Chapter 173
“I’ve never been interested in animal mating. The only reason I’m standing here is to tell you, don’t get too smug. No matter how strong your west wind is, it will be crushed under my east wind, unable to turn over.” Xu Ke gave Chairman Hu a half-smiling look, made a gesture of turning to leave, but stopped at the next moment.
“Forgot to remind Chairman Hu, being anything is fine, just don’t be a peacock. Appearing glamorous on the outside, but actually unbearable behind the scenes and unaware of it.” Xu Ke shot Chairman Hu a meaningful glance, then departed gracefully amidst Chairman Hu’s calls.
Across the crowd, Xu Ke flashed Chairman Hu a chilling smile, not caring how regretful Chairman Hu might feel hearing his words.
“We’ve been looking for you for ages, turns out you’re here.” Yang Rongrong, holding Chu Lian’s hand, blocked Xu Ke’s path and said.
“Is there something you need from me?” Xu Ke hung a gentle smile at the corner of his mouth, and with today’s attire, he was a walking epitome of abstinence, making the two girls’ faces unconsciously redden.
Yang Rongrong, with a blush-red face, poked Chu Lian’s waist, whispering in her ear, “It’s up to you now.”
Chu Lian snapped back after being poked by her friend, a bit too embarrassed to look at Xu Ke’s face, mumbled softly, “Wicked,” then lifted her head, with a small flushed face, saying, “We stopped you today to apologize for what happened last time. It was our fault then, so we brought you a gift as compensation.”
“Last time? What happened last time, I can’t quite recall.” Xu Ke tilted his head, revealing a puzzled expression, still maintaining a perfectly timed smile at the corner of his mouth.
“You forgot, it was about the incident at the café last time.” Yang Rongrong widened her eyes, incredulous, saying, “That was just a few days ago, how could you forget so quickly.”
Upon hearing this, Xu Ke showed a suddenly enlightened expression, “Oh, so you were talking about the time I refused the coffee; it was my abruptness. I’m the one who should apologize, how could I let two ladies express remorse.” Xu Ke chuckled softly, but made no move to apologize, which went unnoticed by the two ladies blinded by his charm.
“No, it’s not about the coffee; it’s another matter. I said something quite rude back then.” Chu Lian bowed her head, tugging at her layered dress, speaking softly.
“Shh!” Xu Ke raised a slender index finger to his crimson lips, smilingly saying, “That matter is past and doesn’t need to be remembered, besides you already apologized at the time, didn’t you? So, that matter has been erased from my mind.” Xu Ke pointed to his temple and winked playfully at them.
“If there’s nothing else, please forgive my rudeness. There are too many guests at home that I haven’t attended to yet. I hope you both have a wonderful time.” Xu Ke took a glass of champagne from a servant, turned around, and melted into the crowd.
“He truly is a gentleman, but suddenly I feel he’s incredibly handsome.” Yang Rongrong held her face with a lovestruck expression as she watched Xu Ke mingling with guests, not hearing Chu Lian calling her, and only returned to her senses when Chu Lian poked her back to reality.
“Rongrong, why are you acting infatuated, you can’t seriously like him, can you?” Chu Lian looked incredulously at her friend, feeling a subtle unease rising within her, even though she quickly suppressed it, this feeling planted itself like a seed in her heart waiting for the right moment to sprout.
Soon, that opportunity came, as Chu Lian’s crush, Lian Xuan, arrived at the banquet arm-in-arm with a pretty young girl, precisely when Chu Lian and Yang Rongrong turned and saw them.
In Chu Lian’s heart, a fiery rage had reached a tremendous height, utterly ignoring Yang Rongrong’s words, she lifted her dress hem and charged toward Lian Xuan. Before either of them could react, she pried away the part of their arms that were touching and clung to him herself.
“Brother Lian, who is this woman?” Chu Lian possessively clung to Lian Xuan’s arm like a little beast, aggressively eyeing the woman across, sizing her up from head to toe with a wary gaze.
Xu Ke stood not far away, one hand in his pocket, the other holding champagne, observing the unfolding scene.
He noticed the impatience in Lian Xuan’s eyes when looking at Chu Lian and the stiff curve of his mouth, “Things are definitely getting more interesting.”
“The Chu Family, the Lian Family.” Xu Ke touched his lips, tainted a bit with champagne, and his eyes glistened with an unfeeling smile.
The scene continued not far off.
“Xiao Lian, stop causing a fuss. This is a new artist from my company; I brought her over to meet people. Why don’t you and your friend go have some fun first?” Lian Xuan adjusted his forehead, discreetly withdrawing his arm from Chu Lian’s embrace and distancing himself from them.
“Brother Lian, do you take me for a fool? What kind of place is this, and what kind of people are here? Why would a new artist from the company come to meet people? You have plenty of seasoned artists who contributed greatly to the company; why don’t you bring them here? Tell me honestly, what exactly is your relationship with her?”
Chu Lian clenched a fist at her side, stood straight, and locked eyes with Lian Xuan, speaking firmly.
“Brother Lian, Xiao Lian’s affection for you is known to nearly everyone in our circle. You must know what time it is now? Many people have been asking Xiao Lian why you two didn’t appear together tonight, and now you brought this girl here. Did you come to specially embarrass Xiao Lian?” Yang Rongrong also dropped her usual gentle and composed demeanor, decisively standing by her friend’s side, looking directly into Lian Xuan’s eyes and questioning him.
“This is between Xiao Lian and me. It has nothing to do with you, so you have no right to question me.” Lian Xuan dropped his smile, looking displeased at Yang Rongrong.
“She has no right to question you, then do I? Do I have the right?” Chu Lian pulled Yang Rongrong’s hand, like a little hedgehog bristling up all her spines, facing Lian Xuan, she said.