Chapter 175
I was stunned. This Omega watch was worth ten thousand yuan at least!
“I can’t accept such an expensive gift from you!” I told Xiaotao.
“Oh, come on,” Xiaotao laughed. “No one deserves it more than you! In the past six months, you’ve helped me solve more crimes than we usually do in a year! In fact, I may be promoted again soon. Sun Tiger even told me that if I keep going at this pace, he’d have to give up his position to me in three years! Just think of it as a sign of grat.i.tude for helping me, Great Detective Song!”
Xiaotao knew exactly what to say to sway me. With her emotional intelligence, her serious and responsible att.i.tude, her fierce love of justice, and my help, reaching Sun Tiger’s rank and position was not out of reach for her at all.
“If you rise to the rank of director one day, will you change?” I asked.
“Of course not!” she smiled sweetly. “I’ll always be your Xiaotao!”
Her words made my little heart tremble. If there hadn’t been so many people there with us, I might really be unable to hold myself back.
Like me, Xiaotao was completely unfamiliar with the other guests in the lobby. So we just stood near the buffet table and chatted with each other as we nibbled on some food. I recognized some of the richest people in Nanjiang City among the crowd, so I joked, “You know, if this building is bombed today, the stock market in Nanjiang City may collapse in an instant!”
“Did you think my father wouldn’t think of that?” asked Xiaotao. “Did you notice those guys in suits who walk around and don’t talk to anyone? They’re all officers from the special forces. Same goes to those two men standing next to the exit. They’re there to ensure that the exit won’t be blocked in the event of an emergency.”
“Ah,” I exclaimed. “No wonder they don’t look like the rest of the guests!”
At that moment, the man Xiaotao was set up with approached us with a gla.s.s of champagne in his hand.
“So we meet at last, Miss Huang!” he smiled.
He then took Xiaotao’s hand and leaned his head down, as if about to kiss her hand the way Westerners did. Xiaotao quickly gripped his hand and shook it and said, “Nice to meet you, Young Master w.a.n.g!”
Xiaotao shook his hand very firmly. Young Master w.a.n.g pulled back his hand awkwardly and explained, “I’ve spent too much time abroad. I should’ve minded my etiquette. Please forgive me.”
Then, Young Master w.a.n.g turned his gaze to me. He was evidently startled when he recognized me, but he hid it very well.
“So you’ve invited your colleague too, Miss Huang?” he asked.
Xiaotao placed her hand on my shoulder and replied, “He’s not my colleague. He’s my boyfriend!”
Gongzi’s expressions changed dramatically. I smiled and extended my hand saying, “Nice to meet you again, Young Master w.a.n.g.”
He cleared his throat and mumbled, “Of course!” as he shook my hand. Then he turned to Xiaotao and said, “I heard that you’re a police officer, Miss Huang. What made you choose this line of profession?”
“What do you mean? Are you saying that police officers are beneath you?”
“No, absolutely not,” Gongzi quickly corrected her. “I think it’s a n.o.ble profession! However, from the perspective of a businessman, police officers can do no more than catch a few criminals, yet the businessman can help build the city or even the entire country. We provide the economic lifeline to countless people with employment opportunities. I think our society can benefit more from someone so talented as you are if you’re a businesswoman, Miss Huang.”
Young Master w.a.n.g was very satisfied with his little speech. He grinned, showing rows of perfect white teeth.
Xiaotao and I looked at each other and tried our best to hold in our laughter. “Without the police,” I said, “you might not be able to stand here in a party without worrying about your safety…”
Although he was outwardly very calm, I saw beads of cold sweat on his forehead. He was probably afraid that I would expose his secret. He was found sleeping with another woman in the last case, after all.
“Thank you for your help last time, by the way, Officer…”
“My name is Song Yang, and I’m not a police officer, just a consultant.”
Xiaotao looked puzzled. Young Master w.a.n.g hurriedly added, “I was involved in a small case not so long ago. Thanks to Mr. Song, I was proven to be completely innocent. Wasn’t that right, Mr. Song?”
“But Song Yang never partic.i.p.ated in any small cases,” interjected Xiaotao. “Which one is it, Song Yang?”
“The serial poisoning case.”
I tried to be very discreet about it and did not mention Young Master w.a.n.g being in the hotel. After all, I wouldn’t want to completely embarra.s.s the guy. Still, I didn’t need to say much before Xiaotao connected the dots and realized that it was the occasion when she was not with me at the crime scene. She had read the case files, though, so she knew exactly what went on.
“Would you like to dance with me, Miss Huang?” Young Master w.a.n.g asked.
“I don’t know how to dance,” Xiaotao replied, her voice full of contempt. “You go ahead!”
Young Master w.a.n.g frowned slightly and glanced at me. I saw him gritting his teeth in anger, possibly as an attempt to intimidate me. What more do you want? I thought to myself. I tried my best not to embarra.s.s you outright.
“Until we meet again later, then…” Young Master w.a.n.g smiled politely to Xiaotao and turned away.
“What was my father thinking?” complained Xiaotao once Young Master w.a.n.g was out of earshot. “He’s just setting me up with any dude he can find, as long as they’re rich!”
“He’s quite handsome though…” I teased her.
“Are you kidding me?” Xiaotao retorted. “Didn’t you notice how his eyes never left my chest even when I was talking to him? It wouldn’t surprise me if he turns out to be a s.e.x addict!”
What she said made me glance at her chest. She was wearing an evening gown with a plunging neckline. Plus, she was already very curvy, so it was very eye-catching. I blushed when I caught myself staring at her cleavage and quickly looked away.
We soon got very bored standing there. Many people came over to chat us up during the time, but because we had nothing in common with them at all, the conversations didn’t last much longer than a few minutes before it trailed off awkwardly, and they’d leave us to ourselves again. There were even some very well-dressed girls who came up to me and asked if I wanted to dance with them, but I declined them all.
Xiaotao was even more anxious than me. She kept muttering impatiently, “Why isn’t my father here yet?”
At that moment, the band played a familiar piece of music—it was the world-famous tango song Por Una Cabeza. The guests immediately cleared the floor in the middle of the hall, and pairs of dancing men and women began to fill in the open s.p.a.ce.
“Let’s dance!” cried Xiaotao.
“I really don’t know how…”
“I know how, and I’ll teach you! It’s getting too boring just standing here!”
I had no other choice but to relent. I held Xiaotao’s hand as she spun. She went undercover as a dancer once, and so she had to take some dance lessons. She was very light on her feet and danced effortlessly, while I stumbled with every step. I kept looking down, afraid of stepping on Xiaotao’s feet, but she said, “Keep your chin up and your chest forward! The secret to dancing is confidence! Even if you don’t know how to dance, pretend you’re great at it!”
I followed Xiaotao’s rhythm and counted the steps carefully. I stepped on her toes for a total of four times, and each time she would let out a yelp. Slowly, though, I found the rhythm and even Xiaotao was surprised at my progress.
“You’re a fast learner!” she exclaimed.
“I can’t bear to hurt your toes!”
“That’s very sweet of you!” Xiaotao laughed. “You’ve changed so much since I first met you.”
“Well, you’ve been a good influence.”
Xiaotao giggled.
It was a marvelous feeling dancing with Xiaotao. Holding her slender waist in my hand, I could feel her body temperature slowly rising through the thin fabric of her dress. Our faces were so close we could feel each other’s breath. I saw a blush slowly creeping up on her cheek, and it made my cheeks burn in response. Her bright red evening dress bloomed like the petals of a flower when she spun.
Towards the end of the song, something across the room suddenly caught my eye. I kept staring at it until Xiaotao asked me, “What are you looking at?”
“That man over there,” I answered. “He’s acting weird!”