Uncle Huo sat on one of the armchairs in the living room. His expression was bright, and his hands were shaking.
"What's the good news, Uncle Huo? The anticipation alone will kill me." Alexis asked animatedly.
"Daddy, is it another promotion?" Jaime asked.
Their mother coming from the kitchen, had a slightly annoyed expression.
"What is all this noise about? It's so noisy here."
Uncle Huo stood up and went to hold her hands.
"We are going on a vacation, Cara."
She looked confused.
"So …. that's what has gotten you so excited?"
He shook his head then led her to sit down.
"Do you remember the huge construction project at Ning village? It just got completed and they are holding the opening ceremony a few weeks from now. It seems our big boss is happy it was completed, so he invited the directors with all costs covered. We will just have to choose three activities that he will have covered."
"The one for the multi-sports complex you were talking about?"
Uncle Huo nodded happily. "Yes, it will cover for family too. But Cara, this is huge for my career as well. There will be a lot of wealthy businessmen there too. It would be great if I could at least speak to them or just have them remember me. It would be useful for future projects."
Though it seemed to excite Cara a bit, she still tried to keep a straight face.
"It sounds fun, but what if these two cause you trouble?"
Cara's gaze was directed at Alexis and Jaime, who was still clutching to his elder sister.
Alexis looked aggrieved. "Mom!"
Cara ignored her completely. "How many days is it?"
"It's five days, but the main banquets are on Saturday and Sunday."
"Sounds like fun, I guess we should start preparing for it then."
That caused Alexis to stand excitedly, swirling little Jaime around happily. A glare from their mother, however, caused her to sit down awkwardly, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.
Leah chose to remain silent throughout. Of course she had heard about this project. It was huge, and many corporations were involved in it. It had started quite a number of years ago, when she was dating Aiden. As a result, she was a bit reluctant to go. She was very sure he would be there and did not know what she will do if she saw him.
However, there was no way she was turning this down because of him. She had been looking forward to going there ever since she heard about it. Although with different company now, she would not miss it for anything.
"Uh Hazel, you don't seem excited. Is there anything wrong?" Uncle Huo asked cautiously.
She laughed, hoping she could hide how disconnected she was.
"Oh no, Uncle Huo. I'm really excited, it's just that I heard someone mention it some time ago. I just did not think I would have been able to go there."
He smiled and nodded. "I hope you will enjoy it too."
She grinned back at him too.
"Uncle Huo I heard there will be horses, Is that true?" Alexis asked expectantly.
"Yes Alex, there will be horses."
This caused Jaime to jump around excitedly. Cara calmed him down, then stood up.
"Well then, I'm going to finish making dinner. I will find out if there will be anything needed for the trip, so that we get it."
"It's settled then."
*#*#*#*
In the end, the entire family went together to Hecheng Mall over the weekend, as they were lacking proper clothes for some of the activities, as well as for the opening banquet. They had been there for hours and had managed to buy clothes appropriate for horse riding, a suit, evening dress and upon Jaime's insistence new swimsuits for everyone as well.
Now, to rest, Cara and Uncle- Huo decided to take Jaime to watch a movie, while Alexis and Leah decided to look at other shops to find some other dresses for the banquet.
They had been given a budget, and although it was not a small one, Leah could only hold back her tears as she had to forego dresses she liked but were simply too expensive. It made her realize how she had never had to consider the price of clothes in the past. With a situation like this, she really missed her no limit credit cards.
Alexis had found a dark blue gown which suited her perfectly and would not annoy their mother. They bought a shawl to go with it and continued their search for a dress for Leah.
At a certain point in time, they entered another high-end boutique, and saw that a few customers were whispering, and staring in a particular direction. The two turned to that direction and saw that there was an argument going on apparently between a customer and one of the male staff. The entitled customer had even poured her drink on him, but he kept his head down while she kept throwing insults at him.
Leah pulled Alexis away, ready to leave the shop. She really disliked behavior like this, and knew the customer would go away unscathed, while the worker would probably be fired or have his pay deducted. She could not watch it nonchalantly, so she decided it was best if she left. If she stayed, she might just lose her temper and cause more trouble for the guy.
However, as she was leaving, she heard two girls behind her gossiping.
"Gosh, is that Feng Ge? Look how low he has fallen. He is now a common salesboy."
"It's his karma. He reaped what he sowed. His drug addiction ruined him."
Alexis turned to her with wide eyes. She wanted to say something but seemed too shocked for the words to come out. Leah, however felt herself shaking.
No, that could not be possible, Gu Feng couldn't fall so low, he was from a good family…. who disowned him after he decided to become an actor.
"I will be right back." She muttered, then let go of Alexis' hand
She walked back into the shop, and the shrew was still hurling insults at him. She raised her hand to slap him, but her hand did not reach its destination.
A dainty but firm hand held hers midair.
The woman was stunned, then shrieked.
"Who do you think you are to stop me?"