The Wedding Band (1)

Tang Yian did not know Lu AnLing but as he felt his head and heart sting simultaneously, the man spoke to her with trust without even realizing it himself.

His gaze was truthful and unwavering and his voice contained a familiarity that he had never quite used in the presence of Tang Yiling.

Hearing this, Lu AnLing was shocked. But it was not only her. Both Lu Xiaoling and Tang Yiling looked at the man with disbelief.

Though, the one who was most confused was Tang Yiling. The girl pulled on her father's arm and said, "You don't trust me...?"

Her voice contained pain and a slight bit of annoyance. And this was obvious to everyone around.

Tang Yian shook his head and then he said, "No, that's not it. I just want to hear every part of the story. I don't want to jump to conclusions because of a possible misunderstanding."

Hearing this, Lu AnLing wanted to scoff and smile. Her father was the same man now as he had been when she was a child.

Once, Lu AnLing remembered having a fight with one of the kids in the neighbourhood but her father did not take her side. Instead, he rationally spoke to both her and the boy and tried to solve the problem diplomatically.

That day, Lu AnLing had been angry and embarrassed. She complained to him about this but on their way home, her father had said,

"There is never one person who is wrong and another who is right. We're humans... so we are dictated by our emotions and sometimes these emotions clash..."

As he said this, his voice was filled with pain and sadness, which Lu AnLing did not understand. Even the man's words, Lu AnLing could not fully comprehend it but right now she understood.

The argument she was having with Tang Yiling was not completely Tang Yiling's fault. Lu AnLing could have ignored her but for some reason, which had everything to do with her emotions, caused her to antagonize Tang Yiling more. Yes, Lu AnLing had a reason to do such a thing, but that didn't make her in the right...

"Will you tell me what happened in your perspective or not?" Tang Yian asked Lu AnLing once more.

Ever since he had spoken, Lu AnLing had been silent and Tang Yian had found this extremely rude.

Hearing his question a second time, Lu AnLing swallowed her spit as she looked at him in the eyes.

She wanted to speak but for some reason her throat was dry.

It was funny, Lu AnLing had had so many things she wanted to do and wanted to say when she saw her father again but now that she had the chance, she could not say a thing and her mind was blank.

Seeing her daughter in such a predicament, Lu Xiaoling spoke for the girl.

Approaching the man cautiously, Lu Xiaoling said, "My daughter accidentally caused the wine bottle to fall. I apologized to Miss Tang but she just wouldn't accept it..."

Hearing this, Tang Yian folded his arms across his chest. "If your daughter caused the accident, then shouldn't she be the one to apologize instead of you? You need to teach your children accountability."

Listening to the man scold her, Lu Xiaoling frowned unconsciously. The man was truly the same Tang Yian of the past...

Tang Yian: "I think it's best for you daughter to apologize to mine and then we will both be on our way."

Hearing Tang Yian scold them, both Lu AnLing and Lu Xiaoling felt uncomfortable but happy at the same time. They had never thought they would hear this ever again...

But as for Tang Yiling, she grabbed onto her father's arm lovingly. She knew he would take her side!

Meanwhile, Lu Xiaoling looked between Tang Yian and Lu AnLing. She thought Lu AnLing would be hurt but on the contrary, Lu AnLing was quiet.

This was not because she wasn't angry but because, in this small pause in time, Lu AnLing remembered Kang Jun's words when she had called him.

The best way to get through to her father was to act in the same way that she had when she was a kid.

As she was about to do that, Lu AnLing hesitated for a second. Because of what she was about to do, somewhere deep in her gut, she imagined that her father would hate her, but as she gazed upon Tang Yiling and Tang Yian, so close together, Lu AnLing thought that that was okay...

She would rather have her father remember her and hate her rather than him not remembering her and not thinking about her much at all.

Putting her hands on her hips, Lu AnLing flashed her most arrogant expression her father's way.

Lu AnLing: "Apologize? To her? I refuse."

Hearing this, Tang Yian frowned hard Lu AnLing's way. As he did this, out of the corner of her eye, Lu AnLing saw Tang Yiling smirk.

Lu AnLing knew what that smirk was for. Because of her actions, Lu Anling had not only caused the man to dislike her but she had also ruined any and all chances of winning Trailblazers but truly, that was fine...

Neither she nor Mo Sheng needed the prize money or the marketing team. Doing this competition was really just for fun and to get their names out there. But now, Lu AnLing had something more important to do.

Lu AnLing: "Your daughter is cruel, rude and extremely annoying. I would have apologized if she was a little nicer but I see nothing of the sort in her. She's offended me, and she'll regret it."

Hearing Lu AnLing's words, Tang Yian stepped over to her, as if trying to intimidate her and then he said, "Are you threatening me?"

Not afraid of his actions, due to the fact that this had happened to her a lot during her childhood, Lu AnLing mimicked the man's way of being and then she looked up into his eyes before she said, "No. it's not a threat. It's more like a promise."

As soon as those words escaped Lu AnLing's mouth, Tang Yian looked at her with complete disbelief.

He had never met anyone so rude!

Glaring at Lu AnLing, Tang Yian said, "Yiling, let's go home."

Seeing her father glare at her, Lu AnLing felt like she could no longer breathe nor speak. In her mind, The man did not recognize her at all, he did not even register her appearance. In the man's eyes, only Tang Yiling could be seen and this made Lu AnLing's heart sink.

As Tang Yian dragged Tang Yiling outside, Lu AnLing and Lu Xiaoling watched.

From the window, Looking as her father helped Tang Yiling into the car, Lu AnLing couldn't help but watch sadly.

Behind her, Lu Xiaoling also looked at the car as she touched the wedding band on her finger.