Chapter 728 Humiliation
After knocking on the door, Tang Jing stepped back to smooth out the creases on her dress and make herself look even more presentable. After all, Tang Jing was about to meet Feng Jialing, and she needed to give the lady a good impression.
Unexpectedly, it was Feng Jialing who answered the door. Ouyang Qi was out running errands and had yet to return. As such, she was the only one at home. Tang Jing had shown up without warning, wanting to give Ouyang Qi a surprise.
Ouyang Qi had also not mentioned Tang Jing to Feng Jialing. Ouyang Qi had a feeling that Feng Jialing would disapprove because Tang Jing was an actress.
Even though Feng Jialing was currently on poor terms with her eldest daughter, her sense of superiority was not going to wane over the worsening situation. After all, she had been a rich man’s wife for so many years. So what if Feng Jialing’s daughter was treating her coldly now?
Deep down, she still saw herself as the elite and aloof woman whom people needed to pay their respects to.
Ouyang Qi was well aware of this and knew he could not bring up Tang Jing right now. It was simply not the right time.
When Feng Jialing opened the door to find Tang Jing standing there, the first thing she asked was, “Who are you looking for?”
That being said, when Tang Jing and Ouyang Qing worked together, Tang Jing did come into contact with Feng Jialing once at Orchid Club.
However, Feng Jialing did not take Tang Jing seriously at all. Feng Jialing remembered nothing of their encounter.
“Hello, Madam. My name is Tang Jing.” Tang Jing nodded and bowed politely.
“Tang Jing? I have no idea who you are.”
After saying this, Feng Jialing promptly shut the door in Tang Jing’s face.
Ever since Ouyang Duo’s demise, Feng Jialing had been in a general state of malaise. On top of that, her eldest daughter’s coldness toward her further exacerbated the insecurity she already had.
This placed Feng Jialing in a heightened state of wariness. As such, she had no desire to entertain sudden visits from the likes of Tang Jing.
What if Tang Jing were sent over by someone with a grudge or worse, a reporter?
Before Tang Jing could react, she was turned away.
The property belonged to Tang Jing. While she did have the master key, she did not bring it with her.
Tang Jing was about to knock on the door again but quickly retracted her hand after some thought.
I can tell that the lady seems quite perturbed. If I knock again, she may not answer. Even if she does answer, I doubt she’d have good things to say. In fact, she’d likely yell at me and slam the door in my face. If that were the case, I’d be giving my future mother-in-law a horrible first impression.
Tang Jing was determined not to make such a mistake. She could not afford it.
Instead, she stood at the doorstep and pulled out her phone to send Ouyang Qi a message: What are you up to?
Ouyang Qi did not reply, choosing to call her immediately. “We’ve run out of toothpaste at home, so I went to buy some. I’ve just reached the lobby. What’s up? I bet you’re tired after filming all day.”
“It’s all right. I won’t keep you,” replied Tang Jing with a smile. She then hung up.
When Ouyang Qi called again, she did not pick up.
Soon, Ouyang Qi stepped out of the elevator. Upon seeing Tang Jing smiling at him, he greeted her. “Oh, you’re back! Why are you here?”
Ouyang Qi dashed over to give Tang Jing a tight hug.
Tang Jing could feel the joy and happiness in the hug she received. This man did need her, after all.
Good. I’ve accomplished my first objective.
“I’ve missed you and wanted to pay a visit. Is that not okay?” asked Tang Jin with a grin.
“Of course it’s okay! I’m so happy that you’ve just shown up out of the blue!”
“I heard that you’ve not been doing so well,” replied Tang Jing. “I was worried, so I came to pay you a visit. Are you doing okay?”
Tang Jing reached out to touch Ouyang Qi’s face, which seemed quite pale.
Ouyang Qi held the hand that framed his face and murmured, “It’s good that you’re here.”
Suddenly, the door was opened. Feng Jialing had heard movements coming from outside and was curious about what was causing the commotion. To her surprise, she saw Tang Jing there, with her hands stroking Ouyang Qi on the face. Ouyang Qi, on the other hand, was caressing her hands. The whole scene seemed rather suggestive.
Tang Jing recoiled and retracted her hands quickly. With a polite bow, she said, “Hello again, Madam.”
“It’s you again! What are you both doing? Qi, do you know this woman?”
“As a matter of fact, I do. She is Qing’s friend and a… friend of mine,” said Ouyang Qi.
“She came to see you? Why?” asked Feng Jialing warily.
“Mom, this is her house we’re staying in. She readily lent it to us,” said Ouyang Qi patiently.
Feng Jialing was taken aback. Goodness, this is embarrassing. She’s the owner of the house?
“Please come in! She initially knocked on the door earlier, but I thought she was some kind of reporter. That’s why I shut the door in her face. She did not state her intentions either,” said Feng Jialing, looking contrite.
“Wait. You’ve been waiting outside this whole time?” asked Ouyang Qi excitedly.
“Yes. However, it’s definitely my fault for dropping by unannounced. I was worried I’d alarm her more, so I decided to wait outside instead. Don’t worry. I did not wait for too long. It’s perfectly fine!”
Tang Jing then turned to Feng Jialing and said, “Mrs. Ouyang, if you think it’s inconvenient, I needn’t come inside at all. I can just book a hotel for the night. After all, I still need to go back to Livingsfill for a shoot.”
“Of course it’s okay! This is your house, after all. Please go inside,” said Ouyang Qi hurriedly.
“Yes, please come in! I’m really sorry about this. This is a huge misunderstanding.”
However, Feng Jialing was quite upset at this.
While Tang Jing was very polite and modest, so what reason did she have to be upset?
The answer was simple. This was a matter of status. Feng Jialing was a wealthy lady reduced to living in someone else’s house. Now, the owner of the property had shown up, but Feng Jialing had yet to know who she was.
Now that the supposed guest in the scenario had upstaged Feng Jialing, the host, this naturally made her feel awkward. If anything, Feng Jialing felt downright humiliated.
Of course, Tang Jing was perfectly polite since she wanted to make a good first impression. However, in reality, this was a literal slap to Feng Jialing’s face.
Even though the supposed insult was not hurled at Feng Jialing’s face, it wounded her deeply. This made the matter more serious.
Insincere politeness was only going to backfire in the end. As such, the airs that Tang Jing was putting on had achieved the opposite effect.
The more polite someone was, the more insincere they seemed. This was not going to go down well.
When Tang Jing entered the house, she noticed that the house was in full disarray.
Naturally, Feng Jialing was not the type to dirty her hands with menial tasks such as housekeeping. She had never done such a thing and was determined not to.
Ouyang Qi, on the other hand, was a spoiled playboy. He was definitely not going to lift a finger, either.
Tang Jing had actually made arrangements for a cleaner to help with managing the house, but Feng Jialing did not want outsiders to know about her current state. As such, Feng Jialing declined each time the cleaner dropped by.
How could a house not become dirty with nobody to clean it?
Immediately, Tang Jing put down her bags and started to clean the house.
She had been living alone for so long and had nobody to rely on but herself. Regardless of her undertakings, Tang Jing had always conducted herself well.
Very quickly, the house was spotless. Tang Jing turned to look at Feng Jialing with a smile, saying, “Mrs. Ouyang, I’d be happy to cook you a meal, but I’m unsure of your preferences. If you don’t like it, we can eat elsewhere. How does that sound?”
Feng Jialing did not mind in the slightest. She was not willing to eat elsewhere, for she had long since gotten tired of eating takeout meals every day.
“It must be a hassle. You needn’t trouble yourself, really. I’ll just eat something on my way out. I only dropped by to see Qi for a bit. I guess I should be on my way,” said Feng Jialing.
Realization suddenly dawned upon Tang Jing as she heard this. Feng Jialing was struggling to maintain her dignity.
It was embarrassing for a woman of her station to be living in such a small house, for starters.
Even if Feng Jialing did not vocalize this, it was already embarrassing enough to be reduced to this state in front of Tang Jing. Feng Jialing wanted to leave to avoid such embarrassment.
