Someone Else’s Fiancée
Translated by nightcache
Edited and proofread by anks
The maid gathers herself and respectfully nods before answering: “They say there is an emergency that they must take care of first, probably in a few more weeks.”
Grandfather Ling nods thoughtfully while looking toward the sky, and sighs. “Telephone him, send word that Hanyu has a fiancée. As a father, he shouldn’t spend all his days abroad; rather should be concerned about his child.”
Once again nodding, the maid helps Grandfather Ling into the house. The Ling Shu, that Grandfather Ling mentions, is his son, Ling Hanyu’s father. Several years ago, Ling Hanyu’s grandma had a fatal stroke; she wanted to see her son one more time. Therefore, Ling Hanyu called him. During that time, Ling Shu
was at a bar drinking with a woman; so he never answered.
Alas, she never got to see him. Because of this incident, Ling Hanyu’s mother found out about her husband’s affair, and drowned herself. This resulted into Ling Hanyu and Ling Shu became like strangers. Whenever Ling Shu tries to talk to Ling Hanyu, Ling Hanyu would pay no heed to him. Ling Shu stopped after being repeatedly ignored despite his good intentions. Owing to this deficit, it was simply better to stay abroad year-round. The relationship between father and son has became more and more diluted.
Today’s weather doesn’t seem to be great; a little brooding with no trace of wind. It looks like it is about to rain.
Several black commercial cars come to a
a stop outside the entrance of Stein Royal College, instantly attracting and gathering countless fellow students. Due to the Ling family’s background, problems related to safety are specifically assigned to them.
An Chuxia’s brown creases as she looks at Ling Hanyu. “Strange. In the past, has there always been a crowd when you arrived at school? Ever felt like an animal, like the ones at the zoo where they are constantly being looked at by different people?”
Ling Hanyu doesn’t reply. Instead, he opens the car door and walks out. His grandpa has insisted for him to live at the Ling house, and to be sent off to school properly. Previously, he had always driven himself to Stein Royal College.
“Who is this girl? How come she’s inside young
inside young master Ling’s car?” “Damn! You are stupid! This is young master Han’s fiancée!”
“Thinking about it, they were in yesterday morning’s headlines! I am jealous to death!” “But I heard that young master Han’s fiancée is someone else. How could this be?”
The moment An Chuxia steps out of the car, she could hear this sort of conservation. Curling her lips while taking long strides, she enters Stein Royal College’s gateway. The speed with which gossip spread is comparable to the speed of light, that in an instant, it was everywhere. She walks under the Chinese parasol trees that are planted on both sides of the boulevard. Perhaps, it’s about to rain; it would be cooler and more comfortable. It is necessary for her to move, or to move, or else, her forehead would be sweating profusely.
She checks the time; there’s still twenty minutes before class start. An hour after the bell rings, it will be the precise time for the college exam. For some unknown reason, she suddenly feels her stomach churning, and she must find some place to throw up.
She helplessly sighs, preparing to go, when she hears a scream. Turning her attention toward the sound, she witnesses a girl fall to the ground from a tree. The girl apparently has some experience jumping from trees because she immediately rolls herself several times when she lands on the ground.
Not wanting to be meddlesome, she prepares to leave, but an inflaming headache abruptly erupts. She steps forward and whisper-shouts: “Meng… Xiaonan?”