The invitation that the Bai family received clearly indicated his and A Miao's name. Furthermore, it was explicitly written that the two of them must attend together or none could enter.
When he first saw the invitation, he nearly tore it apart. It was his grandmother who gave him a scolding.
"Shen Xinglan has invited all the large families of the upper class. You're not going? Aren't you clearly telling people that our family is unhappy with him?"
Naturally, A Miao was not afraid of his threat. She was about to throw him out when she heard Bai Youran say,
"Your grandfather places great importance on this banquet. If you don't want him to beat you up, you better cooperate with me. Otherwise, neither of us will live well tonight."
"Must I go?" A Miao noticed that something was off. "Does… Does this mean that you can't go if I don't?"
Bai Youran waved his hand impatiently. "Why do you care so much? Hurry up and change." Once he was done speaking, he threw the door close and walked out.
"Shen Xinglan… What are you trying to do?" A Miao sat there, dumbfounded. She was certain that this was that guy's work. Otherwise, the Xia family would never allow her to attend this banquet.
"Forget it." She shook her head. "I can sneak back after being seen."
She had just measured her body temperature a few minutes ago. Her fever had not subsided completely. If her condition truly worsened, she would just faint on the spot and give them all a scare!
Since A Miao deliberately took her time, Xia Wan was already gone by the time she went downstairs. She heard that Shen Xinglan had even gone as far as to send his men to pick Xia Wan up.
"What a joke!" Xia Mei, who stood inside the living room, sneered at her. "Don't tell me that you're really planning to attend the banquet with your shaven head."
Bai Youran was also stupefied. He did not expect her to look like this. It was no wonder this woman wore a cap inside her room earlier!
"Damn it! Where's your hair?"
A Miao shrugged. "It's too hot recently, so I shaved it."
"Brother Youran, you'll humiliate yourself if you take her." Xia Mei's gaze shifted as she shouted at A Miao. "Hey, take off your dress. I'll go in your stead."
"Sounds good!" A Miao turned her head to look sideways at Bai Youran. "I'll go back to my room and change."
Bai Youran stopped her. "No. Let's go like this."
"Brother Youran!" Xia Mei cried in disbelief. "Have you gone mad?"
A Miao nodded fervently. "Yes! He's gone mad!"
"Shut up! Come with me." Bai Youran turned around, opened the door, and walked out.
Xia Mei stamped her feet in frustration. A Miao turned around to wave at her.
Bai Youran would rather have Xia Mei go with him but Shen Xinglan had met A Miao. If he switched his companion to Xia Mei, who knew what would happen later?
"Give her a wig." On their way to the banquet, Bai Youran brought A Miao to an image consultation saloon. At least she would arrive at the banquet with a head of long hair.
In any case, no one would go and touch another person's hair. No one would know it was fake either.
"Boss, Bai Youran is here." Shen I pushed the door and entered. "The young lady from the Xia family has also asked me about your whereabouts several times."
Shen Xinglan was dressed in a black suit, but that also appeared to be his only color. Today, his outfit was decorated with a collar button and cufflinks of a sapphire blue color.
Under the light, the rhombus-shaped blue diamond refracted the lightwaves to form a bright glint. It gave the originally subdued black hue a luxurious yet tasteful elegance.
"Is everything ready?" He stood up.
Shen I, who trailed behind him, nodded. "The person is already placed inside the room. They'll make their move soon."
"There's finally a talented person in the Xia family, but unfortunately he targeted the wrong person. He shouldn't have schemed against me."
Shen I pursed his lips as he watched his boss enter the ballroom. "Xia Fan is obviously targeting A Miao; since when did he target you, boss…"
Inside the ballroom, all the prominent figures in City S had come. Shen Xinglan had always kept a low profile. When he made his return all those years ago, he did not even make a public appearance. Many people would be meeting him for the first time today.
"Mr. Shen!" Under several women's envious, jealous, and hateful gaze, Xia Wan walked toward Shen Xinglan to occupy the space beside him. "Thank you for inviting me. I… I'm very happy!"
The bashfulness and mirth of a beautiful woman were easily able to tug at one's heartstrings. Bai Youran, who had just arrived, happened to come across this scene.
"Walk a little faster." He clenched his fist and glared hatefully at A Miao.
This was A Miao's first time wearing such formal clothing. Her high heels were not the right size either. She endured the pain as she placed her feet on the ground. When she heard Bai Youran's words, she showed him no courtesy and retorted, "Go ahead if you're fast."
"Stay in a corner quietly. When the banquet is over, I'll send you home." Bai Youran was frantic about finding Xia Wan. Since he had entered the ballroom, he had no need to accompany this woman anymore.
"Bon voyage. I won't be seeing you off." A Miao turned around and walked toward the corner.
After finally finding a spot in the corner to sit down, she sighed and rubbed her ankles. Then she felt a burst of pain on her temples.
"Oh, it's burning again." She touched her forehead and asked the waiter for a glass of mineral water.
Xia Wan was still talking to Shen Xinglan but the latter responded with either an aloof nod or a snort.
"Mr. Shen, what are you looking at?" She looked in the direction of Shen Xinglan's gaze.
Shen Xinglan immediately turned his head and pointed in another direction. "Is he coming for you?"
Stunned, Xia Wan turned around.
"Wanwan!" Bai Youran looked at her, beaming.
Xia Wan's body stiffened. She blurted out, "Where's A Miao?"
"Why are you bringing her up?" Bai Youran replied impatiently. "How would I know?"
"Youran, she's your female companion as well as your fiancee. How can you ignore her?" Xia Wan laughed softly. If someone was paying attention to her, they would have noticed how tightly clenched her fist was.
Shen Xinglan's mouth twitched in a mocking manner. "Please enjoy your conversation. I'll go and say hello to my friends over there."
"Oh… Okay!" Xia Wan did not dare to stop him lest Bai Youran said something he should not have." Then I'll go and find you later."
"Wanwan, he's completely ignoring you." Bai Youran watched Shen Xinglan turn around and leave, looking as if he was completely unwilling to talk to Xia Wan. "Are you really going to marry him? He won't love you."
Suddenly, sorrow crossed Xia Wan's expression. "Youran… This is a marriage alliance. What love is there to speak of in a marriage alliance?"
"Don't worry. I'll definitely convince your grandfather to give up this idea and make it so that the marriage alliance is between our families instead!"
"That's enough. Don't let people hear you," Xia Wan hurriedly said. "Go and find A Miao immediately. If something happens to her, my grandfather will have an even worse impression of your family."
Bai Youran refused to give up. "I want to accompany you!"
"No, I'm Shen Xinglan's companion today." Xia Wan pushed him aside. "Go ahead. I'll come and find you later."
Seeing how resolute she was, Bai Youran had no choice but go look for A Miao. However, he did not see her even after walking around the ballroom. He cursed her out in his mind and eventually decided to give up. He was prepared to tell Xia Wan that the woman had returned on her own.
Right then, A Miao was looking at the person in front of him in astonishment.
"You're… You're Xia Mei's brother?"
Xia Fan squashed the cigarette in his hand. "Good memory. Why? Is it weird to see me here?"
"It's not weird." Enduring the discomfort she felt, she slowly sat down. "I don't suppose you didn't lead me to the garden to have a chat with me? Hurry up and say what you have to say."
Xia Fan slowly approached her. "You're really quite pretty like this."
A Miao was wearing a white dress with her long hair cascading down her back in a casual manner. The dim light just happened to obscure her eyes. Her delicate facial features were particularly striking and coupled with the red tint to her cheeks thanks to her fever, her entire being was exuding temptation.
"What are you trying to do?" A Miao inched backward while sitting down. "This isn't the Xia family villa. Don't mess around."
Xia Fan smiled. "Seeing as you're quite pretty tonight, I'll take the task upon myself." While speaking, he reached out for A Miao.
A Miao swatted his hand away and ran as soon as she got up.
"Ah!" Unfortunately, due to her high heels, she ended up falling on her knees.
Xia Fan quickly walked over to her. Just as he was about to clasp his hand over her mouth, he felt a stabbing pain on the back of his head. Before he could turn around, he had already fallen to the ground.
"Did he die?" A gloomy voice resounded. A Miao raised her head to take a look.
Shen Xinglan, along with Shen I, stood in front of her. Behind him, Shen I sneakily waved at her.
"Thank you." Holding onto the flower bed next to her for support, A Miao stood up. She eased her breathing before saying, "Seeing as you've saved me, I won't blame you for causing Xia Wan to slap me."
The corners of Shen I's mouth twitched. "Girl! Are you correctly betting on the fact that our boss won't do anything to you… Why would you provoke him each time?"
He had greatly underestimated A Miao. Her subsequent words would be her true provocation.
"However, I'll still blame you for causing me to get wet in the rain and fall sick. Say, how will you compensate me?"
Shen I covered his face, not wanting to listen any further.
Seeing as Shen Xinglan did not reply, A Miao carried on without minding everyone else. "We'll write off all the money I owe you before. Hurry up and arrange for Xia Yongqiang to enter the hospital. I'll…"
"Thump!"
"Ah!"
A Miao collapsed on Shen Xinglan with a thud. Shen I was the one who yelled, having believed that his boss would kick A Miao away. To his surprise, Shen Xinglan held onto her.
"Boss…" Shen I rubbed his hands. "Why don't I carry her?"
Shen Xinglan glanced at Shen I at an incredibly slow speed. Just as the latter was feeling so nervous that he was about to burst, thinking that Shen Xinglan would order them to destroy this woman's remains in the next second, he heard:
"Who are you to carry her? If you want to carry a woman, go and find one yourself."
"Wait… Wait a moment." Shen I collapsed mentally. "This isn't right. Things shouldn't turn out like this. Why is our boss leaving with a woman in his arms?"
Just as he was about to post about this on Wechat and give others a shock, he heard Shen Xinglan's gloomy voice in his ears.
"What are you doing there? Call the doctor."
"I'm going to call him right away!!!"
"If she came to me any later, she would've contracted pneumonia. I suppose she'll still have a fever after finishing the IV drip. Give her some medicine then." Shen Xinglan's family doctor suppressed his curiosity and carefully left Shen I with instructions.
Shen I went to see the doctor off, leaving Shen Xinglan standing alone next to the bed.
"So damned ugly." He reached out to take the skin off A Miao's eyes and wiped off the yellow layer on her face in a rough manner. The woman lying on the bed was still red-faced but was so much better looking than before.
Her chest rose and fell slowly along with her breathing. Her brows would furrow every now and then, indicating that she had a very uneasy sleep.
"Honest now, aren't you? Where did all your previous cockiness with me go?" Shen Xinglan could not help reaching out to touch A Miao's face as he spoke.
He touched her face twice and found that it felt good to the touch. He started pinching her.
"The texture really feels…"
"Boss!" The second after Shen I spoke, he wished nothing more than to be blind at that moment.
Shen Xinglan withdrew his hand and acted as if everything earlier was an illusion. He snorted and walked out of the room.
"I'll leave Xia Fan to you."