Codename:Phoenix 201 14/15

When w.a.n.g Reiji arrived in the dining hall, everyone was already busy eating the dishes served to them by sous chef. Even her daughter who disliked vegetables was now happily munching stir fried vegetables with much gusto. 

w.a.n.g Yuvin immediately noticed his sister so he quickly called her attention.

"Sis, we are already eating."

w.a.n.g Reiji smiled and waved her hand at w.a.n.g Yuvin and said, "Yeah, I can see that. And the food must be good because my little one is eating vegetables."

"Welcome back, CEO w.a.n.g. I hope you don't mind us if we went ahead and eat without you." Chairman Xu had just finished swallowing his food and was getting another serving of the dish on his plate. 

"I don't mind it at all, Chairman Xu. Afterall this lunch is mainly for my brother's esteemed guests." w.a.n.g Reiji replied as she took her seat beside Europa.

"Mama! Look! I am eating vegies! They do not taste that bad. Mmm... they are not sweet but I kinda like the taste."

w.a.n.g Reiji wiped the corners of her daughter's mouth with tissue and said, "Good job, sweetie. I am really happy that you started eating vegetables. Mama is so proud of you." 

Hearing w.a.n.g Reiji's positive remarks, the sous chef can't help but feel proud of his accomplishment. Thanks to his persistence, he was able to persuade the young miss of the w.a.n.g family into eating vegetables in exchange of teaching her how to make her favorite vanilla apple tart. 

Seeing Europa's antics, Chairman Kiang felt nostalgic. The scene he just saw with his two eyes reminded him of a young Kiang Leilei. He then stifled a laugh when he recalled a rather funny event from his granddaughter's childhood. 

Startled, Kiang Leilei looked her grandfather's way and with an amazed look on her face she asked, "What's funny grams?"

"I just remembered the old days. Back you were just a little girl. You used to be like Europa. You dislike eating."

Kiang Leilei replied with a gentle smile as her mind begun to a trip down her memory lane. Indeed, she was once just like a Europa. A little girl who was full of innocence and hope eventhough she grew up without a father and a mother beside her. 

"It still amazes me how everything feels like just yesterday. When Lei was a young girl, she refused to eat lunch with me. At first, I thought she hated me for taking her away from her father. But later on, our servant discovered that Lei strictly follows her tea party schedule." Chairman Kiang comfortably shared one of his precious memories from Kiang Leilei's childhood. 

"Tea party? Mama, what's that? I think I have not played that game before." Chairman Kiang's words piqued Europa's interest. 

"Tea party is an event where teas and cakes are served to guests."  w.a.n.g Reiji explained, making Europa's eyes widened in amazement. 

"How wonderful! To be served cakes the whole time! But I don't drink teas. I only drink milk." Europa showed a disappointed look on her face.

"Well, you can always ask the host for the drink that you want." This time Kiang Leilei was the one who answered Europa's question. 

"Cool! How I wish I have lots of friends that I can invite to my tea party!" Europa sighed deeply and placed her hands under her chin. 

"But my tea parties... My guests were only teddybears though."

As Kiang Leilei's words took flight, compa.s.sion and pain burned the hearts of the people around her. Unknowingly. Kiang Leilei created a heavy atmosphere enough for everyone to feel bad for her. 

"Hey, what's with the long faces?" Kiang Leilei asked with a pair of hands slightly raised mid-air and an awkward smile on her lips.

Silence answered Kiang Leilei's query which made the situation even more awkward.

"Please don't feel bad for me just because my guests were teddybears. Those simple days were actually the best parts of my life." Kiang Leilei explained, her gaze relaxed and her smile warm.

"Let's have a tea party some time, Aunt Lei." Europa wore her best smile and looked at Kiang Leilei's direction. 

Europa's words caught Kiang Leilei off-guard. She truthfully did not want to involve herself with the w.a.n.g Family anymore. But how can she turn down an innocent girl's offer? How dare her say no to such a lovely and sweet creature? Contemplating whether to accept the invitation or downright reject it, Kiang Leilei kept silent as she search the right words to say.

Unknown to her, w.a.n.g Yuvin was carefully observing her from the corners of his eyes. He already figured that Kiang Leilei was having a hard time weighing her options. 

"I think you should invite me first, dear niece. I am always around. Besides, we are not sure if Miss Kiang has spare time to attend tea parties." w.a.n.g Yuvin said as he leveled his gaze with Europa's.

"But Uncle... You are always busy with your computer and you dislike girly stuff. And last time I came to your room to have picnic but you did not join me." Europa wore a puzzled expression but her voice sounded aggrieved. 

"But uncle was just very busy that time. How about I make it up to you after the hotel's party?" w.a.n.g Yuvin sat up straight and patted Europa in the head.

"However, we have to halt our martial arts lesson so we can make way for your tea party." w.a.n.g Yuvin added, his tone casual and light.

"Eh?" w.a.n.g Yuvin's words brought shock to Europa that she almost spill her drink. 

"Can't we do both, uncle? I really want to experience a tea party! But I don't want to skip our practice." Europa frowned and instantly felt gloomy. Why she must choose one over the other? Was she not allowed to enjoy both? 

"Wow! You are learning martial arts? You are so cool, Europa!" Kiang believed that it was now her turn to cheer Europa up. 

"How about we make schedule for tea parties and your martial arts lessons? I will help you with that."  Kiang Leilei added. She did not want to see Europa upset. She was once also like her who longed to play games with other people.

"For real, Aunt Lei? Thank you!" A bright smile stained Europa's lips as her eyes sparkled brightly due to Kiang Leilei's generous proposal. Turning her head, she hugged w.a.n.g Yuvin's arm by impulse. "You are right, Uncle. Aunt Lei is beautiful and she warms my heart." 

w.a.n.g Yuvin did not utter a word but replied with a cold smile instead. Kiang Leilei's reaction earlier left a lasting negative impresison on him. Her sudden change in att.i.tude made him feel bitter towards her. He was now considering to distance himself from her since she was obviously starting to do that to him now.  How unreasonable, right? A simple phonecall was all that it took to change her opinion of him, while earlier she volunteered herself to become his wife. 

"How about you finish your food first, sweetie? You and Aunt Lei have plenty of time to fix your schedule." w.a.n.g Reiji noticed the tension between the supposed to be lovey-dovey couple so she decided to do something before things escalate. 

"CEO w.a.n.g is right, you have to finish lunch before we can prepare for your activities." Kiang Leilei seconded w.a.n.g Reiji.

"Please pardon my ignorance, but why is the young miss of the w.a.n.g family learning martial arts?" Chairman Xu asked, his facial expression showed both concern and bewilderment.

"Because I want to protect myself!" Europa replied as she executed two quick knifehand strikes in the air. 

Baffled with Europa's reply, Chairman Kiang loosened his grip on his fork causing it to hit the plate, producing a high clicking noise. 

"How should I say this... Hmmm..." w.a.n.g Reiji rubbed the temples of her forehead, thinking of a decent explanation to say.

"My sister and I wanted Europa to learn self-defense in case some shady guys plans to harm her in the future." w.a.n.g Yuvin just answered the question with ease, however, it seemed like his answer had a subtle meaning to it. 

"Yes! Look at what happened to Aunt Lei! She almost got herself in trouble. But uncle saved her just in time." The little girl's answer surprised everyone inside the dining hall, especially the two chairmen who had no idea that w.a.n.g Yuvin was the one who saved Kiang Leilei from her almost untimely demise. 

"What are you trying to say, little one?" Chairman Kiang slightly understood Europa's answer. However, he wanted to confirm if he correctly understood the little girl's words. 

"Please allow me to explain and take full responsibility, Chairman Kiang. Europa was trying to tell everyone that the person who saved Miss Kiang from the masked a.s.sailant was me." w.a.n.g Yuvin did not want to keep the truth from the old man.

"I am sorry if I feigned ignorance about the shoes. I have my own reasons. Please find it in your heart to forgive my foolish actions." w.a.n.g Yuvin stood up from his seat and bowed his head in front of Chairman Kiang and Kiang Leilei.

"Mr. w.a.n.g! Why are you asking for my forgiveness? You said it yourself, you have your reasons and I have to respect that. Besides, you saved my precious girl's life without hesitation. What can this old man ask for?" Chairman Kiang's wizened face expressed sympathy towards w.a.n.g Yuvin as he gave him a gentle tap on his shoulder. 

"When you are ready to tell me your reason, you know where to find me." Chairman Kiang added as he poured an empty goblet with wine and offered it to w.a.n.g Yuvin. 

"Thank you, Chairman Kiang." w.a.n.g Yuvin's countenance brightened as his hands reached out for the goblet.

Seeing how her grandfather dealt with the sudden confrontation from w.a.n.g Yuvin, Kiang Leilei felt ashamed of herself. That instead of waiting for w.a.n.g Yuvin to explain himself, she hurriedly jumped into conclusions just because she recalled a similar scenario from her past. She was selfish, she only though of herself and did not consider w.a.n.g Yuvin's feelings thus hurting him in the process. She wanted to apologize, but how can she face him now?  Today's lunch was supposed to bring them closer together, but thanks to her stupidity, it tore them apart.