15 Chapter 15 White Lies

Present Day

"It is nice to see you Jia Li. How are your parents doing? Are they still in Moganshan?" asked Mr. Xie.

He watched her reaction carefully but she replied to his questions without any hint of acrimony. After a few minutes of polite conversation, she moved away leaving him with his thoughts.

"What did you say to her?" asked Tang, coming up hurriedly to his father.

"I said nothing bad. Just enquired about her parents' health etc. Please keep your arrows back in the armour", his father strived for humour.

"You are right. I shouldn't worry about it anymore. You did whatever damage had to be done long ago. Still I want you to stay away from her or any of my other friends who don't meet your standards. They are off limits to you", he said almost savagely.

Taking a deep breath, he continued, "Mr. Holland, our client from London, is here and looking for you. I have assigned an assistant to look after him."

Mr. Xie held his son by the shoulder, "I know you blame me for a lot of things in your life. But I need you to know that I have always had your best interest and a very bright future in mind. It doesn't exonerate me from the fact that I hurt you in the process. Though you never confronted me on the same, I know you have punished us both for the past five years. I am also aware that this is neither the time nor the place for it, but I just want to say that I am truly sorry for my actions. The situation could have been handled in a better way without so many people getting damaged in the process".

"Mr. Holland won't appreciate being kept waiting for so long. I suggest you should go to him right away", said Tang neutrally before turning away.

"And as for the discussion on that topic or the apology, it is a little too late for either of that", he said with his back facing his father.

The four of them were standing together at the bar.

"So how come none of you brought along your other halves along with?" asked Tang.

Chung grimaced before saying, "taking a trip with a one-year old baby is full of misery. Le decided to stay back and let me enjoy the wedding instead of us both coming here and only running after baby Hua".

"How much can you exaggerate and don't you dare say anything about my darling. He is a very well behaved child and isn't even half the trouble you are portraying him to be", scolded Jia Li.

"Well, I would have to agree with Jia Li on her assessment about baby Hua. He was sleeping for more than 15 hours a day, six months ago. How much trouble can he create in the remaining time", quipped Tang.

"And why did Fu not make it, Jia Li?" asked Tang with a studied nonchalance.

"He really wanted to come but was called away for a last minute conference. He is presently in America", she lied smoothly.

"Well, before you even ask me, let me tell you the reason for my partner's absence myself. I didn't think bringing along a male companion would go down well with your family and I didn't want to lie about who Zhu Chang is to me", said Li Jie, who was in a live-in relationship with his partner.