Bringing the Nation's Husband Home

The car stopped in the underground car park. Xu Jiamu got out of the car and went ahead and pressed the elevator button. He stood at the entrance waiting for Song Xiangsi to get in before he stepped in. Then he pressed the floor number.

The elevator door opened when it reached the right floor. Xu Jiamu walked over to the left door, entered the passcode, and pushed open the door. As usual, he watched as Song Xiangsi entered first, then followed behind.

Xu Jiamu closed the door and threw the car keys randomly by the entrance. He stared directly at Song Xiangsi without a word, then suddenly raised his hand, slapping her brutally across the face.

That slap came out of nowhere and was sufficiently hard. Song Xiangsi, who was completely caught off guard, fell to the ground from it’s sheer force.

-

Eleven o’clock. Everyone had left.

Xu Jiamu left the private room at ten and never came back.

Other people drank quite a lot, so they called a car. Whoever had a ride, got picked up. Qiao Anhao called fro Chen Yang, who had coincidentally just finished work, to pick up Qiao Anxia. Then, she pulled out her phone and called Xu Jiamu. After a few times, he still didn’t pick up.

When Lu Jinnian’s assistant came out of the restroom, he saw Qiao Anhao at the lobby of the Royal Palace and greeted her, "Miss Qiao."

Qiao Anhao put her phone away and nodded at the assistant.

Seeing that Qiao Anhao was on her own, the assistant was slightly confused, so he nosily asked, "Miss Qiao, didn’t you come here with Mr. Xu? Why are you here alone?"

Qiao Anhao wondered how Lu Jinnian’s assistant knew.

The man added, "I coincidentally bumped into Mr. Xu waiting for you downstairs at the office."

Qiao Anhao understood and pursed her lips into a smile, then said, "I don’t know where he is. I’m waiting for him."

The assistant made an "oh" sound in sudden realization. Then politely said, "Miss Qiao, I have some business to attend to, so I’ll be off now."

Qiao Anhao smiled gently and nodded.

-

The assistant pushed open the door and glanced at Lu Jinnian over at the mahjong table.

There were three other players, one of whom had a young girl in his lap, then there he was - far removed and alone.

The assistant silently walked over to Lu Jinnian and glanced at his tiles. There was nothing he could say, his tiles were incredibly lucky. He waited for Lu Jinnian to throw out a two dot tile, then bent down, and whispered in his ear, "Mr. Lu, on my way back from the restroom just now, I saw Miss Qiao in the corridors."

Lu Jinnian’s expression didn’t change, but his fingers obviously clenched harder onto the tiles.

The assistant continued to report back in a low voice. "Who knows where Mr. Xu went. Miss Qiao is waiting for him."

"Oh." Mr. Lu gave a nod, as though it didn’t matter.

The assistant’s pupils twitched lightly, and he added, "It looks like Qiao Anhao didn’t drive. If she can’t wait for Mr. Xu, she might hitchhike. It isn’t easy to get a car from here..."

Before the assistant could finish, Lu Jinnian stood up from his seat, calm and composed. He pointed at his winnings and said to his assistant, "Take over for a while."

He then said "Sorry" to the other three players, who looked confused, and grabbed for his jacket behind his seat and left the private room, all without waiting for his assistant to react.