Hello, Mr Li: The Christmas Trip

They all heard a loud snort from the other end of the dining and turned to look at the direction. 

All eyes fell on Li Hoy who was gripping his fork quite tightly and looking straight at Yong's direction.

Hoy wished he could use the fork in his hand to pierce him so the whole thing would be over. 

"Are you okay, Mr Hoy? By chance, you choked on your meal?" Yong asked out of 'concern'.

Hoy's hold around the fork tightened more as he looked at the man who was obviously older than him. 

He could tell this young man bore some kind malicious intent. He didn't look genuine one bit. 

Hoy didn't keep much tabs on unimportant people like Wei Yong for example, but he trusted Mr Ping to give him a thorough information on this bastard that was shamelessly hitting on Joreen in the presence of everyone. 

"I think everyone is going to appreciate it if you stopped talking so we can all enjoy our dinner." Hoy said, releasing the hold on the fork. 

"Do not be rude!" His mother whispered in a harsh tone but he didn't even spare her a glance.

If only she knew how much he was holding himself back from hurting him, they would have thanked him for only being rude. 

Yong kept a smile on his face even though it was flickering. 

"I think we were all doing fine with the conversation. You seem to be the only one having a problem with it." Yong noted. 

"That's a valid reason to give us some peace and quiet." Hoy said hotly. 

"Li Hoy!" His mother frowned at him. She didn't like how he was sounding to their guest who has been nothing short of polite to them. 

Joreen wished she could shrink in her seat. Or better still, disappear from there altogether. 

The more she looked at the man, the more she thought he looked very familiar and she had a feeling they had spoken before. She couldn't quite remember but she was certain it hadn't been a long time since she met him. 

Why was he so interested in her? Did he want to poach her? But why would he do so now and even in the presence of everyone including Li Hoy who was the CEO of G-GLOBAL. 

"You don't have to be harsh towards him. I understand he is kind of uncomfortable and I apologize." He said to Hoy's mother before looking at Joreen. 

"We can continue this conversation later right?" 

He was still talking to her? Joreen wondered in annoyance as she looked up at him. 

"You won't be having any further conversation with her." Hoy said in a angry tone. He didn't need someone to tell him how uncomfortable Joreen was with the attention he was giving her. Any girl would be wary if a man suddenly starts showing interest in them like that, especially when the man was quite older. 

"What has gotten into you?" Hoy's mother sounded annoyed as she asked him. "He is just being nice. You don't have to be so uptight and impolite about it." 

Wei Yong forced out a laugh before raising his glass of water to drink a little from it. 

"I think I can see the reason a lot of people easily believed the scandal which circulated recently about you and Luo Joreen. You give people the wrong impression when you react like that. I mean, Miss Luo Joreen is an adult and can take care of herself. You are neither her father nor her ....boyfriend."

The atmosphere in the dining table became very heated when Yong mentioned that. 

As much as Hoy hated to admit it, he didn't have any solid comeback lines for him. Even Joreen's father was there but he was stirring his food like the whole thing happening wasn't his business. 

"Okay! We do not have to quarrel. Let's just have a lovely dinner." Muchen's mother stepped up to end the awkwardness. 

"You should say something." Jianjun whispered to his wife. She was always ready for violence so he was surprised she was still quiet despite all that was going on. "You know there is no way Hoy is going to admit that he cares about her more than necessary in front of the entire family and a stranger. That is going to cause an even bigger scandal." 

Changyu grinned at her husband. "You know, I always love it when it is you who asks me to interfere in cases. I was just having fun watching Hoy get jealous and riled up while not knowing what to do. At least he is smart to know when to shut up." Changyu replied.

Meanwhile, Hoy was trying to contain his temper. He knew he had to control himself for not just his sake but also Joreen's sake. He didn't know this man's intention yet, so he had to be careful about whatever he said. Another thing that greatly annoyed him was his mother's continuous scolding. For goodness sake, he wasn't a child! He was just going to talk to her about it later. 

"Uhm... what is your name again?" Changyu asked.

When Wei Yong realised she was referring to him, he straightened and answered, "Wei Yong. The nephew of Wei Corporation's—"

"I don't care whose nephew or son you are." She cut him off rudely, making the atmosphere more awkward than it already was. 

"Do you want to poach Luo Joreen? Is that your intention for coming here tonight?" She asked. 

He straightened his back again and smiled as he looked at Joreen. 

"She is a talented woman. And very pretty. Of course, any agency would want to have her. She is one of a kind." 

Hoy forced out a laugh when he heard that. He wanted her? In his dreams. 

He knew better to not interrupt Changyu when she was talking so he said nothing and watched instead. 

"She is already in G-GLOBAL and is doing well." Changyu reminded him. "And I can tell that isn't the only reason." 

Wei Yong laughed. His laugh, his voice and his looks all looked really good. It was only when he talked that he made Joreen uncomfortable because he was overtly showing an interest in her and it was weird. 

"Well..." He drawled. "I mentioned earlier that I am a fan of Joreen. Well, I'm a new fan actually. I got to know about her for the first time during this trip. I saw her first during the meet and greet, but she disappeared almost as soon as I saw her. And then, I saw her next during the club night and we clicked instantly." 

"We... clicked?" Joreen asked in surprise and confusion as she tried to think about when she met him and they 'clicked'. 

The memory finally flooded her and she remembered a man had blocked her path when she was going to approach Hoy and Aishu. She had turned him down without listening to anything he said. She couldn't even remember what he had said because she had been drunk then. So how and when did they click?

Wei Yong ignored her question. His focus was on Changyu. "I spent 20 hours watching every of her movies I could find online. It was an awesome feeling watching movies of her from when she was as little as 8 or 9 years old to when she turned into a teenager. And soon... she is going to turn 18." 

"I am speaking to you as a friend right now... You need to relax." Mr Ping whispered to Hoy who looked like he was about to blow up. He had never seen Li Hoy get so worked up and angry before. He was trying to control it, but at this rate, he wasn't sure Li Hoy would be able to hold out any longer. 

Wei Yong continued his passionate speech, "I am not a child. As an adult, I do things like an adult. So that is why, I came to meet the entire family first." He looked at each of them one by one before saying, "I would like to get to know Luo Joreen better." He dropped a bomb that took them a few seconds to process. He didn't give them a chance to say anything because he continued, 

"And for the sake of her reputation in relations to the CEO of G–GLOBAL, I could create a better and more conducive atmosphere of work for her. With your permissions at—"

"You have a really disgusting guts, you know that?" Joreen spoke just as Li Hoy slapped down his fork on the table, making everyone flinch. 

Hoy was surprised Joreen said something since she usually kept mute when the whole family was gathered. They usually handled everything. 

He could no longer hold it in. Something told him this guy was a little psycho who had a thing against him. He turned his attention to Joreen who was looking at Yong angrily. 

Joreen hadn't had the chance to speak directly to Yong since he started talking about this issue and she didn't know whether she appreciated the fact that she let others speak for her or despise it because her silence had made the idiot go on brazenly, talking to her family like she wasn't even present there. 

Wei Yong looked very surprised as he looked at Joreen who looked at him with anger all over her face. 

"I say no to whatever your wish or demands or whatever you want is. My answer is always going to be a firm NO." She spat out with her chest heaving up and down from anger.

Hoy smirked when he heard her answer, then he turned to look at Wei Yong.

"You got your answer. So get lost." Hoy said calmly but his tone sounded dangerous.