Surveying the surroundings, everyone wore masks and was dressed to the nines. But one man, in a plain white shirt and black trousers, walked in with an air of calm composure, looking more like a leader on an inspection tour than a guest at a ball.
He had only just appeared when a crowd sward him with greetings.
One by one, they removed their masks, eager to make their faces known to him.
Quan Yu handled the situation with ease, shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries with effortless grace.
"Oh my gosh, why is my Second Uncle here?" Lai Yang exclaid, running back to Ning Guiwan while lifting her skirt. She raised a hand to her forehead as if that could prevent the man from spotting her.
"He’s not here to catch , is he?"
"I only had a couple of dances! I haven’t done anything wrong!"
Lai Yang was terrified.
Ning Guiwan averted her gaze, a smile playing on her lips. "Maybe he’s just here for the ball."
"Does he look like soone who’d attend such a boring event? If he were going to an event, it would be to play golf with those business tycoons and talk strategy..."
Ning Guiwan looked at her. "If you find it so boring, why were you in such a rush to co?"
"I an, *he* would find this kind of event boring," Lai Yang pouted. "This is for young people. He’s too old to be interested."
Ning Guiwan considered Quan Yu’s age. He’s just past thirty; that isn’t really old.
"No way. You have to co with to the restroom. Maybe he’ll be gone by the ti we get back," Lai Yang insisted. Pulling Ning Guiwan, she hurriedly slipped out through another door.
「...」
"What are you looking at?" Qiao Yishen asked, leaning lazily against the sofa. Noticing his friend’s attention was elsewhere, he followed his line of sight but saw nothing out of the ordinary.
Quan Yu shifted his gaze back and brought the wine glass to his lips without a word.
"Since when are you interested in this kind of thing?" Qiao Yishen glanced at the masked n and won pressed close as they swayed on the dance floor. Though he was smiling, his handso brow was etched with the words ’utterly pointless.’
The llow red wine slid down his throat. Quan Yu squinted slightly, appearing to savor it.
"Doesn’t your little sister always complain you’re too old-fashioned? You should spend more ti with young people, absorb so of their youthful energy."
Qiao Yishen looked at Quan Yu with mild surprise. "That doesn’t sound like you at all."
Quan Yu’s expression was sowhat dismissive; it was unclear if he was even listening.
Qiao Yishen sensed sothing was amiss and followed his friend’s gaze once more. This ti, his eyes landed on soone: Su Liang.
"The young master of Sanleng Heavy Industries certainly has a lot of leisure ti. His factory is on the verge of bankruptcy, yet he’s still out enjoying himself. Seeing how eagerly he shook your hand earlier, let’s hope he’s not scheming to get an investnt out of you."
He had barely finished speaking when Su Liang approached, wine glass in hand.
Qiao Yishen chuckled. "Here he cos."
Quan Yu sipped his wine, his expression inscrutable.
「...」
Lai Yang dragged Ning Guiwan around outside for a long ti. Figuring enough ti had passed, she decided to head back in, only to run into Su Liang, who was hurrying out the entrance.
"Are you leaving?" Lai Yang asked.
"Sothing urgent ca up," Su Liang replied. His face showed urgency, but there was even more excitent.
"Let’s catch up another ti."
With a potential lifeline for his factory’s financial problems, he had no thought to spare for the beauty before him.
After speaking, Su Liang moved past Ning Guiwan and Lai Yang, pulling out his phone and dialing as he walked out of the villa.
When they returned to the ballroom, Quan Yu and Qiao Yishen were gone.
Lai Yang breathed a sigh of relief, but suddenly, her enthusiasm for the party vanished. Her head drooped onto Ning Guiwan’s shoulder. "I don’t want to stay any longer. Can we go back?"
Ning Guiwan didn’t object.
The two turned and headed out again.
"Let’s get so late-night supper; I’m starving," Lai Yang said. She had skipped dinner to look good in her formal dress. "I haven’t had hot pot in ages. Let’s..."
Suddenly, she spotted a tall figure standing under a landscape light up ahead.
Why does he look so much like Second Uncle?
Surely not?
Hadn’t the old man left already...?
Lai Yang forgot what she was about to say, instinctively ducking behind Ning Guiwan. As they drew closer, the man under the light, smoking with his back to them, looked even more like her Second Uncle.
"What do we do, Xiaowan? He really is here to catch ." When she left the villa, she had tossed her mask in the trash, finding it cumberso.
The path to the parking lot goes right past him. If I lower my head, cover my face, and make a run for it, can I get away unnoticed?
Ning Guiwan’s right index finger toyed with the elastic string of her red mask, her gaze fixed on the tall, imposing figure.
The streetlight stretched the man’s silhouette long upon the ground. His unhurried way of smoking exuded an air of leisurely calm.
"You haven’t done anything wrong, so why are you acting so guilty?"
Lai Yang blinked, a sudden realization dawning. Right, I haven’t done anything wrong. Why should I feel guilty?
She straightened up, a sweet smile on her face, and called out from a distance, "Second Uncle!"
The man ahead heard her and turned around. As he looked over, his gaze was exceedingly faint.
Lai Yang ran over, pulling Ning Guiwan with her. "Second Uncle, were you waiting for ?"
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