Chapter 609 — I Do Not Know Him

So it was that enemies, meeting face to face, saw red. When Kang Jingming laid eyes on Wei Zhao, he wished he could hack him to pieces and grind the fragments to dust! And what was worse, this creature's relationship with Guan Xuewen was a complete mystery, yet he was forever hanging about Guan Xuewen and Lai Changshan, as if it were any business of his!

"Ha, just browsing. What brings you here too?" Wei Zhao had also seen through Kang Jingming's game — the man was here to try his luck with Guan Xin. He merely could not understand why Kang Jingming had set his sights on Guan Xin again. Did the fellow truly have nothing to do with his days but chase women?

"Mm, I came to buy a couple of books..." Guan Xin's face flushed again. Thinking that her very purpose in buying the books was Wei Zhao himself, her heart pounded violently. She had always been a rather shy girl, and never more so than before the one she held dear.

"Oh. Need any help?" Wei Zhao nodded, giving it no further thought. Guan Xin was Guan Xuewen's granddaughter, after all, and worked in a hospital besides — there was nothing strange in her coming here to buy medical texts.

"No need... I've already picked mine out," Guan Xin said in a small voice.

Off to the side, Kang Jingming was about ready to explode with rage. Why was Wei Zhao in the middle of absolutely everything? A perfectly good chance to chat her up, ruined by Wei Zhao — was the fellow born to be a spoiler? He had wrecked his grandfather's birthday banquet, wrecked the Kang family's plans at the auction house, and now he even had to wreck his womanizing!

Kang Jingming simply could not swallow it any longer. Pointing at Wei Zhao, he said to Guan Xin, "This thing is no good man — don't you be with him, keep well away from him! He's a fraud who cheats the world and steals a name; even our Kang family's flagship product has been counterfeited by his people. Ours is Kang the Divine Doctor's Golden Wound Salve, so he brings out Guan the Doctor's Trauma Ointment; we put out a deluxe edition, and he puts out a deluxe edition too. It's plagiarism, plain and simple, imitation! A shameless scoundrel like that — you must never go near him! He apes our family in everything; we're called Kang the Divine Doctor, so he comes out with Guan the Doctor. He's nothing but a king of knock-offs!"

In one breath Kang Jingming poured out all the resentment long pent up in his heart. Yet when he had finished, he saw Guan Xin staring coldly at him, and it sent a chill through him. What sort of look was that?

"Huh?" In a flash, Kang Jingming understood. Was not Guan Xin's grandfather none other than Guan the Doctor? And he had just called Guan the Doctor a knock-off? Was he not cursing her own grandfather? Small wonder Guan Xin was furious!

Oh, how Kang Jingming regretted it. That worthless mouth of his had no gate on it — even if that was what he thought in his heart, he must not say it aloud! Was he not just making Guan Xin hate him? In his panic, he could only stammer out an explanation: "No... no... what I meant was not that Guan the Doctor is no good, I meant that Guan the Doctor Pharmaceuticals is no good, is a knock-off..."

Guan Xin was still glaring coldly at Kang Jingming, her eyes full of anger.

Kang Jingming was greatly alarmed. What he had just said was ill-judged too! Guan the Doctor Pharmaceuticals — was that not Guan Xuewen's own company? The way he had put it, he would have done better to keep silent; his explanation had only blackened the picture further.

"No! That's not it! That's not what I meant either — I didn't mean Guan the Doctor Pharmaceuticals is no good, I mean Guan the Doctor has been hoodwinked by that Lai Changshan and this fellow here! Made to do things that cheat the world and steal a name!" Kang Jingming babbled on. "I meant no insult!"

"How do you know Guan the Doctor is my grandfather?" Guan Xin stared at Kang Jingming. She had not said a single word about her identity before this. How did Kang Jingming know?

"I... uh... I guessed it..." Kang Jingming broke out in a sweat. Of course — he had come to stage a chance encounter; he was supposed to be a stranger to Guan Xin. How had he let it slip?

"You knew all along, didn't you? You approached me on purpose? What are you after?" Guan Xin instinctively took two steps back, watching Kang Jingming with a measure of wariness.

"Uh... a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding!" Kang Jingming was frantic with worry. His performance today had been truly beneath his standard — a complete loss of form, one might say! He was supposed to be an old hand at courting women. How had he made such a crude mistake?

Wei Zhao! It had to be Wei Zhao! It was only after clapping eyes on the fellow that he had begun blundering at every turn. It had not been like this before; when he first met Guan Xin, he had been full of grace, holding forth with wit and learning, and if Guan Xin had paid him no heed, that was merely shyness on her part! At the very least she had not been this angry.

How could he know that at first Guan Xin had taken him for no more than a face in the crowd, not worth a second thought? Being a mere passer-by, she had no need to be angry with him. But now he was insulting her grandfather, and insulting her grandfather's company and Wei Zhao's as well — how could she not be angry?

Yet Guan Xin was not a woman of fiery temper. Angry as she was, she only glared at Kang Jingming and did not erupt.

"Guan Xin, the truth is I do know you. I have admired you for a long time, and so in your presence I lose my head a little and say things that don't make sense. I beg your pardon!" Kang Jingming was worthy of his name as a veteran of the field of love; once he had steadied himself, a few words were enough to shift the blame for his blunders.

In this way it became entirely a matter of Guan Xin being so beautiful that Kang Jingming was bewitched and thus reduced to gibbering. Had she been a rather more vain girl, she would likely have been delighted and would not have held his earlier mistakes against him!

But there was only Wei Zhao in Guan Xin's eyes, no place at all for Kang Jingming. So his words could only make her more disgusted. She frowned, so faintly it was scarcely noticeable, and, no longer wishing to see Kang Jingming, lowered her head.

Seeing Guan Xin ignore him and lower her head instead, Kang Jingming assumed his words had made her shy. A girl who had never had a boyfriend would always be shy — so Kang Jingming took Guan Xin to be the same.

And he had already administered enough of the strong medicine for one day; say much more, and Kang Jingming feared Guan Xin might not be able to take it all at once. So he had no choice but to say, "Guan Xin, I have a few things to see to today — a friend is expecting me, so I'll be off. I was rather out of form today. There were reasons, but it was hardly proper all the same. Another day I shall certainly call on you to apologize!"

Kang Jingming was rather pleased with himself: not only had he offered his apology, but he had also advanced by retreating, planting an excuse for their next meeting. Now he had every legitimate reason to go to the hospital and seek out Guan Xin.

Guan Xin had offered no response whatsoever, nor had she so much as glanced at Kang Jingming. Only after he had gone did she turn to Wei Zhao with a touch of embarrassment and say, "I don't even know him..."