"I would love to," The moment Li Chuntao answered Mu Jianyu"s question, Shen Zichen felt like he was having a hard time breathing. Why did he feel like he was losing Li Chuntao, although he knew that she was just pretending?
She had told him what she planned to do but it still left a bad taste in his mouth whenever he thought of her being with Mu Jianyu. He should"ve been prepared for this but he couldn"t help feeling irritated when he saw them together.
"Strange," he thought. "Maybe I"m worrying too much," he concluded.
"You"re back. Did you miss the act?" Zheng Yue appeared beside him. She was wearing a cla.s.sic black evening dress that he"d once seen in his mother"s boutique before. Zheng Yue was half of the Fire and Ice campaign that his Aunt Yuhan and mother launched several years ago. The other half of the campaign was the popular social influencer, w.a.n.g Zhuyi.
She leaned on the wall, standing next to him while sipping champagne from her gla.s.s. Their eyes went back to Li Chuntao who was being surrounded by other guests while Mu Jianyu was being congratulated by the producer.
"To play with Mu Jianyu and Lin Meirong at the same time, I should have believed my husband at once when he told me how conniving Chuntao can be, just like her mother," she told Shen Zichen.
Zheng Yue had met her husband after the twins" parents had already pa.s.sed away and wasn"t able to meet Li Qiao, her husband"s older sister. But Li Yuren had once told her not to fall for Chuntao"s tricks because she was exactly like his dead sister.
Watching the twins grow up, Zheng Yue noticed that Chuntao"s mind was more mature than Ying"s and she wasn"t as expressive as her twin sister. Between the Li twins, while Li Xiuying easily got into trouble, Li Chuntao was always the one saving her elder twin.
It was no wonder some people mistakenly a.s.sumed Chuntao as the older between the two because of her impregnable cold mask that wasn"t any different from her uncle"s.
"She wouldn"t stop until she gets what she wanted," Shen Zichen muttered lowly, and Zheng Yue easily agreed.
This was the way Li Chuntao always had been and it would remain the same. She wouldn"t stop unless she gets the result she wanted and she wouldn"t care how long it would take as long as she could achieve it.
Because Li Chuntao wasn"t one with great patience, compared to her sister, she always made sure that her time wasn"t wasted while waiting.
"Zichen, I know it"s unfair for me and Yuren to ask this, but can you look after Chuntao? We"re worried that she might take drastic measures just to spite them. We wouldn"t want her to have regrets later on, after all of this is over."
Shen Zichen pondered it for a while. He didn"t want to give Zheng Yue false hopes only to shatter his promises again. He was already blaming himself for not being able to save Ying, but he also thinks that he couldn"t accept it if Chuntao suffers the same fate as her sister.
"I can"t promise you anything, Auntie Yue but I"ll try to be there for Chuntao this time."
Zheng Yue hummed her approval and took a side glance to see his face before turning her attention back to her niece.
"Ying would"ve said the same thing if she"s here…" were her unspoken words.
In contrast to Shen Zichen, Lin Meirong was visibly shaking from anger. Her eyes bloodshot as she glared at Mu Jianyu"s way who was completely ignoring her. Not only he denied her, but he also shamelessly asked his wife for another chance to be with her.
He"d promised her… promised her a future with him, promised her that he would marry her after he settled his divorce with Li Xiuying.
Why was he changing his tunes now?
Had she known she would suffer this blow right in front of his wife, she should"ve aborted the child in her womb earlier and ditched him before he could manage to make a fool out of her.
Lin Meirong looked away and downed her drink, trying to suppress her annoyance while the rest of the film crew rejoiced at "Li Xiuying""s answer. What else could she do? She couldn"t make a scene and reveal her affair in front of Li Xiuying tonight.
Not only would she lose her career, but the Li family would also surely come after her this time.
Meanwhile, Lan Jinyao had fixed her gaze on Lin Meirong. She couldn"t help but smile at the woman"s predicament. She brought this to herself, did she really think that a cheater like Mu Jianyu would stick to his promises?
Once a cheater, always a cheater. You can"t expect one to stay truthful to you when he"d betrayed someone just to be with you. She must be really stupid to believe Mu Jianyu"s lies in the throes of pa.s.sion. Lan Jinyao thought.
"Ying, thank you for giving me a chance. I promise I wouldn"t disappoint you this time." Mu Jianyu promised to his wife, his smile reaching up to his eyes which pleased Li Chuntao but troubled Lin Meirong.
Li Chuntao hummed but said nothing. She allowed Mu Jianyu to speak of his plans and how he wanted her to see the places they"d been before. The celebration continued as some other guests busied themselves with more gossip while some others took to the dance floor as another song started playing.
They enjoyed the amazing food and liquor that was served to them as well as the entertainment provided for tonight"s celebration. The producer was really spending a hefty amount of cash to please the media he invited as well as Shen Zichen and Li Chuntao who didn"t even pay attention to his attempts.
Shen Zichen had enough. He couldn"t bear to see Mu Jianyu and Li Chuntao together anymore. He strode towards them, ignoring the way other guests looked at him. He went straight to Li Chuntao and stared down at her.
"Brother Zichen, are you feeling better now?" She asked playfully. Shen Zichen heard a hint of amus.e.m.e.nt on her tone.
"Dance with me," he told her, catching Li Chuntao off guard. If she didn"t know Shen Zichen, she would a.s.sume that he was pouting.
Did she just hear him ask her for a dance? Really? Someone like Shen Zichen who didn"t like socializing or attending parties wanted to dance with her? Li Chuntao was confused but she wasn"t able to decide for herself as Shen Zichen had already pulled her towards the dance floor.
The crowd murmured even more while Mu Jianyu scowled at Shen Zichen for taking "Ying""s attention away from him.
"Are you good at dancing now?" Li Chuntao couldn"t help but grin at him. She remembered her twin sister spending time teaching him how to properly dance.
"Ying did a good job teaching me," Shen Zichen scoffed and led her to s.p.a.ce where they could dance freely. Most guests stepped aside to give way to them.
"How confident of you, Brother Zichen. Very well, Young Master Shen. Show me what you got and please don"t tread on my foot." She chuckled at his scowling face and gave his hand a light squeeze.