"What's wrong with your car?"
"The engine burnt out. I'm calling for a repairman." Bai Youran glanced at A Miao who was seated in the backseat without concealing his loathing at all. "Where are you going?"
Xia Wan chuckled. "I'm treating A Miao to dinner today. Why don't... Why don't you come with us?"
Thinking that he was being humorous, Bai Youran replied, "I'm coming along even if you don't ask me! I'll drive, so ask your driver to drive my car to your home."
If it was Xia Wan who planned for their meeting with Bai Youran, then A Miao had become thoroughly stupefied after seeing Shen Xinglan in the restaurant...
"Mr. Shen!" Xia Wan cried in surprise. "So you're also here for dinner!"
Shen Xinglan was not alone and his female companion was a familiar face. A Miao felt like it was a face that she frequently saw on television. However, it was not the same one she met in Xia Wan's birthday banquet. The woman had a pair of glistening eyes that seemed to be shrouded in mist. Her eyes were so captivating that it felt as if they could suck you in.
"Yes." Shen Xinglan raised his head and lifted one corner of his mouth. "Are you and Mr. Bai on a date?"
Bai Youran's expression was dark. Without even sparing him a glance, Xia Wan immediately replied, "No, no! You misunderstood us. Youran is my sister's fiancee."
"Oh?" Shen Xinglan looked as if he finally noticed A Miao's presence and gave her a fleeting glance. A Miao forced a smile and then continued to pretend to be a part of the backdrop.
The mood of the other person with Xia Wan was much darker. Bai Youran was clenching his fists. When he saw the pleading look that Xia Wan shot him, he said in a rough tone, "Let's sit over there."
"We'll sit here." Xia Wan immediately took the table next to Shen Xinglan's.
A Miao reminded her, saying, "Didn't you say you've already booked a table?"
The waiter that had been watching them immediately and said, "Ms. Xia, you've specifically requested for a table by the window. We've already reserved it for you."
"Then please bring us over!" A Miao resolutely crushed Xia Wan's intention without waiting for the latter to respond.
Xia Wan looked at Shen Xinglan, carrying a hint of hope in her. Yet all of his attention was on the celebrity with an evidently gentle look in his eyes. The celebrity turned around to smile sweetly at her.
Everyone present could see that this was an interaction between lovers. However, A Miao had always been sensitive. She noticed that Shen Xinglan would focus on that woman's eyes each time, as if he could not see the woman at all. The only thing that he could see was that pair of eyes.
"Let's go, Xia Wan." Bai Youran could not bring himself to see Xia Wan being humiliated. He gently pulled her.
"Sure!" Xia Wan was not an idiot to allow herself to suffer disgrace. Nevertheless, she still smiled at Shen Xinglan. "Mr. Shen, have a good meal."
Only then did Shen Xinglan glance at her. "Thank you."
When they took their seats, Bai Youran used a nasty tone to tell A Miao, "Don't sit next to me."
"Youran..." Xia Wan frowned. "Sit here, A Miao. I'll sit opposite you two."
Bai Youran's expression was incredibly unsightly but he could not lose his temper on Xia Wan. When he saw how A Miao sat down without any grace whatsoever, he despised her even further.
"I'm starving. Let's order!" A Miao waved the menu when she saw how Xia Wan was keeping her eye in the distance where Shen Xinglan was.
"Youran, you help A Miao take orders!" Xia Wan looked away from Shen Xinglan and tried to conceal the envy in her eyes.
The female celebrity was not as pretty as she was and did not have illustrious background either. Why would Shen Xinglan fall for her?
"I heard that all rich men would date celebrities," A Miao promptly reminded her. Xia Wan's mood brightened. That was right! How could a man of Shen Xinglan's status not have any woman with him? Even fooling around with female celebrities was something common among their circles.
Either way, he would never marry that sort of woman!
Once she thought this through, Xia Wan's mood improved enough for her to take the initiative to help A Miao order. Bai Youran could also tell the obvious change in her mood and glared hatefully at A Miao. He lifted the cup of coffee and then forcefully placed it in front of her. "Can't even eating shut your mouth?"
The coffee splashed onto A Miao's face, leaving even several yellow stains on her hair.
"Ah!" The waiter immediately rushed over to their table. "Miss, why don't you go to the washroom?"
A Miao shook her head. "Since you don't want to dine with me, I don't wish to invoke someone's enmity either." She stood up and told Xia Wan, "I'm leaving. You two enjoy your dinner."
"Oh dear! Youran, hurry up and apologize to A Miao." Xia Wan held onto A Miao's arm. "Don't go, A Miao. Youran didn't do it on purpose."
Seeing how pathetic A Miao looked, Bai Youran's hatred for her climbed to a peak. Not only did he not apologize, but he also pulled onto Xia Wan and made her sit. "Wanwan, don't try to advise her. What temper! Did she really think that she's a precious young lady?"
Xia Wan truly wanted to slap this foolish man. If A Miao left, what would it mean for her and Bai Youran? Shen Xinglan would certainly misunderstand them. It had not been easy for her to find out that he would be having dinner here today, which was why she brought A Miao and Bai Youran here to fake a chance encounter. How could she let A Miao go?
"That's right. How can I be good enough for the young master of the Bai family? Since that's the case, go and tell the old man that you want to cancel this engagement!" Seeing as Bai Youran wanted to humiliate her, A Miao fixed a profound gaze on him. "Besides... there's someone else who wants to marry you!"
Xia Wan's heart jolted. Thinking that A Miao was referring to her, she immediately stood up and said, "Please give me some face. Let's have dinner, hm?"
"Let her leave!" Bai Youran yelled. "You better quash any intentions of marrying me! I won't marry an illegitimate child like you."
Just as she was about to turn around, A Miao suddenly stood still and stared at Shen Xinglan raising her mouth with a smirk, "Beg me and I'll help you."
She sneered and turned around. Before Bai Youran and Xia Wan could react, she lifted the cup of coffee and splashed it.
"Damn it!" Bai Youran jumped. "You bitch dares..."
A Miao stared coolly at him. "I'd repeat this again: I have nothing to do with you. If you're capable, go and cancel this engagement. If you're not, then shut your bloody mouth." She wiped her hands, threw her napkin at Bai Youran's chest, and left.
When she walked past Shen Xinglan's table, she heard him saying gently to his female companion, "The environment here is getting worse. They're letting any Tom, Dick, and Harry in."
"Oh dear!" A Miao turned her body, knocking into the female celebrity.
"I'm sorry! So sorry!" She took several steps backward and apologized. "I accidentally twisted my ankle."
The celebrity politely assured her that it was fine. However, Shen Xinglan walked up to her and asked in a low voice, "What are you trying to do?"
"Nothing." A Miao smiled and added in a loud voice, "Mr. Shen, have a good meal!"
Shen Xinglan felt a bad premonition after seeing her strange smile. However, he dared not talk too much with A Miao in front of Xia Wan.
He had lost all appetite after A Miao left, especially since that woman Xia Wan would throw him flirtatious glances every now and then and put on a pitiful face.
"Enjoy your meal. I'm taking my leave." He fished out his wallet and prepared to pay the bill.
When the waiter brought him the bill, he saw a suspicious white item falling out of Shen Xinglan's wallet. Before Shen Xinglan could react, the waiter poked the item with his hand and saw the familiar little wings printed on it.
"Ah, my sanitary napkin!" the celebrity cried. Noticing that something was off, she immediately covered her mouth and dared not look at the man sitting opposite her.
Shen Xinglan looked at the sanitary napkin lying on his thigh before turning to glare at the waiter with a malevolent expression.
"Mr... Mr. Shen..." the waiter stammered. "I... I didn't see anything at all!"
"Shut up!" Shen Xinglan rose to his feet and immediately left the restaurant without even sparing the celebrity a glance. Behind him, Bai Youran was still talking to Xia Wan. "Look, that man must be a pervert to carry such a thing around."
Xia Wan had no mood to talk to him. She hurriedly ate part of her meal and then asked to leave. Bai Youran thought that she was angry because of A Miao and swore in his heart to put that illegitimate child in order one of these days.
"Boss..." Shen I looked at the man with a downcast expression through the rearview mirror. "What happened?"
Shen Xinglan glanced at him. "No one will think that you're mute if you don't speak."
Sure enough, he was mad. Moreover, he seemed particularly pissed off.
"Get someone to go to the restaurant earlier and bring back the CCTV footage," the man sitting in the backseat said in a sinister voice. Shen I nodded and then heard the man say, "No one's allowed to see it, including you. Once you get it, destroy it."
"Got it."
One hour later, a USB flash disk that was snapped in half laid on top of Shen Xinglan's desk.
"Is there any backup?"
Shen I shook his head. "We made sure that there isn't any."
"Leave the room then." Shen Xinglan tossed the USB flash disk into the trash with a disgusted look. "Hang on."
Shen I who was about to open the door stood still. "Boss?"
"Find the CCTV footage of that night. There should be a CCTV in front of the pub entrance. Get all the scenes with the woman and bring it to me."
Shen I was confused until he heard Shen Xinglan mention "that woman" and knew he was referring to A Miao. Seeing that Shen Xinglan's expression was still dark, he dared not ask why and swiftly left the room.
"That stupid woman! Who gave you the guts to embarrass me?" Shen Xinglan's eyes were dark and unfathomable. "I'm the one who should be deciding the rules of the game. Very soon you'll discover the consequences of breaking the rules."
A Miao regretted her actions...
She began to regret it the moment she walked out of the restaurant.
It was too brash of her. She obviously knew that Shen Xinglan was not someone to be provoked but she still did it anyway. How could Shen Xinglan take revenge on her after she embarrassed him so?
"This can't do. I need to make up for it." She immediately returned to the Xia family villa via the minibus. Once there, she washed her face with cold water and started dialing.
It was Shen I who answered the phone.
"I'll find an opportunity to steal the bronze mirror as soon as possible. Please relay this to him and tell him to rest assured."
"I hope you'll succeed next time!" Shen I was somewhat at a loss for words. "Otherwise, I predict that you'll die a tragic death..."
A Miao found his tone to be strange. She thought to herself that it was a good thing that she made the call. Perhaps Shen Xinglan was already racking his brain over how to torture her.
It must be admitted that a person's premonition was sometimes very accurate.
"She dares to make the call herself? What did she say?" Shen Xinglan stared fixedly at the video playing on the computer, his smile incredibly sinister.
Shen I glanced at the video and then relayed A Miao's promise to steal the item as soon as possible. "Boss, then what you said earlier..."
"Upload the video online." Shen Xinglan rapped the desk. "I'll consider this as an early congratulatory gift to her."
With that, the weekend passed. One fine day, Xia Mei began to harass A Miao from the moment she entered the door. "Look at what you've done! You've embarrassed the entire Xia family..."