“Excuse me, Missy, you’re my wife now. That means you should stand on my side. Although she’s Beicheng’s sister, the Gu and Jin families have always been at odds with each other when it comes to business.”
“So what if I’m your wife? Does that mean I can’t have my personal space to befriend the people I want?” Mo Li retorted in disagreement.
Ye Xiaotian held her hand in his and said, “Mo Li, people like us should just be amicable and courteous to them on the surface, no more than that.”
Although Mo Li understood where he was coming from, she still refused to agree nonetheless. “But I don’t wish to live such a pretentious life like you. Why do I have to beat around the bush when we women are just having a simple and idle chat over tea?”
“I knew you would say that. But not all women are the same. Xiaoning is different from you. She may very well become Jin Qingyan’s capable assistant. Now that they’re a couple, she’ll definitely stand by his side. Meanwhile, you and I are a team in a united front. From the bigger picture, you two are not supposed to be friends.”
“But Beicheng and Xiaoning are siblings, yet the Gu Corporation and Jin Corporation are still rivals in business, aren’t they?” Mo Li insisted.
“You’ll understand what I mean in the future. An Xiaoning may treat you like her friend now, but you two will definitely fall out in time to come.”
An Xiaoning was well aware of Ye Xiaotian’s concerns, though she did not dwell much on it at this point in time.
On her journey home, the traffic at the junction was so heavy that she was stuck in the jam for half an hour. As soon as she arrived home, she received a call from Jin Qingyan.
“Xiaoning, there’s a business gathering this evening, and the invited guests are all prestigious figures. You shall be my plus one.”
“Alright, I’ll doll myself up and wait for you to pick me up,” An Xiaoning agreed.
“Okay, I’ll pick you up from home at six o’clock sharp.”
“Yes.”
After alighting from the car, An Xiaoning made her way to the dressing room with the bag of clothing she just bought. To her surprise, the closet was stuffed with clothes suited for the season.
When Auntie Chen entered to serve her a cup of tea, An Xiaoning asked, “Auntie Chen, since when were there so many clothes in the closet?”
“It was Young Sir’s instruction.”
An Xiaoning took a look at the clothes to find that they were all from luxury labels.
They were all extremely stylish and pretty.
She then opened a large gift box that was sitting on the dressing table and discovered that it contained an evening gown.
An Xiaoning took the gown out from the box carefully. It was a gorgeous evening gown, which was red in color and had an exquisite yet unique design.
She put it on immediately to find that it was extremely flattering.
It was as fitting as bespoke gowns.
An Xiaoning took a look at the time and hurriedly proceeded to take a shower in the bathroom before putting on a full face of immaculate makeup.
Before she even realized, two hours had passed.
After instructing Fan Shixin to pick the children up from school, An Xiaoning changed into the evening gown and draped a black shawl over her shoulders before making her way downstairs.
She happened to bump into Jin Qingyan, who entered at the same time with a box in his hands.
A smile formed on his face as he watched her walk down the stairs. He then walked towards her.
“What’s this?”
“High heels.”
Jin Qingyan knelt to the ground, took out a pair of crystal heels from the box, and helped her put them on.
The pair of heels were absolutely stunning.
“They look really pretty.”
Jin Qingyan stood up and said, “During our wedding, you’ll be wearing a pair that looks even better than this.”
An Xiaoning gazed at him and remained silent.
They then exited the house, hand in hand.
Xiao Lu was the chauffeur for the evening while the two of them sat in the back seat of the car. “The business gathering this evening is no ordinary event.”
“Hmm?”
“Someone has laid a trap. It appears to be a gathering, but it’s not as simple as that. Because I’ve gotten news that the mastermind who made me choose between saving you and Qingyue would be making an appearance this evening,” Jin Qingyan explained, still holding on to her hand.
“How did you know?”
“Ciye informed me about it.”
An Xiaoning did not probe further about how Ling Ciye had managed to get hold of the information – she knew, given the fact that Ling Ciye was a member of the triads, he would definitely have his own resources for insider news.
“Initially, I thought the mastermind was Xi Bolai. I even questioned him, but he said that he was not the one behind the act.”
“He’s not that capable anyway. Drinks and liquor would be served tonight. Don’t touch any drinks or food unless I hand them to you myself,” Jin Qingyan added.
“Okay, who’s the host?”
“The Xu family.”
Slightly taken aback, An Xiaoning turned to look at Jin Qingyan and asked, “You mean Military Commander Xu?”
“Yes.”
“Isn’t he a civil personnel?”
“His second son Xu Cai is a businessman, though he’s always kept a low profile.”
“Turns out Xu Cai is Military Commander Xu’s son. I wouldn’t have known if you didn’t mention it,” An Xiaoning said in a moment of epiphany.
“It says so on Wikipedia. The Xu family must have a reason for inviting so many business elites for a gathering this evening,” Jin Qingyan said calmly.
After pondering for a moment, An Xiaoning said, “I have a gut feeling this is a setup with a sinister plot behind it.”
Jin Qingyan retrieved a hair clip from his pocket and explained, “This is a hairclip specially designed for you. There are three needles embedded within this contraption. All you have to do is press this spot and the needles will be darted out rapidly.”
“Why did you think of getting this done for me?” An Xiaoning asked in surprise.
Placing the hair clip onto her hair gently, Jin Qingyan answered, “Because I want to keep you as safe as possible.”
An Xiaoning stared at him quietly.
They were slowly driven to the entrance of the Xu family mansion where numerous luxury cars were parked outside the gate, forming a snake-like queue.
Clearly, there was a long list of guests invited.
The sky had begun to turn dark. An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan took their time and entered the Xu family mansion.
Boisterous chatter and laughter could be heard coming from the living room before they even stepped foot inside.
They smiled and greeted the business associates whom they knew personally.
All eyes were on them when they showed up at the living room.
An Xiaoning held onto Jin Qingyan’s arm and walked inside slowly. She would occasionally hear the remarks made by guests engaged in endless gossip, though they would often make a conscious effort to keep their volume down.
“Her shoes are really pretty, which label are they from?”
“No idea, must’ve cost a bomb though.”
“An Xiaoning is so lucky. Rumor has it that Jin Qingyan pampers and dotes on her greatly.”
“Yeah, I heard about it too. If only I were that lucky.”
“Exactly.”
“…”
An Xiaoning pretended not to hear the curious gossip and continued to put on a courteous smile while walking towards Ling Ciye together with Jin Qingyan.
Upon sight of them, Ling Ciye immediately complimented, “Beautiful.”
“That goes without saying.” Jin Qingyan scanned his surroundings before asking, “Why isn’t Ye Xiaotian here?”
“He’s yet to arrive. He’s on the guest list. I brought these myself, it’s absolutely safe,” said Ling Ciye, handing them two glasses of champagne.
An Xiaoning took the glass of champagne and giggled in amusement. “Qingyan said someone would be serving drinks and liquor. Turns out it’s you,” she teased.
“Well, it pays to be alert on such occasions.”
Noticing that Ling Ciye was alone, Jin Qingyan asked, “Where’s your female companion?”
“I don’t have one. I’m not as lucky as you are to have a gorgeous babe in your arms. Bachelors like me can only be alone.”
“You haven’t reconciled with Song Yan?”
“I don’t plan to. It’s too draining,” Ling Ciye answered as he took a look around the place.
“Gu Beicheng is here.”
An Xiaoning turned around to see that Gu Beicheng was clad in a blue suit with a flower on his chest. He brought a female stranger with him, evidently his companion for the night.
