Chapter 100 - The First Time I’ve Met Her (2)
However, Mu Jianyu beat her to it. He vehemently denied he\'d meet Lin Meirong before. What would Ying think if she found out about his association with this woman and suspect him of having an affair?
No, he couldn\'t let Ying know about Lin Meirong and his child at all. He wasn\'t ready to tell her. Not when he hadn\'t won her heart, yet.
"No, dear. This is my first time meeting Miss Lin. I would\'ve recognized her at once if I\'d met her somewhere," he said much to Lin Meirong\'s irritation. While she knew it wasn\'t the right time to reveal their relationship, hearing her lover deny her existence, hurt Lin Meirong\'s ego. Every word he uttered felt like a stab to her heart.
"Oh, really?" Li Chuntao blinked twice before turning her eyes to Lin Meirong. "I suppose you are right. A beautiful woman like Miss Lin couldn\'t possibly be forgotten."
"Yes, you are right, dear. This is the first time I\'ve met her." Mu Jianyu easily agreed with his wife.
Lin Meirong\'s eyes turned misty but she hid it from everyone\'s gaze. She didn\'t have any choice but go along with Mu Jianyu\'s story.
"Yes, this is the first time. Nice to meet you, Mr. Mu," she tried to pretend that she wasn\'t affected by his denial but the slight tremble in her voice gave her away.
Li Chuntao smirked inwardly, enjoying the way Mu Jianyu and Lin Meirong pinned each other with their eyes.
\'Lin Meirong, how does it feel to be denied by your own lover? But we\'re quite not done yet. There\'s more to come for the two of you.\'
One of the actresses couldn\'t help but be curious about Li Xiuying and Mu Jianyu\'s relationship and voiced her question.
"Lady Li, you\'ve forgotten the last seven years of your life, does it mean you don\'t remember how you first met, Mr. Mu?"
Hearing her question, everyone\'s attention instantly shifted to \'Li Xiuying\' who nervously glanced at her estranged husband before nodding her head. They were curious to know if she still felt something for her husband despite losing her memories.
"Yes, unfortunately, I don\'t remember anything about him," she admitted.
Collective gasps were followed and the people around them gave Mu Jianyu a pity look. It must\'ve been really hard for him to know that his own wife had forgotten about him. No wonder Li Xiuying arrived with Young Master Shen today because he was the one Lady Li was accustomed to.
Mu Jianyu and Li Xiuying had only been married for five years. Before that, they only knew each other for a year and dated for half a year before deciding to get married. If seven years were lost, Li Xiuying would only see Mu Jianyu as a total stranger.
There was no love or friendship. Only a piece of paper binding them together as husband and wife. To be completely forgotten by his partner, Mu Jianyu must have been having a hard time convincing lady Li that they were married.
"Ah, that\'s too sad to hear."
"Yes, it must be hard for Mr. Mu to see Lady Li like this. To be forgotten by his beloved… I don\'t think I\'ll know what to do if it happens to me."
"Well, as long as they\'re willing, I don\'t see why they couldn\'t fall in love with each other again." Someone said from the crowd earning approval from other guests.
"Yes, Lady Li. Why don\'t you try going out on a date with Mr. Mu again?" The actresses beside Li Chuntao hummed their approval.
"It\'s a good way to rekindle your relationship with your husband. It must be dreamy to start dating all over again!" One of them dramatically emphasized.
In the midst of their conversation, Lin Meirong remained silent. She glanced at Mu Jianyu and watched how he smiled at their suggestions. He was really ditching her in favor of his wife!
\'Bastard! You dare to make a fool out of me and pretend that you��re a loving husband!\' She sneered inwardly.
"What do you think, Lady Li? I think it\'s a great idea." The director asked Li Chuntao curiously. Although Shen Zichen was a dear childhood friend of hers, she was technically still Mu Jianyu\'s wife and it would complicate things if she started to have feelings for Young Master Shen.
"To be honest, I just found out that I\'m married and I also feel bad for not knowing who Jianyu was when I first saw him after my accident." Li Chuntao swirled the drink in her glass, lifted her chin, and smiled at Mu Jianyu.
Mu Jianyu\'s heart skipped a beat upon seeing her smile. Not only did she call him by his name, it also seemed to be slowly opening up to him.
"Actually, I was about to ask her for a romantic dinner tonight but I didn\'t know she already had plans to spend time with all of you," he confessed to everyone while his gaze was fixated to his wife\'s lovely face.
"Oh, is that so?" The director laughed awkwardly and scratched his head. "If we had known you\'re planning something like that we would\'ve moved the schedule to another day."
Mu Jianyu shook his head and took Li Chuntao\'s hand into his, watching her facial expression intently.
"It\'s no one\'s fault but I should be the one to blame. I should\'ve asked her earlier." he paused and smiled genuinely to Li Chuntao. "Lady Li, would you go out with me, please?"
A loud cheering followed his question. Mu Jianyu looked at Li Chuntao expectantly, hoping she would say yes.
"Say yes! Say yes!"
"Oh my goodness, this is so romantic! Lady Li is so lucky!"
Lan Jinyao, who had been watching the farce Li Chuntao had started, couldn\'t help but laugh with them. Not because she wanted \'Ying\' to agree but because of how the cheating couple was easily swayed by a few words coming from the witch\'s enchanting lips.
Li Chuntao was several steps ahead from the cheating couple and they couldn\'t even tell that they\'d fallen into the witch\'s trap.
Amidst the cheering, two people weren\'t pleased with what they were seeing. Lin Meirong was already on the verge of crying, seeing the happy couple in front of her, while Shen Zichen who had just returned to the hall, overheard Mu Jianyu asking Li Chuntao out.
Young Master Shen\'s face darkened at once. He suddenly felt his heart being twisted painfully seeing Li Chuntao\'s hand being held by another man. He had already lost Ying to this man and he couldn\'t bear it if Li Chuntao fell in love with Mu Jianyu.
For the first time in his life, Shen Zichen felt a fit of extreme jealousy that he couldn\'t comprehend himself. When he first found out about Ying dating Mu Jianyu, he felt sad but he had accepted her decision. But right now, seeing Chuntao being held by that despicable bastard, Shen Zichen felt his sight turning red.
Li Chuntao had informed him of her plan and the possible events that could take place tonight, but somehow, he couldn\'t accept it easily. Why? He asked himself. Why did he have an urge to snatch Li Chuntao\'s hand from Mu Jianyu, and to take her away from here?