CH 30

Qiao Mei’s duplicitous behavior made Lin Zhixia laugh and he said, “If you can come here, why can’t I?”

“Well~” Qiao Mei was still smiling, her voice sweet and sticky but her delicate eyes showed her obvious contempt. 

“You know, Brother Zhixia, it seems like you don’t know your place.”

Lin Zhixia was still smiling but not Qiao Mei as she continued, “Now answer my question.”

After Luo Qin took the little one from Lin Zhixia, he ordered and soon all the dishes arrived. After waiting for a long time, Lin Zhixia never came back and Luo Qin grew worried. He turned to Lin Keai, “Keai, shall we go find your Dad?”

The food on the table made Lin Keai drool and he couldn’t wait to eat. But Dad was more important so he opened his arms for Luo Qin to pick him up, “Okay!”

Luo Qin smiled and hugged Lin Keai close and headed for the bathroom. Across the restaurant, Luo Qin could see Lin Zhixia in the distance. There was a young woman standing next to him and her back was to Luo Qin. 

Luo Qin’s eyes darkened and he quickly walked towards them. 

“Zhixia.”

A deep voice came from behind Qiao Mei and the sick smile on her face froze instantly. She stiffened and turned around, surprised to see Luo Qin standing there. 

He was a lot taller than Qiao Mei and he was wearing a long black coat and the sharp features of his face looked like they had been carved from stone. 

Luo Qin’s normal aura was distant and intimidating, like no one could approach him. But now he held a little boy dressed in soft, furry clothes and on the boy’s head was a hat that had soft little bear ears. 

Luo Qin’s normally cold features were softened and his eyes never wavered, staring directly at Lin Zhixia. 

“Brother Luo Qin…”

Qiao Mei couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Her stunned gaze fell on the child in his arms and saw that the boy’s eyebrows were similar to Luo Qin. Suddenly, the memories of a cruise ship four years ago rushed into her mind. 

A terrible thought flashed in her mind. 

Luo Qin ignored Qiao Mei and her hands went numb, her body trembling. She stared in silence. 

“Zhixia, the food has already arrived at the table. Let’s go eat.”

His voice was low and gentle. Qiao Mei started doubting her reality. 

“…”

Lin Zhixia walked to Luo Qin’s side and Lin Keai opened his arms for a hug, “Dad, hurry up! Pineapple buns, I wanna eat pineapple buns!”

Lin Zhixia took the little guy from Luo Qin’s arms. Lin Keai had been eating a lot recently since they moved in with Luo Qin and he felt heavier in Lin Zhixia’s arms. 

Lin Zhixia laughed and said, “Little greedy kitten.”

“I’m not greedy!”

Lin Keai hurried to object and turned his aggrieved gaze to Luo Qin, obviously waiting for Luo Qin to take his side.  

The corners of Luo Qin’s mouth rose slightly, “Yes, Keai is not greedy, he just enjoys eating.”

Lin Keai was very satisfied with Luo Qin’s answer and he nodded earnestly in agreement. Then he started to report the menu slowly, “Dad, we ordered pineapple buns, shrimp dumplings, and, Dad’s favorite, rose cakes!”

Lin Zhixia was fond of sweets and he loved those cakes the most. Although Luo Qin had surprised Lin Zhixia by taking them to this Cantonese restaurant, he realized that all the dishes ordered were ones he really liked. 

Lin Zhixia smiled and asked affectionately, “Wow! Did Xiao Ai order all that for Dad?”

“Nope!”

If it wasn’t him, then it had to be Luo Qin. Did Luo Qin know what Lin Zhixia liked to eat or was it just a coincidence? 

Lin Zhixia subconsciously looked at Luo Qin and saw that the expression on his face hadn’t changed but his earlobes were flushed. 

They started walking back to their table, Qiao Mei completely forgotten. 

Qiao Mei stood there, trembling with suppressed anger and her nails dug into the flesh of her clenched palms. She bit her lip and lunged forward, grabbing onto Lin Zhixia’s arm, “Wait!”

Before Lin Zhixia could react, Luo Qin had reached out to knock her hand off of him. He hadn’t used much strength but Qiao Mei’s reaction was huge. She had worn four inch heels today and the floor of the restaurant was waxed very smooth. When Luo Qin knocked away her arm, Qiao Mei was immediately thrown off balance. She stumbled a few steps and bumped into a waiter carrying a tray of food. 

A loud banging sound rang out, the plates of food on the tray fell and the scene was suddenly in complete chaos. 

Qiao Mei fell on the floor, slumping into an extremely ungainly position. Her delicate face was stained with chunks of soup and overturned glasses of water. She sat stunned, looking comical and ridiculous.

The restaurant was still playing festive Christmas songs on a loop and the music was competing with the noisy sound of children. Passers-by wanted to help Qiao Mei up but she became hysterical and started scolding people. 

“Get away from me! Don’t touch me!”

She didn’t care about looking like a fool in public and she didn’t try to salvage the situation. She raised her head and sternly attacked Lin Zhixia.

“Lin Zhixia! This is all your fault!”

Lin Zhixia stood calm under Qiao Mei’s attack, like a stone or a tree. Solid and with no emotion. 

“Hah!” She suddenly laughed, as if remembering something, “So it was that night…”

“In that case, Lin Zhixia, you should be thanking me! If I hadn’t given you that glass of wine, then how could you ever climb into Luo Qin’s bed? It never would have happened without me!”

Lin Zhixia already had an understanding of Qiao Mei’s character but hearing her say such things, Lin Zhixia was still shocked for a long moment. Qiao Mei’s shamelessness really exceeded his imagination…

How could she say such things after trying to ruin someone’s life?

Luo Qin set Lin Keai on his feet and covered the little one’s ears with his hands. His gaze on Qiao Mei was condescending, his eyes piercing her like arrows, making her feel extremely embarrassed. 

“Qiao Mei, I assumed you would be too busy recently to go out and play. After all, there are so many people suing you for fraud and theft.”

Qiao Mei’s expression showed traces of grievance and resignation, then she looked shocked. She gazed up at Luo Qin and said, “Are you helping those people?”

Lin Zhixia remembered discussing Qiao Mei’s situation with Xiao Qi before. He’d brought it up to Luo Qin but the man had neither confirmed nor denied his own involvement. 

Qiao Mei murmured, “That’s right! How could those people suddenly band together and find such a high class lawyer? It turns out that you are supporting them from the shadows! Brother Luo Qin, how could you do that to me?”

Luo Qin only sneered and Qiao Mei’s face became sullen as she continued, “Did you do all that for Lin Zhixia?? Does my brother know what you’ve done to me?”

“How could you take offense to what I’ve done after how you treated Lin Zhixia?” Luo Qin said coldly, “Let me remind you that even your senior design work to graduate college was plagiarized. Someone should have already reported you! So Qiao Mei, don’t worry about my life, worry about your own future!”

With that, Luo Qin took Lin Keai and Lin Zhixia away. 

Qiao Mei sat on the floor for a long time. Her ankle was sore and she couldn’t move without it hurting. Other people kept coming up to ask her if she was alright but she loudly drove them away. 

This was so humiliating. When had she ever suffered so much!?

It was all Lin Zhixia’s fault!

Qiao Mei took out her phone and dialed Qiao Ruxu’s number. As soon as the call was picked up, she started to cry.

“Wu…elder brother!”