The two kids walked hand in hand into the banquet hall. As soon as they spotted Yan Yincheng, they scurried over on their short legs. Yuan Xiaoxu threw her arms around his thigh and asked sweetly,
"Uncle Yin, is your body better? Have you eaten? Are you still hungry?"
On the other side, Yuan Xiaoxuan took Yan Yincheng's hand and chimed in, "Uncle Yin~ How's your body?"
Yan Yincheng was absent - mindedly keeping an eye on his surroundings. Apart from the two kids, he didn't hear any other footsteps.
Although he was a bit puzzled as to why they were alone, the kids' concern made him feel all warm inside. He ruffled their hair and said,
"Don't worry, after having something to eat, Uncle is much better."
After a brief pause, he asked, "How come it's just you two? Where's Mommy?"
Feeling that his question seemed a bit too pointed, he quickly added, "And the others?"
Hearing this, Yuan Xiaoxuan's little face fell. He said, "Mommy and the aunts said they're not coming."
What? Not coming?! Yan Yincheng felt as if a thunderbolt had struck him on the head. How could this be! Could it be that she had seen through his Plan B in advance? Was his plan going to fail again before it even got off the ground?
He quickly pressed on, "Why?"
"Sigh~" Yuan Xiaoxuan heaved a sigh. "Mommy had already changed into her dress and was about to leave. But when she was about to go out, she ran into Aunt Shasha. Aunt Shasha told Mommy that since it was just a bunch of familiar people, the cocktail party would be boring with all that small - talk. It would be better to stay and play mahjong. With Aru and Zhenzhen, we'd have just the right number for a game."
He repeated what Dai Sha had said word for word. His childish lisp made it all the more adorable.
Yuan Xiaoxuan continued, "Then Mommy said to Aunt Shasha, 'Sure, I don't like drinking anyway. Alcohol always reminds me of some bad things. Let's play mahjong instead!'"
This hit right at the heart of Yan Yincheng's real purpose for the cocktail party. He couldn't help but touch his nose. Well, while apologizing at the party was one thing, getting Zixi to drink was his real goal...
The last time she drank, Zixi became his fiancée. This time, he wanted her to become his wife.
"Aunt Ruru said, 'Since neither of you are going, I'm not going either. Zhenzhen, we're one player short. Do you want to join? Give me a definite answer.'"
Yuan Xiaoxu raised her little hand and added, "Aunt Zhenzhen said, 'Okay, I'm not very good at it. You guys have to go easy on me.'"
As soon as Yuan Xiaoxu finished speaking, Yan Yincheng turned towards Fang Ruiyang and growled through gritted teeth, "Cui Jiandong, why didn't you tell me in advance that your girlfriend wasn't coming?"
Fang Ruiyang looked innocent. "I just found out myself."
"How is that possible? Don't you two share a room?"
Fang Ruiyang explained, "She said she was going to find Dai Sha to help her do her eyeliner... so she left early."
Dai! Sha!
It was always Dai Sha!
This afternoon at the hot - spring resort, it was this fickle woman who had made him run back and forth. Otherwise, with his physical fitness, how could he have fainted in front of Zixi?
...But in the end, he got Zixi to cook a meal for him and got Aunt Li assigned to him. That wasn't too bad.
Cough cough! But his goal was to get Zixi's forgiveness and be with her again, to be able to eat her cooking every day just like the two kids! This little progress wasn't enough!
He had to find a way to get rid of Dai Sha!
As long as this woman was around Xiaoxi, she would be his biggest obstacle!
Yan Yincheng ground his back teeth menacingly.
Without the "leading lady", the cocktail party couldn't continue. Yan Yincheng got up and left with the two kids. Meanwhile, Brother Hu was eyeing the cocktails on the table longingly. He let loose in the banquet hall, even changing the music. The atmosphere instantly shifted from romantic and lyrical to hip - hop and rock.
Brother Hu took a sip of his cocktail and pointed at Yan Yincheng's back, saying to Fang Ruiyang, "See, I told you this guy had bad intentions. Throwing a cocktail party? It's clearly fishy. Thankfully, the young lady was smart enough to find an excuse not to come. Otherwise, she'd be tricked by this guy again."
Fang Ruiyang was already a bit afraid of Yan Yincheng. And because of his sensitive position as an insider in the Zhao family, even though he could sense the ambiguity between Yan Yincheng and Xu Zixi, he didn't dare to say much. He could only force out a couple of dry laughs and lower his head to drink his wine quietly, trying his best to blend in.
In any case, it was better to keep his mouth shut!
After leaving the banquet hall, Yan Yincheng found Wei Shu and complained angrily, "You need to find a way to get Dai Sha away from Zixi! Because of her, my plan has completely fallen through. If this goes on, I'm afraid this trip will be a complete failure!"
Wei Shu looked troubled. "But... Dai Sha is with Miss Yuan right now. If we try to get her away suddenly, Miss Yuan might get suspicious."
What kind of plan could get Dai Sha away without arousing Zixi's suspicion?
Yan Yincheng lowered his head and pondered. Suddenly, as if struck by an idea, he reached out and squeezed Wei Shu's shoulder. Feeling Wei Shu's biceps, he said meaningfully,
"Wei Shu."
For some reason, this tone made Wei Shu feel uneasy. He couldn't help but shiver.
"Th - Third Master... What are your orders?"
"My lifelong happiness depends on you." Yan Yincheng said, "Dai Sha said at the hot - spring resort today that she's interested in you and that she likes guys with muscles. I think your muscles look pretty good. How about you make a sacrifice and win her over? That way, Dai Sha will be on our side, and no one will stop me from chasing Zixi anymore."
"But Third Master, Miss Dai was actually complimenting A Wei and the others at that time. I was just mentioned in passing. It might not be appropriate for me to do this."
"Then let A Wei and A Biao give it a try first. If they can't do it, then it's your turn. In any case, we have to get Dai Sha away successfully. We can't let them play mahjong all night."
Wei Shu replied, "O - Okay..."
In the mahjong room, Xu Zixi was indeed playing mahjong with Dai Sha, Zhou Yaru, and Huang Zhenzhen.
The evening dress she was wearing was so eye - catching. Every time she raised her hand to discard a tile, the dress sparkled with tiny lights, attracting the amazed looks of the other three.
"Xiaoxi, this evening dress of yours is so beautiful. If you had actually worn it to the cocktail party, you would have been the center of attention." Dai Sha couldn't help but say.
Xu Zixi smiled. Even if she was the center of attention, there would still be someone who wouldn't notice. So she didn't feel any regret.
"Whose brand is this dress? I've never seen this style before." Zhou Yaru asked curiously.
Women's curiosity and interest in beautiful clothes and jewelry are innate. When they see something so eye - catching, they can't help but ask about its origin.
"It's a high - end custom - made piece from a certain brand." Xu Zixi said. Although she tried to keep her tone calm, the slight rise at the end of her sentence still gave away a bit of pride.
They had known each other for so long, and they had never seen her show off anything... Well, except for the time when they first met the two kids, she had shown off her smart and cute babies.
So...
Dai Sha felt as if she had been force - fed another mouthful of dog food.
This afternoon at the hot - spring resort, when they saw Mr. Yan in just a red swimming trunks, Xiaoxi wouldn't even let her look. Her possessiveness was almost palpable. And then she cooked a meal for him this afternoon. Yet she still wouldn't forgive him?
...Maybe this is what they call romance.
She wished she had a boyfriend too!
Huh?? What was that? Dai Sha's eyes suddenly widened slightly. Outside the window of the mahjong room was an open space. Right then, a man in a tight - fitting suit was working out there. From her angle, she could see every muscle on his body clearly. And from his profile, it was none other than A Wei, one of Yan Yincheng's bodyguards.