Cinderella Innocent and Boss Charming - Chapter 79

Chapter 79 Sniffed the Smell of Conspiracy
Jiang Kaiwei followed Shen Li’s finger and looked over. There was a man and a woman who were sitting on the bench not far away. With the light in the distance, he could recognize that the woman was Du Xiaoxian. The little girl had a smile on her face and her soft hair was gently swaying in the wind. Across a few meters away, Jiang Kaiwei saw her eyes shining like stars. At this moment, he seemed to understand why Gu Nianbin liked her. Du Xiaoxian was actually very beautiful. He then looked at her outfit. It was a dress. This was the first time he had seen her in a dress, and it was a very new thing to Jiang Kaiwei. He remembered that Du Xiaoxian always wore jeans with suspenders and wore her hair in two braids. She was like a child. Now, she was in a fitting dress, revealing her two thin legs, and this really made her attractive like a little woman.

Jiang Kaiwei always thought that apart from Gu Nianbin, Du Xiaoxian would not smile at any other man. But now… Jiang Kaiwei looked at the man beside her again. He should be a young teenager, although he looked mature. Probably he was her classmate. Jiang Kaiwei raised his eyebrows. If Gu Nianbin saw this scene, would he be pissed off so much as to lose his temper?

Jiang Kaiwei slowly paced over and waved his hand at Du Xiaoxian while shouting, “Hi, Xiaoxian!”

Du Xiaoxian and Cheng Mingchi were chatting when they heard the shouts. Du Xiaoxian looked up, and then her smile subsided.

Shen Li whispered to Jiang Kaiwei, “The little girl’s expression changed when she saw you. How annoying are you?”

Jiang Kaiwei glared at him. “She changed her expression because she saw you.”

Shen Li smiled and walked two steps closer to greet Du Xiaoxian. “Hello, Xiaoxian, we meet again.”

Du Xiaoxian had a pretty good impression of Shen Li, so she forced out a smile and replied, “Hello, Mr. Shen.”

Shen Li turned his head and winked at Jiang Kaiwei, as if he were saying, “Now who do you think has made her change her expression?”

“Xiaoxian, why are you here? I’ve been looking for you for a long time.” As Jiang Kaiwei said so, he wanted to sit down. However, Du Xiaoxian and Cheng Mingchi sat loosely on the bench. The gap between the two of them and at both ends of the bench were not enough for one person. Jiang Kaiwei couldn’t sit down and coughed awkwardly, “Well, Xiaoxian, I didn’t come to you specially. I came to your classmate’s Ball for the Coming-of-Age Ceremony and happened to bump into you, so I’m just here to say hi. Don’t worry.”

Du Xiaoxian said with a dull face, “Oh.”

Jiang Kaiwei thought that she would continue, but the little girl’s “oh” was her ending word. For a moment, it was quiet and the atmosphere seemed a little strange.

Jiang Kaiwei was thick-skinned, and this wasn’t his first time being treated like this by the girl, so he didn’t have much of a feeling. Shen Li was a little regretful, though. He shouldn’t have agreed to accompany Jiang Kaiwei to come. Because he wasn’t someone who deserved to be faced with a cold shoulder at all!

At this time, Cheng Mingchi said, “Xiaoxian, your friends are here. I’m going inside.” As he spoke, he stood up.

Du Xiaoxian also stood up and said to Jiang Kaiwei, “You can sit here now. We’re leaving.”

“Wait!” Jiang Kaiwei stopped her and said, “Since we’ve met, let’s have a chat!”

“I have nothing to talk about with you,” Du Xiaoxian said seriously. Then she pulled Cheng Mingchi’s hand and left.

Not far away, there were a series of flashes that were flashing with constant click noises. It was that group of reporters. Their mission was to follow and photograph Jiang Kaiwei.

Jiang Kaiwei looked at Shen Li with an unhappy face. If Du Xiaoxian had said those words angrily, he could have still pestered her with a playful smile. However, Du Xiaoxian did not seem to be angry at all. She only expressed her opinion seriously. Looking at the little girl’s incomparably clear eyes, the thick-skinned Eldest Young Master Jiang felt like that his self-esteem had fallen down from his face bit by bit.

Shen Li was watching the movements of those reporters all this time. He glanced at Jiang Kaiwei and saw that the latter was also looking at him, but Shen Li pretended not to see him. At this moment, Shen Li turned around and looked at Cheng Mingchi. “Xiaoxian, is he your classmate?”

“Yes, he’s also my friend.” Du Xiaoxian emphasized the word “friend”. She regarded Cheng Mingchi as her friend because they were both people who had nothing, and they had a feeling of pity for each other.

Shen Li slowly nodded and looked at Cheng Mingchi with a faint smile. That kind of insightful gaze made Cheng Mingchi suddenly feel a little nervous. He grabbed Du Xiaoxian’s hand and said, “Let’s go.”

Du Xiaoxian smiled at Shen Li and then followed Cheng Mingchi to leave.

Jiang Kaiwei threw himself down on the bench and said angrily, “We just let her go so easily?”

Shen Li shook the cocktail in his hand, and the corner of his mouth curved into a beautiful arc. “I sniffed the smell of conspiracy.”

“Only a fool can’t tell,” Jiang Kaiwei said angrily, “didn’t Yang Yiqing just want to gain some advantage from me? Let him be.”

Shen Li shook his head. “You’re not the main character, Du Xiaoxian is.” He leisurely crossed his legs, with his eyes glancing at the shadows that were moving around in the darkness.

Although Shen Li was a businessman, he was also sent to the army to take training like his brothers. Apart from strengthening his physique, he also had to learn keen observation, the ability to distinguish and analyze things, the ability to cope with dangers, and so on. He was not a special forces soldier, but his courses in the special forces were all completed with excellent results.

Now that he had caught a glimpse of something unusual, he was certain that the people hiding in the dark were targeting Du Xiaoxian!

Jiang Kaiwei was stunned for a moment and didn’t believe him. “Du Xiaoxian? Why? Because of Gu Nianbin? Those people want to reveal their relationship?”

He asked a few questions in succession, but Shen Li only shook his head. “What relationship? Gu Nianbin is not even here, who would believe it? But I noticed that they had just photographed you and Du Xiaoxian.”

Eldest Young Master Jiang smiled and said, “That’s not bad. They should make it public. I’m happy. I want to see if Gu Nianbin will lose his temper or not.”

Shen Li laughed. “You’re not the only man in the camera.”

“You mean that…” Jiang Kaiwei realized something and asked in surprise, “Is there a problem with that boy?”

“I don’t know.” Shen Li drank all the wine in his cup in one gulp. “Let’s go inside!”

At this time, people were heading into the hall one after another. It was estimated that the ball was about to officially begin.

Jiang Kaiwei also finished his wine and threw the cup on the bench. He put his both hands into his pockets and said leisurely, “What’s the rush? Yang Yiqing won’t start until I get there.”

“That’s right,” Shen Li teased him, “I almost forgot that you’re a big shot!”

When they returned to the hall, it was surely crowded with people inside. Groups of people stood drinking wine and chatting. The scene was extremely lively. Yang Liying stood by the main stage and saw Jiang Kaiwei appear at the door. She hurriedly whispered to Yang Yiqing’s ear.

Yang Yiqing made a gesture and the music stopped. He walked onto the stage with a big smile and stood in front of the microphone to make his opening remarks, “Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished Mr. Jiang Kaiwei, welcome to my daughter’s eighteenth birthday ball! On behalf of my family, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all of you for your presence! I hope that tonight, everyone can eat, drink and play to their heart’s content! I hope that this unforgettable night will leave the best memories for my precious daughter!” He looked at Yang Liying with a loving face. “According to the ritual of the Ball for the Coming-of-Age Ceremony, tonight, my birthday girl will have the right to choose one of the men present to dance with. Let’s see which man will be the lucky dog to have the first dance with my little princess.”

Yang Liying lifted her skirt and smiled at the guests. The crowd automatically parted to form a path. Yang Liying was like an arrogant princess and slowly walked into the crowd with her head held high.

Jiang Kaiwei knew without even needing to think that Yang Liying would pick him. He pulled Shen Li over to block him, but Yang Liying already saw him and shouted, “Mr. Jiang!”

Jiang Kaiwei couldn’t behave too affectedly in front of the crowd. Although he was one hundred percent unhappy in his heart, he remained calm and maintained a faint smile on the surface. He walked out of the crowd like a gentleman and held the hand that Yang Liying had reached out to him. The warm applause immediately rang out in the hall.

The elegant waltz swept across every corner of the hall like a tide. In the bright melody, Jiang Kaiwei held Yang Liying and they strolled on the dance floor. The man was handsome and unrestrained, and the woman was beautiful and elegant. The two of them both wore appropriate smiles on their faces. They were really like a pair of perfect match, causing the onlookers to praise them repeatedly.

Du Xiaoxian’s eyes were filled with envy. “They danced so well!”

Liu Tiantian said quite proudly, “Liying learned authentic waltzes from a British court master. Last year’s Christmas party ended with her performance, and the teachers were all amazed!”

Du Xiaoxian turned her head and asked Cheng Mingchi behind her, “Can you dance?”

The corner of Cheng Mingchi’s mouth curved. “A little. If you want to dance, I can teach you later.”

Du Xiaoxian hurriedly shook her head. “No, no, I can’t dance. I’ll step on your foot.”

Wang Qian smiled and said, “That’s how we learn to dance. Xiaoxian, all new starters will step on their dancing partners’ feet. It doesn’t matter.”

Du Xiaoxian still shook her head. Cheng Mingchi watched the pigtails swaying on her head and found it very interesting. He reached out and pushed them a bit. Du Xiaoxian felt his action, turning her head to look at him. Cheng Mingchi smiled and said, “Your pigtails are quite funny.”

Du Xiaoxian shook her head proudly and said with a smile, “I also think so.”

Just as she was about to turn her head back, Cheng Mingchi suddenly held her chin and said, “Wait.”

Du Xiaoxian didn’t know what was going on, so she really stayed like that. Cheng Mingchi took out a handkerchief from his pocket and gently wiped the corner of her mouth. “There’s a little cream here.”

Du Xiaoxian smiled embarrassedly. Looking at the handkerchief, she said in surprise, “It’s mine!”

“Yes,” Cheng Mingchi unfolded the handkerchief and showed it to her, “Do you want me to give it back to you?”

“No need,” Du Xiaoxian pushed the handkerchief back, “I’ve already given it to you. It’s yours.”

Cheng Mingchi didn’t decline any further and folded it back into his pocket. He vaguely felt that someone was looking at him. He glanced sideways and saw it was Shen Li’s gaze with a faint smile. He hurriedly moved his eyes away and looked at Jiang Kaiwei and Yang Liying who were already coming to the end of the dance.

The music stopped, and then it sounded again. People walked into the dance floor one after another.

Cheng Mingchi calmed down and said to Du Xiaoxian, “Let me teach you how to dance.”

Du Xiaoxian was scared. She shook her head and refused. Wang Qian tried to persuade her, “It’ll be fine. Go ahead. There will be more occasions like this in the future. You will have to learn how to dance. Learning from others is no better than learning from Cheng Mingchi.” Wang Qian always thought that the relationship between Du Xiaoxian and Cheng Mingchi could be more intimate. However, Du Xiaoxian was cowardly and shy, she could not take that step forward. As her good friend, Wang Qian believed she should try her best to help them be together.

Cheng Mingchi placed Du Xiaoxian’s hand on his shoulder and said, “Wang Qian is right. There will be many occasions like this in the future. When everyone is dancing, you will not feel at ease standing there alone.”

As he spoke, his hand slowly rested on Du Xiaoxian’s waist. This was the first time she had been so intimate with a man other than Gu Nianbin. Du Xiaoxian was not used to it, but she felt that what they said were correct. Just as Cheng Mingchi was about to pull her into the dance floor, a large hand suddenly appeared from aside and stopped them in between.