Naturally, the assistant knew what was going through Lu Jinnian's mind, and so he didn't even wait for him to choose. He paused for a while, and then continued, saying "Mr. Lu, you had a little clash in the past at the Capital Club with Chief Lin who you are meant to have dinner with tonight, and so would you like to go to the Royal Palace?"
Though the assistant had clearly said the words on Lu Jinnian's mind, his face didn't reveal a hint of happiness. Instead, after listening to the assistant's words, he remained silent for a while, then gently nodded as though he didn't care.
Of course, the assistant didn't dare expose Lu Jinnian's hypocrisy and went on with official business, pulling out his phone and booking a booth at the Royal Palace.
The car fell silent again, but the atmosphere didn't feel as tense as before.
Through the rear view mirror, the assistant looked over at Lu Jinnian again. His head was turned again as he stared out the window. However, the gloom that accumulated between his eyes for the past few days seemed to have dissipated a little.
Because of Lu Jinnian's overly good skills at masking his criticism, the assistant randomly felt a hint of sadness just now.
He clearly didn't like places like the Royal Palace, nor did he like to play cards. Above all, he hated women who he didn't know throwing themselves at him. Yet, tonight, because that woman will be at the Royal Palace, he was going too.
Even if they were clearly in the same place, the two of them might not even bump into each other, but just by getting closer to her, even like this, improved his mood.
The assistant had studied science and technology, a serious degree with incredibly technical language, but at that moment, for some reason, his mind boggled over Eileen Chang's famous tragic but beautiful quote, "Loving somebody is being humbled to the dust, and then from there blooming into a flower."
But Mr. Lu has been humble for so many years now. How has the flower not bloomed yet?
Just what could be going through his mind? After all these years... Clearly there isn't the least bit of hope, how could he hold on like this?
The assistant thought about it over and over again, and started to get depressed. Then, he started to shout at himself - For god’s sake! As a mother f*cking grown man with a wife and kids, an awesome salary, who was living the life, did he really have nothing else to do but to be THIS fucking sad.
Qiao Anxia booked a combo room with a card room and an additional small KTV booth.
A row of people who excitedly hugged the microphone, screaming, then ran over to play cards. Qiao Anhao, who wasn't at all interested, sat on her own and watched the TV.
Qiao Anxia's luck must've been good. Every now and then, her excited screams could be heard.
Xu Jiamu sat opposite Qiao Anxia. Perhaps it was because he hadn't played in such a long while, he wasn't in the right condition tonight; he lost every round. In the end, he let someone else spectating behind him take his place.
Xu Jiamu brought a bottle of beer to his mouth, lifted his head, and drank half the bottle. Then he saw Qiao Anhao, who was sitting on her own on the sofa and hugging a pillow, immersed in the television. He strode over and sat next to her.
Qiao Anhao was watching an old movie which starred Song Xiangsi as the leading female. At the time, Song Xiangsi was still quite young, and though her acting skills weren't as refined as they were now, there were hints of those beloved skills that everyone supported her for.
Xu Jiamu stared at the screen with raised brows, and felt his mood thwarted.