Chapter 76 - 76: I Don’t Like Boys
With Tiger following behind her, Kim Eunji went inside the hall. Man 1 who was dressed as a male server in disguise was also keeping a close eye on her in case something happened.
Man 2 was already at the airport waiting for Nathan to arrive.
Kim Eunji looked for a quite corner to sit down and hopefully enjoy the night. She really thought it was a simple family gathering. More like a clan reunion and the likes. But she never expected it to be a social gathering.
Ling Bao also followed behind her but decided to walk towards the opposite direction where his family table was.
Jin Li Rong's face brightened when she saw Ling Bao entering the hall. But she frowned when she saw that Ling Bao's attention was on Kim Eunji.
She hurriedly made his way towards Ling Bao to get his attention.
"Hello Young Master Ling." She greeted and clung her arms around Ling Bao's left arm.
"Stay away." Ling Bao said in disgust.
"And why? We're friends right? Our families are close friends but why are you so hostile towards me?" Jin Li Rong asked.
"Look at yourself in the mirror and you'll know why." Ling Bao then removed her hands off his arms in disgust like she was a plague.
Jin Li Rong was beautiful. But her attitude towards others was horrible. She was known to be the mean girl and the great bully in their university.
However, because of her family's influence, the school could not expel her. And Ling Bao didn't like that side of her.
He then left and continued his way towards his family leaving Jin Li Rong in an embarrassing state.
The entire Hainan had been expecting that Ling Bao and Jin Li Rong would then be engaged anytime by now since the two families were close.
And Jin Li Rong had been in love with him since they were little kids that's why she was doing her best to get his attention.
Meanwhile, since mostly no one from the guests recognized her, Kim Eunji enjoyed some peace but it was only for a short while as the guests attention were now on her.
J approached her to check if she was okay which she said she was okay.
As the guests looked at their interaction, they were starting to get curious about her identity.
Other guests came inside the hall. They were business partners and the likes.
But the current new arrival caught the attention of everyone. It was the representatives of the Mo Family.
It was not hidden that the Jin and the Mo had some dispute over their territories. And were rivals in many businesses. Therefore, their sudden appearance had shocked everyone.
Since Mo Jing-sheng and Kelly were still in the hospital, Old Master Mo and Madame Mo were at the hospital to look after them.
Mo Ting and Mo Ping came to represent the family.
Mo Ting was of course together with his girlfriend while Mo Ping was alone.
Mo Ping accidentally glanced towards the direction where Kim Eunji was sitting together with J.
Mo Ping then walked towards her to say hi.
Aside from Mo Jing-sheng's parents, no one was informed about Kim Eunji's accident and her amnesia.
"Sister Eunji, what are you doing here?" Mo Ping immediately asked her the question.
However, since she could not remember meeting him in the past, she only stared at him.
Mo Ping frowned because of Kim Eunji's reaction.
"Do you know her Eunji?" J whispered into her ear as he asked her.
"I can't remember meeting him, J." Kim Eunji honestly answered J.
"He's a Mo. You have probably met him at Kelly's wedding." J explained and tried to put the pieces of the puzzle together for her.
"I see. Sorry, you are?" Kim Eunji asked Mo Ping.
"I'm Mo Ping, Mo Jing-sheng's cousin. We met at his wedding." He shortly reintroduce himself to her.
"Oh. I'm sorry. It's nice to meet you again, Master Mo. I don't usually remember a person's face especially if I didn't interact with him on daily basis." Kim Eunji's alibi was perfect that Mo Ping did not realize something was odd.
Kelly already told her beforehand that the Mo Family treated her as their goddaughter so it was normal for the younger Mo Family members to call her as sister.
"Oh, I didn't know. My bad." Mo Ping then turned his attention to J who was sitting beside Kim Eunji.
"Hello Master J, I didn't know that you both knew each other." Mo Ping greeted him.
"Hello Mo Ping." J greeted him back.
Despite the friendly greeting, Kim Eunji could still sense the hostility between the two which made her curious why.
"J is my cousin." Kim Eunji shortly explained.
"You're a Jin?!" Mo Ping asked in disbelief. His voice was so loud that it caught more attention from the visitors.
"Genetically, I have a quarter of the Jin genes but they don't recognize me as a family member except for J, does that count Master Mo?" Kim Eunji simply answered his question.
Instead of getting angry, Mo Ping laughed because of Kim Eunji's humor.
The guests started to gossip about her.
Some who attended Kelly and Mo Jing-sheng's wedding finally recognized Kim Eunji.
"So she's a Jin? I wonder which branch family she belongs?"
"Me, too."
Jin Li Rong's face darkened when she saw that the guest's attention were now on Kim Eunji instead of her.
Her hatred towards Kim Eunji grew even more.
Though the purpose of this party was still unclear, as the daughter of the family head, all of the attention should be on her and not on someone else.
At the heat of the discussion, the door on the top floor soon opened revealing a senior man wearing his custom made suit with a cane in his right hand. Beside him stood his son, J's father.
Compared to the senior man, J's father, Jin Syaoran was inferior to J's grandfather, Senior Master Jin Cheng. That's why his grandfather never favored this son of his. He favored J over his son for he had seen the qualities of a good leader in him.
Senior Master Jin Cheng, J's grandfather had managed to maintain his good posture over the years and somehow managed to still have that aura that was a result of years of training from his adoptive father, Kim Eunji's great grandfather. As soon as he stepped out, he had managed to shift the crowds attention to him.
Every one in the room watched as he slowly descended on the stairs.
"Father." Jin Zhilan greeted him.
"Grandfather." Jin Li Rong copied her mother acting like a filial granddaughter to the old man.
J then came forward and greeted him.
"Grandpops." That's how J called him.
However, since they had a misunderstanding, the greeting was not as warm as it used to be in the past.
J was closer to his grandfather than his own parents. That's why he could not understand why Senior Master Jin Cheng was reluctant to acknowledge Kim Eunji as a Jin.
Senior Master Jin Cheng then looked at Kim Eunji and for a while before he looked away.
Kim Eunji on the other hand did not greet him. Why? She's not good at pretending that she recognized him as her elder since he's a Jin and her senior.
The tension could be seen in the entire hall.
"I'm pleased that my invitation was warmly responded by everyone. The night's still young. Please do enjoy the party!" Jin Cheng said.
The guests then settled down on their assigned tables while the servers also entered the hall with trays of food on hand.
J brought Kim Eunji to the main family table and this shocked the guests and the members of the branch families who were unaware of Kim Eunji's identity.
They then looked at Senior Master Jin Cheng's reaction but the latter calmly sat down on his seat and let his assistant uncovered the food that he would like to eat.
"Grandpa, are you going to allow this slut to eat with us?!" Jin Li Rong could no longer hold back her dissatisfaction over the matter.
"Li Rong!" J reprimanded her sister.
"Brother!" Jin Li Rong whined like the spoiled brat that she was.
"Mom! Dad!" Since Senior Master Jin Cheng was quite and J was on Kim Eunji's side, Jin Li Rong had no other choice but to appeal to her parents without knowing that what she'd been doing would only make the situation worse for their family.
"Enough Jin Li Rong! I didn't raise you to act like a spoiled brat and make our family to be the subject of ridicule in front of the guests!" Jin Syaoran reprimanded his daughter.
"Dad!" With her father's words, Jin Li Rong had no other choice but to keep quiet.
Kim Eunji was amused to see it first hand.
The servers then uncovered the rest of the food for them to have a feast with.
When the dishes were revealed, Kim Eunji didn't know if she should laugh or cry.
Majority of the dishes were seafood. Seems like they deliberately wanted her to have a hard time.
The rash in her skin had just disappeared. And since she had taken the shot earlier, she's allowed to eat but only a little.
"Eunji." J immediately looked at her. He was worried that Kim Eunji would have another allergic attack if she would force herself to eat it.
Not only J was worried, even Mo Ping and Mo Ting were worried as well. They had witnessed how bad her allergy was.
"I'm okay. I had already taken my shots, remember" Kim Eunji whispered to him.
J sighed and let Kim Eunji to take smaller portions of the dishes.
While they were on the middle of dinner, Senior Master Jin Cheng then stood up to make an important announcement.
"Before this night ends, I would like to make an important announcement." Senior Master Jin started. All ears were now on him.
"It's already well-known that the Ling and the Jin had been friends for more than a century. We've been allies and the heads of the family had a strong brotherhood. Right Brother Ling?" He then looked towards the direction where the Ling Family were seated. Senior Master Ling nodded.
"And I guess, many of you are expecting to witness the union between our two families." Senior Master Jin Cheng added which made the guests to nod their head in agreement.
Jin Li Rong who was in a bad mood earlier, became happy when she heard what her grandfather was telling. She thought this was the moment that she had been waiting for. However, Senior Master Jin Cheng's words crashed down her hopes to the ground.
"Many years ago, my father, the late Master Jin and his best friend, the late Master Ling arranged his son, Brother Ling to marry my sister. But that didn't happen because my sister went missing to the point that my late parents thought she's dead."
He then looked towards Kim Eunji and flashed a meaningful smile like a doting grandfather to his granddaughter.
"But years ago, this young lady showed up and claimed that she's the granddaughter of my sister. She indeed proved that she's a Jin to us."
Jin Li Rong's face turned grim as she didn't like where her grandfather's announcement was heading.
Jin Zhilan held her daughter's hand and squeezed it hardly to remind her to behave. She spoiled this daughter of her and she knew Jin Li Rong would lose it after the announcement was over.
"Let me introduce to you, my grandniece, Kim Eunji!" Jin Cheng then gave the spotlight to Kim Eunji who was silently drinking her water with a straw.
She was not really minding what was going on around her. Why? Her mind was being occupied by a single person at the moment. Daydreaming of her husband? Not really. She's worried about him. When she looked at the time, he should be in Hainan already but he did not message her.
J could see that she's biting the straw and could tell that she's anxious about something.
He thought that this was because the spotlight was now on her. He then tapped her shoulder to reassure her that everything would be fine.
His action snapped Kim Eunji back to reality which made her thankful as she could be the next subject of ridicule if she didn't react on time.
Kim Eunji then stood up silently said her hello and took a seat afterwards.
"Isn't she beautiful?" Senior Master Jin Cheng asked the crowd.
"Yes she is!" They immediately agreed.
"Don't get the wrong idea young lads as now that she showed up, that agreement could now finally be realized. Can I call Young Master Ling Bao to come forward please?"
Ling Bao who was peacefully eating his dinner put down his utensils and stood up. He obediently walked towards him and stood on his left.
"Eunji?" He softly called Kim Eunji
"No! This is not happening!" Jin Li Rong screamed.
"Grandfather!" She yelled at her grandfather.
"All my life, I've been a filial granddaughter to you. I had done everything to gain your favor with the hopes that you'd let me marry Ling Bao but you'd rather choose that b*tch over me! I'm your real granddaughter but you're treating me as an outsider!"
"Enough! Jin Syaoran, is this the daughter that you are so proud of?!" Senior Master Jin Cheng scolded his son.
"Don't worry Dad, I'll talk to her later." Jin Syaoran said.
"Dad! Don't tell me you're in his side, too?!" Jin Li Rong slumped back on her seat.
Kim Eunji who had been silent all this time finally stood up and looked at him straight in the eye.
"Senior Master Jin, I suggest that you should grant your granddaughter's wish. It must have been hard for her right now. I don't want to be the cause of her despair." Kim Eunji smiled to him.
"You're not causing her despair, this engagement was yours from the very beginning." Senior Jin Cheng reasoned.
"Is that so? Well then Mr. Bao," Kim Eunji turned her attention towards Ling Bao who remained composed ever since he stood on the front.
"I'm sorry but I'll refuse to be betrothed to you." She told him.
"Let me rephrase it. I'm sorry but I'm not marrying you." She said.
"And why?" Ling Bao finally speaks.
But before Kim Eunji could answer the door suddenly opened and a smile bloomed on Kim Eunji's lips making her so enchanting.
"I don't like boys."
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