On the weekend morning, the day of departure, Xiu Ling had reverted to more or less herself. She was still excited but not unreasonably ecstatic as she was several days ago.
After giving Lin Xi a farewell kiss, she dragged her luggage down the flight of stairs as she moved towards the front door. She had her passport, plane tickets and hotel reservation notice. Xiu Ling felt like she had taken everything she needed but standing there in the living room, she had a feeling she was missing out on something very important.
Xiu Ling scratched her chin as she pondered what it was. She could not for the life of her, pin her finger on it. Convincing herself that it was probably something not important, Xiu Ling turned and prepared to leave. The Lin family driver was already waiting for her at the driveway.
As Xiu Ling's fingers curled around the doorknob, she heard a familiar male voice call out behind her.
Lin Kang stood at the top of the stairs, looking as dashing as the God Apollo himself. He had a tailored shirt and fitted pants, the very picture of a handsome CEO.
Xiu Ling had to stop herself from staring. She found that to be curious because she had never considered Lin Kang as attractive before. Yes, the man was objectively handsome but due to the history between them, it had not crossed Xiu Ling's mind to consider the man as anything more than the father of her son, the man who once she frankly found to be quite revolting.
Xiu Ling realized with a start she now no longer found the man as abhorrent as before and she did not flinch involuntarily when he wandered too physically close to her.
Before Xiu Ling could understand what this meant, Lin Kang's falling footsteps as he descended the steps yanked her back into reality. Lin Kang eventually stopped before her.
Observing at close distance, Xiu Ling could not help but be impressed at how kind the Gods have been to this man standing before her. He was born into a rich and powerful family, was gifted with immense talents and brains to carry on the family legacy, good health and on top of that, impossibly good looks. The man was truly the full package.
"Here, take this with you." Lin Kang handed Xiu Ling a rectangular object. It was a credit card with the picture of plane on it as well as the logo of the flight company that she was taking that day.
Then it hit Xiu Ling. Money!
That was the thing she was missing. How could a girl's trip be complete without a shopping spree?
Ever since she married into Lin family, all her family expenses had been handled by either Lin Kang or Mrs. Lin. They provided her with the necessary budget weekly to keep the family afloat. In other words, this also meant that Xiu Ling had no disposable income, at least not to spend on an impromptu trip overseas.
Lin Kang had even considered the issue that had slipped Xiu Ling's mind. He had provided her with this card before she even asked for it. Xiu Ling felt a part of her heart give and soften.
"This card is a collaboration between the flight company and an internationally-operated bank. There is a promotion going on where any purchase on this card while you're overseas will be converted into flying miles. It is a 1 to 1, expense to miles exchange ratio. Something that is very rare. So use this card while you're over there. Don't waste the opportunity."
Lin Kang threw out all these trivia to hide the fact that he had just registered this credit card yesterday. Psychologists observed that one tend to talk more when they were lying or feeling uneasy and that was definitely true in this case. Lin Kang did not understand why he was doing this but he feared Xiu Ling finding out he was jumping through all these hoops for her sake.
The mention of something practical did knock the rose-colored glasses slightly off Xiu Ling's face. The conclusion that she had reached several days ago surfaced in her mind once more, 'So he is again giving me something for the sake of convenience. He is only using me for the card's promotion. He probably wouldn't have cared if the promotion doesn't happen to fall on the period when I'm overseas.'
Regardless, it did not change the fact that Lin Kang had provided a solution to her monetary problem. He had given her a drawing limit to spend while she was at Japan. That kind and considerate gesture had to be recognized and appreciated.
However, for some reason that she could not explain, when she found out she was none other than a tool of convenience for Lin Kang, Xiu Ling felt disappointed, and that inability to process this information turned into frustration.
Xiu Ling slid the credit card into her pocket, turned her luggage around, and lowered her head to tell Lin Kang, "thank you for the card, I will be sure to budget myself accordingly. Do not worry, I'll not splurge," before heading out the front door.
She did not want to stay around any longer just in case Lin Kang had more disappointments in store for her. Xiu Ling did not think she has the energy then to face them. The purpose of this trip was to forgo every trouble back at home and Xiu Ling was going to start there and then.
"No… Wait, Xiu Ling… Wait…" Lin Kang said as the door slammed in his face. He was trying to tell Xiu Ling to spend as much as she wanted but he could not get the words out of his lips fast enough and with confidence. Other than that, he was also afraid that it might reveal some things that he didn't want Xiu Ling to know and he himself had yet come to terms with.
On the weekend morning, the day of departure, Xiu Ling had reverted to more or less herself. She was still excited but not unreasonably ecstatic as she was several days ago.
After giving Lin Xi a farewell kiss, she dragged her luggage down the flight of stairs as she moved towards the front door. She had her passport, plane tickets and hotel reservation notice. Xiu Ling felt like she had taken everything she needed but standing there in the living room, she had a feeling she was missing out on something very important.
Xiu Ling scratched her chin as she pondered what it was. She could not for the life of her, pin her finger on it. Convincing herself that it was probably something not important, Xiu Ling turned and prepared to leave. The Lin family driver was already waiting for her at the driveway.
As Xiu Ling's fingers curled around the doorknob, she heard a familiar male voice call out behind her.
Lin Kang stood at the top of the stairs, looking as dashing as the God Apollo himself. He had a tailored shirt and fitted pants, the very picture of a handsome CEO.
Xiu Ling had to stop herself from staring. She found that to be curious because she had never considered Lin Kang as attractive before. Yes, the man was objectively handsome but due to the history between them, it had not crossed Xiu Ling's mind to consider the man as anything more than the father of her son, the man who once she frankly found to be quite revolting.
Xiu Ling realized with a start she now no longer found the man as abhorrent as before and she did not flinch involuntarily when he wandered too physically close to her.
Before Xiu Ling could understand what this meant, Lin Kang's falling footsteps as he descended the steps yanked her back into reality. Lin Kang eventually stopped before her.
Observing at close distance, Xiu Ling could not help but be impressed at how kind the Gods have been to this man standing before her. He was born into a rich and powerful family, was gifted with immense talents and brains to carry on the family legacy, good health and on top of that, impossibly good looks. The man was truly the full package.
"Here, take this with you." Lin Kang handed Xiu Ling a rectangular object. It was a credit card with the picture of plane on it as well as the logo of the flight company that she was taking that day.
Then it hit Xiu Ling. Money!
That was the thing she was missing. How could a girl's trip be complete without a shopping spree?
Ever since she married into Lin family, all her family expenses had been handled by either Lin Kang or Mrs. Lin. They provided her with the necessary budget weekly to keep the family afloat. In other words, this also meant that Xiu Ling had no disposable income, at least not to spend on an impromptu trip overseas.
Lin Kang had even considered the issue that had slipped Xiu Ling's mind. He had provided her with this card before she even asked for it. Xiu Ling felt a part of her heart give and soften.
"This card is a collaboration between the flight company and an internationally-operated bank. There is a promotion going on where any purchase on this card while you're overseas will be converted into flying miles. It is a 1 to 1, expense to miles exchange ratio. Something that is very rare. So use this card while you're over there. Don't waste the opportunity."
Lin Kang threw out all these trivia to hide the fact that he had just registered this credit card yesterday. Psychologists observed that one tend to talk more when they were lying or feeling uneasy and that was definitely true in this case. Lin Kang did not understand why he was doing this but he feared Xiu Ling finding out he was jumping through all these hoops for her sake.
The mention of something practical did knock the rose-colored glasses slightly off Xiu Ling's face. The conclusion that she had reached several days ago surfaced in her mind once more, 'So he is again giving me something for the sake of convenience. He is only using me for the card's promotion. He probably wouldn't have cared if the promotion doesn't happen to fall on the period when I'm overseas.'
Regardless, it did not change the fact that Lin Kang had provided a solution to her monetary problem. He had given her a drawing limit to spend while she was at Japan. That kind and considerate gesture had to be recognized and appreciated.
However, for some reason that she could not explain, when she found out she was none other than a tool of convenience for Lin Kang, Xiu Ling felt disappointed, and that inability to process this information turned into frustration.
Xiu Ling slid the credit card into her pocket, turned her luggage around, and lowered her head to tell Lin Kang, "thank you for the card, I will be sure to budget myself accordingly. Do not worry, I'll not splurge," before heading out the front door.
She did not want to stay around any longer just in case Lin Kang had more disappointments in store for her. Xiu Ling did not think she has the energy then to face them. The purpose of this trip was to forgo every trouble back at home and Xiu Ling was going to start there and then.
"No… Wait, Xiu Ling… Wait…" Lin Kang said as the door slammed in his face. He was trying to tell Xiu Ling to spend as much as she wanted but he could not get the words out of his lips fast enough and with confidence. Other than that, he was also afraid that it might reveal some things that he didn't want Xiu Ling to know and he himself had yet come to terms with.
