In the small building where Sheng Shixun, a great master in ancient architecture restoration, entertained his guests, I heard Bai Wei's choked voice in anxiety.
"That's your precious antique dress, isn't it? What if it gets damaged?"
"Vivian, didn't Ji Chen see you off?"
Si Jiangchen's voice showed no emotion.
"I... I'm also here on behalf of my father to make a donation to Master Sheng as a token of our respect."
Bai Wei must have come up with an excuse to stay long ago.
"Yeah, that's good."
Si Jiangchen replied absent - mindedly, and his voice was getting closer.
I got up from the chair and took a look at myself in the mirror. It seemed okay!
I opened the door of the dressing room and walked out carefully in my high - heels. "Hey, Si Jiangchen, does this look okay?"
Outside the door, Si Jiangchen was dressed in a silver - gray suit. His hair was neatly combed back, making him look even more like a refined scoundrel. When he saw me suddenly appear in front of him, he squinted his eyes slightly.
"Not bad."
I seemed to see a hint of indescribable affection in his eyes. When those two simple words came out of his thin lips, it seemed a bit insincere.
"... Just 'not bad'?"
Actually, I thought today might be the most beautiful day of my life. I had never tried such a luxurious dress, nor had I ever worn makeup... Did Si Jiangchen see too many beautiful girls and was he too picky about the word "beautiful"?
While I was lost in these random thoughts, Si Jiangchen had already walked up to me. He reached out and tilted my chin, raising my face to meet his eyes.
"Um, the color of your lips is not right..."
He scanned my face and then, with a straight face, he lowered his head and kissed my lips before I could even react.
"Umph..."
There were people here! There were two makeup artists and Bai Wei standing beside us. I didn't want to perform a passionate show for others to watch.
I reached out to grab Si Jiangchen's neatly combed hair at the back of his head, but unexpectedly, he didn't even give me a chance to touch him. He grabbed my fidgety hand and pinned me against the light - gold wallpapered wall, and kissed me even more recklessly.
The lingering kiss between our lips and teeth left me no time to struggle. Si Jiangchen seemed like a man who hadn't seen a woman for ages, crushing my lips wantonly. I was kissed so dizzy that I even forgot where I was!
After what seemed like ages, I was finally released. The lip glaze on my lips had long been completely wiped off by that bastard. Even the hair that Lulu had styled for me had become loose and was hanging on my shoulders due to being pinned against the wall.
"What are you doing! That's so excessive!"
I blushed with anger and pounded his chest. "This is so embarrassing! You've shamed everyone in Cold Fir!"
I used Bai Wei's words to scold Si Jiangchen. This guy was really too much!
"I think you look better this way."
Si Jiangchen laughed softly. He wiped the last trace of pearly luster from the corner of my lips with his thumb, then took the pearl hairpin loosely hanging on my face and casually inserted it into the left breast pocket of his suit.
Only then did I notice that his tie was a dark - blue velvet one. Now it seemed that his clothes and mine matched so well that they looked like the most suitable couple outfit.
"That's it."
Si Jiangchen naturally bent his left arm slightly, but I didn't even realize what his intention was.
Si Jiangchen pinched my cheek helplessly, grabbed my left hand, and placed it on his arm.
"Jiangchen..."
Bai Wei, who had been left aside, still didn't give up. "You can't just leave me alone! Everyone knows that I like you. Why have you never been interested in me after I've been by your side for so long... And her!!"
She pointed at my nose, her face full of hatred. "Where did this ugly and poor rat come from! How could she ever be worthy of someone of your status, Jiangchen?!"
Si Jiangchen just stood there quietly, listening to Bai Wei's hysterical screams. He waited until she had vented all her resentment towards me, and then said calmly, "Vivian, you look so ugly like this."
"Jiangchen, you... What on earth do you see in her?!" Bai Wei still refused to give up.
"What do you see in me?"
As Si Jiangchen said this, he led me towards the outside of the small building.
"I..."
Bai Wei was speechless. How could she possibly say out the reason why she liked Si Jiangchen?
The first time she saw Si Jiangchen, she was immediately infatuated with his looks. It was purely an instinctive attraction. Then she found out that he was the founder of Cold Fir and the savior of her father's company. With all these glorious titles, Bai Wei's desire to have him was simply uncontrollable.
From the first day she started working at Cold Fir, she had fallen into the illusion she had created for herself. Every move of Si Jiangchen seemed to be a sign of his special treatment of her.
Even when Si Jiangchen clearly rejected her advances, she thought it was just a test of her love.
"I like Du Xinghe. I just like her."
Si Jiangchen didn't wait for Bai Wei's answer. He just lovingly ruffled my hair. I felt as if my heart had been hit by a heavy hammer. It was a bit sour and heavy... but also a bit sweet.
Si Jiangchen led me towards the outside of the building. The banquet hall was just ahead, and I could faintly hear music flowing through the overlapping green leaves.
"... I won't give up! Jiangchen! You'll regret your choice!"
Bai Wei shouted hysterically from behind.
"It seems she's going to take revenge on you..."
I tilted my head slightly and saw Bai Wei's angry face behind us. Si Jiangchen just chuckled and turned my head back. "Rather than worrying about what she thinks, you'd better think about what you need to do now."
"What do I need to do?"
I was a bit surprised. Didn't Si Jiangchen bring me here just to accompany him to the dinner and help him look good?
"Some people from the Du family in Yubei will be here today." Si Jiangchen slowed down his steps to match my turtle - like pace in high - heels.
"The Du family?!"
All the hairs on my body stood up instantly.
The fear of being chased for more than a decade had become a conditioned reflex. I instinctively wanted to run away.
Si Jiangchen tightly held my fingers, not allowing me to escape. "Xiaohe, don't you want to know why the Du family has been chasing you and your grandfather so relentlessly?"
"Didn't Du Peiyun say they wanted my fate?"
Actually, I didn't really care why the Du family was chasing us. Compared to what Du Peiyun said about "fate", I naturally believed what my grandfather said. With his thick skin, I believed he was capable of stealing the Du family's heirloom!
However, over the years, we had been in desperate situations several times, but the Du family always seemed to be playing with us like a cat playing with a mouse, allowing my grandfather and me to escape smoothly every time.
"Silly Xiaohe, do you believe whatever others say?"
Si Jiangchen shook his head with a smile. "Today is Sheng Shixun's banquet. I'd like to see if the Du family, a family eager to get into politics, dares to ruin the Sheng family's event."