The Hong Men Banquet (4)

The rest of what Qing Qing said faded into the background because he was too stunned by the scene that he saw. His wife on an intimate date with the man that she had the scandal with. 'Perhaps it is as hinted at by Qing Qing? There is an affair involved?!'

The anger and fear of betrayal snowballed in Xu Jing's mind until it severed his rationality and sanity completely.

Qing Qing smiled when she saw Xu Jing's face fell. The plan was to place the impression on the man's mind that his wife was cheating on him and then he would be much more pliable to her influence in the future.

Veins popped on Xu Jing's neck and forehead. Qing Qing realized the man could be quite scary when he was angry. It was always the nicest that was the most dangerous when they exploded.

While Qing Qing was still submerged in the success of her plan, she did not realize Xu Jing had started to make his move. The man's sudden movement caught Qing Qing's attention and when she saw what the man was doing, the smile on her face froze.

Qing Qing anticipated the man to storm off but not towards the direction of the café. 'Mission abort! Mission abort!' Qing Qing's mind screamed. Things were developing down a direction that she did not anticipate and she did not know how to deal with this.

In the heat of the moment, she reached out to grab Xu Jing's wrist, attempting to hold him back. However, the man walked too fast for her to reach him. Qing Qing missed and when she looked up, Xu Jing had already stalked away from her. He had crossed the street and was now just inches away from the entrance of Spring Leaf Café.

…

Joann was the first to arrive at Spring Leaf Café. When she left home, Xu Jing was nowhere to be seen. She jumped into the family car and drove off, which was why Xu Jing had to take a cab later.

She did not leave a note explaining to Xu Jing where she had gone and she would not have done that even if she did run into Xu Jing when she was leaving home. Unlike more unsecure couples, Joann did not call to check up on her husband's location every other minute. She believed even married couple needed to have their personal private time away from each other.

She expected Xu Jing to not harass her 24/7 so she extended the same respect back to her husband. Do unto others what you wish others to do unto yourself, right?

Joann arrived at Spring Leaf Café at a quarter to three. She parked her car and walked into the café. She had just been to this place several weeks ago to meet Xiu Ling but it felt like a lifetime had passed already since then.

Joann looked around the café and could see no one familiar except the waiter who seemed to remember her as he nodded with a smile at her. Joann nodded back as she navigated to a more private table at the back of the room. She seemed to be the first one there. That was to be expected since she had indeed arrived early.

She pulled out the seat and sat down as the waiter came over with the menu. He placed the menu before Joann and asked, "Miss Joann, are you dining alone or can we expect other guests to join?"

"Two more will be joining," Joann answered.

"Then I will leave you with the menu. Call or wave when you have made your selection." The waiter bowed and retreated from Joann's table.

"Thank you." Joann picked up the menu and flipped through it. She found it quite rude to order before the other guests had arrived so she put the menu down and turned to the window to check whether her friends had arrived.

Coincidentally enough, a vehicle that Joann could recognize just so happen to roll to a stop at the entrance of Spring Leaf Café. It was the car of her co-star Lee Mu. His agent, Zao Ming was in the driver's seat and Lee Mu was sitting in the passenger seat.

Through the window, Joann could see that they were having a happy conversation. Both the men were animated and Joann noticed the bright smile on Lee Mu's face. After their conversation seemed to have ended, Lee Mu leaned in to give Zao Ming, Joann assumed was, a hug or at least it looked like a hug from Joann's angle.

The men soon parted and after Lee Mu got down, he waved goodbye at his agent through the window. 'Lee Mu sure has a friendly relationship with Zao Ming,' thought Joann who had captured all of their interaction.

Lee Mu walked into the café and Joann waved to get his attention. Thankfully, the café was rather deserted or they probably would have created a ruckus with their combined popularity. However, there was still a contained commotion coming from the kitchen. Probably one of the staff was Lee Mu's fan.

Lee Mu greeted Joann and he sat down with a huge grin on his face.

Joann could not help but comment, "Lee Mu, you sure have a companionable relationship with your agent."

Lee Mu coughed when he heard that comment and Joann sworn a certain guardedness appeared in his eyes as he asked, "Joann, what do you mean by that?"

"I meant what I said. You guys look like very good friends on top of being a working partner. It is nice to see that," Joann explained.

Lee Mu's shoulders relaxed slightly and his easy smile returned. "Yes. I am glad that I have found a good friend in Zao Ming."

Lee Mu looked around him and he asked, "Wait a minute, where is Qing Qing? It was she who invited me and to be perfectly honest, I was quite surprise when I saw you, Joann. She did not mention she has invited you as well."