Before the early morning mist cleared, Xie Tao changed into women's clothing and came to the train station.
Tan Xiaojun came to the Agni Military Academy yesterday to look for her, saying that there was a telegram from her home in Peiping that her father, Xie Zhipei, would be able to arrive in Shunyuan this morning, and told her to make preparations early and not show her flaws. Therefore, Xie Tao asked the school for leave and came to the station early to wait.
Accompanied by the rumbling roar, the train slowly entered the station. Xie Tao stood on tiptoe and looked inside the station, and finally found Xie Zhipei's figure after three train carriages. He was wearing a gray windbreaker and gold-rimmed bachelor glasses, and squeezed out of the crowd in a dusty manner.
Xie Tao hurriedly greeted him, and warmly took his hand to go to the temporary hotel together.
Xie Zhipei is a teacher. He spends his whole day in books to study academics. He never likes to go out to socialize. He doesn't know what important things make Xie Zhipei travel so far.
Without waiting for Xie Tao to ask, Xie Zhipei told his daughter the whole story.
"I came here this time at the invitation of the Shen family. A while ago, their chamber of commerce subsidized a batch of cotton cloth for our school. In the past six months, the market for cotton cloth has been in short supply. Most of the northern markets have been dominated by the Japanese. The Shunyuan chamber of commerce dared to openly sell low-priced cotton cloth. , This is a patriotic act. They invited me and your mother to the inauguration banquet of the cotton machine factory. Your mother is not feeling well, so you can go for her."
"Mom, is she sick?" Xie Tao immediately became worried.
"No, it's just that your brother's memorial day will be in a few days."
When it comes to Xie Liangchen, both of them are lonely. In a blink of an eye, has it been so long? The death of my brother was like a red-hot iron, deeply imprinting grief on the hearts of my parents and Xie Tao. This kind of pain will not disappear with the passage of time, but will continue to inflame and fester at the wound.
Over time, this name has become a taboo that I don't want to mention anymore and is deeply buried in my heart, but once it is mentioned, it is destined to be a bone-piercing pain.
The car drove all the way along the tree-lined path, and finally stopped halfway up the mountain.
The Banshan Mansion is a magnificent European-style building. The milky white wall paint makes the whole building look spacious and bright. The windows are inlaid with multicolored glass, and the sunlight is shining, which is really beautiful. The decoration inside the house is not at all like other chambers of commerce with gold carvings and silver castings. Instead, high-quality pine wood is used for decoration, and there are many antique calligraphy and paintings hanging on the walls. This building is full of noble and elegant style.
Xie Tao walked in with Xie Zhipei's arm, but after a few steps, he met a group of Xie Zhipei's old friends and regular customers. Seeing his father's non-stop greetings, Xie Tao took a cupcake full of cream and casually followed behind my father. She has never liked this kind of banquet. Everyone present is well-dressed and has a decent smile on their face. Even the movements of drinking tea and eating have been rehearsed many times in private. Every frown and smile is like a copy. Ordinary, gorgeous and empty.
"Xiang'er", Xie Zhipei suddenly noticed something and quickly called her, "Come with me to see Mr. Shen."
In the distance, Shen Tingbai was sitting on the sofa talking and laughing with people. Most of the woman opposite him was buried in the sofa, and she couldn't see her face clearly, but she could be vaguely seen from the figure. Shen Tingbai was facing She smiled happily, and the identity of the woman opposite was immediately obvious.
Xie Zhipei brought Xie Tao forward, but was stepped forward by two men in suits.
"Mr. Shen." The leading man greeted Shen Tingbai with a gentle and polite voice, but his pronunciation was very bad. Xie Tao looked at him carefully. She had seen this face in the newspaper. It was the president of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce, named Kazuo Sato, and the other person who followed him was his confidant Sanada Shinichi. Allowing these two characters to appear on the stage in person, it seems that the Shen family's cotton mill has truly touched the interests of the Japanese.
After exchanging a few simple greetings, Kazuo Sato, with a calm smile, raised his wine glass to toast the beauty leaning on the sofa.
"Miss Qu is beautiful and beautiful. Mr. Shen has a beautiful woman by his side, which is really enviable. By the way, I heard that Miss Qu was almost kidnapped in Palimo a while ago. Now the situation is unstable and there are many villains. Miss Qu comes and goes. Come out, but you must be more careful, in case something happens..."
Putting it elsewhere, it was just an ordinary warning, but when it came out of Kazuo Sato's mouth, it was a naked threat.
Hearing these words, Shen Tingbai's complexion suddenly changed, obviously angry. Qu Manting slowly got up from the sofa, with a radiant appearance and a clear and melodious voice, she said calmly, "Don't worry about Mr. Sato, Tingbai will protect me."
Seeing her calm face, Xie Tao looked towards him immediately, and hurriedly lowered his head.
Qu Manting looked at Xie Tao and Xie Zhipei, and narrowed her eyes slightly. Although she was in a hurry in the western restaurant last time, she still saw Xie Tao's appearance clearly, a very familiar person, but she couldn't remember where she met her.
Seeing that she is also Tan Xiaojun's friend, and at the same time, in order to send Kazuo Sato away, Qu Manting reminded: "Listen, that old gentleman seems to be waiting for you."
Shen Tingbai nodded naturally, then turned back to Kazuo Sato and said, "I still have something to do, so I won't send Mr. Sato off. The moon is dark and the wind is fast, so please be careful all the way." He led Qu Manting and walked over.
Seeing Shen Tingbai walking towards them, Xie Zhipei showed gratitude on his face, "Mr. Shen, I am Xie Zhipei. This time I came here specially to thank Mr. Shen for donating materials to our school last month." He He took a step forward and stretched out his hand respectfully.
"Oh, it's Mr. Xie from Beiping. It's a trivial matter, and I just do my best. Who is this?" Shen Tingbai pointed to Xie Tao who was hiding behind Xie Zhipei.
"This is my little girl. She is studying in a nursing school in Shunyuan. We haven't seen each other for a long time, so we brought her here this time. Xiang'er, come here, and I'll introduce you to Mr. Shen."
Xie Tao still lowered her head, as if shy and afraid to go forward, Qu Manting was even more curious seeing her like this, and kept looking her up and down.
"Brother, I was looking for you everywhere just now..."
Too bad, Xie Tao was startled, and quickly turned his back. The voice just now was Shen Junshan!
"Xiang'er, Xiang'er?"
His father's call came to his ear again, Xie Tao couldn't avoid it, he simply buried his face in the cake in his hands, and when he turned around, his face was covered with cream.
"Someone hit me just now." Xie Tao lowered his head, not daring to look at his father's embarrassed face. The atmosphere froze for a moment, but luckily Shen Tingbai made things right in time, "It's okay, Junshan, please take Miss Xie upstairs to clean up."
Now I don't want to leave, and I can't stay, so I have to bite the bullet and go upstairs with Shen Junshan.
Xie Tao went into the bathroom, turned on the faucet, silently picked up a handful of water and splashed it on his face, the cream slowly slid down, revealing the woman's original delicate face.
The woman in the mirror frowned, her thoughts spinning.
This is how to do ah! The water on Xie Tao's face was dry, and she lay on the edge of the door and looked out. She stayed in the bathroom for a long time, but Shen Junshan just sat on the sofa in front of the door and refused to leave.
The music sounded from downstairs, Shen Tingbai and Bai Biyun were dancing on the dance floor, Shen Junshan saw it from upstairs, and frowned slightly.
He doesn't like this young lady of the Bai family, not only because of her seemingly innocent and cute but arrogant and domineering personality, but also because she is the daughter of the mayor of Bai, and the mayor of Bai has always been a person who has both sides, as long as his own interests are not involved, He will never interfere in anything, similarly, whoever can give him benefits, he will let him go.
Even if the other party is Japanese.
The warm and romantic waltz suddenly stopped and turned into a fiery tango. Shen Junshan leaned forward suddenly and saw Gu Yanzhuan pulling Qu Manting onto the dance floor.
The two cooperated tacitly, their movements were graceful, and their dancing was lively, which quickly aroused the praise of the guests. Shen Tingbai stopped, looked at Qu Manting dotingly, and then pulled the dissatisfied Bai Biyun out. dance floor.
Shen Junshan immediately understood that Gu Yan's frame should be to rescue Qu Manting. A charming beauty is always envied by others, let alone a beauty with loyal followers like Shen Tingbai. This group of high-class ladies from aristocratic families has always been superb at adapting to the wind. Today Shen Tingbai danced with Bai Biyun, those talkative villains would definitely think that Qu Manting had lost her power in the Shen family.
When Shen Junshan was in a trance, he caught a glimpse of a person sneaking out from the side from the corner of his eye. After a moment of starvation, he saw clearly that the figure was Xie Tao, and immediately got up and chased after him.
"Miss Xie!" Shen Tingbai called her from behind.
Xie Tao shuddered and ran faster and faster. With one turn, Shen Junshan was already thrown away. Only a small white leather shoe was left on the ground. Shen Junshan picked up the leather shoe and continued to chase forward.
Looking at Shen Junshan's leaving back, Xie Tao, who was lying on the lounge door watching, let go of the hand that was tightly covering the waiter's mouth, and said apologetically, "I'm sorry."
The waiter waved his hand, "It's okay. But miss, your hands are really strong."
Xie Tao smiled, opened the door and tiptoed out.
Originally thought it was a seamless escape, but unfortunately she didn't realize it. Gu Yan, who was sitting in the farthest corner, had a panoramic view of all this. In the half-brightness and half-darkness, his slightly smiling eyes could be vaguely seen.