Chapter 149 - Restlessness

Shi Qinglan could feel the restlessness invading him as he glanced around the hall. The party had started but the person he was most curious about had yet to make an appearance. He wanted to get to know this person who was the real owner of the bracelet. But the auction was about to start and the person had not yet made an appearance. He had specifically asked the security to inform him as soon as the person arrived. Very soon he would have to sit on the stage to preside over the auction and he had hoped to meet the owner before that. He wanted to know the whereabouts of the rest of the set and maybe convince them to put the entire thing in the auction. He was even willing to pay Long Ah Hai privately to secure this because he knew once the old man saw the bracelet, he was not going to stop at anything to gain it. Shi Qinglan tugged at his collar a bit restlessly as he rotated his neck.

Elder Shi, on the other hand, was just as eager for the guests. But it was because he wanted to meet his granddaughter. There was a palpable excitement as he waited. He had seen the girl's pictures last time and had broken down in tears. No one could have been aware of his pain. His elder granddaughter refused to call him grandfather and addressed him as Master and his younger granddaughter did not even know of him. He really had a miserable fate. And he would have died with this regret but the heavens had given him another chance. Maybe if Yang Mei found her younger sister, she would be able to forgive him for being unable to protect them. Elder Shi's cold eyes turned towards his nephew and he vowed to himself that he would help his granddaughters get justice and revenge. They had looked for Shi Xiao for so long but never been able to find her. His elder granddaughter had bearly escaped that man's clutches and they had thought that Shi Xiao had perished but now he knew that she had been safe. This piece of news he hoped would help Yang Mei let go of the hatred and bitterness that she had amassed.

But they were yet not clear on how Shi Ai had reached here. When he first received the bracelet, his investigators found very limited clues as to the identity of the owner. And even then he had been left to wonder how it reached the hands of the Long family because he knew that his daughter had never sold off the precious set. It was sheer luck that he was able to contact Long Ryu who told him that the bracelet belonged to his youngest sister in law. He felt the ground slip from under his feet when he came to know the name of the youngest daughter in law of the Long family-Shi Xiao Ai. Elder Shi had worried that like his elder granddaughter his younger one had also blamed him but he came to know later that the girl had no memory of how and why she was at the orphanage. "Shi Xiao Ai", he whispered the name in his heart like a mantra. The young woman had kept her sister alive in her name. He had watched Yang Mei almost break down when she heard the name that her sister used.

The two Shi men waited restlessly and both felt their breaths catch at the sight of Shi Ai when she first entered on the hands of her husband.

Shi Qinglan had just climbed the stage to give a speech before the commencement of the auction when he glimpsed the face of the woman. She looked so remarkably like his late cousin that for an uncomfortable moment he had felt that he was spying a ghost. Only when he saw and recognized the man next to her did he have a moment of realization. This woman was somehow related to his dead cousin.

Shi Qinglan's gaze turned to look at Elder Shi who had a tender expression on his face. 

Shi Qinglan's face turned up in a smirk. "Well well well..what an interesting turn of events. So the bracelet was not a coincidence but in fact a declaration or a bait."

Reaching the podium, he brought the microphone closer and spoke, "Good evening everyone. A very warm welcome to you all. We will soon begin the auction but before that our emcee would introduce the generously donated items and a few rules to you so please have a seat. And thank you for your esteemed presence."

His eyes directly gazed at Long Ah Hai before he went towards the emcee and whispered something in the man's ears before proceeding to take his seat on the long table.

Shi Ai/could feel the burning gaze of the man from the stage and only Ah Hai's supporting hand on her back helped her maintain her composure. She had seen the man's picture and repeatedly assured herself that she would react calmly when she faced him. But all her self assurances flew out of the window when she caught a glimpse of the disgusting man who was responsible for the destruction of her family. She wanted to go and scratch the man's face and maybe some of that d.e.s.i.r.e showed on her face because she heard Ah Hai mutter in her ear, "Sheath your claws my tigress. Now is not the time to show them. You gave to be a meek little kitten for now.."

Turning her head to avoid looking at that disgusting man, she looked at Ah Hai and managed to get back her equilibrium. But as they took their seats around the table at the front,she felt a sense of foreboding. Had they done the right thing and chosen the right path to get to the truth? Or was it going to lead to their own downfall?