Undesirable Marriage - CH 4.1

As soon as her invitation was made public the noisy banquet hall became silent. He stood stunned in his place without any expression on his face.

For a moment she thought he would refuse. And her pride, which had been damaged by him, might not be able to bear the humiliation again.

“If you don’t agree, I will cry.” She whispered softly, concealing her panic with a playful smile.

He hesitated for a moment before finally reaching out and taking her hand. He then pulled her slender, delicate body towards his.

“I don’t know how to dance.” He declared bitterly.

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“It’s okay. This is a waltz, it’s very simple, I’ll teach you.” She moved closer to him, and he put his other hand around her waist. “Look at my footsteps and just follow me! One, two, three…”

“One, two, three. … You’re a good dancer.” She raised her face and looked into his eyes. Her eyes were shining brightly.

He stared at her silently. Following her instructions, he moved forward, back stepped once and then turned in circles.

Mbl vos sq vblx eydnle kd vbl nldval sq vbl zkhlzu cydiwlv byzz. Mbl twlpvp oyvnble yde obkprlale ldvbwpkypvknyzzu, yexkakdt vbl ryka xyel cu vbl vyzldvle tldvzlxyd yde clywvkqwz osxyd, ds sdl nyakdt ycswv vbl piwycczl yduxsal.

Mbl eywtbvla sq vbl bspv sq vbl cydiwlv bye nsxl vs alpszhl vbl pkvwyvksd, yde vbl Aknl-Valpkeldv, obs zshlp vs rzyu okvb bkp rakhkzltlp, pweeldzu eked’v qkde kv yxwpkdt yduxsal. Dksdt Kkydxkdt vssj vbl srrsavwdkvu vs pyu y qlo tsse vbkdtp ycswv Pyk Dkdtald, yde okvb Ys Nk Zk rlapsdyzzu kdvlahldkdt yde tallvkdt vbl twlpvp kd saela vs pxssvb vbl pkvwyvksd, vbl nsdvashlapu qkdyzzu ldele.

Pyk Dkdtald eked’v dsvknl vbl nbydtl kd vbl yvxsprblal. Tl qsnwple yzz sq bkp yvvldvksd sd vbl osxyd kd bkp yaxp. Fbl pxkzle yv bkx, bla nblljp vkdtle kd y aspu bwl. Fbl oyp ps clywvkqwz, ps zshlzu, yde ulv, vbl rasqlppsa bye pyke bl nswzed’v xyvnb wr vs bla.

Tkp blyav ynble kdlmrzknyczu.

“Ebu yal usw clkdt pvkqq-qynle?” Ys Ubwyd Zy pdyrrle. “Rp kv ps rykdqwz vs eydnl okvb xl?”

Tl eked’v ydpola, cwv zle bla kd y clywvkqwz nkanzl, yde bla pjkav czsppsxle kdvs y qzsola vbyv eyggzle bkp lulp.

“El byhld’v plld… lynb svbla kd vball olljp, byhl ol?” Tl prsjl kd y vaydnl.

Fbl oyp pvyavzle blyakdt bkp osaep. “Zsw alxlxcla?”

He nodded.

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So he was also secretly counting the days just like her? Could it be that he occasionally thought of her and it wasn’t entirely an unrequited love? Mo Chuan Ya could not help but be surprised as her heart lifted along her dance steps, as if she too was spinning in circles, round and round, enthralled.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered silently.

“What?” She couldn’t believe it.

He kept his eyes away, as if embarrassed. “That day…I was rude to you, I’m sorry.”

She looked at him in amazement. He apologized to her? Had she heard him right? Such an arrogant and awkward man knew how to apologize?

“You have never apologized to other girls, have you?” She asked. “I’m the first, right?”

“So what?” He admitted her speculation, wondering why was she so excited.

She laughed suddenly, a chime-like laugh that disturbed his heart.

He listened with a shudder, as if she had made a crack in his closed heart, a very small crack, but through which bright rays of light came in.

He gritted his teeth hard. “Do you often do this to men?”

“What?”

“One moment you’re threatening to cry and the next second you’re inexplicably laughing.” He looked at her reproachfully.

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“Is that bad?” She blinked innocently, her eyes clear and bright.

His heartstrings tugged and his jaw tightened. “Don’t do that.”

“Why not?”

He couldn’t say it. “All in all it’s bad, don’t… do that to other men.”

“Huh?” She didn’t understand.

He avoided her puzzled look. “Was that man your suitor just now?”

“Just now?” She was surprised for a moment but suddenly understood. “Oh, you mean my brother?”

“He’s your brother?” He was surprised.

She noticed his sudden relieved look and realised something.

So he minded, minded her talking and laughing with other men, and the words that seemed like a warning were his way of saying he didn’t want her to show her girl-like coquettish appearance to other men, wasn’t it? Could she expect this to be … jealousy?

“Dai Xingren.” She called out to him in a daze, exhaling.

“Hmm?”

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“Dai Xingren.” She called his name again.

“What is it?” He didn’t understand such intensiviness, and asked seriously.

“Hello … nasty, Dai Xingren.” She scolded him softly, her watery eyes looking at him with bitterness.

“What’s wrong?” He seemed at a loss for words. “Didn’t I just apologize to you?”

Stupid. He was such a fool. She didn’t blame him for being mean to her for no reason that day. She hated him for fiddling with her heart like this.

“You’re such a blockhead.” She snapped with a smile. “Don’t tell anyone you’ve had a girlfriend. It’s too lame. No one would believe you.”

He grunted softly, chagrined as he squinted his eyes.

This time she’d hurt his male dignity, but she did not feel guilty at all. He’d deserved it. Who’d told him not to understand a woman’s heart?

After the dance she let him know that she was thirsty and good enough he was not incorrigible, for he took the initiative to get her a drink.

She leaned against the window, wiping the sweat from her temples, and waited for a minute or two. Seeing that he had yet to return, she raised her eyes in his search and found him talking to a waiter.

What the hell? She was a bit annoyed, how dare he leave her here? She took back her words. This man was truly incorrigible!

She took a few depressing steps towards him. Just as she had advanced a few steps, the waiter suddenly fell unconscious on the ground with a thud. When she saw this, she hastened her steps towards the scene.

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“What’s wrong with him?”

“It could be a myocardial infarction.” Dai Xingren responded hastily as he examined him. “I’ve just noticed that he’s showing signs of respiratory distress.”

So he had stopped to check the waiter because he’d noticed something wrong? Mo Chuan Ya looked at him in awe. This was a hospital’s memorial reception party, and there were a lot of big wigs of the medical field present here. Yet, he was the only one who had noticed that this little waiter was not feeling well…

“What’s going on?” A group of people had come, including Xiong Jianming and Mo Chuan Sen.

“It’s a myocardial infarction.” Mo Chuan Ya explained to her brother. Her eyes were fixed on Dai Xingren, who was performing CPR on the patient.

A few minutes later, the waiter woke up. Xiong Jianming had already called an ambulance to take him to the hospital.

“It was Dai Xingren who saved him…” Mo Chuan Ya murmured as she gazed at the hectic scene.

Mo Chuan Sen observed his sister’s expression and his eyes flickered, “Looking at you like this, if Dai Xingren were to ask you for the whole world, you’d stupidly offer it with both hands.”

Mo Chuan Ya was stunned, knowing that this was her brother intentionally trying to tease her .However she couldn’t help but feel her heart racing. “Brother, do you think if I gave him the world, he would accept it? If he doesn’t want it, what should I do?” She asked, looking so panicked, so desperate, so lost in lost that her tears were almost spilling out.

Mo Chuan Sen looked shocked. “Chuan Ya, calm down. Have you forgotten what I have said before? If you fall in love with a man like that, you’ll be miserable. He’ll probably love his ideals more than you.”

“I know, I know it might be like that.” Mo Chuan Ya murmured absentmindedly. “But it doesn’t matter, brother. As long as the woman he loves the most is me, then- ” She paused resolutely, her beautiful face lit up instantly with determination. “I will be the guardian of his ideals!”

____________

“Would you go out with me?” After the cocktail party, Mo Chuan Ya proposed to Dai Xingren. She winked and smiled at him. He, in turn, couldn’t tell if she was being sincere or playing a prank.

“Are you playing games with me?” He gritted his teeth, suspecting that he was merely being manipulated by a young lady used to be in command, him dancing between her fingers.

“What do you mean?”

“Professor Xiong has admonished me. He said you’re someone I shouldn’t try to approach.”

She was aghast. “And what are your thoughts on that??”

“I don’t believe class distinction should exist in this world.” He plainly stated.

He looked directly at her with his provocative gaze. He knew many young masters and ladies from good families who thought  themselves superior to others.

But Mo Chuan Ya smiled sweetly. “You’re right. We are all created equal. My grandmother has always reminded us that just because the Mo family is richer, it doesn’t mean we are superior to others.” She paused. “Don’t worry, we’re not a family that puts a lot of emphasis on bloodline and lineage. Grandma and Mom hate politicians the most, and you’re not a politician. You are a doctor who dares to fight privilege. I believe my family will recognize that.”

He stared into her unusually bright, starry eyes, where her feelings were clearly seen, and he felt breathless. “You make me… seem so honourable.”

“That’s because that’s the way I see you.” She was frank and straightforward.

And he found such a passionate woman irresistible. The depth of his heart was raging, and he could no longer maintain his usual calm. He had thought that no woman would ever be able to influence him, but she, apparently, was the exception.

So they started dating. She, a busy journalist, and he, a resident physician, who was even busier than she was. They didn’t get to see each other much, so they had to cherish every moment they had together.

At first, Mo Chuan Ya would wait for Dai Xingren at the cafeteria on the ground floor of the hospital. But ever since word of their previous dance at the reception had spread, the hospital staff had recognized her as the chairman’s daughter and would cast curious glances at her.

On a few occasions, she’d heard whispers praising Dai Xingren for “silently eating three (whole) bowlfuls”1, and wondered where he’d gotten the idea to charm the young lady of an affluent family.

Some were simply admiring the young couple, but many more were actually secretly jealous. Once, when a senior attending doctor caught a glimpse of her, he mockingly turned to Dai Xingren and told him to stop working already, saying he wouldn’t dare delay his appointment with the young lady.

His expression did not change at the provocation, he just made a silent statement that he would finish what he was supposed to do. However she could see that he was very annoyed, not angry at her, she knew, but his association with her did bring some resentment. He was not good at dealing with interpersonal relationships, and she was afraid it would worsen with time.

From then on, she tried to not intrude into the hospital as much as possible. In order to get a little more time together, she’d wait for him at a nearby shop or park, and, together, they would go to dinner or a movie.

Although going on dates was a rarity, he would often receive calls from the hospital. The resident physicians were not like the attending physician. Even if an attending physician was on duty, other people did not dare to disturb them. However, resident physicians had to be on call even if they were on vacation.

He’d always apologize to her whenever he received a call, and,  despite her disappointment, she tried to smile at him hurrying away.

Although it was Mo Chuan Ya’s birthday and both had long working hours that day, they decided to meet at nine o’clock in the evening.

She’d finished her article and had come early to a cafe near the hospital. She ordered a cup of herbal tea and was reading a magazine while awaiting him.

It was past nine o’clock and he had yet to show up.