Qiao Lan Was Crossed

Not wanting Kang Jun to misunderstand the situation and have another thing to worry about, Lu AnLing looked up to him and beckoned him to sit by her side.

He did just as told.

Then, when he sat down, Lu AnLing touched his hand gently and said, "Today I had a good day, what about you?"

Lu AnLing didn't want to explain what had happened during the day and her true emotions in front of Mo Ruyi in fear of offending the woman so, Lu AnLing would leave the explanation to when she and Kang Jun were alone. But she needed Kang Jun to be calm first.

Understanding her instantly, Kang Jun's stiff body relaxed and he said, "Busy, as per usual."

Hearing this, Lu AnLing squeezed his hand tight.

As the days we're going by, Kang Jun was accumulating more and more things on his plate. At first, before he had ever even met Lu AnLing, all his worries consisted of were making sure Kang Corporations prospered and making sure Kang Mingyu was alright. He also cared about the rest of his family, but since there was a lot of tensions within the family, Kang Jun had no need to face them unless absolutely necessary.

But now, it was different.

By marrying Lu AnLing, Kang Jun had accepted the girl's problems into his life, including ones which neither she nor he had ever expected to have; like the one concerning Lu AnLing's father and the situation with Kang Mei Xue, and possibly Lu Yuxi.

Due to all these things, Kang Jun was committing himself to many tasks, which seldom gave him time to sleep.

He wanted to investigate everything he could and figure things out fast so that everyone he cared about could be safe but every single time he or Kang Liang found something which could be considered a clue, they almost always hit a wall.

And Kang Jun was becoming sick of it.

Looking at Lu AnLing's oval face, Kang Jun could not help but wonder what all these conspiracies were about.

Were they targeting him or his wife? Were they truly malicious attacks or accidents?

Kang Jun had so many questions on his mind and this caused the man to have migrains, which never seemed to go away...

Kang Jun touched his temple.

Seeing Kang Jun do this, Lu AnLing's heart squeezed.

"You should go to sleep." Lu AnLing said with worry entering her voice.

Hearing this, Kang Jun shook his head. He didn't want to leave Lu AnLing with his mother and Elder Kang. He was sure that the girl had felt awkward when he was not there.

Noticing his worry, Lu AnLing smiled softly and said, "I'll be fine."

Though even with her saying this, Kang Jun was reluctant.

Meanwhile, Mo Ruyi watched the whole scene and couldn't help but think it was sweet. But her son's exhausted demeanour worried her.

She had never seen Kang Jun so drained before.

"I think AnLing is right, you should sleep. You don't look well." Mo Ruyi said swiftly before she stood up. "If you're worried about me bullying your wife. I won't. But if you can't trust my words, then I'll be leaving."

Mo Ruyi's voice sounded like she had been insulted by Kang Jun's obvious insinuation but truly she wasn't. Instead, she was worried about the man so, if her leaving made him decide to go and relax, she would.

Looking at the woman, Lu AnLing saw the concern and she couldn't help but smile a bit awkwardly.

"Thank you and I'm sorry, mother in law." Lu AnLing said politely.

Mo Ruyi shook her head. "Don't worry child. I haven't been offended. And you can call me Ruyi if you want."

Hearing this, Lu AnLing nodded and Kang Jun was slightly shocked. He did not expect his mother to come around to liking Lu AnLing so early but it seemed like the woman already liked her.

***

Qiao Manor seemed a bit empty without Elder Qiao in it. It was true that Qiao Lan now lives in it permanently but the girl was seldom ever home.

Due to her anger towards Kang Jun, Qiao Lan had decided to take some time to reflect and plan on how she would destroy the man.

How dare he strip everything away from her!?

Qiao Lan was crossed... and as she sat in her grandfather's office, staring angrily at his computer screen, Qiao Lan could only think of payback.

But truly, Qiao Lan was calmer than expected. She understood that when facing Kang Jun, there was always a possibility of total defeat but her father had taught her that as long as she was alive, there was always a possibility of trying again.

Truly, that was how she had gotten engaged to Kang Zhi. At first, she was supposed to be engaged to Kang Jun but Qiao Lan had no interest in such a cold man. Someone sweeter, like Kang Zhi, suited her tastes more.

So she chased him. Chased him until she felt sad and distraught but she was so in love with him...

Though she knew he loved another, this didn't matter to Qiao Lan. She believed she could win his heart.

When Qiao Lan learned that Kang Zhi himself had said he wanted to marry her, Qiao Lan had believed she had broken through to him! And she was so happy. The only problem was that he wouldn't touch her. And throughout their whole marriage, this remained the same.

And imagine her surprise and anger when the man had brought Kang Mingyu and Kang Mei Xue home.

The thoughts that had run through her head were disastrous and murderous and for once, she had wondered if following her own emotions were wrong. And that, maybe she would have been happier if she had just accepted her fate and married Kang Jun...

Thinking about this now made Qiao Lan's heartbreak but these were useless thoughts. Kang Zhi was sadly dead. She could not try to rectify her relationship with him now and either way, she knew that her heart, even now, still skipped a beat for Kang Zhi.

Wanting to get her mind off the situation, Qiao Lan began looking through her grandfather's study.

She used to play in there when she was young but one day, when her father left her and her mother, and on that day, Elder Qiao had forbidden her from going in there. And looking around, she slightly understood why.

Her grandfather was very kind to her father. He had allowed him to use the study as his own and now, as Qiao Lan looked around, she felt sad.

The room was filled with trinkets that she had given to her father growing up. It seemed like he had left every single thing which could bring up memories of her and her grandfather had kept them.

Looking at them Qiao Lan laughed sadly.

"Zhi didn't love me and neither did dad..." Qiao Lan said as she touched a drawing she had made when she was seven. It was of her father, mother and her.

The words 'I love you daddy' were scribbled onto it.

Unconsciously, Qiao Lan's tough became heavy and she ripped the paper. The rip travelled up, slicing her fathers face in half.

Seeing this, Qiao Lan's face twisted and she looked at it with slight pain. She had made it with so much love and yet she had suddenly ripped it with so much pain. It was strange how one man could cause her emotions to go from one spectrum to another.

Since the paper was already ripped, Qiao Lan removed the tape which stuck the paper onto the bookcase and then she crumpled it up before she threw it in the garbage. After she did this, Qiao Lan was about to walk away but something immediately caught her eye.

It was a black photo album Qiao Lan had never seen before labelled 'Evidence'.

Seeing this, Qiao Lan could not stop herself from taking it out of the bookshelf.

Feeling a bit strange as she gazed upon the old thing, Qiao Lan took a seat and then she opened it.

The first thing she saw was a photo of her father with his arm around a woman's shoulders. The man had a wide smile on his face with bright eyes. And he looked at the woman as if she was his whole world.

Qiao Lan could tell that the woman was not her mother though due to how tall and slender the woman was.

As she flipped through the rest of the photo's Qiao Lan examined the pictures. They were all her father with this strange woman...

At first, Qiao Lan thought that maybe they were pictures of her father's life prior to meeting her mother but then, she suddenly saw writing at the bottom of one of the picture.

Qiao Lan read it out loud. "Su Bai and Ke Da Xia... July, 3rd, 19XX."

Reading this, Qiao Lan felt her body shake. This was a year before her father had left...