Tang Shui couldn’t blame Lu Xinyi for questioning the Tang family’s stance over Sun Meixiu’s death and her welfare. Indeed, they hadn’t made a move to save her from the Sun family when Chairman Sun took her after Sun Meixiu’s death. Even before her death, she still hadn’t made peace with her own mother, Tang Lingfei.
“What do you know about your maternal grandmother?” Tang Shui answered Lu Xinyi’s question with another question.
Lu Xinyi looked at him curiously.
“Not that much. I only know what she looks like. My mother rarely talked about her and only mentioned her once when my brother and I found her photo on my mother’s belongings,” she replied truthfully.
“What did she say?”
“She said not to become like her mother. Grandma had loved that old man too much that she blindly turned an eye on his sins.”
Lu Xinyi couldn’t understand what her mother meant when she was younger, but now, she knew. When she was young and her mother was still alive, Sun Meixiu once told her that if she was to marry someday, Lu Xinyi should marry a man who loved her more than she loved him.
“Someday, you’ll meet someone who’ll love you well. Someone who’ll never belittle you, even in the heat of an argument. Someone gentle with you but will not treat you like a fragile thing, who’ll also accept every flaw you have.
“Xinxin, when love is real, it doesn’t lie, cheat, pretend, or keep secrets. It shouldn’t make you feel unwanted. If a man loves you, he’ll move mountains just to be with you. A man who really loves you wouldn’t put himself in a position to lose you.”
These were the words her mother had told her before. She really had no idea what kind of relationship did Chairman Sun had with his ex-wife or why did he have illegitimate children that were older than her mother.
Maybe this maternal grandmother she hadn’t met yet held the answers to her questions.
Tang Shui spun her around before leading her through another series of dance steps.
“I’m not the right person to answer your questions, Xin’er, but if you really want to know the answers, you can visit us again, and we’ll let you meet your grandmother.”
Lu Xinyi nodded her head slowly, knowing that it would be best to hear it from Tang Lingfei instead.
Tang Shui abruptly stopped even though the song wasn’t finished yet. Lu Xinyi cast a curious glance at her uncle, unsure what was happening when he let go of her hands and stepped back with a smile on his face.
“Uncle?”
“I believe someone wants your company back.” He teased before glancing at the person standing behind her. That made Lu Xinyi spin around to see who it was.
Shen Yi stood close behind her, looking especially dashing on his black suit. He had a blank expression on his face as their eyes locked. She glanced back to their table and saw other guests flocking around it.
“Running away from the crowd, milord?” She smirked at her husband. Tang Shui left the couple alone to find his daughter.
“You left me.” Shen Yi accused.
The two stared at each other without moving, making the other couples that were dancing throw glances their way. Other women glared at Lu Xinyi with such intense jealousy for taking Shen Yi’s attention all for herself.
As the new song started to play, Lu Xinyi took the chance to ask Shen Yi for a dance. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
“Would you like to dance?” she asked him, knowing he wouldn’t decline her invitation.
Shen Yi took a step forward, grabbed her hands, and pulled her to him slowly. He released one of her hands to place his free hand on her lower back, gently tugging her to move closer until her body pressed against his.
Lu Xinyi could feel her blush creeping up on her face as her husband stared down at her with such intensity she only sees when they’re alone before he started moving them to follow the beat of the music. She could feel his body heat radiated from their close proximity, his scent clouding her senses.
“We’ll surely fill the headlines for tomorrow,” she said as he spun her around, making her skirt twirl around her, before he pulled her back in his arms.
“And it’s a bad thing? This is also our first appearance as a couple in public. I didn’t know I had to ask them permission to dance with my wife.” His hand ran up and down her bare back, giving her shivers at his touch.
“Yes, yes, because President Shen never cared what people say around him.”
Shen Yi bent down and pressed his cheek to hers as he whispered into her ear.
“All I want to do right now is to take you home and peel this dress of yours off of you.”
His breath caressed her smooth skin, causing a shiver to run through her spine.
“You…” Her blush intensified. How could the public accuse him of being gay when he could shamelessly flirt and tease her like this?
“I know you want me to.” Shen Yi hid his grin with her hair.
“Conceited peacock!” she spat out.
“And you are my beautiful swan.”
His hand tightened on her back, holding her closer against his as their bodies moved in sync and swayed back and forth to the slow music, with his chin resting on top of her head.
The song ended, and another one followed shortly. Shen Yi didn’t release his wife and kept her with him. The trumpets started low until it picked up the beat of the music. The main vocalist started to sing the song which sounded familiar to Lu Xinyi.
It was that one song that her father used to sing to her mother when they were alive.
“You know the song?” Shen Yi asked when he noticed her brows drew together.
“It sounds familiar, but I don’t know what the lyrics mean,” she admitted. Her English wasn’t that good, and the only part she understood in the song was the ‘I love you, baby’ part.
Shen Yi listened to the lyrics as they continued to dance before the corner of his lips curled up. He started singing lowly into her ear with their mother tongue, translating the lyrics for his wife. He sang at it as if he was confessing his love for her.
Lu Xinyi thought that her blush would stay permanently on her face at this rate. This was the first time she heard him sing, and she was enthralled by his voice. She closed her eyes, letting her head and free hand rest against his chest as he continued to sing for her. She listened at the steady beat of his heart as they moved.
His voice and the music almost pulled her in a dreamlike state. She felt warm and cozy in his arms.
The song ended too soon for Lu Xinyi’s liking. They broke apart slowly, with Shen Yi’s hand intertwined with hers as he led her out of the dance floor.
At the top of the stairs, two women watched as Shen Yi and Lu Xinyi made their way out of the ballroom. Sun Qiyan shot a hateful glare at her cousin’s back while the other woman standing beside her burned with jealousy as she watched the man she’d been obsessing for years being taken away by Lu Xinyi.
