"Jian Xia." Just as her words fell, a voice laced with anger suddenly resonated in the banquet hall.
Upon hearing this voice, Jian Xia couldn’t help but shiver. Before she could turn around to see who it was, she felt her arm being abruptly seized, and almost within a breath’s ti, the hand holding her arm pulled her directly into a solid chest.
Jian Xia only felt like her nose had collided with a hard wall, the pain almost making her burst into tears on the spot.
When Lu Jingchen saw who had arrived, he curved his lips into a slight, even if polite, indifferent smile, and said, "Since Mr. Bo has arrived, I shall not impose any longer."
As Jian Xia heard Lu Jingchen’s words, she hurriedly tried to extract herself from the embrace, but her waist was held tight. She turned her head back to look at Lu Jingchen, who was about to leave, and anxiously said, "Lu Jingchen, what are you doing? You’re my date tonight; you can’t just leave here."
Dammit, facing this man alone would be the death of her, wouldn’t it?
Lu Jingchen set his empty glass aside, glanced at his watch, and spoke calmly, "It’s getting late; I should be heading back. With Mr. Bo here, I trust you’ll be safely escorted ho." After a pause, he peered at the man, whose face was far from pleased, with a hint of a smile in his voice, "However, Jian Xia, if you wish to leave with , I don’t mind taking you along."
After all, Jian Xia was indeed his companion for the evening, and he had a duty to fulfill, albeit minimally.
But then again... wasn’t the reason she needed to attend the banquet as his companion tonight all because of this man?
Just as Jian Xia was about to speak, the hand on her waist tightened sharply, causing her pain so intense that tears almost fell. The detached voice of the man reached her ears, "Mr. Lu, you can go ahead. I will take her away when the banquet is over."
A clear dismissal, yet Lu Jingchen simply snorted coldly and seed unaffected.
If he were to oppose the man before him, this man might not necessarily be his match. Had this been half a year ago, there might have been so uncertainty.
Both he and the man before him were alike; it’s just sotis, their deliberate ignorance made it seem like they could never be rivals in this lifeti.
Jian Xia had thought that Lu Jingchen would help her, but after Bo Leshen finished speaking, Lu Jingchen just humd and left without any hesitation.
Jian Xia, "..." Watching his retreating figure, she felt that she really should not have co with Lu Jingchen tonight; if she had known, she wouldn’t have relied on him.
How could she have thought that Lu Jingchen, who was usually so assertive, would now adopt an indifferent attitude, as if this matter were none of his business?
The temperature around her plumted suddenly, and Jian Xia fought the urge to shiver.
She looked up and t a pair of dark, sullen, even angry eyes. Those eyes, usually thought to be the best, were now full of mockery and rage. Again, the man’s mocking and indifferent voice reached her ears, "Jian Xia, are you that desperate for a man? Can’t you go a day without seeking others if you’re not with ? I didn’t expect you to be so shalessly voracious."
Jian Xia’s face turned pale; she felt as if she had been viciously stabbed in the heart. Since the man had called her na with anger not too loudly before, now, plenty of onlookers have turned their gazes toward them.
She extended her hand forcefully to pry open the man’s grip on her arm and waist. Perhaps after Lu Jingchen left, the man didn’t really intend to hold her back, and with little effort, she broke free.
Retreating a step back, Jian Xia then noticed that the man in front of her was dressed in a sharply pressed Italian suit, looking handso yet also coldly resolute. Simply standing there, he seed to exert a kind of pressure over her.
Sure enough, he was a man who had co from military service, and also the man she had pursued for well over a decade without ever considering giving up.
Her gaze shifted to the obedient woman standing behind the man, with a mocking smile on her face and a tone that was soft yet chilly as she said, "What’s the matter? Young Master Bo, are you displeased seeing with another man? Does that bother you? Thinking of sothing else, she smiled seductively, and moved her slightly disheveled hair behind her ear, "That’s right, it seems you never really liked anyway. So even you seeing attending the banquet is unpleasant to you, so much so that you’d presumably wish I’d embarrass myself?"
As she spoke, Jian Xia’s eyes were full of ridicule.
Bo Leshen’s eyes were dark and deep as he stared fixedly at the woman before him, not missing a single trace of the smile on her face. His face darkened as he sneered, "Jian Xia, I just didn’t know that this was the kind of woman you are."
Jian Xia’s expression faltered, and her hand at her side clenched involuntarily, but she still wore a defiant smile as she responded, "I’m a bit confused by what Young Master Bo is saying. What kind of woman am I?"
"The kind of woman who would do anything for herself, without any regard for those around her." He spoke as if he hadn’t seen the pallor on her face, each word clear and concise, as if stating a simple fact.
Indeed...
Jian Xia simply smiled in release, her voice cool and clear as she intently gazed at Bo Leshen, "Have you realized it’s a bit too late now? Even if I were a vicious woman, don’t you still have to marry according to your father’s wishes?"
As she spoke, she reached for a glass of orange juice and glanced indifferently at the woman behind him. She stepped forward, and before anyone could react, she poured the entire glass of juice over the head of a girl who looked so obedient and was dressed in an expensive evening gown.
Imdiately, the banquet hall was filled with the girl’s shrieks.
Bo Leshen watched as the juice spilled over the companion he had brought and his eyes darkened. He reached out and grabbed Jian Xia’s arm, his voice no longer just somber, "Jian Xia, what the hell are you doing?"
She lifted her eyes to et the man’s dark and dreadful face, let out a cold chuckle, and with her other hand, she brushed off the hand he had on her, not answering him, but instead, she threw the glass onto the floor where it shattered and sent glass flying everywhere.
Bo Leshen’s eyes darkened as he stretched out his hand to pull away the girl in front of him.
But Jian Xia took a step back, looking at the girl whose face was now streaked with tears, her red lips partly opened as she said, "This glass of juice is payback for you. Next ti, don’t be smug and think I’m easy to bully. You want this man, right? Well, he’s all yours."
After speaking, she gave Bo Leshen a look, flashed a self-mocking smile, then turned on her heels in her high-heeled shoes and left.
Bo Leshen watched Jian Xia’s departing figure, his gaze deepening, and after a mont, a smile appeared on his face. He was just about to follow when the girl behind him grabbed his arm.
"Mr... Mr. Bo, I..." The girl looked quite pathetic because of Jian Xia’s juice stunt, especially since her evening gown was white, which now seed a painful sight to behold.
Bo Leshen glanced at the girl in front of him, his eyes narrowing slightly, as he coldly said, "Let go!"
Seemingly frightened by his tone, the girl unconsciously released her grip, and by the ti she ca to her senses, the man had already started pursuing Jian Xia.
...
As soon as Jian Xia left the banquet scene, she headed straight for the parking lot and there it was, Lu Jingchen’s Bentley Mulsanne.
She walked towards the car in her high heels, holding up her long skirt, her expression sowhat unsightly. Without a word, she opened the passenger side door and buckled her seatbelt in silence.
Lu Jingchen had a cigarette in his hand. He took a puff, his vision hazy with the smoke as he looked at the girl who unbeknownst to him had started to shed tears, "What’s the matter? Was that spectacle not enough for you to vent your anger?"
He hadn’t left imdiately but had stood nearby, watching how Jian Xia handled the situation.
It had to be said that Jian Xia was not the sa person she used to be; at least she was now capable of getting even with Bo Leshen.
"Do you have a tissue?" Instead of replying imdiately, Jian Xia’s choked sobs ca through as she looked at him, sorrowfully seeking sothing to wipe her tears with.
He had this sudden flashback of Song Qiao, whom he had brought back from Night City that night; she had cried just like this.
An unusual feeling stirred within him, and he flicked his nearly finished cigarette out the window. He reached over, pulled out a few tissues, and handed them to her with slight revulsion, "If you dare cry in my car again, I’ll throw you out right away."
Jian Xia took the tissues and roughly wiped the tears from her face, even sniffling loudly, yet she looked at Lu Jingchen dissatisfied, still complaining, "I can’t believe you’re not comforting , Lu Jingchen, but you’re even threatening . I really wonder how you ever managed to get married."
After knowing each other for so long, why was he still so heartless to her? What happened to being good friends?
Lu Jingchen started the car, his gaze briefly caught the man erging from the entrance, and he calmly said to Jian Xia, "You can keep crying. Bo Leshen is coming out. I don’t mind handing you over to him; after all, he and I have a deal to discuss."
Jian Xia, "...Just drive already, can’t you see I’ve stopped crying?" She pulled out a few more tissues and wiped away her tears. Although she was still very upset and wanted to cry, she had no choice but to hold it back at the mont; once they left this place, she could cry all she wanted.
This man... He’s just like Bo Leshen, both terrible and devious.
User Comments
0 comments from readers