seat Taken?

~Xiang Villa~

The mood in the living room was unsettling. There was a staring battle going on between Raelle and her grandfather. She had just rushed back home last night and this morning, she was given a big present - an announcement of her upcoming marriage.

After seeing that her grandfather was very inflexible regarding this matter, she couldn't help laughing out. There was no sobriety in that laughter. This was rather to show how well she understood her grandfather. Since he couldn't get her to fall in love, he'd choose the next best thing; a relationship she had to be loyal to.

Was it mentioned that Raelle Xiang had been a very loyal person? In fact, she valued loyalty the most. No matter if it was work or a relationship, she'd be wholly devoted to it. That was one emotion, she was willing to invest in. Because according to her, this investment was worthwhile.

"You don't agree?" questioned Grandfather Xiang with a straight face but Raelle could see his despairing implore behind his words. He didn't want her to run from this. He really was serious about this one. He wasn't just trying his luck as he did before with those blind dates. He was very certain this time.

As always, Raelle still couldn't bring herself to say 'no' to this one person. She always thought that her grandfather lost a lot for her sake, so the least she could do for him was to make him happy in any way. If he had been serious about those blind dates, she would have never dared to play those games. But this time, since he was serious, she wouldn't dare to back off either.

Shaking her head, she spoke up, "I just have one question." Grandfather Xiang raised his brow in question and she went on, "Why? Why do you want me to get married?"

Grandfather Xiang operated the controller to wheel his wheelchair close to Raelle's seat and held her hands in his own saying, "You're just born when I held you in my arms. From that day, I only had one wish to bring you everything."

"I know," she replied.

"But I also had another wish to give you a complete family." Raelle's face stiffened when she heard that response. He caressed her face saying, "But I could never do that. I couldn't give you the complete family that you deserved. So, the next best thing I could think of was for you to build your own family, with your husband and your own kids."

Raelle bobbed her head up and down slowly before she opened her mouth to agree, "Okay."

Both Grandfather Xiang and Mu Chenyan were taken aback. Did she just agree? Just like that? Nothing else? They both were in disbelief but Raelle had no time to explain why she agreed to this readily. Because, to her, the reason was still as simple as always; she'd do anything for her grandfather.

She stood up to leave when Mu Chenyan came back to herself and asked, "Don't you want to know about him?"

Raelle stopped and turned around to ask, "Is he handsome?"

Mu Chenyan squinted her eyes at her, "Is that the most important thing?"

Raelle didn't even hesitate before nodding her head, "He should be pleasing to my eyes before anything else. After all, I'm gonna spend my life with him." Mu Chenyan gaped at her in disbelief. "Yanyan, if you're done appreciating me, can you please come and help me with the dress up?"

"Where are you going?" questioned Mu Chenyan.

"I have a new year party to attend tonight," she replied before turning back to make her way towards her room.

Before Mu Chenyan could say anything, Grandfather Xiang stopped her. With a profound look, he said, "I heard Shui Xian is also attending a new year party tonight."

Mu Chenyan instantly understood and nodded her head before following Raelle to help her with her 'dress up'.

....

~Oriental Hotel~

This was Elle's first time attending any kind of party in H Country. Since the time she moved here, she had been solely focused on work. Things like networking had been too troublesome for her. But this time, it was different.

Her thinking was something along the lines of... "I'm on someone else's territory. A lone warrior. If I want to rule this pack of wolves, I first need to blend in their territory and observe my prey. Haste is waste. I'm a patient person. I will take my time before taking over this territory."

She was wearing a red off-shoulder high low evening dress with black lace around the waist. The front of the dress reached just under her knees while the back part was like a flare touching her feet.

Her hair was tied in a beautiful braid and her bright red lipstick stood out the most on her striking features. She showed her invitation card and was given a mask. Raelle's beautiful brows knitted slightly, no one told her this was a masquerade party. However, she found it more interesting because now she could easily lay low and observe everything.

She put on the black lace mask and entered the grand hall. Inside there was a crowd of men and women sitting together or mingling around with drinks in their hands. The wealthy young master had their arms around beautiful women and even men accompanying them! As for those old geezers, even they had young beautiful ladies hanging on their arms. Everyone was either laughing or having a good time making connections.

Her whole body felt uncomfortable in this place but she pushed herself to stay. Her eyes wandered around to look for an inconspicuous seat with a good view. She finally locked on a target!

It wasn't really an unobtrusive corner but there was only one man sitting there with a wine glass in his hand. From what little face she could see of his, she could tell he was looking rather calm. So, without any hesitation, she walked over.

It wasn't just because he was the only person sitting there. It was because she had seen how no one dared to go close to him. Even though he was sitting in between all these flashy people, there seemed to be an invisible between him and other people.

So, she simply became that daring person who sat down beside him and exhaled a long breath saying in a low voice, "It's difficult to find a quiet place around here."

The hall was noisy and no one had really noticed Raelle presence in the beginning. But as soon as she took a seat, it was as if everyone's shocked eyes moved in her direction. She obviously noticed that abnormality but didn't care.

However, when she noticed that the occupant of the seat beside her was also looking at her, she turned around and tucked her lips up as she questioned, "Is this seat taken?"